Abstract
This paper examines the diffusion of key concepts and practices for media literacy in Ontario in terms of teacher training that the author observed in 2001 and 2002. In Ontario, media literacy programs were introduced into the English curriculum from grade 7 to grade 12 as compulsory content in 1987. As a new practice these programs have required in-service training and there are, for instance, additional qualification courses for the training of media specialists, and workshops, which are delivered by the school board and non-profit organizations. Instructors are experienced media teachers from the Association for Media Literacy (AML), which is a teachers' group that leads media literacy practice not only in Ontario but also in other provinces and the world. Additional qualification courses allow participants to learn media studies, critical pedagogy, and media production. They are eventually expected to become consultants of media literacy in schools and school boards. In comparison, instructors at workshops provide the opportunity to understand key concepts, update current popular culture, and discuss classroom activities. However, the attempt to promote media literacy through dissemination of key concepts is facing difficulties. A fundamental problem is the fact that media literacy is marginalized in the English curriculum. Media studies have been regarded as a non-academic course among students and English teachers since they have fewer reading and writing assignments than other courses such as literature. Such circumstances cause pre-service training for teachers of English in Teachers' Colleges to have very little time allocated for media studies. It is possible to presume that there is discrimination between so-called high and low culture still existing in contemporary school curriculum. Integration of media literacy into related subjects such as geography, history, and the arts is discussed among advocates as a solution for its further diffusion. The heavy curriculum burden might, nevertheless, limit the implementation of this idea.
