Comparative Study On Media Literacy Of Urban And Rural Primary School Students In Northern Anhui Province

Since people are surrounded by media in a media society, Media Literacy hasbecome one of the necessary qualifications of citizens in the21stcentury. MassMedia has become an important way to obtain information as well as a vital sourcefor the juveniles to foster world outlook and views on values. More and morecountries have been taking Media Literacy as the basic requirement of people’scompetence in the Information Age. Primary school students are the builders andsuccessors of China in the future, therefore, what media they contact and the level oftheir media literacy are of great significance to the future of our country. The studyon the Media Literacy of the juveniles has become a global hot topic.The study on Media Literacy in our country started later than that in othercountries. The theoretical research was emphasized while practices were ignored inthis field, and the research perspectives are not broad enough--the primary studentsare ignored. The research in our country should not stay in the stage of interpretingthe foreign research results, but carry out the localization of the Media Literacyeducation according to the condition of our country, drawing on the experience ofthat in western countries.Based on the above research background and case studies which include thesurvey of600urban and rural primary students in Bengbu City and its three countiesas well as the conversations with some teachers and parents, this thesis introducesthe state of Media Literacy of the urban and rural primary school students inNorthern Anhui, analyzes the courses of the lack of Media Literacy in primaryschools, and puts forward some measures that may improve the Media Literacy ofthe primary school students from the layers of government, society, school, familyand media. The innovative part of this thesis lies in the compare of the states ofMedia Literacy between urban primary students and the rural ones, and proposes thestrategies of narrowing the gap of Media Literacy between them.The thesis consists of seven parts. Part One is an introduction, in which the research on Media Literacy at home and abroad, as well as the Media Literacy studyon children, are introduced. Part Two illustrates the significance of the study fromthree aspects, namely the function of Media Literacy in the construction of a civilsociety, the function of Media Literacy in the socialization of children, and thefunction of Media Literacy in the process of rural modernization. In Part Three, theinvestigation methods are introduced. Part Four presents the current situation of theMedia Literacy of urban primary students and the rural ones in northern Anhuiprovince based on investigation and analysis. Part Five points out the commonnessand differences of the urban and rural primary school students in the Media Literacyand its causes. Part Six proposes the ways to deal with the previous differences. PartSeven is a conclusion—the result of the study is concluded, the innovative part isemphasized and the limitation of the study is pointed out.