In a world highly influenced by digital media, media literacy education is becoming an increasingly important issue (author; author). It is relevant not only for children and youths (author), but also for researchers and teachers who are responsible for the media literacy education of their students (Meehan et al., 2015; author). Consequently, pre-service teachers must acquire the necessary competencies, skills and abilities to implement media literacy education in their practice (Meehan et al., 2015). However, there are rather no binding regulations to integrate media literacy into initial teacher education (ITE) (European Commission, 2022).

Research studies about media literacy education in ITE most often focus the national level (e.g. Klaß, 2020; Christ, 2004; Meehan et al., 2015; author) because different countries have their own media education systems, approaches, curricula, and instructional practices (author). There are only few studies about media literacy education in ITE which take explicitly a comparative point of view (e.g. author).

Against this background, the purpose of this study is to identify practices in Initial Teacher Education in Germany, Turkey, and the USA for advancing necessary competencies, skills and abilities of student teachers to implement media literacy education in their practice from a comparative perspective. Accordingly, the following research question will be answered:

What are common characteristics and differences between practices of advancing student teachers competencies, skills and abilities to implement media literacy education in their practice in initial teacher education in Germany, Turkey, and the USA?

Building on previous research of comparing media literacy education and media-related competencies in initial teacher education in Germany and the USA (author; author), Turkey is included as a third country in this comparative research on media literacy education in ITE. Turkey was chosen because it offers different contrastive perspectives for media literacy education in ITE (Karakaşoǧlu & Tonbul, 2015).

There are different terminologies, theories, models, frameworks and curricula for competencies, skills and abilities regarding media literacy of student teachers in ITE in Germany, the US and Turkey (e.g. Tulodziecki, 2012; Weinert, 2001; NAMLE, 2007; author). From a methodological viewpoint, it is necessary to establish a tertium comparationis as a common denominator for the comparison (cf. Hilker, 1962; Suter et al., 2019). We will present the results of a literature review and an expert interview study that take this perspective into account.

The interview study was initiated by the literature review of media literacy education in initial teacher education in Germany, the USA, and Turkey. This process served to identify common characteristics and differences in the three educational systems. On this basis, a comparative expert interview study was designed. The interview guideline was developed deductively based on the results from the literature review (Krueger & Casey, 2015) as an adaption of the guideline developed by [author]. The guideline includes questions on • The role of the participants regarding the facilitation of preservice teachers’ competencies in media literacy education; • The focus of media literacy education in initial teacher education in the three countries; • The ways in which media literacy education is integrated into initial teacher education in the three countries; and • A subjective assessment of the status of the advancement of preservice teachers’ competencies in media literacy education in the three countries. To initiate a dialogue between participants about the state of media literacy education in initial teacher education in their countries, the interviews were planned as groups with one expert from each of the three countries. This way, five interviews are being conducted with a total of 15 experts. The experts were recruited with regards to the criteria of 1) expertise in the fields of media literacy education and initial teacher education, based on own professional practice in this field and on relevant publications; 2) an affiliation to a German, US, or Turkish university, and 3) a sufficient command of English language skills. The five interviews are realized as online interviews using a video conferencing tool with a duration of 1 hour each. They are being recorded and transcribed for subsequent analysis. The qualitative content analysis of the transcripts builds on a deductive development of coding categories (Mayring, 2014); in addition, further codes are defined inductively during the process to capture the full input. The main categories for the analysis refer to • Models, frameworks, and guidelines; • Goals, content, and pedagogy; • Integration into initial teacher education; • Subjective assessments. The interviews are coded by a qualified educational researcher and reviewed by the international project team to achieve a high validity of codings.

The interviews will be completed in February 2022. The first findings show that all three countries share certain challenges. Even though the need for media literacy education is evident both in related literature and in the experts’ statements, it appears that the overall status of advancing the respective competencies, skills and abilities in initial teacher education is rather not considered adequate to prepare preservice teachers for their future responsibilities in any of the three countries. Approaches build on different frameworks, often of national origin, and are characterized by a voluntary status in many cases. In this context, the educational system of the three countries, decentralized in Germany and the USA and centralized in Turkey, has a significant impact on the contents and focus of initial teacher education. The experts’ assessments of current practices in their countries are mixed but overall appear to mirror the need for further development and focused activities in their countries to ensure an appropriate education of future teachers in the field of media literacy education. From the comparative findings of this study, conclusions on current practices and potential future developments will be drawn. Thus, the results contribute to the systematic advancement of research, practice and policy development of media literacy education in initial teacher education on a national and international level. Ultimately, we hope that the research will facilitate an exchange between countries and contribute to enhancing mutual understanding.

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