Overview cont.

Media literacy initiatives have been generated by a wide variety of educators, scholars and leaders in community-based organizations. Substance abuse prevention professionals and educators, for example, have begun to see the value in promoting critical thinking about media messages, especially through examining the voluminous messages about alcohol and tobacco that directly target young people. In the area of violence prevention, increased funding for staff development through programs like the Safe and Drug Free Schools Act, has led to a considerable increase in the number of health teachers in grades K-12 who have incorporated media literacy into violence prevention education.

In K-12 education, teachers in health education have been joined by colleagues from English language arts, social studies, and the visual and performing arts in including media literacy into the curriculum. Health educators have been substantial leaders in media literacy, especially in the United States, and particularly in the development and implementation of programs targeted to students aged 11 to 13. In addition, the movement towards standards-based education has resulted in a dramatic increase in the inclusion of media literacy into health education curriculum frameworks.. More than 35 U.S. states now include media education as part of health education, and addressing such issues as violence, sexuality and body image, nutrition, and substance abuse prevention (Kubey & Baker, 1999) (see reference list for article and for www links to state standards). West Virginia, for example, calls on students to "analyze media influence on tobacco and alcohol [use] and develop counter-advertisements for peer education."