Welcome to Part 4 of our series “Media literacy in Croatia: short analysis”! 

The concept of Media Literacy education is covered in Croatia, in two national curriculums – Croatian language curriculum as well as in Civic education curriculum for primary and high school formal education. 

The Croatian language curriculum is organised in three mutually interconnected subject areas: Croatian language and communication, literature and literacy, culture and media. 

Subject area of Croatian language and communication aims at:

• developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills which enable communication in Croatian standard language,
• developing communication with others in different contexts, in media and in many different situations, 
• learning communication strategies to understand and create texts based on prior knowledge,
• developing the ability to read with understanding, analyse and interpret texts,
• developing the competence to write texts of different styles
• Developing awareness of themselves as individuals which creates, respects and expresses their own linguistic identity, and simultaneously respects the identity of others within a specific linguistic and cultural community.

Subject area of culture and media is based on understanding of text in different social, cultural and intercultural contexts. This area encourages the development of self awareness as well as awareness of others, considering different beliefs and values, and active engagement in the community. 

Subject area of culture and media aims at: 

• developing critical relationship towards media messages, understanding the influence of media and their messages on society and individuals, as well as creating media messages and sending them in a responsible way;
• encouraging consciousness about uniqueness and value of different opinions, attitudes and ideas, societies and cultures to achieve more successful communication and understanding other and different ones

The subject area Use of information and communication technology comprises efficient, appropriate, timely, responsible and creative use of information and communication technologies in all subjects and levels of education which is close to children and youth, and easily accepted. It is considered as support which enriches and enables different learning experiences for independent, conscious, creative and responsible learning and achieving educational learning goals. Using the technology independently, or with the use of a teacher or a parent, children and youth decide where, how and when they learn, which contributes to the sense of responsibility, perceiving their own integrity and digital identity. 

Aims of teaching this topic in schools, allows opportunities to children, youth and teachers to: 

• apply information and communication technologies for educational, working and private needs
• use information and communication technologies in a responsible, moral and safe way
• communicate and collaborate efficiently in digital environment
• evaluate technology critically, choose it and use it appropriately
• manage information in digital environment
• create and edit new content, and express themselves creatively with the use of digital media

This subject area is therefore divided into four sub areas which overlap and build upon each other: 

1. Functional and responsible use of information communication technologies
2. Communication and cooperation in digital environment
3. Research and critical evaluation in digital environment
4. Creating and innovation in digital environments

Expected learning outcomes in each of the four areas include the following: 

1. In the domain of Functional and responsible use of information communication technologies, students:

• develop knowledge, skills and attitudes about the possibilities of information communication technologies as well as positive attitude towards technology as a tool for support in learning and creating
• develop skills to choose appropriate devices and programmes for achieving wanted results
• use digital content, social media, digital clouds, and digital knowledge resources in a responsible and safe way for further personal, educational and professional development 
• learn about basic principles of keeping their physical and mental health while using technology
• learn about safe and responsible use of technology in virtual world, as well as appropriate behaviour, timely reaction, and differentiate between acceptable and not acceptable behaviour
• participate actively and consciously in prevention of digital violence and hate speech, and they know whom to turn to if they are worried about inappropriate content and behaviour in digital environment
• understand the importance of digital identity and the influence of digital trance, they protect their identity and personal data as well as protect ownership and privacy of others

1. In the domain of Communication and cooperation in digital environment, students: 

• learn to use digital programmes for support different learning styles
• learn right and appropriate use and navigating through social media as well as in online learning environments, ethical behaviour, respecting human rights and responsible cooperation
• learn to use programmes and devices for cooperation and communication independently and safely taking into account the use of the standard language, articulate expression and understanding different communication situations
• discuss with arguments, collaborate and accept changes

1. In the domain of Research and critical evaluation in digital environment, students:

• learn to develop their information and media literacy in digital environments and develop critical thinking and problem solution skills
• learn knowledge, skills and attitudes which empower their integrity
• learn which information to search for, how and where to find them
• know how to evaluate critically their sources of information and then use them to solve a problem
• process information and include them in their knowledge and value system

1. In the domain of Creating and innovation in digital environments, students:

• Develop their creative spirit and innovative action
• Express their creativity and imagination in a free and open way while working with information and communication technologies
• Experiment with different programmes in their creation process
• Learn methods to develop own and group creativity which enables easier creation process of content in digital environments
• Develop their divergent and lateral thinking skills and find new ways to solve different tasks
• Discuss, reshape, analyse and evaluate their ideas and create content to fulfil their potential
• Develop and apply ideas and use them in new or existing situations
• Present, share and publish their work which contributes to navigating through further education, work, challenges and possibilities that come with new technologies 

WHAT CAN WE DO? 

If you are a parent, check with the Parents’ council if these topics mentioned above have been covered within the Curriculum to the satisfactory level. Check with your children (young people) did they cover these topics in their formal education. 

If you are a youth worker, these topics can be useful to create interventions with young people, so they can be a good starting point for conversations or workshops on information and understanding the media. The outcomes of the Curriculum can guide your efforts in this field. Also, you can connect with schools in your local area to implement workshops with pupils on these topics.

INTERESTED IN PREVIOUS ARTICLES?  

Part 1 dealing with Croatian laws can be found HERE. 

Part 2 dealing with ethical codes can be found HERE.  

Part 3 dealing with the National Youth Programme can be found HERE.