Promoting Active Citizenship
Cultivating active, informed, critical, reflexive and engaged citizenship is a condition for a living and viable democracy.
Viability means, among others, an inclusive, sustainable society by bringing diverse groups (ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) together in developmental, dialogical and participatory ways.
Educational institutions of all kinds have a responsibility for ensuring and fostering these ideas and practices - this at a time of many new examples of people learning to live together creatively. as well as coping with new challenges of living together (xenophobia, racism, violence, political alienation and the rise of fundamentalism and are struggling with questions about multiculturalism, etc.).
These competencies are vital with students in teachers preperation if they are to create a good enough learning environment for their own pupils, teach active citizenship, and become active citizens themselves.
UNIT 7 Democracy and The Media in a Democratic Society: Rational and Objectives
4.1 The Media in a Democratic society
Rationale and Objectives:
The media in a democratic society is a meaningful and important authority and a functional sector. The media can be treated as positive and negative especially in relating to how it can influence different issues. Media has the potential to raise civic awareness and enhance civic issues and values. It can done through different means of communication (traditional and new, social, etc.).
Learning outcomes:
The students will be able to analyze the impact of the media through case studies such as:
- · Watergate
- · Chernobyl
- · War Crimes
- · Environmental disasters
The students will be able to explain why certain issues are “news worthy” and others are not.
Suggested Activities:
Activity 1:
- Have students form small groups of 4-5 people. Have them ask the questions:
- ● What is the importance of the media in a democracy?
- ● Have you ever been influenced by the media?how? and why?
- ● What is The importance of the media in raising civic awareness?
Activity 2:
- Watch the following trailers:
- "The Post" trailer:
- All The President's Men – Trailer:
- Spotlight TRAILER 1 (2015) - Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton Movie HD:
- Discuss how the news reported and had an impact on these events.
Activity 3
Using the VaKE or Dilemma-based learning model, discuss the case studies above and the morale issues involved in reporting on these events. Show the media report events or create events?
Suggested Literature:
- English: Fog, Agner. "The supposed and the real role of mass media in modern democracy" (PDF). Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- Exoo, Calvin F. (2010). The Pen and the Sword: Press, War, and Terror in the 21st Century. California: Sage Publications. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-1-4129-5360-3.
- Meyer, Thomas; Hinchman, Lew (2002). Media Democracy: How the Media Colonize Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-7456-2844-