ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an argument for media education in the home, supervised by parents and caregivers. It explores the concept of media literacy by determining how it has been defined by advocates, educators, and researchers; to assess its potential as a stimulant for further theory and research; and to present preliminary results of a project designed to initiate media education in the home. Much less developed is the latter view of media literacy: improving the skills of viewers in extracting more from the content than they typically do. An additional dimension that has not been addressed in the media literacy literature is the set of skills involved in applying prior knowledge to the content of a film or TV program, and the related skill of applying the fruits of media literacy to world problems. Other areas where arguments for effective intervention have been advanced include gender and ethnic stereotyping.
