Chapter 29: Further Reading — Media Literacy Frameworks

Foundational Frameworks

1. NAMLE. (2007, updated). Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States. National Association for Media Literacy Education.

The foundational policy statement of U.S. media literacy education. Essential reading for understanding NAMLE's six-competency framework, the underlying principles that guide it, and the philosophy of media literacy as a democratic imperative. The document is concise (about 10 pages) and freely available at NAMLE's website. The accompanying position papers on specific topics (media literacy and health, media literacy and advertising) provide useful extensions.

2. UNESCO. (2011, revised 2021). Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers. UNESCO.

UNESCO's comprehensive curriculum framework for teacher training in MIL. Organized into modules addressing journalism ethics, digital information, and library and information resources. The 2021 revision addresses social media, artificial intelligence, and information disorders in ways the original did not. Essential for understanding the global MIL framework and its implementation approach. Freely available from UNESCO's website.

3. ACRL. (2015). Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Association of College and Research Libraries.

The 2015 framework that replaced the 2000 information literacy standards. The six frames — Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, Information Creation as a Process, Information Has Value, Research as Inquiry, Scholarship as Conversation, and Searching as Strategic Exploration — represent a fundamental rethinking of information literacy for higher education. Essential for academic librarians and educators working with college students. Available free from ACRL's website.

Historical and Theoretical Foundations

4. Masterman, L. (1985). Teaching the Media. Comedia/Routledge.

The seminal text of British media education, enormously influential in establishing a critical, analytical approach to media literacy. Masterman's four key concepts — media languages, representations, institutions, and audiences — provided a framework that shaped media education internationally. While the media landscape has changed dramatically since 1985, Masterman's conceptual framework remains foundational. His critique of both inoculationist and celebratory approaches to media remains compelling.

5. Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2005). Toward critical media literacy: Core concepts, debates, organizations, and policy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 26(3), 369–386.

The article that most clearly articulates the critical media literacy framework developed by Kellner and Share, distinguishing it from competency-based approaches. Kellner and Share's four dimensions of critical media literacy — social constructivism, politics of representation, political economy, and audience/reception — are explained and illustrated with examples. The article situates critical media literacy within critical theory and cultural studies traditions and addresses common objections. An essential read for understanding the ideological dimension of media literacy education.

6. Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action. The Aspen Institute.

Renee Hobbs is one of the most prolific and practically oriented scholars of media literacy education. This white paper, prepared for the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, offers a comprehensive vision for digital and media literacy education in the United States. Hobbs identifies five core competencies (access, analyze/evaluate, create, reflect, act) and proposes a policy agenda for integrating them into K–12 education. Particularly valuable for its practical, implementation-focused perspective.

Empirical Research

7. Jeong, S. H., Cho, H., & Hwang, Y. (2012). Media literacy interventions: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Communication, 62(3), 454–472.

The most comprehensive meta-analysis of media literacy intervention research, analyzing 51 studies. Jeong et al. found an overall average effect size of d = 0.37, with stronger effects on knowledge than on attitudes or behaviors. The meta-analysis also found that longer interventions produced larger effects and that media literacy education was effective across age groups. Essential reading for understanding the empirical evidence base for media literacy education. The methodological analysis of different research designs is particularly valuable.

8. Mihailidis, P., & Viotty, S. (2017). Spreadable spectacle in digital culture: Civic expression, fake news, and the crisis of media literacy. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(4), 441–454.

A provocative and influential critique of media literacy education's response to the fake news crisis. Mihailidis and Viotty argue that existing frameworks, focused on critical deconstruction, have failed to develop the civic imagination and constructive engagement needed in the digital age. They call for "civic media literacy" that emphasizes care, community, and constructive participation alongside critical analysis. Essential for understanding debates within the field about media literacy's purpose and effectiveness.

9. Roozenbeek, J., & van der Linden, S. (2019). Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation. Palgrave Communications, 5(1), 65.

The primary research paper on the "Bad News" online game, which tests the psychological inoculation approach to misinformation resistance. The game pre-emptively exposes players to weakened versions of six misinformation techniques (impersonation, emotional manipulation, polarization, conspiracy, discrediting, and trolling). Roozenbeek and van der Linden found significant improvements in ability to identify misinformation after playing. Essential for understanding inoculation-based approaches and their evidence base.

National and Global Implementation

10. Kotilainen, S., & Arnolds-Granlund, S. B. (Eds.). (2010). Media Literacy Education: Nordic Perspectives. Nordicom.

An invaluable comparative overview of media literacy education in the Nordic countries, including Finland's pioneering approach. Chapter authors examine how media literacy has been integrated into national curricula in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and compare the different conceptual traditions and pedagogical approaches in each country. Essential for understanding Finland's approach in comparative context and for learning what transferable lessons the Nordic experience offers.

11. Open Society Foundations. (Annual). Media Literacy Index. European Policies Initiative.

An annual comparative index measuring European countries' capacity to resist fake news, based on composite indicators including press freedom, education quality, and media trust. Finland has ranked first every year since the index's 2017 inception. The methodology report that accompanies each edition provides valuable discussion of how to operationalize and measure media literacy at the population level — a challenge the field has not adequately addressed.

Specific Domains

12. Buckingham, D. (2019). The Media Education Manifesto. Polity Press.

David Buckingham, one of the most respected international scholars of media education, offers a pointed critique of both excessive techno-optimism and moral panic about digital media, arguing for a return to rigorous, critical media education grounded in cultural studies. Buckingham critiques the displacement of substantive media education by "digital skills" training and advocates for engaging with the political and economic dimensions of media. Short and provocative, this book is essential for advanced students and educators.

13. Common Sense Media. (Current). Digital Citizenship Curriculum. Common Sense Media.

Common Sense Media's comprehensive K–12 digital citizenship curriculum, freely available at commonsense.org/education. The curriculum addresses privacy, security, digital well-being, relationships, cyberbullying, and media literacy across grade bands from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Essential for teachers seeking practical classroom resources and for researchers studying how digital citizenship is conceptualized and taught in U.S. schools. Note: the curriculum has been critiqued for its individualistic focus, a limitation that advanced students should examine critically.

14. Frau-Meigs, D., Velez, I., & Michel, J. F. (Eds.). (2017). Public Policies in Media and Information Literacy in Europe: Cross-Country Comparisons. Routledge.

A rigorous comparative analysis of media and information literacy policies across European countries, examining national curriculum frameworks, policy goals, and implementation approaches. The cross-country comparison reveals significant variation in how MIL is conceptualized and implemented even within the EU context, challenging assumptions about pan-European convergence. Essential for students interested in policy dimensions of media literacy education.

15. Hobbs, R. (2020). Mind Over Media: Propaganda Education for a Digital Age. W.W. Norton.

Renee Hobbs's most recent accessible book examines propaganda education as a component of media literacy, drawing on research on propaganda recognition and on practical curriculum development. Hobbs traces the history of propaganda analysis in U.S. education, examines contemporary propaganda techniques, and proposes a model for propaganda education that avoids both inoculation anxiety and false equivalence. Particularly valuable for its attention to the relationship between propaganda education and political neutrality in the classroom.