Exploring Adolescents’ Notions and Perceptions of Citizenship and Media Literacy in Formal Education Settings through the Creation Of Digital Narratives

Critical thinking, media literacy (MIL) and digital and creative competencies are essential for young people to thrive. School can play a fundamental role in raising awareness towards conscientious and creative media usage, particularly considering today’s adolescents – Gen Z. This is not only the generation most exposed to online contents, but also the one that makes the most use of mobile media to connect, learn, express and actively engage in causes. This research conducted media production activities based on secondary school curricula to explore and promote discussions about citizenship and MIL topics. Digital narratives (DNs) creation activities were co-designed with teachers of various subjects and carried out in two Portuguese schools, involving about 190 students aged between 15 and 18. The results of the exploratory questionnaire to students and the DNs’ content analysis point out that the creation of DNs acts as a lever to promote discussions about citizenship in formal settings and that, despite difficulties related to tools and basic literacies, students appreciate activities that engage them in critical reflection and transformative learning. However, the findings suggest that young people don’t believe that using these languages contributes to making a change or to their voices being heard by adults and institutions.