Media literacy in early education: European policies and curricular differentiation

Figures & data

Table 1. Overview of ISCED level 0 in the five participating countries.

Country
	Bulgaria	Germany	Greece	Portugal	Slovakia	OECD Average
General ECE system^4
Usual starting age in ECE	3	3	4	3	3	_
Number of years in ECE	4	3	1 to 2	3	3	_
Starting age of compulsory education	7	6	5	6	6	_
Under the Ministry of Education	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	_
Free ECE provision (hours/age)	20h (until 5y) 24h(6y)	28h	22.5h (4-5y)	25h (3-6y)	40h (5-6y)	_
Participa- tion rate for children between 4 and the starting age of compulsory education (2015)^4	86.5	97.4	79.6	93.6	78.4	_
Percentage of children enrolled in public and private ECE institutions (2015)^5
% children enrolled in public institutions	98	35	92	53	95	67
% children enrolled in private institutions	2	65	8	47	5	33

⁴Sources: EUROSTAT (2018). Pupils aged between 4 years old and the starting age of compulsory education, by sex - as % of the population of the corresponding age group. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/5n72bc5s; Eurydice. (2012). Key data on education in Europe 2012. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/2p8zjjrx; Eurydice. (2013). Structure of the European education systems 2012/2013: Schematic diagrams. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/3392jtr6; OECD (2012). Education at a glance 2012. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2012-en; OECD (2017). Education at a glance 2017: OECD Indicators. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en; UNESCO (n/d). World data on education (7th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/;⁵Sources: European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2017). The structure of the European education systems 2017/18: Schematic diagrams. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/b37s7x3w; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat (2014). Key data on early childhood edition. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/3rpzaayn.

Table 2. Characteristics of the educational curriculum guidelines for early childhood education and care in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia.

Country	Number of Central Educational Fields for Preschool Education	Educational fields centered on ICT	Suggestion of transversality of ICT use
Bulgaria	8	“Construction-technical and craftman-ship skills”	No
Germany	7	“Mathematical-natural science education and technology”	Depended on the Lander
Greece	9	“Creation & Expression and Infor- mation Technology”	Yes
Portugal	3	“Knowledge of the World”	Yes
Slovakia	7	“Mathematics and work with information”	No

Table 3. References to the use of ICT and/or media education in the profile of a child’s education professional in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia.

Country	Professional profiles of early childhood education teachers/educators	Are there references to the use of ICT and/or media education in the profile of a child’s education professional?
Bulgaria	No	No
Germany	Yes	Yes
Greece	No	No
Portugal	Yes	Yes
Slovakia	Yes	No

Table 4. ICT use and/or media education professional development (PD) initiatives in Bul- garia, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia.

Country	Main Initiatives	Main Training entity	Main area for professional development activities
Bulgaria	Public	Government or municipal initiative	ICT education resources
Germany	Private	Associations	Media education
Greece	Public	Associations	Educational applications of ICT
Portugal	Public	Universities	Digital technologies and literacies
Slovakia	Private	Association	Use of ICT tools

Table 5. Types of PD initiatives related to ICT use and media education in ECE settings in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia.

Country	Types of PD initiatives related to ICT use and media education in ECE settings
	Introductory courses	Advanced courses	Equipment- specific training	Courses on the pedagogical use of ICT in teaching and learning	Massive Open Online Courses (in your country language)	Webinars	Communities of practice with a special focus on ICT use and media education
Bulgaria	X			X
Germany	X	X	X	X
Greece	X	X		X	X	X	X
Portugal	X	X		x	X	X	X
Slovakia	X			X

Table

Case of Germany In the case of Germany, the main precautions to have ICT and media use with young children are: protect children and adolescents from media contents harmful to minors and existence of a List of Publications Harmful to Young Persons. The procedures that must be followed are request by youth authorities (youth welfare offices, ministries for youth affairs), the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media or at the urging of all other authorities (e.g., police authorities, customs offices, authorities for the protection of the Constitution or schools). The entities responsible for the protection of minors from the media in national level are: Protection of Young Persons Act (Jugendschutzgesetz - JuSchG) and Child and Youth Services Act (KJHG).

Table

Case of Portugal In the case of Portugal, the main precautions to have ICT and media use with young children are to protect the identity, access to data and rights related to the child. For this there are, among others, two laws: Data protection law, article 29 (Law no. 67/98, 26th October) and Law No. 15847/2007, published in the Second Series of Schools No. 140 of 23rd July; Order No. 1495/2016 of 6th September. The procedures that must be followed are request authorization from the Directorate-General for Education (DGE) to collect school-based surveys in preschool education; Inform and request authorization from the National Data Protection Commission on personal data; Requires authorization from the legal responsible of participating children to collect data (e.g., pictures, sounds, or video) in schools; Classification of rights and duties of participation in research projects. The entities responsible for the protection of minors from the media and exposure in ICT environments in national level are: National Commission for Data Protection; Directorate-General for Education (DGE) and Regulatory Entities for Social Communication.

Table

Child: Attend the levels of development and learning of children in different areas (e.g., language, social and emotional, motor, cognitive). Ability to develop and understand the perspective of the child (and to give voice to the child) Ability to support and stimulate children (e. g, questioning, calming) Guiding the child’s activities (e.g., setting goals), developing critical and reflective thinking, and critical thinking skills. Promote the development of vocabulary and various types of literacy (e.g., through books, media) and support the child’s ability to express his/her ideas clearly. Families: Promote articulation with the family in the development of synergies that promote a global and healthy development of the child (e.g., including discussion of mediation strategies for ICT use and media at home). Promote opportunities for professionals in ECEC for observation, reflection, planning, teamwork, and cooperation with parents. Teachers: Promote the planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reflection of pedagogical practices in ECEC by the teachers in articulation with the children, families, and other educational community. Identify interests and competencies of children through the observation of the child’s behavior and the valuation of his opinion. Involvement in local, national, or international communities that allow the sharing and evaluation of practices to continuously support activities developed with children. Accomplish pedagogical continues and systematic update on education in early childhood education and specific, for example in education using ICT or the media. Promoting a positive environment within the educational community. Promote educational management processes that involve coordination, superviion, and pedagogical participation among the various educational agents (teachers, parents, children).

OECD. (2012). Encouraging quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC). https://tinyurl.com/ykh6mkck

 Google Scholar