Critical Media Literacy for Elementary Students in an After-School Programme

innovations, particularly in their out-of-school contexts, it is important to consider how media
literacy is a social practice, particularly one where students are engaging socially, culturally, and
politically. Th is is particularly relevant to the way that messages are conveyed through popular
media such as commercials, video games, and television programmes. Th e purpose of this paper
is to explore what happens when students use a critical media literacy to respond to mass media
texts and images. Th e primary question this research attempts to answer is: What happens when
students use a critical media literacy approach to discuss and interpret print and visual media images
in an after-school setting? We used qualitative research methods to collect data and thematic
analysis to analyse data. Findings refl ect how students discussed identity, bullying and aggression,
socioeconomic status, materialism and consumerism.