In New Zealand, media teaching is in very good health and continues to
grow, both in secondary (high) schools and in the tertiary sector. It
has official recognition and support, in the secondary sector, through
the inclusion of Media Studies in the National Certificate of
Educational Achievement (NCEA), as well as the higher level of
Scholarship. It is visible, progressive and measurable, based around a
coherent body of knowledge—with a sharper edge and intent than the less
well-focused concept of media literacy.
Medialiteracy is now regarded by many policy makers as a core skill for citizenshipin the 21st
century but until its objectives are clarified andmethods of effective
learning and assessment are developed, the defaultposition for creating
a media literate population remains within formaleducation. The
strengths in suchteaching resides in a structured approach to learning,
whereby students bringtheir prior knowledge, to begin the process of
matching theory to practice, andindividual experience to larger social
and political contexts.
NCEAprovides the
framework for New Zealand secondary education, and in 2006 therewere
more than 45,000 enrolments in Media Studies. Media also persists as
amajor strand (Visual Language) in the national English curriculum.
Themajor achievements
have been this official recognition, whereby Media Studiessits
comfortably beside longer established subjects such as English
andHistory. Media Studies no longerhas to argue for its
rightful place in New Zealand schools. There has also beenstrong growth
in the tertiary sector, with a wide range of media-relatedteaching in
universities such as the University of Waikato, the University
ofAuckland and the New Zealand Broadcasting School.
Thelong-established National Association of Media Educators (NAME) continues totake a leading role in promoting the subject. From
its beginnings in the early 1980s, Media Studies hasbeen developed and
moderated by teachers, and continuously re-evaluated to meetstudent and
teacher interests, as well as taking account of technologicalchange. It
is media teachers who are best equipped to incorporate newtechnology
into the classroom, as well as providing students with the means
tocomprehend the social and cultural impact of newer means of
communication, suchas blogging and podcasting.
Thereare a few
problems; some universal, some particular to New Zealandcircumstances.
Teacher training institutions continue to neglect media
training(despite its strong growth in schools) but graduates from
tertiary courses arebeginning to make an impact. Access to
up-to-date resources is always a problem but this isimproving, through
resource-sharing, advisory services, NAME-sponsoredworkshops and
Ministry of Education-sponsored conferences and web-basedresources. New
Zealand-specific teaching resources are becoming more numerous.
There isalso a need
to extend co-operation between secondary and tertiary mediateaching,
and the wider community. The Broadcasting Standards Authority,
whichregulates television and radio, has made media literacy one of its
priorities.
Debate also continues about the pros andcons of a nationally-mandated curriculum/framework in secondary schools. In the meantime, in the absence of sucha NCEA framework, NCEA Media Studies provides a ‘proxy’ curriculum. Indeed,
such a clear method forassessing the outcomes of media teaching has
proven to be critical in thedevelopment of the subject, and its rapid
embrace of an ever-changing medialandscape. Indeed, one could arguethat assessment should come before curricula.
Acombination of factors is driving growth: the
official recognition of Media Studies in formal education; theemergence
of new, enthusiastic teachers, joining a sizeable body of
experiencedteachers; continuing demand for the subject from students;
the critical role ofNAME, in promoting the subject; new media forms to
teach about, with rapidshifts in technology.
In theearly years,
media teaching models from the United Kingdom, Australia andCanada
provided inspiration for New Zealand teachers. In more
recent years, there has been greater confidence indeveloping local (New
Zealand) models of teaching/assessment, and resources.There is also a
strong emphasis on studying New Zealand media, with a focus sharpened in the wakeof the global success of major films shot in New Zealand (The Lord of theRings trilogy, KingKong, The Adventures of Narnia),
as well as a vigorous localfilm and television industry. In respect of
national priorities, the screenindustry has become as important as New
Zealand’s two other staple industries(horticulture and forestry)
I wouldargue that New
Zealand media teaching offers inspiration for other countriesand
circumstances, most especially in providing a model of a
well-designed,national initiative that might well produce a
well-informed, media literatecitizenry.
Geoff Lealand
AssocProf Geoff Lealand
Screen and Media Studies
Universityof Waikato
NewZealand