Educational psychology

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The author of this article has highlighted the different notions of a media-competent child and the way these notions are applied in the formulation of a regulatory framework in the UK. The author notes that currently, a developmentalist view of children is being used to assess media literacy among children. Within this point of view, the author explains how children tend to be regarded as adults in the making rather than as children with their own peculiar competencies. The author goes on to explain why he thinks that the developmentalist conception of children’s knowledge and appreciation of media are wrong.

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The author also explores the issue of children’s understanding of various forms of media, particularly the standard of accuracy contained in adverts. The UK government appears to  portray children as merely media victims. However, research done by the author reveals that children have their own frames of references that reveal their own unique media competencies.

The author’s line of argument clearly shows his position on both conceptions: the competent child and the vulnerable child. The author argues that both notions are equally romantic and somewhat sentimental. Therefore, a pragmatic approach to media literacy is suggested, whereby the public policy debates should be focused on the fundamental questions of implications of media regulation.

Apart from the developmentalist theory, the author uses the Foucauldian argument in order to argue his case. The Foucauldian conception of the role of the state highlights a shift from government to governance. This notion is applicable in issues of public policy on media, whereby power is embedded at the level of individual’s discretion. The author highlights the public policy makers’ emphasis on the acquisition of expertise for use during self-regulation efforts.

The author also uses the Communications Act in and the way in which it represents contradictions inherent in the media policies that keep changing. The issue of obesity is used to highlight the contradictions surrounding the formulation of public policy in efforts to safeguard the health of obese children. However, the media must not be blamed for the problem of obesity, notes Buckingham, the author.

The author also makes the reader understand the concept of consumer sovereignty in media regulation. Buckingham observes that media regulation is moving towards continued emphasis on consumer autonomy (2). However, the author adds that people have to be shown to possess media competence in order for them to be trusted to make their own decisions.

In this article, the state is portrayed as an institution that has retreated from its responsibility of providing a clear public policy framework on media literacy, particularly for children. This, in the author’s opinion, has led to the creation of awareness on the importance of competence in public policy.

Lastly, the author points to the coincidence between the commercial construction of a child-consumer who is competent and the researcher’s notion of a media-literate child. Interestingly, all forms of rhetoric provided by the Buckingham, whether democratizing, market-driven or liberal, point out to the tendency among children to assert their consumer sovereignty(7).

References

Buckingham, David. Constructing the ‹Media Competent› Child: Media Literacy and Regulatory Policy in the UK,retrieved from www.medienpaed.com05-1/buckingham05-1.pdf, on August 28, 2010, 2005.