Australia Council New Media Arts Scoping Study

This study has made a number of recommendations about the media as an aspect of the Arts in Australia society. Of particular interest for media educators is one of its key recommendations:

Importance of media literacy as part of the Australia Council’s Arts and Education Strategy:

Media literacy and the Arts & Education Strategy

1.8. That media literacy is promoted as a key element of the Australia Council’s
Arts & Education Strategy, and that the Australia Council initiate partnerships
with other key stakeholder agencies to further research the development of a
proposal for a national review of media literacy education in schools that
establishes the status and quality of teaching in this area. Further research
would build upon the findings of the National Review of Education in Visual
Arts, Crafts, Design and Visual Communication.

It will be very interesting to see if this translates into some sort of recommendation or strategy to support, or at least legitimise, media education especially in schools. Of course there is a long history of recommendations being made in favour of media literacy, only for them to gather dust on book shelves.

It would be nice to see this acknowledgment backed up with some action.

http://www.ozco.gov.au/news_and_hot_topics/news/new_media_scopstudy_report/