An overview of the history of media education in Canada

Abstract

The article's primary objective is to provide the first comprehensive retrospective examination of Canadian media education history. The authors support the periodization, identify the trends, the periodization criteria, and the three main periods of establishment and development of Canadian media education in the context of socio-political and sociopedagogical determinants based on the theoretical findings of Canadian media educators. The historical foundations for Canada's development of media education are made clear. According to pedagogical theory and practice, the core of media education is the study of theory and the development of practical skills for mastering contemporary mass media. This knowledge is seen as belonging to a distinct, independent field of knowledge. The authors conclude that media education is connected to all forms of media, including the collection of information and communication tools that each person uses on a daily basis: printed media (newspapers, magazines), auditory media (radio, audio), and screen media (movies, television, video, multimedia, the Internet, etc.); they also define the fundamental elements of media education and conclude that it is a subset of media literacy and media culture. The article describes the evolution of media education associations, approaches, and programs. It has been proven necessary to use positive Canadian experience to address issues with implementing media education in Ukraine in order to improve and humanize that country's educational system in the framework of studying the experience of Canadian media theorists and practitioners.