History of media education

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The history of media education deals with the origins and development of educational research and practice in connection with media .

The focus is on the emergence of media education currents over time. However, with the emergence of new currents, previous directions do not disappear. Rather, what can be observed is an expansion of positions. There is still a conservation pedagogical trend in media education, even if this direction is only rarely represented.

prehistory

In some approaches, the emergence of the written language is seen as the beginning of discussions that, from today's perspective, fall into the field of media education. The myth of Theut reported by Plato is often mentioned in this context . Comenius' discussion of the theory and practice of printing is occasionally treated as the beginning of media didactics. The spread of the telegraph is discussed in the context of changes in human education. If a broader media term is used (such as in the approaches of the Toronto School according to Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan ), studies on steamships , the railroad or jet planes should also be seen in this context. In this understanding, media are not only understood as intermediaries for audiovisual communication, but basically all technical innovations.

Preservation Education

An important impetus for the first media pedagogical debates was the spread of the film medium at the beginning of the 20th century and the establishment of around 480 cinemas in Germany around 1910. This was also the time of the cinema reformers, a reform pedagogical movement that began at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century 20th century emerged and its representatives devoted themselves to the critical examination of the medium of film. Films of high quality and educational quality were promoted and the protection of adolescents from negative media influences was insisted on. The pedagogical approaches at this time can be defined as conservation pedagogy, i.e. H. The aim of educational action (here: with the medium of film) was primarily to protect against assumed dangers. In the 1920s, in addition to the Reichslichtspielgesetz (a forerunner of today's youth media protection ), the school film movement was mobilized, which advocated the use of films for school educational purposes.

Propagandist-indoctrinal media education

During the National Socialist dictatorship (1933–1945) the media were misused as a means of indoctrination and propaganda , thus relativizing the media educational efforts of previous years. Media education in the Third Reich was geared towards the interests of the party and the state. During this period, a total ideological commissioning and functionalization of mass and educational media can be established. The recipients were reduced to the function of recipients and the sole purpose of this pedagogy was to support the National Socialist tyranny under the guise of media propaganda disguised as entertainment and popular education.

Nevertheless, even during the National Socialist era, there were committed educators who turned their attention to the recipients and distanced themselves from ideological instrumentalization. In this context , the reform pedagogue Adolf Reichwein (1889-1944) should be mentioned, who designed the so-called “critical vision education”. The core of this education was the critical reception and reflection of reality, which should enable people (especially children) to act competently and to make them “think for themselves”. He thus clearly distanced himself from the manipulation strategy of the National Socialist rulers and laid an important foundation for the later critical-reflexive media education.

Self-preservation and media education

From 1960 the critical theory of the Frankfurt School shaped the media pedagogical approaches, the core of which was the criticism of the manipulative culture industry . The potential dangers were no longer determined by ethical and moral standards, but by political or socially critical categories. Similar to conservation-pedagogical approaches, the role of the recipient is predominantly understood as passive. From the point of view of critical theory, entertainment formats in particular were the object of criticism, as they were ascribed manipulative intent with the aim of maintaining social power relations.

Critical-reflexive media education

In 1945 the pedagogical approaches of the 1920s were taken up, but in 1950/1960 the focus was on the spreading media offerings of the victorious USA in Germany.

With the founding of the GDR , the media in East Germany were very heavily instrumentalized for political and ideological purposes. The focus was on a “conscious use of the media” in which the primary aim was to critically deal with Western media offers. The media were included in the education, but in a propagandistic sense in order to spread the ideals of so-called “ real socialism ”.

A paradigm shift in media education can be observed in 1970/1980. The theory of " symbolic interactionism " was programmatic during these years. The idea of ​​the recipient developed from a passive object and victim of media effects to an actively acting subject who deals productively with media. The focus of action-oriented media education is not the media, but rather the individuals in their social context and the further development of their competence to help shape everyday media life through authentic, competent action that makes the media serviceable.

Reflexive-practical media education

In 1980, media education tries to develop its own position in relation to media and social developments, because even then it was confronted with sensational media reporting, violence and the topic of advertising.

In 1984 the Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK) was founded in order to bundle media education activists and activities and create a greater public and assertiveness. In 1994, Stefan Aufenanger and Dieter Baacke initiated a media pedagogical working group in the German Society for Educational Science (DGfE) from which the Environmental and Media Pedagogy Commission emerged first and the Media Pedagogy Section in 2010.

In the 1990s, the concept of media literacy played a major role in media education. The rapid development of the new media raised the question of key qualifications for the proclaimed media society for many educators , which led to the fact that the concept of media competence according to Dieter Baacke was further modified in many contributions and attempts were made to adapt to new developments. At this time, media education also dealt with the subjective worlds of experience and perception of children and young people.

To date, media education has established itself as a scientific (sub) discipline in Germany. a. at university chairs and courses. Measured against the challenge of embedding media education in all educational fields of action in a broad and sustainable manner, further considerable efforts are necessary. The “Media Pedagogical Manifesto” (2009) and the “No education without media!” Initiative (KBoM) developed appropriate proposals for this, in particular a “basic media training for all educational professionals”.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Basic concepts of media didactics. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  2. ^ Christian Swertz: Medium and media theories . In: Handbuch der Erziehungswissenschaft . tape III / 2 . Schöningh, Paderborn, Munich, Vienna, Zurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-506-76550-5 , pp. 751–780 , 18 , urn : nbn: de: 0111-opus-73467 (quoted from the Open Access edition on pedocs).
  3. ↑ Knut Hickethier: On the tradition of school occupation with mass media. An outline of the history of German media education . In: Reent Schwarz (Hrsg.): Manipulation through mass media - education through school? An inventory . Metzler, Stuttgart 1974, p. 21-52 .
  4. ^ Daniel Suess, Claudia Lampert, Christine W. Wijnen: Medienpädagogik. An introductory study book . 2nd edition Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2013.
  5. ^ Hoffmann: Preservation Education . In: Uwe Sander, Friederike von Gross, Kai-Uwe Hugger (eds.): Handbook of media education . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2008, p. 42-50 .
  6. ↑ Bernd Podehl: Media Education in the Nazi Era . In: Uwe Sander, Friederike von Gross, Kai-Uwe Hugger (eds.): Handbook of media education . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2008, p. 22-31 .
  7. ↑ Ulrich Amlung, Peter Meyer: We want to become a 'nation of self-thinkers' - On Adolf Reichwein's media education . In: Uwe Sander, Friederike von Gross, Kai-Uwe Hugger (eds.): Handbook of media education . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2008, p. 32-41 .
  8. ↑ Christian Schicha: Critical Media Theory . In: Uwe Sander, Friederike von Gross, Kai-Uwe Hugger (eds.): Handbook of media education . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2008, p. 185-191 .
  9. ^ Daniel Suess, Claudia Lampert, Christine Wijnen: Media Pedagogy: A Study Book for Introduction . 2., revised. u. act. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2013, ISBN 978-3-531-19045-7 , pp. 66 ff .
  10. ↑ DGFE: About section. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Media education courses and further education. Accessed October 1, 2019 (German).
  12. ↑ kbom: Home. In: No education without media! Accessed October 1, 2019 (German).