The NAMLE is excited to offer to educators, advocates and allies these Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States. In crafting them, the writers have built upon on previous scholarship in media literacy as well as communications, education, media and film studies, public health and psychology. We honor those who provided this rich intellectual heritage while also recognizing that much has changed in the decades since the term “media literacy” first came into use. In responding to those changes, this document shifts the focus of the discussion from what we believe to be true about media to what we believe to be true about how people learn to think critically. It expands the boundaries of the field to encompass not only what we teach but also how we teach, thereby distinguishing these as Core Principles of “media literacy education “rather than solely as key concepts of “media literacy.”
