Media Education in Ukrainian Schools. Analitycal report. English translation. 2016

Implementation of media
education and media literacy
courses in secondary schools in
Ukraine
Analytical Report on the Results of Complex Study
conducted during 2014-2016,
commissioned by Ukrainian Media Project (U-Media
Program) implemented by Internews Network
Kyiv
June 2016

p.2
Contents
SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................................8
SECTION 1. MEDIA EDUCATION IN OIPES.........................................................................12
1.1. Organization of Training on Media Education in OIPEs...........................................................................12
1.1.1. Training of coordinators .......................................................................................................................12
1.1.2. Formats of teaching media education in OIPEs................................................................................13
1.1.3. Training programs .....................................................................................................................................13
1.1.4. Media education course participants in OIPEs.......................................................................................13
1.1.5. Topics taught..............................................................................................................................................14
1.1.6. Creative groups..........................................................................................................................................15
1.1.7. Collecting information on teaching media education in secondary schools ......................................15
SECTION 2. MEDIA EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (ZOSH – MIDDLE
SCHOOLS OF GENERAL EDUCATION)....................................................................................17
2. 1. Status of Media Education Implementation in Secondary Schools.......................................................17
2.1.1. Tendencies and changes ..........................................................................................................................17
2.1.2. Transformations.........................................................................................................................................17
2.2. Organization of Media Education Process in Secondary Schools ...........................................................18
2.2.1. Participation in the Experiment................................................................................................................18
 Expert Opinion: Motivation to encourage participants to take part in the experiment and its further
development ..........................................................................................................................................................20
2.2.2. Forms of ME/ML implementation.............................................................................................................21
 Expert Opinion: Specifics of Teaching........................................................................................................23
2.2.3. Course name and topics taught...............................................................................................................24
2.2.4. Textbooks....................................................................................................................................................25
2.2.5. Pupils’ skills and abilities...........................................................................................................................26
 Expert Opinion: Pupils’ interest...................................................................................................................27
2.2.6. Parent involvement in media education .................................................................................................28
2.3. Personal Experience of Teachers ................................................................................................................29
2.3.1. Teaching/Learning process.......................................................................................................................29
2.3.2. ME teaching experience............................................................................................................................30
2.3.3. The use of the AUP resources..................................................................................................................31
2.3.4. Major problems associated with media education in secondary schools...........................................32
 Expert Opinion: Barriers to implementation of media education and ways to overcome them ........34
2.3.5. Assessment of the status of ME implementation in Ukraine ...............................................................35
2.3.6. Assistance needed to further implement media education..................................................................36
 Expert Opinion: Prospects for further media education development ..................................................37
SECTION 3. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS WITH SECONDARY SCHOOL
STUDENTS IN DIFFERENT GRADES, WHO ATTEND MEDIA EDUCATION
COURSE..................................................................................................................................................39
3.1. Perception of Terms and Concepts Taught during Media Education Course .......................................40
3.2. Pupils’ Understanding of the Goal and Objectives of Media Education Course....................................42
3.3. Media Education Experience........................................................................................................................43
3.4. Understanding Benefits of ME/ML ..............................................................................................................46
3.5. Interest in Spreading Information about Media Education .....................................................................47

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RESEARCH GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The goal of the research, conducted in two waves in 2015 and 2016, is to assess the
effectiveness and to study the experience of media education implementation in secondary
schools (ZoSh) in different regions of Ukraine. The main purpose of the 2016 study was to
record changes in media education teaching during 2015-1016 school year.
Research Objectives:
 to inspect methods and means of media education implementation;
 to study available and needed resources;
 to register and evaluate new developments and changes in media education/media
literacy (ME/ML) implementation process;
 to determine and analyze difficulties faced by secondary school personnel when teaching
media education course;
 to analyze the effectiveness of the existing methods of media literacy teaching.
Research Design:
 Telephone survey of coordinators working in Regional Institutes of Postgraduate
Pedagogical Education (OIPE) and guiding the ME implementation process in their
oblasts.
 Telephone survey of ME course teachers in secondary schools, N=100 (2015) and
N=133 (2016).
 In-depth interviews with school administrative personnel (principals, assistant
principals), N=6 (2015) and N=8 (2016).
 Focus Group discussions with pupils from different classes, who study ME course, N=6
(2015) and N=8 (2016).
Research Methodology at the Quantitative Stage
In order to study the effectiveness and quality of implementation of the experiment on media
education/media literacy (ME/ML) introduction in secondary schools (ZOSh), as well as the
specifics of media education course organization, two telephone surveys were conducted at the
first quantitative stage of the research: the survey of coordinators of the Regional Institutes of
Postgraduate Pedagogical Education (OIPEs) and the survey of teachers who personally teach
ME course in secondary schools (90 teachers in 2015-2016).
Special bilingual questionnaire (in Ukrainian and Russian), consisting of two parts ("Personal
experience of being a course participant/learner" and "Organization of ME/ML courses in
secondary school"), was particularly developed for conducting surveys of secondary school
teachers. The questionnaire remained almost unchanged, if compared with the one of 2015.
Only some questions on changes and needs of teachers were added to the previous 26
questions. The questionnaire was designed to conduct a 10-15 minute interview (see. Annex 1).

p.4
Survey Database Creation
Since the surveys were conducted among both OIPE coordinators and secondary school
teachers, survey databases were created as follows:
 The AUP provided the Database of OIPE coordinators, who run and steer the process of
media education implementation in their oblasts. It includes 17 coordinators (two being
residents of the same oblast).
 The Database of teachers includes the teachers, who are involved in ME/ML
implementation in secondary schools and who attended the ML courses in the Academy of
Ukrainian Press (AUP) and OIPE. Respondent database consists of: (1) the participants of
the AUP’s summer and winter media literacy school; (2) the list of schools that take part in
the experiment on media culture implementation, developed and managed by the Institute
of Social and Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine; (3) participants of conferences and
other events dedicated to ME/ML implementation; (4) contacts of teachers, which are
provided by regional coordinators of the experiment; (5) contacts of teachers, provided by
school principals who encourage ME/ML implementation; (6) contacts of teachers, provided
by their colleagues.
In 2016, the initial list of respondents consisted of 165 contacts, but the number of respondents
decreased to 128 persons after the first contact made (see. Annex 2). Teachers’ contacts
database has been noticeably updated: in certain schools, some teachers, who initially taught
the course, had various reasons to pass it on to their colleagues (there were 13 such cases
reported). In other schools, media education courses were cancelled due to lack of new trained
ME teachers. Some schools that participated in the experiment stopped ME implementation and
ME/ML courses, while the other schools handled the situation in quite an opposite manner:
there are the enthusiasts who plan to or already implement media education in schools on their
own.
Respondents’ Profile
Coordinators
The interviewed coordinators are the members of staff at Regional Institutes of Postgraduate
Pedagogical Education (OIPEs) in Vinnytsia, Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia,
Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy,
Chernihiv and Chernivtsi oblasts. In most cases, the respondents occupy the position of senior
lecturer/lecturer.

p.5
Diagram 1. Position held by coordinators at OIPE
Q.1. What is your position at OIPE? (N=20, 2014 and N=16, 2016)
10
4
0
0
3
2
8
1
3
1
2
2
Senior
Lecturer/Lecturer/Teaching
Assistant
Assistant
Professor/Professor
Head of Department
(Chairholder)
Head of educational-
methodical office
Head/Coordinator of …
Center
Vice-rector (Prorector)
2016
2015
It is to be noted that the experiment is not carried out in secondary schools in two oblasts,
while the course is taught in OIPEs there.
Teachers
The surveyed secondary school teachers live and work in the southern (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia
and Mykolaiv oblasts), central (Kyiv, Cherkasy and Poltava oblasts), northern (Chernihiv and
Sumy oblasts), eastern (Kharkiv, Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) and
western (Lviv oblast) regions of Ukraine.
The questionnaire containes two questions about ME teaching in secondary schools: the first
one asking whether ME/ML is being taught in school at all. The research findings show that ME
course is not being taught in 30 schools out of 128 participating in the survey. The main reason
for such a phenomenon, as reported by 59% of respondents, is the same as in 2015 – the lack
of academic hours. 17% of interviewees stated that schools lack trained teachers as well.
The second question is aimed at finding out whether the teacher has personal experience of
teaching this particular course. As to relevant experience of most teachers, 13 respondents
reported having various reasons for not teaching the course but provided contacts of their
colleagues, who were also asked to complete the survey. As a result, the 2016 database, similar
to the 2015 one, consists of 90 teachers who personally teach the course.

p.6
Diagram 2. Positions held by teachers in secondary schools
Q. 6. What position do you hold at your school? N=90 (2015) and N=90 (2016)
16
14
13
14
9
12
14
29
10
17
18
6
Computer science/ math teacher
Literature and language teacher
History/social sciences teacher
Director (depute director)
Other (write down)
Psychologist, social teacher, teacher-
organizer
2016
2015
The survey demonstrates that teachers specializing in different scientific fields teach the ME/ML
courses in schools – teachers of humanities, as well as of exact and natural sciences.
Comparison of research findings obtained in 2015 and 2016 makes it clear that the numbers of
teachers of diverse specialties are almost identical. Nevertheless, teachers of humanities usually
constitute the larger group – those are mostly teachers of literature/languages, whose number
has significantly increased since the beginning of 2016 (by 15 persons), and teachers of
history/social sciences (their total share was estimated to 29% in 2015, but increased to 42% in
2016).
With the regard to gender distribution, the respondents were predominantly women. As in
2015, their share equaled to 84% of all the interviewed teachers, which generally reflects
gender distribution of the Ukrainian teachers community.
Diagram 3. Gender distribution of the respondents
84%
16%
Women
Men
N=128

p.7
Research Methodology at the Qualitative Stage
The team developed special scenarios, taking into account many peculiarities of the target
groups of the qualitative research stage (see. Annexes 3-4), in order to conduct relevant focus
group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI) at the second research phase.
Schools for FGDs were selected using the following criteria:
 Regional reach. The survey included schools in Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Mykolaiv, Kyiv,
Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv and Lviv oblasts.
 Inclusion of schools with various formats of teaching media education, in particular:
compulsory lessons, media education integrated in teaching other subjects, afterschool
clubs or elective courses, Cinema clubs.
 Recommendations provided by the OIPE coordinators and the AUP experts.
 The survey findings demonstrating changes in schools that took place during 2015-1016
school year.
In accordance with the research design, eight in-depth interviews (IDI) were conducted with
school administration representatives and teachers of this particular course. The interviews
were held in schools in Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Mykolaiv and Poltava, as well as in certain
cities of Kyiv (Khotiv), Lviv (Novoiavorivsk), Mykolaiv (Pohorilovo), Chernihiv (Kozelets) and
Cherkasy (Smila) oblasts.
Structure of the Report
The Report consists of Conclusions and three Sections, which represent: (1) comparative
quantitative data from the survey of OIPE coordinators in 2014 and 2016, respectively; (2)
comparative quantitative data from the survey of secondary school teachers in 2015 and 2016,
which are supported by qualitative data – the information obtained from the experts – ME
teachers and secondary school administration personnel – in 2016; (3) analysis of focus group
discussions (FGD), conducted among pupils attending ME courses in their schools.

p.8
SUMMARY
 Media education (ME) implementation in secondary schools throughout Ukraine is a gradual
but dynamic process, although the dynamics is not that evident. It is expected that in the
near future - in two or three years – the dynamics of the process will become more
noticeable. The study demonstrates that media education teachers have acquired new
experience, have considerably improved teaching techniques and developed new ideas
related to elaboration of practical assignments for pupils, as well as to ways of encouraging
and engaging the widest possible audience in studying the subject. The most specific
accomplishments of the last year include successful integration of media education in
different school subjects, inclusion of the elements of media literacy course in the
educational process, spread of media education teaching for different age audiences –
starting with junior school and up to the seniors. Media literacy teachers are open to new
ideas, exchange of experiences and practical achievements, and consider media education
course to be one of the hallmarks of modern Ukrainian school system.
 In view of the ME teaching during the last year, 79% of the interviewed teachers noticed
enhancement of media education implementation in three main areas: increase in the
number of ME/ML teachers in schools (15%), ME integration in other social subjects (10%),
pupils’ participation and victories in ME competitions/festivals (10%); 9% of respondents
expressed their ideas about ME teaching in senior classes, introduction of ME training for
parents, teachers participation in international exchange programs/competitions/training.
21% of teachers did not observe any significant changes in media education teaching
during the 2015-2016 academic year.
 Assessing the level of ME implementation in secondary schools using a 10-point scale, the
majority of the surveyed teachers – 25 people – assigned “5” points to this category. They
explained their choice mainly by the fact that “there is still too much to do”. All other
teachers preferred high scores: form 7 to 10 points.
Media Education in Secondary Schools (ZOSh)
 Media education has achieved sustainable development in the past five years. At present,
we can distinguish a group of leading schools where teaching staff developed own
educational programs and introduced media education course thanks to combination of the
enthusiasm of teachers/school administration and the ongoing assistance/support from the
Academy of Ukrainian Press, which runs trainings for ME teachers, develops educational
materials and textbooks and provides opportunities for exchange of acquired experience.
 Media education course is taught under various names (“Media Culture”, “Media Literacy”,
“Media Education”) and in diverse teaching formats in schools in 14 oblasts of Ukraine
(according to coordinators’ estimations, there are more than 300 schools of the kind). Media
education course has already been taught for 4 or more years in 50% of schools
participating in the survey.
 The experiment on media education course teaching, entitled “Media Culture” and initiated
by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Pedagogical
Sciences, was implemented in 10 oblasts of Ukraine and completed in 2016. ME course has
never been taught in 30 secondary schools out of 128 included in the survey. The main
reason for such phenomenon, as explained by 59% of teachers from these schools, is the
lack of academic hours. 17% of respondents indicated the insufficient number of qualified
teachers. The success and effectiveness of media education implementation depend on the
level of teachers training, their abilities to continuing education and acquiring new

p.9
knowledge, as well as proactive position and motivation of school management who allocate
academic hours for teaching media education. ME is successfully implemented in schools
where teachers make efforts to integrate ME in teaching of as many school subjects as
possible and engage the entire teaching staff in media education course introduction. In the
context of effective cooperation, all obstacles and barriers are overcome: academic hours
are allocated to add media education course in the curricula, additional funding is found and
money is spent on improvement of the material and technical base, including engagement
of pupils’ parents.
 The schools, where the interviewed teachers work, joined the experiment at its different
stages, and, therefore, they demonstrate diverse levels of media education development.
For the purpose of the study, the schools participating in the survey can be roughly divided
into the following groups:
a. The first group includes schools that joined media education implementation in
2014-2015 academic year, they are now at the stage of adaptation of educational
programs, search for opportunities to use the acquired knowledge in practice, and
relatively low level of media education integration in other school subjects. Pupils
from these schools demonstrate critical thinking skills, but at the same time, they do
not show high interest and engagement in the subject.
b. The second group incorporates schools with 2-4 years of media education teaching
experience. Both school administration and regional coordinators in OIPEs support
these schools. However, due to the rotation of ME teachers, the teaching staff of
these schools need opportunities to share experience and require assistance in
introducing new methods and practices, as well as integrating the course in different
school subjects.
c. The schools in the third group already have at least a five-year history of teaching
media education. Teachers from these schools have developed their own training
programs, they use numerous ways of ME integration not only in teaching other
school subjects, but also in awareness-rising work with children (annual thematic
festivals in Dnipropetrovsk) and parents (open lectures on media hygiene for parents
in Mykolaiv and Pohorilovo). In the near future, these schools may not only be an
example for other educational institutions, but also a platform for new teachers
training and further development of media education implementation in Ukraine.
 The different levels of ME teaching in schools should be considered when organizing
trainings and master classes. It is also recommended to engage teachers with extensive
practical experience as coaches.
Teaching Formats
 During the last year, the number of schools where media education course is taught as a
compulsory lesson – one academic hour a week – has significantly decreased, at the same
time, the number of schools where compulsory lesson is integrated in teaching humanities
and natural sciences has increased. ME is also introduced into school curricula in the format
of optional afterschool class or as ME interest group/media club.
 Most schools tend to mix different formats of teaching to implement media education in the
curricula, which leads to further combination of theory and practice: teachers reinforce
theoretical knowledge of critical thinking development by enhancement of pupils’ practical
skills in media production field.
 Most experts and teachers insist on the application of both formats of media education
implementation – integration of media education in different school subjects and teaching
it as a separate school subject with its own system of control and assessment, which
should discipline secondary school students.

p.10
Textbooks and other Information Sources
 Secondary school students are not sufficiently supplied with media education textbooks.
Therefore, ME teachers prepare and use printed handouts and media presentations for each
lesson.
 Among all the textbooks and educational materials elaborated by the Institute of Social and
Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine and the Academy of Ukrainian Press, teachers
choose the materials that generate interest in pupils and are easily accessible. Then,
teachers look through the textbooks/educational programs and select topics that can be
presented in schools given the available technical equipment and qualifications of teachers.
 Textbooks are used selectively because some of them contain too much theory. Once again,
experts emphasize that special creative groups consisting of scientists and practicing
teachers, who are able to develop cases taking into account the pupils’ age, should be
organized to elaborate student textbooks of high quality.
Pupils’ Skills and Abilities
 Independent critical thinking development remains the priority of media education, which is
also emphasized by teachers. Meanwhile, there is an increase in the number of respondents
who chose the following answers to multiply choice question: “conscious perception of
information”, “development of protection skills” and “the ability to counter manipulation”.
The refocusing of ME teaching is associated with teachers’ response to current information
challenges. Teachers understand well the importance of helping pupils realize the scale of
information manipulation in the modern world and teaching them how to counter this
phenomenon.
Parent Involvement
 There was a greater tendency of parent engagement and involvement in media education
process over the past academic year. In fact, 68 out of 90 interviewed teachers apply
various forms of parent engagement: most common forms include teachers’ presentations
at teacher-parent meeting in class (49%) and at general meetings in schools (7%), as well
as pupils’ presentations for their parents at teacher-parent meeting (20%). ME course of
lectures for parents is applied as a short specialized course by 24% of the interviewed
teachers.
Factors that could Speed up Media Education Implementation
 The majority of the interviewed teachers (83 persons out of 90) and all 17 regional
coordinators believe that The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on
Compulsory Media Education Course in secondary schools could be the guarantee of
successful media education implementation in Ukraine. Such an order would open
opportunities for actual implementation of media education in all schools throughout
Ukraine: it would provide paid academic hours, extra funding for teachers, so that they
could elaborate high quality textbooks and other relevant materials and buy necessary
technical equipment.
 The second place was given to financial assistance for development of proper ME materials.
Such assistance can take the form of additional payment for elaboration of methodological
guidelines/textbooks that correlate with the actual needs of schools and practicing teachers,
or extra payment for afterschool work with interest groups or different inter-school
activities. Financial incentives also promote the increase in number of joint activities and

p.11
bring teachers together to organize creative groups, which should lead to a generalization of
the best experiences and practices and incorporate the results in new educational materials.
At the same time, experts and teachers admit that they lack experience in preparing
competitive grant applications and expect assistance in this area from the AUP and relevant
international organizations.
 Systematic professional development was listed as the third most influential factor for the
successful media education implementation. Regular exchanges of experience, seminars and
conferences for teachers, as well as opportunities to learn international experience of media
education introduction in school curricula would become an additional factor intensifying
media education implementation in Ukrainian schools and raising the professional
qualification of teachers.
Future Prospects
 We can define three major promising areas and future prospects of media education
development:
1) Organizational, that is the comprehensive administrative support of ME
implementation in the educational process through various formats (as a separate
school subject, a course integrated in other school subjects, course introduction in
junior classes), provided by the school management and the Ministry of Education.
2) Methodical, which consists in elaboration and distribution of relative educational
materials – textbooks, educational programs, student workbooks, methodological
works and interactive applications, multimedia material and practical cases for ME
teaching in secondary schools.
3) Communicative, which implies ensuring proper conditions and creating actual
opportunities for intensive experience exchange, training, professional
communication among teachers.

p.12
SECTION 1. Media Education in OIPEs
1.1. Organization of Training on Media Education in OIPEs
1.1.1.Training of coordinators
To implement media education in the system of secondary schools in Ukraine, the coordinators
and leaders of the Academy of Ukrainian Press found the most powerful and, as the experience
has shown, the most sustainable approach to training secondary school teachers to teach media
education.
The first stage consisted of training for OIPE lectures, who later became a source of
information, as well as media education trainers and coordinators in their regions. As evidenced
by data from the 2016 survey, they update their knowledge on the regular basis – 8
coordinators out of 17 surveyed retook the course in the AUP’s summer (winter) schools during
the 2015-2016 school year, three respondents participated in international conferences and
exchanged knowledge with international partners. The others self-studied.
The OIPE coordinators do not only teach ME course in their educational establishments. The
most recent tendencies reveal that scientific research work becomes very popular (10 teachers
pointed this out in 2016), as well as presenting lectures on the subject of ME in schools in the
oblast (5 teachers in 2016 against 1 in 2015).
Diagram 1.1. The use of media education knowledge during teaching activities in
OIPEs
Q. 4. In what ways did you use your knowledge of ME/ML on practice when teaching media
literacy? (N=18, 2014 and N=17, 2016)
5
0
14
18
7
9
4
1
5
3
0
1
17
8
5
4
10
5
I have elaborated an actual educational program for
media literacy course in OIPE
I have elaborated an actual educational program for
ZOSh (secondary schools)
I have designed original model lessons/lectures for
media literacy course
I took part in elaboration of INTEGRATED ME/ML classes
I teach Media Literacy course in OIPE
I conduct seminars and training on media literacy for
other teachers/school principals/school counselors in
I organize and run extracurricular activities with
pupils/interest groups/festivals/school
I deliver lectures on media literacy in higher education
institutions (regional or in other oblasts of Ukraine)
I am engaged in scientific research, I speak at
conferences on the subject of media education
I deliver lectures on media literacy in secondary schools
within the oblast
2016
2015

p.13
1.1.2. Formats of teaching media education in OIPEs
Most often, as in 2014, the main format of teaching media education in OIPEs is a 2-4 hour
class as a part of a continuing education course (10 coordinators confirmed this tendency in
2016). However, similar to 2014, there are also different formats of teaching that are oriented
to the needs of course participants and aimed to match their specialty field. Coordinators list:
 extension courses and two-week day courses, consisting of 3-4 lectures and practical
training every day (Luhansk oblast);
 4-6 hour course for computer science teachers and 28 hour distance learning course
(Zaporizhzhia oblast);
 one- or two-day seminars with lectures and practical training activities (Poltava and
Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk) oblasts);
 8-12 hour on-campus continuing education course (Sumy and Mykolaiv oblasts).
1.1.3. Training programs
As in 2014, coordinators mainly rely on the program developed by the MON (the Ministry of
Education and Science of Ukraine) for participants of continuing education courses in OIPEs (7
persons), or use their own program, elaborated on the basis of the MON's program (10
respondents).
1.1.4. Media education course participants in OIPEs
According to the coordinators’ estimations, 35 824 people attended media education courses
during the 2015-2016 academic year. 23% of course participants account for teachers of all
categories, 21% – principals and assistant principals, 15-16% – teachers-moderators, teaching
methodology experts, psychologists etc. These data are very similar to the findings of the 2014
study; therefore, OIPE target audiences are evenly distributed.
Diagram 1.2. Course participants
Q. 19. Who are the participants of media education course at your OIPE? (N=17,
2016)
21%
23%
12%
13%
16%
15%
Secondary school Principals and
Deputy principals
Teachers of all categories
Elementary school teachers
Pre-school teachers
Teachers who organize
extracurricular activities and other
(school mentors, psychologists, social
teachers etc.)
School counselors

p.14
1.1.5. Topics taught
The 2016 survey results show that there were shifts in topics of the most importance and
interest to OIPE lectures. Thus, the number of respondents preferring the subjects related to
the theory of and methods for teaching media education has definitely increased; similar to
2014, the topic of media manipulation remains very popular.
Perhaps, the AUP should take a close look at these data and reconsider the training program,
focusing more on the topics that are gaining more popularity and support at the expense of the
subjects that are of low interest for coordinators.
Diagram 1.3. The most important topics to be taught
Q. 5. Which topics, among the ones recommended by the AUP for teaching courses in OIPE,
appeared to be the most important and useful for your educational activities? (N=18, 2014 and
N=17, 2016)
6
6
5
5
2
5
11
3
3
3
4
6
0
0
5
12
8
12
6
3
9
0
1
4
2
0
2
1
The concepts of "communication" and "mass
communication". Media and formation of public opinion.
Basics of media education. ME methods and techniques.
Guide on how to start teaching media education
Theoretical foundations of media education
The leading media education methods and techniques
Globalization and modern tendencies in media environment:
where everything moves? Models of existence of printed and
Media manipulation
Artistic thinking. The camera as a creative tool.
Advertising strategies and personal safety.
Practical media literacy. Modern formats of Ukrainian TV
The influence of the Internet on future generations.
Age-related peculiarities of modern media influence on a child
History of the screen: The history of language – The history of
perception: Animation
Professional journalistic standards in modern media.
Journalists Ethics Code. Where professional ethics ends and
2016
2015
It is interesting to note that the topics that are mentioned as important by coordinators are
taught during media education course on the regular basis. Although some titles sound a bit too
formal, for instance “Media in the educational-bringing-up process in secondary schools and
higher educational institutions”, very interesting and practice-oriented lectures, designed to
inspire teachers to teach media education in school, are usually hidden behind such titles.
The list of compulsory topics should be completed by “Media texts”, “Manipulation technology
and techniques”, “Hate speech” etc. Thus, not rejecting to explain the mandatory
methodological and theoretical foundations of ME teaching to course participants, the

p.15
coordinators still refer to other topics that are of essential importance and of great interest to
the audience.
As a matter of curiosity, we should refer to one of the comments made by the coordinator from
Zaporizhzhia: “On the basis of the philosophy of constructivism, we introduce such notions as
information search, virtual cards, intelligent notepads and metacognitive moments (tracking of
the individual knowledge acquisition process). We teach pupils to self-reflect. The teacher’s goal
is to teach a child to acquire knowledge independently and to develop critical thinking”).
Diagram 1.4. Compulsory topics
Q. 8. Which topics do you always include in your media literacy course? (N=17, 2016
26%
20%
9%
21%
12%
12% Media in educational-bringing-up
process in secondary schools and
higher education institutions
Media competency of teaching
and academic staff
Media culture
philosophy/Philosophy of media
literacy
Development of teacher's media
literacy competence
Media literacy as the ideological
basis of teacher's competence
The Theory of Influence
1.1.6. Creative groups
The existence of creative groups, bringing together ME teachers, and their activities over the
past few years was only reported by 6 coordinators from Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Zaporizhzhia,
Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Chernihiv oblasts. All of them have different statuses: those
who used to work and the ones that are still working as a part of OIPE. It should also be noted
that some groups reduced or stopped their activities due to termination of the experiment.
1.1.7. Collecting information on teaching media education in secondary
schools
10 coordinators (two being residents of the same oblast) collect information about schools that
implement media education, 5 coordinators do not gather any information. In addition, in two
oblasts there are no schools participating in the experiment and no schools that express own
interest in engaging in ME implementation.
The data provided by coordinators indicates that 323 secondary schools in 9 oblasts of Ukraine
participate in the experiment or implement media education using their own resources. This
number should be considered with a critical attitude as some findings do not look that reliable
(for example, ME is already taught in 132 schools in Lviv oblast, where ME implementation

p.16
process began during the 2014-2015 academic year. In comparison, only 50 schools in
Dnipropetrovsk oblast participate in the national experiment and 41 school engage in it on the
regional level, although ME implementation process in the oblast started 4 years ago). This can
be explained by the following facts: (1) participation in national school media competitions,
which usually involve approximately 200 schools in the oblast, is sometimes confused by the
coordinators with teaching media education course in schools; (2) the use of technical means in
the classroom is often perceived as media education; (3) there are no exact and clear criteria as
to what media education in schools actually is; (4) the figures only reflect the number of
experiment participants “on paper”, while there are definitely fewer of them in reality
(commentary of the coordinator from Poltava: “18 schools participate in the experiment on the
regional level, but media education course is actually being taught in only 10 of them”).
The coordinators are not ready to calculate the number of pupils who are media educated.

p.17
SECTION 2. Media Education in Secondary Schools (ZoSh
– Middle Schools of General Education)
2. 1. Status of Media Education Implementation in Secondary Schools
2.1.1. Tendencies and changes
Personal interviews with Valery Ivanov, professor and president of the Academy of Ukrainian
Press, and Okasana Volosheniuk, program manager, were designed to identify changes noticed
by the experts and closely related to the process of ME/ML implementation from its very
beginning.
The main changes that the experts pointed out were then taken into account when elaborating
the survey questionnaire for teachers and scenarios for in-depth interviews. These changes are:
 Systematization of the ME course.
 Increase in the number of schools that have already introduced or plan to introduce the
ME/ML course in the near future.
 Attraction of new audiences – school children in grades of all levels and preschoolers.
 Course integration into teaching of other school subjects.
 Formation of creative groups on the temporary basis to bring together ME/ML teachers.
 Development of international teacher exchange program.
 Holding of both regional and national competitions for secondary school students.
According to experts, the main difficulties to be overcome include:
 Lack of trained teachers who would be qualified to introduce and implement ME/ML in
secondary schools throughout Ukraine.
 Absence of a permanent mechanism for transferring experience and sharing practical skills
for proper ME/ML teaching.
 Obsolescence of the concept underlying the experiment carried out by the Institute of Social
and Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine.
 Narrative and theorization, commonly found in many textbooks and other educational
materials, which should be updated to the needs of teachers and students.
2.1.2. Transformations
One year is a fairly short period to make significant and visible transformations in the school
system, which is distinguished by its conservatism. Nevertheless, the 2016 survey questionnaire
included questions about transformations. Only teachers, as people who made those
transformations real and noticed them, could adequately reply to these questions.
21% of teachers reported no transformations being noticed.
79% of teachers confirmed having experienced some transformations taking place in their
schools during the 2015-2016 academic year.

p.18
The 3 major transformations were distinguished among many other options: increase in the
number of ME/Ml teachers (15%), integration of ME into teaching of other common subjects
(10%), students participation and winning in ME competitions/festivals (10%).
Such transformations as introduction of ME courses in high school, ME for parents, teacher
participation in international exchange programs/competitions/trainings – each received 9%.
Some indices are still rather insignificant. However, those figures demonstrate that the
transformations that have been reported by the experts are actually taking place in real life –
ME integration into teaching of diverse school subjects, ME courses for pupils of all years if
school, expanded contact list of both teachers and pupils who are engaged in ME.
Diagram 2.1. Changes and transformations in media education implementation in
secondary schools
Q. 7. Prove or disprove the following statements about changes and transformations related to
ME/ML implementation in your school. (YES), multiple choice. (N=90,
2016)
15%
9%
4%
3%
1%
10%
8%10%
1%
9%
9%
21%
There is an increase in the number of ME/ML
teachers in school
ME/ML course is introduced in senior classes
(grades 10-11)
ME/ML course is introduced in middle classes
(grades 5-9)
ME/ML course is introduced in younger
classes (grades 1-4)
The school has been provided with ME/ML
textbooks for pupils
ME/ML course has been integrated in social
subjects
ME/ML course has been integrated in natural
sciences (physics, chemistry, biology etc.
Pupils won ME/ML contest/festival
Teachers won ME/ML competitions in
Ukraine
ME/ML course for parents has been
introduced
Teachers participated in international
exchange programs/training/contest
Nothing has changed
2.2. Organization of Media Education Process in Secondary Schools
2.2.1. Participation in the Experiment
Secondary schools with media education courses have different statuses that have hardly
changed since 2015: in 2016, 39% of respondents confirmed their schools participation in the
national experiment, 41% mentioned being part of the experiment on the regional level. In
general, termination of the experiment in 2016 did not influence the schools where ME has
already become part of “school life”.

p.19
It is to be noted that the share of schools that implement ME/ML using their own resources
increased from 12% to 16%. Only few respondents did not answer the following question and it
can be assumed that they were not participants of the experiment.
Diagram 2.2. Participation in the Experiment
(Q.14 (20) Does your school participate in the experiment on media education implementation?
N=90, 2015-2016.
34
37
11
6
36
36
14
4
Yes, our school is the part of
the national experiment
Yes, our school is the part of
the regional experiment
No, we do not take part in the
experiment, we implement
ME/ML on our own
I do not know
2016
2015
ME/ML courses have been taught for more than 4 years in 46% of schools. Then, the next large
groups include schools where ME has been already implemented for 3 (22%) or 2 years (17%)
(Diagram 1.2).
Diagram 2.3. The number of years of teaching ME in school
(Q. 15/21. For how many years has ME/ML been taught in your school?)
26%
22%
20%
18%
14%
Four years
Two years
Three years
One year
Don't know
N=90, 2015
46%
22%
17%
7%
5% 3%
More than four
years
Three years
Two years
One year
Four years
Don't know
N=90, 2016

p.20
The share of teachers who have only recently started teaching ME/ML is estimated to 7%.
There is a significant decrease in the share of respondents who are unaware of how much time
has passed since the introduction of ME course in their schools (3% in 2016 against 14% in
2015).
 Expert Opinion: Motivation to encourage participants to take part in
the experiment and its further development1
The relevance and importance of media education is clear to all respondents representing
schools that were participants of the experiment or introduced ME independently. That is why,
regardless of whether the experiment is officially prolonged/renewed or not, the interviewees
express their persistent intentions to continue work in this direction. Especially as the
respondents have many developments made within the framework of media education
implementation and they are willing to share them with the colleagues.
One of the most important achievements of the experiment is that it brought up and put the
light on a range of problems that are relevant for both secondary school education system and
the Ukrainian society as a whole. These issues are usually associated with the emergence and
growing popularity of media technologies that have become an integral part of the daily life.
Understanding the importance of inclusion of these aspects in the educational process is what
distinguishes the experiment participants among others, what encourages their active and
creative endeavor towards implementing media education and makes them go on and on: "This
is what you need, it is at the right time" (Khotiv) "It is not possible to manage without ME
today. Yet, this issue should not only be addressed by the Institute of social psychology alone,
but also by the authorities of the state level " (Mykolaiv).2
However, the level of media education introduction varied significantly in different regions and
schools during the experiment implementation period. Despite the fact that in all schools, where
the team conducted interviews with teachers and school administration, media education course
is being taught, the effectiveness of their inclusion in the process of ME introduction into school
education is quite different.
At the same time, the most important factor is not so much the introduction of the media
education (media culture or media literacy course) in the curriculum of high school students or
the qualification of ME teachers (attendance of specialty-oriented courses, participation in the
seminars) anymore. The successful progress and effectiveness of the experiment
implementation depend more and more on the scale of ME integration into teaching of other
school subjects, as well as on active involvement of all the teaching staff, showing their positive
interest and receiving support from school administration – principals and assistant principals.
Given the overall involvement in such cooperative process, all obstacles and barriers should be
triumphed over: few academic hours should be selected in the busy schedule of the curriculum
and then contributed to teaching ME course, additional funding and money should be donated
to improve the material and technical base.
Support provided by school administration and existence of like-minded fellows in the teaching
staff are important components of successful ME introduction in schools. Sure, individual
enthusiasm and inspiration of a teacher is and will always be one of the most important keys to
progress in this field. However, the successful implementation of the ME project would not be
possible without the collective support, as well as the opportunities for development and
improvement. As one teacher said in an interview: “We need to create a situation with a sense
of success. So that a person could feel the acknowledgement and appreciation of own work, -
then, his/her wings will grow” (Dnipro).
1
Hereinafter, the Expert Opinion block is a result of the analysis of in-depth interviews with ME teachers.
2
Hereinafter, the respondent’s direct speech is presented in italics, retaining vocabulary and syntax.

p.21
During the experiment implementation period, different teachers followed their own paths.
Some of them state that they “have only become more familiar with the subject matter” and
that “pupils show more interest now” (Lviv). Other teachers demonstrate great achievements in
the field.
For example, in Mykolaiv, teachers have developed and implemented their own media
education model, which is distinguished by the following principles: media immunity - critical
thinking - media literacy - media creativity. They also emphasized that media creativity can only
be achieved at the last stage of personal media culture development. If a person moves
backward, it can only lead to increase in the number of low quality products. Before
introduction of media education in the teaching/learning process, for a whole year the teaching
staff of one of the lyceum schools in Mykolaiv devoted time at the teachers’ meetings to the
discussions of the mechanisms and methods of implementation of this course into school
curriculum. All teachers participated in these discussions.
In Pohorilovo, Mykolaiv oblast, one of ME teachers acknowledged having faced many
methodological difficulties at the first stages of ME teaching when dealing with diverse teaching
models presented during seminars, as well as lack of clear guidelines, so he developed and
proposed his own educational program, which was later defended and approved in the Mykolaiv
OIPE. This program – "Practical Media Culture" – mainly focuses on the practical aspect of
teaching: "I have realized that children need to acquire practical skills. It is hard for them to
memorize large amounts of information". At an open lesson, pupils presented one of the tasks
included in the program - it was a round table for pupils on the results of a web-quest.
Teachers usually show great openness and willingness to share their teaching practices with the
colleagues. For example, one teacher from the Lyceums in Mykolaiv regularly organizes open
ME lessons in different towns and villages in the oblast.
In Dnipro, people organize and hold annual school festivals that are thematically related to
ME. Children that are in different school grades participate in such festivals, even when they do
not have a media education course in the curriculum yet. This provides an opportunity for
making pupils of all ages interested and engaged in media education. Thus, teachers initiated
and held a social advertising festival this year. Pupils of junior classes got the victory. Last year,
the school hosted a municipal school booktrailer festival, which helped in creating an image of a
media-oriented school.
It is becoming increasingly clear that individual enthusiasm and initiative are not enough to
implement the project successfully. There are other important components of such progress:
support provided by the entire school community, engagement and interest in the idea, the
sense of productive and acknowledged work and understanding of future prospects.
According to respondents, the real accomplishments of pupils, such as winning in the
city/national competition or creation of a school newspaper/radio/news show, become the
evidence of the productive and acknowledged work of teachers. Real achievements and
prepared media products encourage further work and improvement efforts.
2.2.2. Forms of ME/ML implementation
Schools have chosen diverse methods of ME/ML teaching. However, during the 2015-2016
academic year, many schools made important changes primarily reflecting the search for
opportunities to work one’s way through formal limitations of school curricular hours. In 2015,
the most popular format of ME teaching was a compulsory lesson – one academic hour a week
(49 schools). Then, in 2016, the number of such educational establishments decreased to 31
with a simultaneous increase in the number of schools where a compulsory course is being
integrated into teaching of natural sciences and humanities (26 schools in 2016 against 9 in
2015).

p.22
In addition, there was an increase in the number of schools introducing this course as
elective/optional for pupils or in the form of ME interest groups and media clubs (accounting for
27% and 19%, respectively, in 2016 against 15% and 13% in 2015). In 2015, 21% of schools
had teachers-enthusiasts, initiating and supporting the development of school media –
newspapers, radio and websites. Their share decreased to 6% in 2016.
Diagram 2.4. Forms of teaching ME/ML in schools
(Q. 17/23. How is ME/ML teaching organized in your school? N=90, 2015-2016, multiple choice)
9
49
17
14
2426
31 33
23
7
Mandatory
ME/ML classes
integrated into
another subject
Mandatory class
- one hour per
week
Elective course,
voluntary
participation of
pupils
ME/ML club There is a
school club
(school
newspaper,
radio, Internet
site to
disseminate ML
basics)
2015
2016
As demonstrated in diagram 2.4., ME/ML course is mainly taught in high school for pupils in
grades 9-11 (83% in 2015, 60% in 2016). This is related to participation in the experiment, as
media culture course, developed in the Institute of Social and Political Psychology, is designed
for pupils of 10 year of school. At the same time, there is a tendency of the course’s “sliding” to
middle school (25% in 2016 against 10% in 2015). It should be noted that 6% of respondents
mentioned ME/ML course being taught to pupils of junior classes, which was not the case in
2015.
Diagram 2.5. Pupils in the following Grades are taught ME/ML
Q. 18/24. Pupils in which grades are taught ME/ML courses? (Multiple choice, N=90, 2015 and
2016)
84%
10%
6% 0%
Pupils of 9-11
grades
Puplis of 5-8
grades
Pupils of 1-4
grades
Students of all
grades
N=90, 2015
60%
25%
9%
6%
N=90, 2016

p.23
According to teachers’ calculations, the number of “media educated” secondary school students
was 5410 persons in 2016, which equals to 10% of the total number of pupils – 50490 – in 90
schools participating in the survey.
If we recall that, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Education and Science of
Ukraine, the total number of school graduates in Ukraine was 200,500 in 2016 and the number
of secondary schools was 17,337, then we can only imagine the range of work and efforts
required for the proper ME implementation in those schools.
 Expert Opinion: Specifics of Teaching
In schools where the in-depth interviews were conducted, media education course is taught
once a week to pupils of higher grades at the expense of a variable part of school curricula
(grade 10 – in Khotiv, Kozelets, Smila, Lviv, grades 8-9 in Poltava, grades 10-11 – in Mykolaiv,
Pohorilovo, grades 8,9,10 in Dnipro.
The majority of teachers had to revise the proposed programs in order to adapt it to both the
required terms of the curriculum (the first version of the program included a 4 hour per week
course) and the needs of pupils (enforcing the practical component to interest and engage
schoolchildren in work as much as possible).
If, according to respondents, the process of adaptation to administrative terms and reduction of
the first version of the program took place in almost all schools, the process of adaptation to
the needs of secondary school students has become quite an experience for teachers as it
required much personal efforts and creative work. Those teachers, who managed this task at
their own initiative and with the support provided by school administration and fellow teachers,
can now demonstrate both real achievements and significant progress made in this area.
Thus, media education teachers from Pohorilovo in Mykolaiv oblast have developed and
approved their own educational program – “Practical Media Culture” – for pupils in school
grades 10-11. Teachers from Mykolaiv Lyceum have elaborated their own model of ME teaching
and ME integration into teaching of other school subjects. The underlying elements of this
particular model are the following: media immunity – critical thinking – media literacy – media
creativity. Pupils from schools in Dnipro often participate in various festivals dedicated to media
literacy and present their own projects there. Teachers confirm that ME helped them create a
special attractive image of their school in comparison with other schools in the city and district
and the fact the school is media-oriented played one of the most important roles in this
process.
Therefore, introduction of the media education course was both a challenge and an opportunity
for teachers to realize their creative potential beyond their essential work in the specialty field.
The correlation between theoretical and practical knowledge is one of special issues related to
teaching media education in schools.
The interviewed teachers are well aware of the importance and necessity to present theoretical
part of the course to secondary school students. But, at the same time, they insist on the
greater significance of the practical component, which is the mechanism of encouraging pupils’
interest and engagement in the course: "They need theoretical knowledge as well, but they also
need to be creative, that’s why they should do practical assignments" (Dnipro).
All teachers stress the need for combination of theory and practice, as well as the importance of
practical activities. Teachers from schools where media education is at early stages of
implementation (Khotiv, Lviv) and even many experienced teachers (Poltava) acknowledge that
they still lack practical knowledge on how to organize practical activities and elaborate practical
assignments, and sometimes, they also lack a purely technical knowledge on how to implement
media education: elementaries of work with video materials, software etc.: "What we lack is a
technical training on organization of practical activities " (Poltava).

p.24
Efficient technical support facilitates and advances successful ME integration into teaching of all
other subjects in schools. Technical means are actively used in schools in Mykolaiv and Dnipro.
Different subject teachers often use media presentations, movies and various media tools
during their classes. For instance, in Dnipro, one chemistry teacher used own recourses to
produce a documentary about D. Mendeleev for pupils in his school. In Mykolaiv, physical
training teachers explain the benefits of exercising to pupils using media presentations to show
which types of muscles work during particular exercise. Certainly, this approach is far from the
traditional understanding of media education aimed at developing critical thinking, but still, it
stimulates students’ creativity in learning diverse school subjects.
That is to say that ME integration is not only a perspective, but it has already become a part of
actual everyday work and organization of teaching/learning process in many schools.
At the same time, most experts support the idea that ME should be taught as a separate
subject of the school curriculum. Proper academic performance assessment should be applied.
ME classes should not be taught as elective or optional course: "It is better to implement it as a
separate subject – as it disciplines better. The work during electives is less strict. We cannot
make our pupils attend it. But if ME is a school subject – pupils need to study for it, to do
assignments. As a result – it is only a plus" (Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), "If we want to have
results, it should be a separate school subject, with academic performance control" (Lviv). On
the other hand, absence of formal assessment systems, free form of communication,
possibilities to debate and express own views are the features of media education course that
attract secondary school students.
2.2.3. Course name and topics taught
Almost half of respondents identified the course that they teach as “Media Culture” (46
teachers) or “Media Education” (17 teachers). There are also many other names used, such as
“Basics of media literacy”, “Steps to media literacy”, “Basic elements of media literacy” or
“Media literacy” (13 teachers), as well as the more precise names: “Basics of multimedia
technology” or “Visual media culture”. 11 teachers defined their course as “The course
integrated in social subjects”, “ME course integrated in Ukrainian language course”. Many
elective courses and clubs also have various names: “Media education club”, “Media literacy
club”, “Media technology club”, “Journalism club”. In some schools, ME course for pupils in
grade 10 is called “Media culture” and for pupils in grade 8 – “Basics of media literacy”.
As a rule, teachers have one same answer for all questions about the topics they teach during
the course – “we stick to educational program”, therefore, the topics studied within the course
are organized into the following groups (modules):
1. History of media (photo, cinema, TV, newspapers, magazines, the Internet) and
analysis of media texts/materials/other media products (for example, TV show);
2. Visual media culture. Practice of creating media and advertising products, developing
plots and storylines, producing reports, photo and video materials.
3. Fundamentals of information security. Online safety. Media hygiene.
4. Manipulation technology. Spreading information and propaganda, hate speech,
stereotypes. Psychological impact of media and ways to counter manipulation.
Most teachers point out that, taking into account the current conflict situation in Ukraine, such
topics as Countering manipulation and propaganda are of great significance nowadays.

p.25
2.2.4. Textbooks
In comparison with 2015, the number of teachers using course programs and textbooks
developed by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine has slightly
decreased. It, in particular, concerns such textbooks as Media culture of an individual: socio-
psychological approach, ed. Naydionova L.A and Baryshpolets O.T., which was mentioned by 13
respondents; Cherepovska N.I., Media education and media culture of secondary school pupils:
visual media culture – listed by 6 teachers; and Naydionova L.A and Baryshpolets O.T., Practical
media culture – recalled by 10 teachers.
Textbooks and teaching materials developed or issued in the AUP are also widely used. First, it
is Fundamentals of media literacy. Teacher textbook. 8 (9) grade: Lessons curricula, Media
literacy. Teacher textbook (Cyndy Scheibe) – 64 and 51 teachers out of all 90 interviewed chose
these textbooks, respectively. Media literacy in classes on social studies is also gaining
popularity (it was mentioned by 49 teachers).
Diagram 2.6. The use of textbooks and other educational materials
Q. 27. Do you use the following textbooks/materials in teaching ME/ML? (YES), N=90, multiple
choice
27
37
39
49
51
64
Media Education and Media Literacy for
Higher Education Institutions.
Practical Media Education: original
lessons. Collection of works.
Media Education and Media Literacy.
Brief overview.
Media Literacy in Social Science
Lessons: Teacher's Manual
Media Literacy: The Teacher's Guide /
Cyndy Scheibe, Faith Rogow / Transl.
from Eng. 2014.
Basics of Media Literacy: Curriculum
guide for Teacher's in Grades 8 (9).
Lesson plans.
In general, most teachers do not limit the use of textbooks to the abovementioned ones (“We
use all educational materials that were offered in the AUP’s schools”), they usually use the
Internet to search for new teaching materials as well.
 Expert Opinion: Educational Materials
Communication with experts put the light on the reasons why some textbooks become less
popular nowadays than in 2015. For example, on the one hand, the textbooks on media
education under the editorship of Naydionova L.A, Baryshpolets O.T. or Cherepovska N.I.
provided the basis for teaching media education course during the experimental period, though
on the other hand, they are still too complicated for pupils and require considerable adaptation
work. That is why they are selectively used in schools ("Media culture of an individual" is too
difficult for pupil’s perception, so we choose only some topics” (Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk).
However, the majority of teachers have already acquired their own experience of teaching ME
and started to develop own instructional materials, often rejecting the proposed textbooks.

p.26
Special workbook elaborated by Cherepovska N.I. is one of the most popular materials
mentioned by the interviewed teachers. However, it is also used on a selective basis due to a
very small number of academic hours in school curriculum allocated to ME (1 hour a week).
Several educational guidelines/textbooks prepared or issued by the Academy of Ukrainian Press
received teachers’ approval as well.
Meanwhile, experts point out that it would be very interesting to read and perhaps even
introduce in the educational process the methodical developments of their colleagues from
other cities. For the same reason, most respondents emphasize the need to strengthen ties and
communication with fellow teachers – to hold round tables and seminars or to create forums
and virtual platforms for sharing experience and materials.
According to interviewees, a perfect textbook on media education should be prepared using
joint efforts of scientists who understand the subject and teachers who should elaborate
practical recommendations on actual organization and implementation of the course.
Academic Performance and Knowledge Control
Creative tasks and projects are the dominant methods of knowledge and academic performance
control. Thus, In Pohorilovo in Mykolaiv oblast, one teacher attempts to assign only those tasks
and activities that are interesting and relevant to pupils in the class and tries to include as many
of them as possible in the course. For example, he assigns to cut audio tracks that pupils listen
to during the day or to take pictures to make photo collages (when the topic is photography),
as to TV topics – he asks kids to create a TV guide for the weekend. By the end of the course,
secondary school students prepare personal "portfolios" that include their works and examples
of assignments/tasks done within the subject area.
According to respondents, academic performance and knowledge control tasks are designed to
provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge. At present, the constantly
increasing number of teachers abandons traditional forms of control and focus more on
development of students’ creative potential.
2.2.5. Pupils’ skills and abilities
According to teachers, students are mainly interested in the practical aspect of the course,
especially in creation of their own media products wherever and whenever possible. In schools
with no media (own newspapers or radio) or access to the Internet, most teachers focus on
critical analysis of media materials, which they find interesting and attractive for pupils.
Quantitative analysis of the collected data as to the questions about the main focus of ME/ML
teachers shows that the development of critical thinking skills was indeed a priority in 2015 and
still remains very important in 2016 (76 and 66 responses, respectively). “The ability to think
creatively” was only mentioned by 27 teachers in 2016 compared with 54 in 2015.
At the same time, there was an increase in the number of respondents who chose "conscious
approach to perception and dissemination of information" (36 responses in 2016 against 11 in
2015) and "psychological ability to protect oneself from unnecessary information" (18 responses
in 2016 compared with 7 in 2015). The number of respondents who chose “ability to counter
media manipulation” remained unchanged. It is worth noting that by choosing the responses

p.27
like "conscious approach”, "psychological ability to protect oneself”, “ability to counter”,
teachers react to information challenges of the time when media space is filled with fake,
manipulative information, as well as aggressive and discriminatory vocabulary. They believe
that they have to help secondary school students gain insight into the outbreak of new
information challenges and to teach them how to protect themselves in this situation.
Diagram 2.7. Pupils’ main skills and abilities
(Q. 23/30. What skills/abilities related to ME/ML do you want to develop in your pupils? Choose
up to 3 options. N=90, 2015 and 2016)
7
11
30
41
43
54
76
18
35
36
31
42
27
66
Ability to protect oneself from
unnecessary and aggressive
information on the Internet (Internet
Responsible consumption and
dissemination of information
Ability to create own media products
Ability to read, analyze, assess and
realize communication while using
different types of media
Ability to resist media manipulation
and aggressive advertisement
Ability to think creatively
Independent critical thinking
2016
2015
 Expert Opinion: Pupils’ interest
All respondents acknowledge that pupils tend to demonstrate a rather high level of interest in
the subject, especially when teachers do their best to engage children not only in the
educational part of the class, but also in the creative process. According to the participants of
the interview, there are always those who may be interested in the subject.
However, generation of pupils’ interest in the subject is one of the challenges for a teacher,
who must be skilled enough to select and present educational material or assign the tasks in
such a way that secondary school students would be engaged and excited about the class: "We
need to make children interested in the subject, then they would do even the most complex
tasks and assignments. To make them really excited about it" (Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk).
According to the interviewees, pupils’ engagement in the subject grows when they switch to
practical activities: "when we begin performing specific analysis, watch videos, when they are
assigned to make media presentation, then they get really involved in the practical work. They
are familiar with such activities; they know how to use a computer and how to make a video
material" (Poltava).
The topics related to advertising and media hygiene are the most popular ones among
secondary school students. The history of media and digital divide are assessed as less
interesting. The experts insist on the idea that the subject itself is very interesting as it meets
the requirements and challenges of our time: "Most topics are interesting, the subject has fallen
into the mainstream, it was introduced at the right time" (Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk).

p.28
Preparing and conducting the project on the status and importance of learning the Ukrainian
language was one of those tasks that generated interest in secondary school students from
Kozelets ("We spent a lot of time choosing the main theme, children discussed it arguing their
choice and finally, we decided to stick to this particular topic and to develop this project. No
one had to be forced, because they all felt that they were sociologists, journalists, operators,
analysts...").
2.2.6. Parent involvement in media education
The 2015 study registered a new tendency related to media education implementation in
secondary schools – involvement of parents. Many pupils who participated in focus group
discussions made fun of their parents laughing at very low levels of their media literacy, still
acknowledging that real-life experience helped them to perform media-related tasks. Only
several schools have already introduced certain forms of media education for parents. The
administration of these schools insists that it is not only necessary to tell parents about the
importance of media education for their children, but also to encourage parents to join activities
and cooperate.
This idea evolved and that is why, the 2016 questionnaire for teachers included the following
question: “Do you try to involve pupils’ parents in ME/ML course introducing/learning?” And 68
teachers out of 90 interviewed answered positively to this question.
The school teaching and administrative staff use various educational formats to introduce media
education to parents. The information is also disseminated during teacher-parent meetings on
both the class (49%) and the school levels (7%). Classroom teachers and ME/ML teachers act
as major information providers.
One of the interesting forms of providing information on media education to parents is pupils’
presentation of the subject at teacher-parent meetings (20%). Nearly a quarter of the surveyed
teachers uses a compressed course of ME lectures for parents as a form of media education
teaching.
Diagram 2.8. Forms of parental involvement
Q. 32. In what ways do you involve parents in ME/ML course learning/introducing? (N=90,
2016)
49%
20%
24%
7%
Information presented by a class teacher or a
ME/ML teacher at teacher-parent meetings
Information (media presentation) prepared by
pupils and demonstrated at teacher-parent
meetings
A brief ME/ML course for parents, a course of
lectures for parents
Information (media presentation) prepared by
ME/ML teachers and demonstrated at teacher-
parent meetings on the school level

p.29
2.3. Personal Experience of Teachers
2.3.1. Teaching/Learning process
The majority of respondents (84% in 2015 and 69% in 2016) attended a course on ME/ML
teaching methods and techniques. The number of self-educated teachers has also increased
(16% in 2015 and 31% in 2016), (Diagram 2.7.). In particular, this group consists of teachers
from the schools where the substitution of ME/ML teachers took place, as well as teachers from
schools in Lviv and the oblast, who joined ME/ML implementation not until fairly recently.
Diagram 2.7. Training of teachers to teach ME/ML
Q. 1. Have you attended a special training on ME/ML course teaching methods and techniques?
84%
16%
Yes
No, I studied
on my own
N=115, 2015
69%
31%
N=128, 2016
Respondents were asked to choose all options that applied when answering the question about
learning formats. As demonstrated in Diagram 2.8, the path suggested by the AUP – to act in
coordination with OIPEs together with offering ME teacher-training courses in summer and
winter schools – produced noticeable results.
In 2016, 44 teachers joined ME/ML implementation by attending continuing education courses
in OIPEs, 57 persons (40% in 2016 in comparison with 24% in 2015) studied the subject in the
AUP’s summer/winter schools. Some teachers acquired necessary knowledge during special
courses for the experiment participants (10 people) and only 2 teachers engaged in courses
organized in schools in 2016. According to 16 interviewees, a new form of training is becoming
popular – exchange of experience with foreign partners – no one mentioned it in 2015.

p.30
Diagram 2.8. ME/ML training modes
Q. 3. Where did you acquire knowledge on ME/ML course teaching methods and techniques?
(N=97, 2015 and N=128, 2016)
40
35
35
20
14
15
44
57
10
2
16
At OIPE seminars/courses, at the
additional oblast department of
education seminars/courses
At OIPE's teacher training courses
At summer (winter) AUP schools
At seminars (courses) organized for
teachers (coordinators) taking part in
the experiment of the National
At the training organized at my school
At the international conferences
2016
2015
2.3.2. ME teaching experience
As in 2015, the interviewed teachers still teach ME/ML courses in their schools (90 persons).
Unfortunately, we must admit that in 2016, there was a decrease in the number of teachers
involved in scientific research work (from 26 to 20 people) or conducting extracurricular
activities related to school media (from 26 to 13 people).
Diagram 2.9. The use of acquired knowledge during extracurricular/practical
activities with secondary school students
Q. 8. How did you apply the knowledge acquired during training in secondary school practical
activities related to media education? (N=90, 2015 and N=90, 2016)
3
4
8
13
26
31
90
6
13
3
10
26
20
20
90
2
5
Developed ME/ML model lessons
Conduct seminars and media
education training for teachers at
Developed ME/ML course outline for a
club (after school lessons)
Developed ME/ML course outline for
my school
Conduct after school media work
(school radio, TV, newpapers)
Conduct scientific research, take part
in conferences on media education
Conduct after school theoretical
classes on ME/ML (club,courses)
Teach ME/ML at my school
I have designed practical activities
and assignments for ME/ML course
I took part in elaboration of
INTEGRATED ME/ML classes
2016
2015

p.31
Nevertheless, there are also positive developments indicating that a number of teachers have
already gained enough experience of ME teaching and now can and want to share it with
teachers from other schools. Thus, 18 teachers confirm that they share their knowledge with
teachers from those schools where the experiment has not been carried out yet, which was not
the case in 2015. 13 teachers in 2016 against 3 in 2015 assist their colleagues form other
schools where ME is taught. A small group of teachers is involved in elaboration of uniquely
designed model lessons (6 people), integrated lessons (5 persons) and practical assignments (2
teachers).
Answers to the following question (see Diagram 2.10.) prove that the professional level of
teachers who have already been teaching media education in schools for more than four years
is rather high and these teachers are very competent regarding the subject. Teachers, who feel
that they lack relevant knowledge, try to deal with this challenge on their own by searching
necessary information on the Internet. Since 2015, the number of such teachers has
significantly increased (79 teachers in 2016 against 54 in 2015). In addition, a large group of
teachers go over the materials and recommendations received during training in OIPE and the
AUP (50 teachers in 2016 compared to 7 in 2015). Regional coordinators, as well as the experts
of the AUP and the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine are also
reliable sources of information support (35, 24 and 14 respondents choose this options,
respectively).
Diagram 2.10. Asking for assistance
(Q. 12/9. Whom do you ask for advice when you feel that you lack knowledge or have doubts
about teaching methods or techniques? N=90, 2015 and 2016)
54
48
45
7
6
4
79
35
17
50
14
5
Look for information on the Internet
on my own
Turn to oblast experiment lead
Turn to colleagues from other schools
Read through
recommendations/textbooks/lecture
materials that I got at the AUP
Turn to experiment lead from
Institute for Political and Social
Psychology
Turn to school administration
2016
2015
2.3.3. The use of the AUP resources
86 respondents are aware of the AUP’s resource; the majority of them – 83 persons – use the
website materials. Only four respondents did not know about the portal’s existence, three more
knew about the site but did not use site materials.
Most users of the AUP portal were completely satisfied with the quality of materials they used
(65 persons), 17 assessed that they were “rather satisfied” and only one teacher replied in a
negative way (“rather not satisfied”).

p.32
Diagram 2.11 shows that in 2016, teachers mostly consulted the programs of lectures and
lesson plans, media presentations and video materials. Educational programs and collections of
articles/publications took the second place in the rating of the most popular website materials.
Sadly enough, student textbooks translated from English are mostly unpopular.
Diagram 2.11. Popularity rating of the AUP materials
(Q. 9/14. Which website materials do you use when teaching media literacy course? N=86,
2015 and N=83, 2016)
5
20
23
29
36
38
45
47
2
44
50
27
47
24
47
41
Textbooks for students translated from
English
Curricula/programs of the Ministry of
Education
Lecture/lesson outlines
Calendar of events
Video materials
Model lessons on various school
subjects
Presentations
Collected works on ML/master classes
2016
2015
2.3.4. Major problems associated with media education in secondary schools
Both regional coordinators and ME teachers answered questions about major difficulties faced
during the process of media education implementation in secondary schools. Let us compare
the answers that bring into the picture the three main issues.
In 2016, regional coordinators assumed that the most important problem is “insufficient number
of academic hours for ME teaching in school curricula”. Their opinion completely coincides with
answers of 66 schoolteachers.
According to the majority of teachers, the second most important problem is “lack of student
textbooks for pupils in different school grades” (51 teacher), but only 8 regional coordinators
agree with such a statement.
“The lack of modern equipment” was rated as the third most important problem by 44 teachers
(in comparison with 62 in 2015 - does this mean that the issue is almost solved?). 12 regional
coordinators named the same problem.
In summary, we see an almost complete match in the assessment of problems related to
management and content filling of ME/ML teaching in secondary schools, as viewed by
schoolteachers and OIPE personnel.

p.33
Diagram 2.12. The main problems related to organization and content filling of the
ME/ML teaching process in secondary schools, as viewed by the ME coordinators
Q. 16/29. Which problems, related to ME/ML course organization and content filling, do ME/ML
teachers usually face during educational process? (N=19, 2014 and N=17, 2016)
7
11
14
9
12
5
12
16
8
1
2
2
1
6
Lack of modern equipment
(multimedia) to teach ME/ML
Limited number of school hours to
teach ME/ML course
Lack of ME/ML textbooks for pupils
Lack of basic ME/ML course outlines
for different grades
Lack of ME/ML teacher guides
School administration's lack of
interest
Limited opportunity for sharing
experience with other ME/ML
State's indifference towards the
experiment
2016
2015
Diagram 2.13. The main problems related to organization and content filling of the
ME/ML teaching process in secondary schools, as viewed by the ML teachers
(Q. 24 /33. Which problems, related to ME/ML course organization and content filling, do you
usually face? (N=90, 2015 and 2016)
62
45
41
17
11
10
5
3
44
66
51
20
17
14
1
6
6
1
1
Lack of modern equipment (multimedia) to
teach ME/ML
Limited number of school hours to teach
ME/ML course
Lack of ME/ML textbooks for pupils
Lack of basic ME/ML course outlines for
different grades
Lack of ME/ML teacher guides
Lack of examples, practical materials for
study
School administration's lack of interest
Limited opportunity for sharing experience
with other ME/ML teachers
State's indifference towards the experiment
Lack of control materials of ME/ML
Lack of interest an indifference of pupils
2016
2015

p.34
 Expert Opinion: Barriers to implementation of media education
and ways to overcome them
The barriers, referred to by expert ME teachers in 2015, were also mentioned by the
interviewed teachers participating in the 2016 survey. At the same time, most respondents can
share first-hand experience to demonstrate how these barriers could and should be overcome
and that is why, they do not believe that the identified issues are insurmountable.
Based on the results of ME implementation process and counter fighting the barriers to media
education implementation in secondary school system, all schools participating in the research
and the experiment can be divided into three groups.
Representatives of the first group include teachers who did not start teaching ME course in
schools until fairly recently (schools in Lviv and the oblast (Novoiavorivsk), Khotiv (Kyiv oblast).
They admit that they "lack knowledge and enthusiasm" to implement ME successfully in their
schools, as only 1-2 persons are engaged in the ME introduction process there. The
representatives of this group are usually distinguished by lack of actual support provided by
teaching staff and insufficient personal enthusiasm to implement the project to the full extent.
The representatives of this group determine the following problems related to implementation
of the project:
 lack of clear scientific guidance and instructions on the experiment implementation;
 lack of methodological support (the existing and developed materials require further
adaptation, which also causes numerous difficulties);
 insufficient number of academic hours in the variable part of school curricular to
implement ME teaching course;
 absence of opportunities to participate in seminars and trainings on ME teaching
methods and techniques;
 issues related to poor technical and material support of secondary schools.
The representatives of the second group (Smila (Cherkasy oblast), Kozelets (Chernihiv oblast),
Poltava) are those who have already gained experience of teaching ME in secondary schools
and feel enthusiastic about it. Nevertheless, substitution of teachers in certain schools violates
the institutional memory and requires extra effort to maintain proper level of teaching. Teachers
in this group do not have any reason to complain about the indifference of school
administration or lack of attention/assistance from OIPE coordinators, although there are still
problems related to poor technical and material support or insufficient number of student
textbooks. In general, parents of pupils deal with such issues in modern schools. Triumphing
over these difficulties, schoolteachers help their students to win honorary awards in media
production competitions.
The representatives of the third group of schools (Mykolaiv, Pohorilovo, Dnipro
(Dnipropetrovsk) had also faced all the above-mentioned problems during the process of
experiment implementation. However, they always manage to solve them rather quickly by
developing own educational programs and adapting them to the terms of school curricula
(reducing the number of planned academic hours from 4 to 1-2 hours per week), as well as by
including more practical activities in educational process, seeking new knowledge, participating
in seminars and trainings, finding new opportunities of financial funding and technical support.
According to the respondents in this group, the share of teachers who use elements of media
education in the process of teaching their specialty subjects has definitely increased in recent
years. Many schools have become similar to media holding organizations producing own
newspapers, radio and TV news programs. Secondary school students become very ambitious
about production of video materials, as well as participation in local and national competitions.
The curious fact is that, when asked to assess the results of ME implementation in native school
using a 10-point scale, the teachers in the first group considered the situation objectively by

p.35
giving low scores (3 points). At the same time, the respondents in the second group, taking into
account all the complexities of such assessment ("it is as difficult as if you were asked to assess
your beloved child" (Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), marked rather high scores close to 10 points (9 –
Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Mykolaiv, 8 - Pohorilovo). Experts in the third group chose average
scores – 6-7 points (“There is still too much to do, to learn and to teach”).
2.3.5. Assessment of the status of ME implementation in Ukraine
We asked regional coordinators and schoolteachers to assess the status of ME implementation
in Ukraine using a 10-point scale and to explain their opinion.
 None of coordinators gave 10 points, when 11 teachers assigned such score (“teachers
make efforts, pupils like it”, “everything that is done is thanks to teachers’ enthusiasm”,
“schools where the experiment is being implemented receive 10 points”).
 Regional coordinators explained that the high scores reaching 8-9 points were assigned
taking into consideration current situation in the country (“8-9 points, as such scores
correspond to real political situation”) or “future prospects”. The opinions of only two
teachers are similar to the coordinators’ views. This group consists of 13 schoolteachers
(“9 points…we do not deserve 10 points yet”).
 7 points – this score was assigned to ME implementation status by 3 regional
coordinators and 16 teachers.
 Only one coordinator chose 5 points on the assessment scale, but 25 teachers assigned
this score to the status of ME implementation in Ukrainian schools. They explained such
scores as follows: ”there is still too much to do”, “it is not enough, its implementation is
very important, but there is no such course in the curriculum of most schools”, “I can’t
see the structure”, “because there are the enthusiasts, though in general, there are
problems” …) .
 Two regional coordinators assessed ML in Ukraine by giving only 2 points to this
criterion, three other – only 3 points (“First, the wrong direction was chosen, something
they wanted did not happen, but they now want everyone to report on media education,
although no one can still figure out what it is about. Creating your image of the world
with the use of media and bearing responsibility for it. Then you become a personality”,
“There is not enough… in Ukraine, not enough computers, not enough teaching staff,
there is still too much work to be done”). Teachers did not assign any scores that were
that low.
Diagram 2.14. Assessment made by coordinators
Q. 31. Please, assess the ME/ML implementation status in Ukraine using a 10-point scale.
(N=17, 2016)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
0
3
1
2
1
3 3
2
0
scores
number of coordinators, who
rated

p.36
Diagram 2.15. Assessment made by teachers
Q. 36. Please, assess the ME/ML implementation status in Ukraine using a 10-point scale.
(N=90, 2016)
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0
8
25
10
16
13
4
11
scores
number of teachers,
who rated
In
IN conclusion, we can state that teachers demonstrate better understanding of the situation
and are more critical regarding the assessment of their work. And of course, they need
assistance and support.
2.3.6. Assistance needed to further implement media education
The answers to questions about the types of assistance needed by teachers to further
implement media education in Ukraine did not evoke surprise. Teachers and experts repeatedly
emphasize that the widespread introduction of media education in Ukrainian schools cannot
progress without a special Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. But no
order has been issued yet, as it would have to be followed by allocation of additional funding
and extra hours. However, 83 teachers believe that the order could be a key to actual ME
implementation, and their opinion is supported by positive answers of 17 regional coordinators.
According to 12 coordinators, systematic professional development took the second place in the
rating, when teachers put it on the third place (33 teachers).
At the same time, 42 schoolteachers assigned the second place to financial support required for
the development of ME teaching/learning materials and 9 coordinators agreed with this opinion.
As many as 30 teachers and only 8 regional coordinators believe that sufficient quantities of
textbooks also constitute an important factor contributing to ME implementation in schools.
Finally, such options as creation of professional teachers association and additional funding for
extracurricular activities related to Media education, are hardly supported by coordinators (3
and 3 persons), while 24 and 22 teachers out of 90 interviewed insist that such types of
assistance are always necessary. Meanwhile, they admit having almost no experience of
preparing tender proposals and expect assistance in this area as well ("and then, we will be
able to do everything we need...").

p.37
Diagram 2.16. Assistance provided to
teachers (as viewed by coordinators)
Q. 30. In your opinion, what types of
assistance/support provided to teachers could
contribute to faster implementation of ME/ML
course in secondary schools? (N=17, 2016)
Diagram 2.17. Assistance provided to
teachers (as viewed by teachers)
Q. 34. In your opinion, what types of
assistance/support provided to teachers could
contribute to faster implementation of ME/ML
course in secondary schools? (N=90, 2016.)
3
3
9
10
12
17
24
22
30
42
33
83
Financial assistance (individual grants
for teachers) for running extracurricular
educational activities related to ME/ML
course (interest groups, festivals, trips,
visits to editorial offices etc.)
Organization of professional
union/association for sharing experience
and discussing ME/ML educational
materials
Providing every school with sufficient
number of ME/ML textbooks
Financial assistance (individual grants
for teachers) for elaboration of ME/ML
course-related materials
Systematic regional/inter-regional
continuing education courses for Me/ML
teachers, participation in special master
classes
The Order of the Ministry of Education
and Science On Mandatory
Implementation of ME/ML course
 Expert Opinion: Prospects for further media education
development
Prospects for further media education implementation have not changed significantly, when
compared with the findings of the previous study. Like a year ago, most respondents defined
the following priority areas:
Organizational:
 Administrative and organizational support of ME implementation process. "The
MON [The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine] must specify clear objectives,
the Academy of UP – develop accurate criteria, which could be used for elaboration of
this course and ensuring of experts’ proper work" (Poltava).
 Although there are examples of ME integration in teaching of other school
subjects, which is usually unconscious, still, it should be more comprehensive.
Methodical:
 Elaboration and dissemination of necessary educational materials – textbooks,
programs, workbooks etc.
 Creation of an interactive digital textbook for secondary school students.
Communicative:

p.38
 Exchange of experience among ME teachers, an insight into the best examples of
ME implementation in schools.
 Active cooperation with parents, who should be engaged in ME teaching, in
particular, if some of them are competent in this subject.
All respondents expressed high interest in receiving such type of support as grant financing.
The interviewees have also defined major barriers to applying for grants, which include lack of
experience of writing and submitting grant applications, as well as purely psychological barriers,
such as uncertainty about own abilities, which is often the case.

p.39
SECTION 3. Focus Group Discussions with Secondary
School Students in Different Grades, who Attend Media
Education Course
Focus group discussions with secondary school students, who have experience of media
education learning and are participants of the experiment on the national/regional level, were
conducted in 8 cities throughout Ukraine: Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk), Mykolaiv, Poltava, Lviv,
Khotiv in Kyiv oblast, Pohorilovo in Mykolaiv oblast, Kozelets in Chernihiv oblast and Smila in
Cherkasy oblast.
In Novoiavorivsk, Lviv oblast (ZOSh No.3) media education course is taught once a week for
pupils in grade 9 in the form of a separate lesson. According to respondents, the subject is not
that different from other school subjects and is not perceived as more important or useful.
Many interviewees observe such phenomenon as high level of media dependence, which is not
regarded in a critical manner. Children honestly admit that they usually spend 2-3 and more
hours surfing the Internet, searching for educational information, watching movies and video
clips online, chatting with friends in social networks. At present, teenagers are less interested in
TV and respondents confirm that no more than 1 hour is spent on watching TV every day, with
preferences being given to entertainment programs (TV shows) and movies. Vkontakte and
Facebook are the most popular social networks. Respondents mention Skype, Instagram and
Viber as well.
In Khotiv (Kyiv oblast), media education course is taught for pupils in grade 10 once a week
during one semester (spring) in the format of a separate school subject. Pupils show interest in
the subject, although they acknowledge that they know little about it. As to teaching,
theoretical approach prevails. Respondents admit that they usually spend 5-6 hours a day using
the Internet and that secondary school students are not interested in watching TV. Only several
pupils confirmed that they spent up to 1-2 hours every day on watching TV. They are mainly
attracted by various entertainment shows, sitcoms and a bit less – by news broadcast.
In Poltava (Gymnasium No.28), media education course is taught once a week for pupils in
grades 8 and 9 in the format of a separate school subject. The priority is given to the
theoretical part of educational process, which is why pupils’ engagement and interest in the
course are only declarative. Secondary school students spend from 1 to 4 hours a day on the
Internet, while TV takes much less time of the teenage life – only 2-3 hours a week.
Entertainment programs, social networks, online movies and sitcoms, online games are the
most popular reasons for the use of media channels.
In Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk - Educational Complex No.122), media education course have been
taught for pupils in grade 10 for 5 years already: 2 lessons per week, 2 semesters. The school
owns all the necessary technical equipment. Secondary school students are very interested and
engaged in the creative media production process. Most respondents state that they spend no
more than 1-2 hours on the Internet every day, mostly using social networks or watching
movies and sitcoms online.
In Mykolaiv (Economic Lyceum No.2), media education course is taught in grades 8, 9 and 10
(a 3 year course), one lesson a week. Media education is also integrated in educational process
related to teaching other school subjects and is demonstrated in the form of individual project

Media Education in Ukrainian Schools. Analitycal report. English translation. 2016

Media Education in Ukrainian Schools. Analitycal report. English translation. 2016

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