Skill

The media have real relevance and importance in our lives today, providing us with ways to communicate, with forms of cultural expression and the ability to participate in key aspects of society. Media Studies brings relevance to understanding the media how and why representations are constructed and how messages are encoded within these representations. Every child will think critically and explore ways and methods to explore how meaning is conveyed to an audience.

Character

Media Studies encourages students to question the world that we live in and criticise the representations offered through the media. Students will be encouraged to become critical consumers: students will become politically, socially and culturally aware as they continue throughout the course. They will start to appreciate that context is key to understanding a given media product or media scenario. In doing so, Media students will become empathetic learners (especially when exploring the representation of stereotypes within the media). Over time, students will confidently critique such representations and be able to successfully evaluate whether a media product is offering an honest and truthful viewpoint or not. They will also become autonomous learners, especially when creating their own products and offering their own insightful views of a given media product.

Experiences

The media play a central role in contemporary society and culture. They shape our perceptions of the world through the representations, viewpoints and messages they offer. The global nature of the contemporary media, coupled with ongoing technological developments and more opportunities to interact with the media, suggest that their centrality in contemporary life can only increase. Every child will have a strong ‘core’ knowledge in Media Studies.

Criticality

The economic importance of the media is also unquestionable. The media industries employ large numbers of people worldwide and operate as commercial industries on a global scale.