As the global village continues to be wired up electronically, and as individuals move their daily lives online, mass media plays a tremendous and increasing role in the society (Clay, 2003). Copps (2006) stated that in a culture where media is pervasive and invasive, kids need to think critically about they see, hear and read. Livingstone and Bovill (1999) define media literacy as reaching the original source of information, and ability to understand the power, limitations, and shape of the content presented in the media. The European Commission defines media literacy as the ability to access the media, to understand and to critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media contents and to create communications in a variety of contexts. School-based initiatives play a vital role in the process of media literacy education (Hobb, 2004; Tanriverdi, 2008). Scheibe & Rogow (2008) pointed out that routine integration is much more effective than simply treating media literacy as an isolated topic and may better meet the needs of teachers who are already at capacity with the demands of a full curriculum. At the same time, one challenge for educators is to incorporate media literacy programs as an integral part of education (Wakefild, 2009). Therefore, how to integrate media literacy education into curriculum is of uttermost importance in school education. Despite the growing recognition of media literacy education as a field of study, few researchers have focused on its implementation (Stein & Prewerr, 2009), especially on how to integrate media literacy education into curriculum. Therefore, this article presents a systematic qualitative review of curriculum integration of media literacy education. The focus of this literature review is on the European context, as the main European countries are the pioneering countries in media literacy education. But relevant documents from other contexts such as the United States, China and Turkey are also reviewed, as the China Web savvy population is the second in the world after the United State (Internet World Stat, 2007), and the emerging and development of MLE in Turkey is also noteworthy.

The structures for the implementation of Media Literacy Education (MLE) in schools differ from one country to another in the different EU member states (Koller, Haider & Dall, 2005). The status of MLE in different countries is diverse and it is difficult to find a standard model or best practices about how MLE should be integrated in the school curriculum. As to the objectives of MLE, there is also no consistent policies among European countries, neither is there any congruence among the non-European countries. This literature review aims to understand how media literacy education is integrated in the curriculum in primary and secondary education and what are the objectives of MLE. Since there is a lack of consistent views and a lack of comprehensive review on the issue of the integration of MLE in school curriculum, this research is conducted to fill in this gap.

Bektas, M. C. (2009). Media Literacy Course in Faculties of Communication in TRNC. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. 1, 446-449 Clay,R. (2003). Unraveling New Media’s Effects on Children. Monitor on Psychology. 34(2). February. Hobb, R. (2004). A Review of School-Based Initiatives in Media Literacy Education. American Behavioral Scientist 48, 42-59 Koller, M., Haider, A., Dall, E. (2005). Case Studies of Conditions and Success Criteria in Media Literacy Education. Retrieved Jan.29, 2011from http://ecml.pc.unicatt.it/download/results/Case%20Studies_en.pdf Oguzhan, O. & Haydari, N. (2011).The state of media literacy in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 15, 2827–2831 Rantala, L. (2011). Finnish Media Literacy Education Policies and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education and Care Since 2004. The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Journal of Media Literacy Education 3(2), 123 – 133 Scheibe & Rogow (2008). Basic Ways to Integrate Media Literacy and Critical Thinking into Any Curriculum. Ithaca College. Stein & Prewerr. ( 2009). Media Literacy Education in the Social Studies: Teacher Perceptions and Curriculum Challenges. Teacher Education Quarterly. Winter: 131-148 Sperry, C. (2010). The Epistemological Equation: Integrating Media Analysis into the Core Curriculum. The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Journal of Media Literacy Education 1(2), 89-98 Stuckey, H. & Kring, K. (2007). Critical Media Literacy and Popular Film: Experiences of Teaching and Learning in a Graduate Class. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. 115, 25-33 Tanriverdi, B. & Apark, O. (2010). Analysis of Primary School Curriculum of Turkey, Finland, and Ireland in Terms of Media Literacy Education. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 10 (2), 1187-1213 Torres, M. & Mercado, M. (2006) The Need for Critical Media Literacy In Teacher Education Core Curricula. Educational Studies. 39, 260-282 Wan,G. F. & Gut, D. M. (2008).Media Use by Chinese and U.S. Secondary Students: Implications for Media Literacy Education. Theory Into Practice, 47, 178–185