Page 314 - Media&Information Literacy - Good Practices

Project: 2021-1-PT01-KA210-SCH-000031494

“Combatting Media&Information Illiteracy to Raise Good

Citizens”

A Compendium of Good Media and Information literacy Practices.

Good Media and Information Practices - PORTUGAL

In today’s society, Media and Information illiteracy among teenagers is a

concerning problem, since they are exposed to a vast quantity of information on

different media platforms. The fact is that they often lack the skills to evaluate critically

the information that is being conveyed. Therefore, it is of an utmost importance that
governments, schools, teachers and parents take action in empowering the young

generation with these skills, which will help them make informed decisions as they

develop a healthy scepticism towards media messages and information.
In the last 20 years, several good practices have been developed in Portugal, not

only from the government’s initiative but also from private organizations and schools.

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Media literacy is being increasingly recognised as one of the key competences 21
century citizens must have; therefore, several efforts are being made in order to
promote media literacy amongst teenagers.

The Portuguese Ministry of Education implemented several strategies to give

students the necessary skills to be conscient Media consumers. So, in 2018, the Decree

Law 55/2018, defined that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) classes
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should be compulsory from the 2 cycle (Year 5 and 6) till the end of the 3 cycle (Year
9). In what concerns the younger students from Years 1, 2, 3 and 4, there is a cross-

curricular approach as the students don’t have a specific subject where they discuss and