Wang, Yinhan; 2011, ‘Media Literacy Dossier: research review 7 (Duran

et al 2008), LSE Media Policy Project, April 28.

Full reference details of reviewed article:

Duran, R. L., Yousman, B., Walsh, K. M., & Longshore, M. A. (2008). Holistic media
education: An assessment of the effectiveness of a college course in media literacy.
Communication Quarterly, 56(1), 49-68.

Conceptions/definition of media literacy (or related concept) used

The holistic approach to media literacy advocated by the authors entails both
the textual concern (critical thinking and creative production with regard to
media messages) and contextual concern (critical understanding of the
production and consumption aspect of the media). It argues that ‘to be a
citizen rather than a passive consumer in media-saturated societies, one must
develop an understanding of the commercial structure of the media industries
and the political and ideological implications of this structure… the person
who is truly media literate is also knowledgeable of the political economy of
the media, the consequences of media consumption, and the activist and
alternative media movements that seek to challenge mainstream media
norms and create a more democratic system’ (p. 51).

Research method/scope of empirical work

The authors identified two weaknesses of previous studies on the efficacy of
media literacy education: (i) they are limited in scope, focusing predominantly
on measuring how students understand and analyze media text (i.e.
addressing the textual concern) without paying heed to other contextual
concerns related to media production, media exposure and media activism.
(ii) the studies focus on K-12 students rather than college students and adults.

They study has three hypotheses: Students who complete a holistic media
literacy course are significantly more (H1) aware of media structures, (H2)
aware of media influence and (H3) critical of TV advertisements than those
who do not complete such course.

The study consists of a pre-test, post-test, control group post-test, and quasi-
experimental design. 380 undergraduate participants were recruited to
complete a questionnaire that entails: Knowledge of Media Structures Scale,
Media Influence Scale, and 3 open-ended questions about an advertisement
(which is then content coded). The experimental condition was a course in
media literacy that teaches about the political economy of media institutions,
analysis of media content, and media activism.

Key findings
- The significant differences between the post-test scores of
experimental and control groups indicate that the media literacy course
offered was ‘at lease partially successful’ in achieving the course goals.
 - H1 is supported. There were significant differences between the post-
test scores of experimental and control groups on all 5 dimensions of
the scale testing for knowledge of media structures. In addition, there is
a significant difference between the pre and post-test scores of the
experimental group in the dimension of ‘media advocacy groups’,
suggesting that media literacy education did improve students’
knowledge.
- H2 is supported. Those who received the course were significantly
more likely than those who did not to be aware of the media influence.
A notable finding is that media literacy course seemed to mitigate the
third-person effect (believing that the media influence others but not
self).
- H3 is supported. Compared to control group whose response was
mainly about the content features (storyline and characters),
experimental group was more likely to note the production features,
was more critical, and also observed the implied message.

Key implications for research and policymaking

Future research should seek a larger sample size, employ qualitative
research to elicit deeper knowledge of how students understand the purposes
of media literacy, and also assess the efficacy of holistic media education
through longitudinal study. The scale of assessment should extend from TV to
include new media, and also develop adequate measure for the media literacy
of adult.

U.S. schools should offer more holistic media literacy education in not only K-
12 level, but also in higher education, if not the general public.