نقش سواد رسانه‌ای والدین در تفکر انتقادی دانش‌آموزان دورۀ اول متوسطه مقالة

خلاصة:

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between media literacy and demographic characteristics of families with critical thinking of first grade high school students in Shahreza in the academic year 1399-1400. In this study، the correlation method، which is one of the descriptive research methods، was used. The statistical population of the study is all junior high school students in Shahreza and their parents. Through stratified random sampling and using Cochran's formula، 684 junior high school students in Shahreza and their parents. Were selected as a sample. Data collection tools in this study were a researcher-made media literacy questionnaire and the California Standard Critical Thinking Standard Questionnaire Form B. Pearson correlation، chi-square and regression analysis with SPSS.26 software were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between parents' media literacy and critical thinking of first year high school students in Shahreza. In addition، there is a significant relationship between age and gender of parents with critical thinking of first year high school students in Shahreza. But there is no significant relationship between parents' education and critical thinking of first year high school students in Shahreza. Therefore، the results of the study showed that fathers and younger parents have a better performance in creating a critical view in their children. Also، the parents' education has no effect on creating a critical view of the children. IntroductionThe reduction in parent-child communication time and the increase in interaction with new media necessitate the development of proper parenting skills, including media literacy skills in parents (Pakdaman Savoji et al., 2013). Media literacy helps individuals distinguish between truth and misinformation in media messages and enables them to use media critically. Conversations and discussions between parents and children create a foundation for strengthening critical thinking in children (Pratiwi et al., 2019; Nassiri, 2017). Critical thinking refers to the intelligent and purposeful use of abilities to interpret and evaluate diverse information (Topoglu, 2014). The widespread use of media among children, concerns about the lack of skills in distinguishing between reliable and unreliable information, and the existence of various research opinions regarding the vital role and potential of parents in helping children understand and interpret media content (Winterbottom Austin & Pinkleton, 2001; Barkin et al., 2006; Potter, 2010) have motivated researchers to conduct studies on the relationship between media literacy and the socio-demographic characteristics of parents with students' critical thinking. Based on this, the research questions are as follows:Is there a significant relationship between parents' media literacy and students' critical thinking?Is there a significant relationship between parents' socio-demographic characteristics and students' critical thinking? MethodologyThis study employed a descriptive-applied research design and utilized the correlation coefficient calculation method to answer the research questions. The statistical population consisted of 6,203 high school students and their parents in Shahreza city during the academic year 2020-2021. A sample of 684 individuals was selected using cluster random sampling based on Cochran's formula.Data were collected using two researcher-developed media literacy questionnaires and a modified version of the California Critical Thinking Questionnaire Form B, developed by Facione and Facione in 1989-1990. The media literacy questionnaire included 45 items and 6 main subscales on a 5-point Likert scale, covering: 1) general questions on media literacy, 2) time of media usage, 3) evaluation of content comprehension, 4) awareness of hidden objectives, 5) critique of media messages, and 6) analysis of media messages. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by five experts in the field of media literacy. The reliability of the questionnaire, assessed using Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.72 to 0.85 in different subscales.The critical thinking questionnaire comprised 34 items and 5 sections, namely: 1) analysis, 2) evaluation, 3) inference, 4) inductive reasoning, and 5) deductive reasoning. The reliability of this questionnaire, assessed using Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.70 to 0.82 in different subscales. Research FindingsTo answer the first research question, linear regression analysis was employed. The results are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Linear Regression Analysis of the Relationship between Media Literacy and Students' Critical ThinkingModelSum of squaresdfaverage of squaresStatistics fSignificance levelRR2Regression243548.683548709.737322.0080.0010.8390.704Residual102560.210678151.629 Total346108.893683 The results obtained from the calculation of regression analysis indicate that there is a significant relationship between parental media literacy and children's critical thinking at a significance level of 0.05. The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.704 (R2). The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient between media literacy and critical thinking are presented in Table 2. Table 2 - Pearson Correlation Coefficients between Parental Media Literacy and Students' Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking CategoriesMedia LiteracySigInterpretive Skills0.260.001Inferential Skills0.820.001Evaluative Skills0.240.001Inductive Reasoning0.270.001Deductive Reasoning0.280.001 Based on the results obtained from Table 2, it can be concluded that the strongest relationship exists between parental media literacy and inferential skills, while the weakest relationship is observed with the component of evaluative skills.To address the second research question, Pearson correlation and Chi-square tests were employed. The results are presented in Table 3. Table 3 - Correlation Coefficients between Research Variables Critical thinkingAgePearson Correlation0.23Statistical Significance0.000EducationPearson Correlation0.02Statistical Significance0.65GenderPearson Correlation144.8Statistical Significance0.000 The results of the correlation coefficients between demographic variables and students' critical thinking are as follows: age (r = 0.23, p To further examine the impact of parental education on students' critical thinking, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was conducted. The results of this test can be observed in Table 4.Table 4 - The Impact of Parental Education on Students' Level of Critical ThinkingSource of changeSum of SquaresdfMean SquaresFSignificanceBetween group102.33520.460.890.48Within-Group15450.4167822.78 Sum15552.7368 According to the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, parental education is not significantly associated with the level of students' critical thinking (p > 0.05). Discussion and Conclusion:Based on the research findings, the level of parental media literacy has an impact on the critical thinking of their children. Parents who use a critical approach to media engagement have children who are more critical and sensitive to media content (Aslani et al., 2019). This finding highlights the importance of parental role modeling. Given the vastness of media platforms, society requires critical and active users to preserve its cultural and social values. Therefore, enhancing the level of media literacy among individuals in society is essential for the preservation of cultural and historical values. Furthermore, the research findings indicate that the younger the age of parents, the higher the level of critical thinking in their children. Young parents are more likely to be users of virtual spaces and have greater knowledge and awareness of contemporary technologies. They are more familiar with the risks and opportunities of the virtual world compared to older parents (Pakdaman Savoji et al., 2013; Karami Namivandi et al., 2018; Schmidt, 2015). However, the results did not show a significant relationship between parental education level and students' critical thinking. This finding confirms the difference between media literacy and academic education (Babapirali, 2018; Chitsaz, 2020; Shapiro & Salovey, 2011). Parents may have a high academic education level, such as a doctoral degree, but their media literacy level may be lower than parents with elementary education.Moreover, based on the research findings, the gender of parents has an influence on the level of critical thinking in their children. Fathers play a more significant role in their children's critical thinking compared to mothers. Studies conducted in Iran have shown that men have greater access to the internet compared to women. Women tend to use media more for entertainment purposes and for communication and interaction with friends and family, while men use media for daily news and social and political discussions (Mirfardi & Valinezhad, 2018; Armen et al., 2015; Kalantari et al., 2013). Therefore, fathers are more engaged in media spaces and strive to analyze all aspects of the information received. They are also more informed about the risks and accuracy of information and try to transfer their critical perspective on media to their children.