Abstract:

In today's media-driven world, developing competencies in media literacy is essential (Bardo & Martin 2017). However, despite being heavily digitally influenced, young children cannot be labeled as "digital natives" (Eynon 2020; Tillmann, Fleischer & Hugger 2014). Instead, it is crucial to learn how to use media competently, as this skill serves as a bridge between social, media, and political literacy, and links them to a political authority that is vital to the continued existence of democracy (Marx 2019; Jónssen & Rodriguez 2019; Jolls & Johnsen 2018). However, despite their exposure to political issues such as health, diversity, environmental protection and war through media at a young age, children have not always been recognized as active members of society (Butschi & Hedderich 2021). Accordingly, few studies have investigated the political awareness of young children, and even less research has explored the relationship between media usage and political education within this population. This is where our research comes in, resulting from the interdisciplinary research project PoJoMeC funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Our case study, including 41 kindergarten and elementary school children, aims to fill the gap in understanding the connection between media use and political awareness. Since conducting research in early childhood poses numerous challenges, we developed a novel interview method called the "Picturizing Strategy" (Tkotzyk, Lategahn, Marci-Boehncke 2022; Tkotzyk & Marci-Boehncke 2022). This approach draws on the framework of "concept maps" established by Novak and Cañas (1990).

Although childhood research faces the challenge of providing a child-friendly approach, as "children represent a distinct target group" (Vogl 2011), young children with a migratory background are often overlooked in research studies. Failure to consider this particular group could be viewed as careless, given that 40.3% of all children under age 5 and 39.8% of 5- to 10-year-olds will have a migrant background by the year 2020 (bpb 2022). Therefore, early childhood research must include children facing language barriers, interactive and cognitive challenges, or those lacking survey experience (Vogl 2011). Research approaches must reflect this responsibility, but how can researchers address the needs of children with diverse cultural backgrounds, trauma experiences, or who do not speak the dominant language at home? To successfully address these concerns, it is essential that research exhibits greater sensitivity to the intricacies and diversities of our society.

Using the above mentioned case study on the use of media and its impact on young children's political awareness as an example, this research paper not only aims to draw attention to the barriers that non-diversity sensitive research can create for children but also discuss approaches that promote diversity awareness.

Keywords:

Media Competencies, Barriers to Learning, Diversity, Political Awareness.