ABSTRACT
The importance of media education for education for citizenship lies in the extent to which such representations are themselves formative rather than simply reflective. The individual who needs to acquire and understand 'essential information' with respect to citizenship also needs to understand how all such information is mediated. Additionally, in order to participate – to act on the basis of this 'essential information' – all citizens require a level of proficiency in communication which includes familiarity with a range of media. For Leavis, of course, it was the training in 'taste' and 'sensibility' offered by a 'literary education' that might enable the citizen to resist the 'multitudinous counterinfluences' of films, newspapers and advertising. If all pupils are to benefit fully from education for citizenship throughout their schooling, the contribution of media education is indispensable. For the majority of pupils, we are left with the limited inscription of media education within English.
