The Place of Media Literacy Course in TRNC Secondary Education Institutions and the Use of Technological Devices Related to the Media Literacy Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Today's world is equipped with media and media messages. It has become impossible to prevent all kinds of information in social life from reaching audiences of all ages. Media content attracts children and adults, especially children, who are the most open to interaction and sensitive group under the information bombardment they are exposed to, and they take the material presented to them as it is without filtering it. It is possible to control these effects of the media, reduce its harmful effects, and enable individuals to take a more active and questioning position in the face of the information they receive, rather than being a simple consumer, with media literacy education. In this context, this study aims to determine student opinions regarding the media literacy course in order to investigate the practical situation of the media literacy course in the secondary education curriculum in TRNC and to develop solution suggestions on issues such as the use of technological devices connected to the curriculum to make media literacy courses productive. The field research method was applied, and a survey was used to obtain the data. The data were interpreted by frequency and percentage analysis using the SPSS 26.0 program. The study group in which the quantitative data of the research was collected consisted of 421 eighth-grade students studying at Güzelyurt Sehit Turgut Secondary School and Lefke Gazi High School in the 2023-2024 academic year. Findings obtained in the study: The level and efficiency of teaching the media literacy course in the schools in the sample are low within the framework of student opinions, and the media literacy course should be supported with new media literacy concepts and scopes within the framework of the evolving definition of media literacy. The use of technological devices connected to the curriculum should be increased, and the course contents should be integrated with technological inputs. It also revealed the need for reorganization in this direction.