Dr.S.Philos., Professor K.V. Kiuru
PhD, Associate professor E.E. Popova
Ural State University of Physical Culture, Chelyabinsk

Keywords: media literacy, media competency, competency building approach, educational process, media education.

Introduction. Modern life is impossible without television, radio, newspapers and Internet. Currently, mass media is one of the basic information sources for youth and, therefore, the main tool for public opinion management. Hence, there is a need to form media literacy of youth. As we know, it comprises the ability to work with the search systems and find necessary and useful information, the ability to distinguish fair and reliable sources from unfair.

Objective of the study was to substantiate the expediency of building the students' media competency in the educational process of physical culture university.

Results and discussion. Pedagogical science has no consistent approach to interpreting the “media education” and “media pedagogics” concepts, but it may be noted that today media education is regarded as an educational trend dealing with the patterns of mass media influence on a person, impact of various kinds of information on learning and education of pupils and students, on their willingness to apply new technological tools in practice [1]. S.B. Tsymbalenko defines several factors that determine media popularity among youth [6]. According to the author, they include:

• the use of therapeutic, compensatory, recreational, aesthetic, cognitive, information, communicative, moral, social, cathartic and other functions of art;
• reliance on the entertainment genres, standardization, seriation, sensationalism, a system of “emotional ups and downs” which helps reduce emotional stress of the spectators; hypnotism, guessing the desires of the audience, intuition etc.

Recently, the studies related to media competency building in the field of vocational education have become relevant.

Scientific publications began to address the issues of competency of university graduates after adoption of the Concept of modernization of education. In the framework of this Concept, the Russian Federation undertakes the commitment to adhere to the fundamental principles of organization of the single European space and present the results of vocational education in the competency-based format. For more than ten years, there has been a transition in the higher education system to the mentioned approach.

In the Russian Pedagogical Encyclopedia media education is defined as a trend in pedagogics, which stands for studying “mass media patterns (press, television, radio, cinema, video etc.”). The key objectives of media education are: preparing the new generation for living in the modern information environment, for perceiving various information and learning how to understand it, being aware of the consequences of its influence on the psyche, mastering non-verbal forms of communication with the help of technological tools” [3].

S.L. Troyanskaya highlights three components of non-technical (general cultural) competency of the individual, which can be accepted [5]:

•  cognitive component;
•  value-oriented component;
• communication-activity.

The development of non-technical (general cultural) competency of students in the process of acquiring higher professional education takes place in terms of the disciplines of both non-technical and vocational cycles, studying of which promotes formation of the personal sociocultural core (worldview, enhancing the scientific and aesthetic-cultural outlook etc.). In this case, formation of non-technical competences of students is based on the curriculum specialization [3].

Thus, media competency of the individual is a combination of his motives, knowledge, skills etc. promoting choice, use, critical analysis, evaluation, creation and transfer of media texts in different kinds, forms and genres, analysis of complex processes of media functioning in the society [2].

As our experience shows, the personal media competency is developed more effectively in terms of higher professional education due to the fact that students serve as the audience at risk in this problem.

Enhancement of consciousness, objective positivization of behavior motives are typical for student age. Positive personal qualities such as responsibility, commitment, purposefulness, persistency, self-sufficiency, ability to control own feelings, desires, inclinations are formed and consolidated. However, sometimes people of this age are characterized by aversive behavior, inadequate and illegal actions, which in most cases are motivated by destructive example. Thus, the problem of building the students' media competency in the educational process of physical culture university is relevant.

Qualitative education can be achieved only based on the competency building approach in the educational system. The language of competences should increase the efficiency of both educational processes and future work processes. Therefore, today we have federal state educational standards understood as a set of mandatory requirements to education of a certain level, profession, specialization and training program, approved by the federal executive authority performing the functions of state policy formulation and statutory regulation in the sphere of education. The structure of the federal state educational standards contains the required competences, assimilation of which helps person become an expert in the given industry.

In the framework of the university educational process, students are prepared for modern professional, social, political, economic and other conditions. However, considering intensive development of the media space, its manipulative influence on the consciousness, there is a need to prepare students for living in the modern information environment. It is possible to solve this task by forming the media competencies of students with regard to the specifics of student audience and university educational process.

The findings of the research geared to determine the specifics of building the students’ media competencies are shown in Fig.1 and 2.

Fig.1. Source of information for students

The study involved 22 students of 3^rd and 4^th years of study in specialization 040700 – “Organization of work with youth” of the Federal State-Funded Educational Institution of Higher Vocational Education Ural State University of Physical Culture”. The obtained indices are conditioned by students’ motives: pursuance of recreation, rest; gaining new information; searching materials for educational, scientific, research purposes; good leisure time; virtual communication; intelligent dialogue with the creators of media message; desire to see a favorite actor, host; listen to favorite music.

Fig.2. Credibility to media resources

However, the respondents rely more on press than other media resources: radio, television, Internet. The lack of trust is caused by the 100% opinion of the respondents on the negative manipulative influence of web-sites and television on the consciousness of youth. Social networks play a special role here due to their negative impact and result in mental disorders, disruptive behavior, lack of social activism and reduced desire of youth to acquire education.

The findings showed that students, despite the knowledge of the media manipulation problem, are under the influence of the Internet. However, it is important to note that they are ready to resist mind control by the media; moreover, 95 % of them consider that such education should be introduced into the educational process of the universities.

According to the survey results, students (98 %) are willing to gain the knowledge related to media competency building by means of interactive modes of study (trainings, business games, debates, roundtable discussions etc.), practical work (93 %), lectures (49 %).

Conclusions. As shown by the study, students are regularly influenced by the media, but 100% of the respondents are willing to gain the necessary knowledge to resist these influences. To solve this problem, media literacy building classes need to be introduced into the educational process of a university of physical culture.

References

1. Kiuru K.V. Vliyanie sredstv massovoy kommunikatsii na soznanie i povedenie molodezhi kak problema mediapedagogiki (Influence of mass media on consciousness and actions of young people as a problem of media education) / K.V. Kiuru // Znak. Problemnoe pole mediaobrazovaniya. – 2014. – № 2. – P. 19–23.
2. Mediaobrazovatel'ny komponent v realizatsii magisterskikh programm: ucheb. posobie (Media-educational component in Master programme implementation: teaching aid) / Ed. by A.V. Fedorov. – Taganrog: Pub. h-se of Taganrog institute n.a. A.P. Chekhov, 2015. – 184 p.
3. Pedagogika fizicheskoy kul'tury: uchebnik dlya stud. uchrezhdeniy vyssh. obrazovaniya (Physical Education pedagogics: Textbook for students of higher ed. institutions) / S.D. Neverkovich, T.V. Aronova, A.R. Baymurzin et al.; ed. by S.D. Neverkovich. – 3rd ed., ster. – Moscow: Akademiya, 2014. – 368 p.
4. Rossiyskaya pedagogicheskaya entsiklopediya (Russian Pedagogical Encyclopedia) / Ed. by V.G. Panov. – Moscow: Bol'shaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya (Big Russian Encyclopedia), 1993. – 608 p.
5. Troyanskaya S.L. Obshchekulturnaya kompetentnost': opyt opredeleniya i strukturirovaniya (General cultural competency: identifying and structuring experience) / S.L. Troyanskaya // Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya. – 2008. – № 2. – P. 19–23.
6. Tsymbalenko S B. Rossiyskie podrostki v informatsionnom mire (Russian teens in networked world) / S.B. Tsymbalenko, A.V. Sharikov, S.N. Shcheglova. – Moscow: UNPRESS, 1998. – 45 p.

Corresponding author: kkiuru@mail.ru

Abstract

The article substantiates the expediency of building the students' media competency in the educational process of a university of physical culture. Considered are the key concepts of media literacy and media competency. The results of the study of the students' media behavior in the educational process are stipulated in the paper. The study proves the need to introduce media literacy building classes into the university educational process. As shown by the study, students are regularly influenced by the media, but 100% of the respondents are willing to gain the necessary knowledge to resist these influences. To solve this problem, media literacy building classes need to be introduced into the educational process of ф university of physical culture.