Enhancing Pupils' Critical Understanding of Mass Media Texts

Zvi Israel relates to the reality of the media that direct mass culture at young people, promoting socio-economic motives through different visual texts. Young people have become detached from the arts, becoming passive consumers, rather than expressing thoughts in autonomous creative activities. Using concepts from philosophy, education, social psychology and art, Israel developed 'Six Conceptual Values of Art', to describe and define the creative process of art. These values include 'creative expression', 'critical thinking', 'aesthetic awareness', 'self-expression', 'visual perception' and 'conceptualization'. Artistic creative activity that emphasises value and the process, intuititon and multi-lkateral thinking can enable pupils to attain 'media literacy' and cope critically with the affluence offered by the mass media in their visual texts. The Six Conceptual Values were employed in workshops for school pupils, enhancing understanding and critical awareness of media texts, and enabling assessment of the pupils' work. The book provides clear guidelines for educators in the Arts and Media and Communication studies including assessment of pupils' achievements.