"Policies and guidelines at different levels officially involve schools in promoting media education. In this regard, the responsibility for putting media education initiatives and guidelines into practice is mainly on the teachers. However, little is known about under what circumstances young peopl ... e tend to rely on teachers to develop media competencies and how the variance in teachers’ engagement in media education can be explained. The present work seeks to verify what factors are associated with students’ learning of media-related aspects from teachers and teachers’ efforts in developing students’ media-related competencies. The framework adopted in the empirical work consists of three main aspects. First, it refers to concepts of media pedagogy and educommunication to address teachers’ practices involving media. These practices correspond to the interplay of fostering students’ media competencies with using media use for instruction and mediating students’ media use. Second, it addresses the variety of media-related competencies prescribed in media and digital literacy guidelines. Finally, based on previous research in the field, the framework includes contextual and individual characteristics as influencing factors of media education practices. The first study approaches teachers’ role as media educators. This study explores the characteristics of students, schools, and countries that are associated with the incidence of learning computer and information competencies primarily from teachers. Therefore, data from 14 participant countries in the 2013 International Computer and Information Literacy Study were analyzed with a three-level regression model. The findings show that the most significant predictors are at the individual’s level, as gender, access to ICTs at home, parental socioeconomic conditions, and self-efficacy concerning ICT yield positive associations with recognizing teachers as primary digital mentors. The schools’ characteristics do not show significant associations. At the country level, ICT Development Index associates negatively and significantly with students’ relying on teachers to develop computer and information competencies. The second study focuses on content taught in media education at school, accounting for the comprehensiveness of topics and competencies that are part of media literacy frameworks. The goal is to identify aspects that favor and disfavor teachers’ practice of media education integrated into traditional school subjects. With linear regression analysis, models including teachers’ and schools’ characteristics are tested to predict the fostering of different areas of media competence and the mediation of opportunities and risks in students’ media use. Therefore, data collected from secondary teachers in the Thuringia State, Germany, in a project in which the author was involved were analyzed. The series of analyses conducted reflect the process of model development. Considering all models tested to predict teaching of different areas of media competence, the positive and strong associations with ICT use and perceived importance of the competence area are a constant. However, how teachers evaluate the ICT available at their school does not usually play a role. Moreover, it became clear that media education has less room in Gymnasium schools than in other school types, and most competence areas tend to be fostered in non-STEM subjects. The third study addresses the use of ICTs to foster students’ media-related competencies. The associations between teaching with and teaching about media in the data collected from teachers in Thuringia are tested through exploratory structural equation modeling. Therefore, the fostering of different media competence areas and the use of various types of ICT are considered. Moreover, their associations are tested, controlling for schools’ and teachers’ traits. The results show that teachers’ use of computer laboratories and basic computer programs with their students predicts all four competence areas positively and strongly. The use of mobile devices and online applications in class yield significant associations with fostering information competence. Conversely, using presentation and visualization ICTs does not seem to be involved in activities promoting media literacy. The effects of training, collaboration, and satisfaction with the school’s ICT observed in the regression analyses of the second study are confirmed. The findings presented can contribute to refining the discussions about media education in the academic, political, and educational spheres. To consolidate media education in schools, it is pertinent to consider teachers’ different practices involving media, the several dimensions of media literacy competences, and the variety of ICTs that may be used in classes. These dimensions should be integrated into teachers’ training so that they get solid preparation to practice media education and develop an awareness of the extent of their role as media educators." (Abstract) more

"Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are often considered crucial for teaching media and information literacy (MIL). However, there is a wide variety in educational media, and there are different competence areas in MIL. Thus, the idea that using any ICT can facilitate the fostering of ... different MIL areas equally seems oversimplified. This study investigates associations between three types of ICT use and four MIL competence areas. It analyzes data of 315 secondary teachers in Germany employing exploratory structural equation modeling. After controlling for teacher and school traits, the findings show that teachers who use the computer lab in their schools and basic computer applications tend to foster their students’ critical, safety, information, and operational competencies more often. Conversely, using ICTs that mainly serve presentation and visualization purposes has a negative or no association with fostering the four MIL areas. Finally, using mobile devices and online resources is positively associated with fostering students’ information competence. The analysis contributes to a more specific understanding of teachers’ practices with digital media. Possible implications are discussed for teachers’ practice and training as well as for research and policy." (Abstract) more