Comunicar, n. 38, v. XIX, 2012, Scientific Journal of Media Education; ISSN: 1134-347; pages 113-120

www.comunicarjournal.com

RESEARCH

ABSTRACT Based on the results of several projects carried out with children and adolescents, we can state that knowledge ofproduction and broadcasting aids the acquisition of critical media skills. This article combines three media educationexperiences in Venezuela, Colombia and Spain driven by a critical reception approach. It presents leading indicatorsfor determining the level of critical audiovisual reading in children aged 8-12 extracted from intervention processesthrough workshops on media literacy. The groups had been instructed on the audiovisual universe, which allowedthem to analyze, deconstruct and recreate audiovisual content. Firstly, this article refers to the evolving concept ofmedia education. Secondly, the common experiences in the three countries are described, with special attention tothe influence of indicators that gauge the level of critical reading. Finally, we reflect on the need for media educationin the era of multi-literacy. It is unusual to find studies that reveal the keys to assessing the levels of critical consump-tion of digital media content in children, and this is essential for determining the level of children’s understandingbefore and after training processes in media education.

ABSTRACT (Spanish)Diversos estudios con niños y adolescentes han demostrado que a mayor conocimiento del mundo de la produccióny transmisión de mensajes audiovisuales, mayor capacidad adquieren para formarse un criterio propio ante la pan-talla. En este artículo se aúnan tres experiencias de educación mediática realizadas en Venezuela, Colombia y Spain,desde el enfoque de la recepción crítica. Se proporcionan los indicadores que llevan a determinar los niveles de lec-tura crítica audiovisual en niños de entre 8 y 12 años, construidos a partir de procesos de intervención mediantetalleres de alfabetización mediática. Los grupos han sido instruidos acerca del universo audiovisual, dándoles a cono-cer cómo se gestan los contenidos audiovisuales y el modo de analizarlos, desestructurarlos y recrearlos. Primero, sehace referencia al concepto en evolución de educación mediática. Después, se describen las experiencias comunesen los tres países para luego incidir en los indicadores que permiten medir el nivel de lectura crítica. Por último, sereflexiona sobre la necesidad de la educación mediática en la era de la multialfabetización. No es muy frecuenteencontrar estudios que revelen las claves para reconocer qué grado de criticidad tiene un niño cuando visiona loscontenidos de los distintos medios digitales. Es un tema fundamental pues permite saber con qué nivel de compren-sión cuenta y cuál adquiere después de un proceso de formación en educación mediática.

KEYWORDSChildhood, critical reading, television workshops, teaching experiences, media literacy.Niñez, lectura crítica, talleres de televisión, experiencias de enseñanza, educación mediática.

http://dx.doi.org/10.3916/C38-2012-03-02

v Dr. Jacqueline Sánchez-Carrero is Lecturer at the Master «Communication and Audiovisual Education» of the University of Huelva/International University of Andalusia in Huelva (Spain) (jsanchezcarrero@gmail.com).

v Yamile Sandoval-Romero is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Advertising of the Santiago de Cali University (Colombia) (yamile.sandoval@yahoo.com).

l Jacqueline Sánchez & Yamile SandovalHuelva (Spain) & Cali (Colombia)

Keys to Recognizing the Levels of CriticalAudiovisual Reading in Children

Claves para reconocer los niveles de lectura crítica audiovisual en el niño

Requested: 10-07-2011 / Received: 10-08-2011 Accepted: 20-10-2011 / Published: 01-03-2012

1. Media education as an evolving concept. Mainstudy aims

Recent history shows that media education startedto emerge in the second half of the twentieth century.However, there already existed educational programsthat had been produced in response to the effect thatTV and films were having on children. At the begin-ning of the 1930s, some experts in USA began to drawattention to the need to integrate press and audiovisualresources into school curricula. In the following deca-des, these initiatives took root especially in the USAand Canada. Mario Kaplun introduced a new methodof critical reading in the 1970s in South America, withthe aim of highlighting ideological content in mediamessages. Other similar programs were implementedat that time in Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, and the1980s saw the emergence of educommunication inArgentina. In Mexico, Guillermo Orozco emphasizedthe role of the child as receptor.

In the 1990s in Spain, Jose Manuel Perez Torne -ro proposed a method for discovering the operationsand processes of critical reading in TV. The definitionof critical reading and analytical reading was introdu-ced, with the difference being that critical readingrefers to the capacity to «recognise the pragmatic pur-pose of the program, distinguishing the different the-matic and narrative levels (...) and discovering co-tex-tual and contextual connections, including alternativeproposals, and giving a new meaning to the program».Analytical reading presents a deeper dimension, andrequires a «global reading of the space [or audiovisualdocument], breaking this up into parts, capturing thedifferent dimensions of the program, noticing the struc-ture and making a global interpretation of the space»(Pérez Tornero, 1994: 150-152).

From the mid-1970s, some critical reception prac-tices took place in TV and films in Venezuela. By theend of the 20th century, in an attempt to foster criticalcivic action, the Law for the Protection of Childrenand Adolescents (LOPNA) was passed, in which art.69, entitled ‘Critical education for the Media’, statesthat «the State must guarantee education for childrenand adolescents with the aim of preparing and trainingthem to receive, search for, use and choose the mostappropriate information for their development». Theurgency to include media education in educationalprograms and compulsory school subjects is outlinedbelow. It also states that families must receive specialtraining to critically analyze media content1. Accordingto Martín-Barbero & Téllez (2008), new insights intoold problems only properly emerged in Colombia in1997 when children became the main focus for rese-

arch activities into audience and the media (López Dela Roche, 2000; Fernández, 1998; Rincón, 2002).After 2000, interest increased due to research fundedby Colombia’s National TV Commission. By that time,in Spain numerous publications and projects had alre-ady appeared that highlighted the importance of criti-cal reading, and in 2008 the European Parliamentdefined media education as the «ability to understandand bring critical assessment to bear on the variousaspects of media, being able to separate out informa-tion from the new media’s flood of data and images»2.

As media education researchers, we have organi-zed various workshops with children and adolescentsin different locations. The main aim has been to deve-lop in them an understanding of production and audio-visual narrative from a critical viewpoint. We havecarried out experimental investigations in several loca-tions: in Venezuela in 1997, through the Telekids pro-ject in 1997, with the support of the Council forScientific, Human and Technological Development ofthe Universidad de los Andes, which ran until 2000.This project also operated in Spain from 2005, whereit was known as Taller Telekids3 but it received noexternal funding. In Colombia, the same project star-ted in 2006 with the support of a training program forcritical reception (Mirando cómo miramos). In 2010,the third phase of this project was implemented atnational level, supported by the Santiago de Cali Uni -versity and the National TV Commission as part of theTV Development Plan4.

2. MethodologyThe sampling process in Colombia was conduc-

ted in public institutions and included 93 children and58 adults, among them parents and teachers. In 2007,this model was expanded to 54 educational institutionsin Cali, with 1,053 adults and 1,355. In 2010, themodel was implemented with peer universities in sixareas across the country, involving 2,400 children and2,400 adults. In Venezuela and Spain the workshopsbegan in 1997 with small group sessions, and the maingoal of all these practices was to develop the criticalawareness of children, parents and teachers in linewith the aims of media education today.

The methodology applied in the three countriesconsisted of a pre- and post-test, so that the total sam-ple (1,500 children aged 8-12) could be analysedbefore and after training. As a result, it is evident thata greater knowledge of audiovisual production enablesa better development of skills to extract content struc-tures and critically analyse them. In Venezuela andSpain, the assessment was performed according to the

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following indicators: ‘sufficiently critical’, ‘moderatelycritical’ and ‘uncritical’. A subject able to identify, des-cribe and recognize characters, history, intention andthe factors appearing in the first column in Table 2would be categorized as ‘sufficiently critical’, whichalso includes the capacity to suggest changes in con-tent. A subject who is not always able to identify theform or content in audiovisual documents and whosecontent changes are close to the original version wouldbe considered ‘moderately critical’. ‘Uncritical’ reflectsthe inability to criticallyexamine programs. InVene zuela and Spain ateaching guide waspublished with the sup-port of the Departmentof Innovation, Scienceand Business of theRegional Government ofAndalusia, entitled ‘Lossecretos de la tele:Manual de alfabetiza-ción audiovisual paraniños y maestros’ (Thesecrets of TV: a literacyguide for teachers andchildren) (Sánchez-Carrero & Martínez,2009), including an inte-ractive CD for children.This guide is divided insix thematic areas: pro-duction, screenplay,camera, sound and ligh-ting, digital editing andcritical reading. Alongwith the productionworkshop, there werepractical critical readingsessions consisting ofviewing cartoons, TVseries, films and advertsfor critical analysis. Thethree indicators andtheir definitions appearin Table 1.

The interventionmodel in Colombia ispedagogically based onUNESCO’s Four Pillarsof Education for the 21st

century: learning to

know, learning to do, learning to live together and lear-ning to be. Participants develop skills to approach con-tent critically by learning-by-discovery, creating positi-ve environments that improve their quality of life. Theworkshop is divided in three parts: first, a dialoguewith participants, identification of their readings andrelation to TV; second, the theory and practice of theconcepts of audiovisual language and media produc-tion logic are presented; third, a reflection on elementsand intention is proposed to draw attention to viewer

Table 1. Critical reading of cartoons.

Table 2. Critical reading of TV series.

responsibility. Participants integrate these aspects andtake part in the training process to become critical vie-wers, adopting new stances, reconsidering their per-ceptions and proposing reading and reception alterna-tives for TV content. Table 5. shows the workshopstructure and its different sections as a synthesis of thecritical reception model ‘Mirando como miramos’(Sandoval Rome ro, 2007)5.

This model is closely linked to its implementation

process. The in-depthdialogue with the parti-cipants regarding theirknowledge of the TVenvironment and itsinfluence on their lives isthe most important partof Mo dule 1. Someexplanations about theorigin of TV and rele-vant data are providedat the end of this modu-le, prior to launching adiscussion on the beha-vior and benefits ofbeing a critical viewer.Information about pre-production, productionand postproduction pro-cesses is provided inModule 2. Practical ses-sions with the cameraare aimed at stimulatingdiscussion on the mea-ning of viewing, beingviewed by oneself andby others. The role ofthose who work behindthe camera is analysed,along with different TVgenres such as the soapopera, which is hugelypopular in Colombia. Aliterary resource is usedin Module 3 to foster cri-tical analysis. ThroughPlato’s Myth of theCave, as told in Book VIIof The Republic, theparticipants are encoura-ged to analyse the textand identify the impor-tance of light and sha-

dows in the perception process, linking what is real(the universe of light) and reality (universe of sha-dows). This metaphor applied to TV content is usefulfor understanding the importance of the work thatgoes on behind the camera. Following this, the propo-sal presented in Venezuela analyzed the level of criti-cal reception in participants.

The blueprint for this training model was to recog-nize the active role of children in the reception process

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Table 3. Critical reading of films.

Table 4. Critical reading of adverts.

through their reading practices and the media uses. Inthis case, reception is considered to be a process invol-ving family and school, and for this reason the schoolwas to be the meeting place for parents, caregivers,teachers and children.

3. Outcomes and debate: children begin to be crit-ical viewers

The implementation of the aforementioned indi-cators in Venezuela and Spain made it possible toassess critical reading levels in children in all theworkshops programmed. To this end, children’s attitu-des are classified as sufficiently critical, moderately cri-tical or uncritical, according to their responses. As anexample, the pre-test scores in one of the workshopsheld in Venezuela were 25% sufficiently critical, 41%moderately critical and 33% uncritical. Immediatelyafter this experiment, a post-test yielded a score of50% for sufficiently critical and, more importantly, adecrease in the uncritical category from 33% to 14%.

In the 55 workshops carried out in Colombia, 75%of children, 30% of parents and 26% of teachers ack-nowledged the educational role of TV while 90% ofteachers, 70% of parents, and only 19% of childrenrecognized TV’s role as information provider. TV as asource of entertainment was acknowledged by 75% ofchildren, 84% of teachers and 56% of parents.According to the results obtained in the pre-test, activi-ties that indicated the lowest critical level correspon-ded to the identification of previous work by the direc-tors and scriptwriters, and the recognition of audiovi-sual language and its intention (difficulties in identif-ying the significance of certain shots or the sound-track). Other aspects that pointed to low levels of cri-tical reception were the failure to identify intention in

audiovisual docu-ments in general(even when given aguided analysis ofthe story and struc-ture) and to discri-minate between fic-tion and reality inTV series. In the ini-tial analysis, nomore than 20% ofparticipants referredto the audiovisuallanguage, music andshots –without usingtechnical terms-,whereas in the post-test, participants

were able to develop the following activities withoutdifficulty:

• Identify and give a general outline of the story.• Describe the characters: personality traits and

physical appearance.• Identify similarities in settings, story and charac-

ters with their day-to-day lives.• Participate in decisions that are part of the plot.• Identify the message of the episode.• Use audiovisual language (shots, sequences,

sound effects)• Identify fiction and intention.• Distinguish roles in audiovisual production

(director, scriptwriter)• Distinguish fictional/non-fictional audiovisual

products and classify their favorite programs.• Analyse the story structure: beginning, middle

and end.

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Table 5. Model of the critical reception program «Mirando cómo miramos».

Teaching guide. ‘Mirando cómo miramos. Proyecto de forma-ción de recepción crítica’.

Source: http://multiplicandomiradas.blogspot.com.

• Create an audiovisual pro-posal regarding content and pro-cessing.

4. ConclusionsThe keys to assessing critical

reception levels in children can bea valuable tool for those whoadvocate the need to train newgenerations in the critical use ofaudiovisual media. Some organi-zations already use the Internet topublicize easily applicable strate-gies for promoting critical readingin children and adolescents, two ofwhich include ‘Music, Film, TV and the Internet. Aguide for Parents and Teachers’, edited by ChildnetInter national (2010), and ‘Using Film in Schools, aPractical Guide’, edited by Film: 21st Century Literacy.These training publications enable young people to dis-criminate when viewing audiovisual content and helpprepare them to become independent and critical citi-zens. There are also a number of useful resources tofacilitate critical reception training processes, such asthe model presented by Hobbs* (2001), in which tea-chers are shown how to adapt reading and criticalanalysis processes through questions that prompt fur -ther discussion (table 6).

The ideas put forward by De Abreu (2011:15)have clarified Hobbs’ contribution and have proveduseful in workshops. According to De Abreu, mostmedia literacy programs are based on these five ques-tions developed, among others, by the Center forMedia Literacy in Los Angeles (USA). In table 7, thesequestions are linked to five key concepts.

It seems that a new projection of the media educa-tion concept in relation to people is emerging in thesecond decade of the 21st century. Technology, humanrights and democracy are increasingly linked to mediaeducation, and media education is acquiring a widerdimension and incorporating human values: the defen-ce of individual autonomy based on critical thinking,the freedom to query and the right to information, theconstructive value of openness and participative dialo-gue, the promotion of creativity and innovation as

basic resource in troubleshooting, a communicationdemocracy that should promote political democracyand the values of understanding and respect for cultu-ral diversity and intercultural dialogue (Pérez Tornero& Varis, 2010). «Teaching for communication meansteaching for critical thinking and for self-discovery (...).It is positive to train citizens to be independent andcapable of expressing their ideas» (García Matilla,2009: 40).

Although the media education debate has ragedfor over 30 years, the role of audiovisual literacy in thecurriculum is still disputed; meanwhile urgent changesare needed. We are living a multi-literacy age, definedas «the acquisition and command of skills for a perso-nal, social and cultural use of multiple tools and lan-guages in society. Multi-literacy does not exclusivelyrefer to the skills needed to operate new technologies»(Area, Gros & Marzal, 2008: 74). This underlines theimportance of the role to be played by teachers,parents and media experts. Media education shouldbe promoted and implemented at school, and familiesshould be involved in the process. We are aware thatpeople attribute values to messages but ignore themedia dynamics, audiovisual language and intentionbehind the content. Audiovisual literacy should be animportant part of any citizen’s education and themedia themselves should be the driving force behindthis education.

According to Aguaded (2009: 8), «the new Eu -ropean framework, with the support of the European

Parliament and theadvance towards inter-national assessment pro-cesses in terms of digitaland audiovisual compe-tences, are two land-mark achievements».

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Children in a Telekids workshop in Venezuela (2010).

Table 6. Questions for critical reading in media education (Hobbs, 2011:150).

The involvement of the European Parliament is a con-siderable boost to the implementation of media educa-tion, and many studies now evaluate skills levels beforeundertaking specific programs on audiovisual literacy,such as ‘Com pe ten cia Mediática. Investi ga ción sobreel grado de competencia de la ciudadanía en España’7(Media competence. An investigation into citizens’media skills in Spain). This study was carried out at 17Spanish universities and has drawn attention to defi-ciencies in the knowledge and skills necessary for vie-wers to become critical consumers of media.

SupportThe ‘Mirando cómo miramos’ project has been supported by theSantiago of Cali University and the National TV Commission inColombia. The ‘Telekids’ project was initially supported by theCouncil for Scientific, Human and Technological Development ofthe Universidad de Los Andes and the Televisora Regional delTáchira in Venezuela. In Spain, this project was supported by theDepartment of Innovation, Science and Business of the RegionalGovernment of Andalusia.

Notes1 This law was enacted in 2000 and reformed in 2007.(http://fevensor1.ve.tripod.com/lopna.htm).2 See the European Parliament Press Note on media literacy in thedigital environment, media literacy for parents and grandparents,copyright and access to ICTs. (www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/get -Doc.do?language=es&type=IM-PRESS&reference=2008 -1216IPR44614) (28-10-11).3 For further information about the teaching material, see Telekids,a fun teaching strategy for audiovisual literacy.(http://www.cntv.cl/prontus_cntv/site/artic/20110420/asocfile/20110420144405/estrategia_l__dico_educativa__jacqueline_s__nchez.pdf) (28-10-11).4 This phase is part of the work developed by the co-author of thisarticle for her PhD thesis on Psychology in the Universidad del Nor -te, Colombia.

5 See the Program Modelon Critical Reception ‘Mi -rando cómo miramos’(San doval Romero, 2007)in «Comunicación y edu-cación para la recepcióncrítica: resultados de unapropuesta integradora».Palabra Clave, 10, 2;156-154.6 See the Center forMedia Literacy (www. -me dialit.org) for more in -formation on media edu-cation issues and im -plementation in primaryeducation. (28-10-11).7 Go to www.ite.educa-cion.es/es/inicio/noticias-de-interes/414-compe-tencia-mediatic for more

information on the six dimensions in the analysis: language, techno-logy, reception and interaction processes, production and dissemina-tion, ideology, values, and aesthetics. (28-10-11).

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Table 7. Five basic concepts and key questions for consumers and producers regarding construction anddeconstruction of media messages6.

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