Data collection consists of transcribed interviews with teachers (40) focusing on their history and identity as teachers and specifically their experiences of teaching media. Questionnaire survey of teachers (approx. 200) and students (approx. 2000) across seven partner schools, covering issues such as personal experiences of media consumption and production, media practices, tastes and preferences, and experiences of and attitudes towards the use of media in education. The researchers worked with teachers to develop teaching strategies and materials, to implement these and to study the outcomes. The specific aim here is to develop a model of learning progression in media education, which will seek to specify what children of different ages might be expected to understand about media; and how their learning could develop over time, and in the course of a sequence of learning activities. The research team worked with teachers of children aged 6-16 from contrasting social-economic backgrounds, following parallel groups of students over a 3-year period. The research will involve detailed classroom observations, interviews with teachers and students, and the evaluation of students' work. This is the first large-scale systematic research project to explore the practice of media education in schools. Media literacy has recently become a prominent theme in UK cultural policy. However, teachers have been seeking to develop media literacy in schools for many years, both by means of specialized Media Studies courses with older students, and through incorporating elements of media education in a range of other curriculum areas.

This is a cross-sectional, one-time study. Methods used to collect data were: audio recording, face-to-face interview and self-completion. The sampling procedure was purposive selection/case studies. The target population were teachers and children in seven schools (primary and secondary) in Cambridge and Croydon.