Educated Citizenship: The Foundation of a Thriving Democracy
Citizenship is an old term implying the relationship between the individual and the state. (Eylem Simsek & Ali Simsek, 2013). Citizenship education aims to develop active and informed citizens who are politically literate and media literate. Engagement in the practice, principles and process of citizenship is important to equip citizens with the inquisitorial skills to be able to negotiate media texts. (Vincent W. Youngbauer, 2013)
The term ‘informed citizenship’ refers to the ability ‘to access all of the available information on a matter of public policy before reaching a decision.” It stems from Schudson’s initial notion. From a holistic approach it is integrative of understanding how information contributes to the civic process transcending the idea of information gathering, to monitoring information, critically reading information, and intelligently processing information. It is informed by a number of theoretical perspectives; media theory, democracy and governance, learning theory, participatory audience, SM, digital, information and media .
Citizenship relates to the status of being a full and responsible member of a political community, characterised by a reciprocal relationship between the individual and the state. A citizen owes allegiance to the state and, in return, receives protection and enjoys civil, political, and social rights. This relationship involves fulfilling duties and obligations to maintain societal harmony.
Unlike subjects, who are subordinate to a privileged ruling class, citizens actively constitute the state through prescribed democratic procedures ensuring equality irrespective of race, religion, gender, or origin. T.H. Marshall emphasised that citizenship entails full membership in a community, with rights and duties varying across societies.
However, substantive citizenship may be denied in practice to some groups, leading to movements demanding rights restoration. Historical examples include the civil rights movement in the U.S., workers’ movements in Europe, and tribal and Dalit movements in India. While early concepts of citizenship focused on duty, contemporary views prioritise rights, with duties acknowledged as essential for their preservation.
Media literacy has potential for informing citizenship if it is underlined by ‘digital citizenship,’ as people should be able to participate in a digitally mediated society where they need to rethink their familiar rights and civic responsibilities which are linked with citizenship. (Livingstone, S)
The importance of media literacy in promoting informed citizenship, culture and participatory democracy is evident in the popular social networking websites as reflected in the changes in the editorial practice in the newsroom of global broadcast television channels including the BBC, CNN and Al-jazeera. The BBC has recognised SM as having three ‘key, highly valuable roles’ in its: (a) newsgathering, (b) audience engagement and (c) a platform for our content functions.
The public service media’s role has been demonstrated in concert with several organisations including World Bank, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) European Commission, UNESCO, UN and online advocacy and voluntary bodies. The Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information (GAPMIL) enunciates nine key development areas of media: (1) governance, citizenship and freedom of expression; (2) access to information and knowledge for all citizens; (3) development of media, libraries, Internet and other information providers; (4) education, teaching, and learning – including professional development; (5) linguistic and cultural diversity as well as intercultural and interfaith dialogue; (6) women, children and youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalised social groups; (7) health and wellness; (8) business, industry, employment and sustainable economic development; and (9) agriculture, farming, wildlife protection, forestry and natural resources conservation.
During the 1970s, media education began to be recognised as a critical practice of citizenship, part of the exercise of democratic rights and civil responsibilities. Developed initially in the 20th century from work by education scholars like Lev Vygotsky and Paolo Freire, is conceptualised as a socio-cultural practice that embodies, reflects, and refracts power relations. Postman and Weingartner (1969) conceptualise one form of inquiry learn-ing through describing how it alters the nature of the authority relationship between teacher and student: (1) the teacher rarely tells students a personal opinion about a particular social or political issue; (2) does not accept a single statement as an answer to a question. (Renee Hobbs & Amy Jensen, 2009)
Kellner and Share (2005) argue that CML cannot be separated from radical democracy since this type of education will develop skills for enhancing democracy and participation:It takes a comprehensive approach that would teach critical skills and how to use media as instruments of social communication and change. The technologies of communication are becoming more and more accessible to young people and ordinary citizens, and can be used to promote education, democratic self-expression, and social progress. (Kellner and Share, 2005)
A vibrant democracy is contingent upon engaged citizens (Richard Wike & Alexandra Castillo, 2018) who cognitively construct knowledge to equip themselves with attitudinal attributes to reach out to political participation.
The Internet, mobile phones and SM have encouraged constructivist learning for citizens which induct them into politics in increasingly innovative and participatory ways. Elena Afromeeva, Mirjam Liefbroer and Darren Lilleker. It is impossible to have a progressive democracy unless there are healthy, competent, engaged citizens (R. Hobbs) who are involved in political engagement.
Besides digital transformation of the media ecology where citizens create, publish and syndicate content which facilitated political participation, community citizens involvement in trade unions, church or community groups also contributed to it according to Olsen. (Olsen, M. E.1982).
Online deliberative sphere calls for a participatory audience to interact with each other and with journalists or creators of media content. From the cognitive perspective active and political participation depends on citizens’ abilities to process complex arguments while the degree of engagement is determined by citizens’ non-cognitive sagacity to process complex issues.
A healthy governance is underscored by freedom of expression and press freedom. (Paul Mihailidis, 2008) as a fundamental right. The twin fundamental rights are key to ensuring an individual’s basic rights are protected in society but in many parts of the world this right is virtually non-existent. Vibrant democracies require informed, active and engaged citizens who are competent in expressing their interests, making representation, acting in concert with peers and questioning government officials by encouraging the media to make them accountable. The protection of the three components of the right to freedom of expression is enshrined in the Article 10 of European Convention on Human Rights as (a) freedom to hold opinions, (b) freedom to receive information, views and ideas, and (c) to communicate and share them without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. (Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska, 2017)
How does media education influence students’ understanding of media’s roles and responsibilities in a democratic society? What is a critical media literacy approach to citizenship? One of the main aims of media education is to provide not only media analysis skills, but also the ability to effectively use media to exercise democratic rights (Brownell & Brownell, 2003). UCLA’s Rozana Carducci and Robert Rhoads (2005) call on media education to develop responses to media’s socialising tendencies:
Today’s students are largely socialised through the media, a reality that calls for the implementation of curricular and co-curricular pedagogical practices that develop media – the ability to critically analyse and decode messages embedded in various media productions.
The theoretical foundations for media specifically engaged in citizenship – should be seen as channels through which media initiatives and frameworks can be structured for the university. Citizenship and awareness can serve as the foundations on which flexible platforms can be built to effectively implement media in a classroom, department, or university.
Citizenship: critical media literacy is an extremely important factor for active citizenship in today’s information society. It is a fundamental skill not only for the young generations but also for adults and elderly people,parents, teachers and media professionals. Digitalisation and the power of the ubiquitous Internet have encouraged an inclusive society to participate in debates worldwide which can now create and disseminate images, information and contents. In this context, media education is viewed as one of the major tools in the development of citizens’ responsibilities. (Matteo Zacchetti (2007) Media : A European approach. Sept. 2007)