Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET: a systematic scoping review
European Journal of Training and Development
ISSN: 2046-9012
Article publication date: 2 September 2021
Issue publication date: 3 February 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The alignment between the labour market and initial vocational education and training (IVET) is placing always more importance on technical knowledge and skills, whilst metacognitive competences such as critical thinking and media literacy are increasingly neglected. In the context of IVET, this results in authors and practitioners paying always more attention to how to devise possible training interventions, with the double aim of implementing their educational pathways and enhancing students’ critical thinking and media literacy. This paper aims to report the state of the art concerning such processes of enhancement in IVET students.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted the method of systematic scoping review to address the research questions on how to enhance critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET.
Findings
The paper presents the analyses of the n = 19 contributions collected. Then, it proposes an initial conceptualization of the dimensions of critical thinking and media literacy. Moreover, by combining evidence from various contributions, the review proposes implications for educational practices and strategies. Around these pieces of knowledge, further avenues of research and practice are proposed.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature on critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET by advancing initial comprehensive conceptualizations of the two dimensions. Moreover, the study advances initial practical implications for teachers and trainers for the development of training interventions.
Originality/value
The originality of the present review rests in its proposal of definitions of critical thinking and media literacy; moreover, it widens the discussion of practices on how to enhance such metacognitive competences. Indeed, the study identifies the teaching and training practices meant to enhance critical thinking and media literacy and proposes applied implications in the context of IVET.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We gladly acknowledge the community of NERDVET project partners who envision the study of critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET. They have contributed to the development of this paper. They are representative of the following IVET centres in Europe: ENAIP Veneto Foundation (Italy), Centro San Viator (Spain), Stichting Clusius College (The Netherlands), INOVINTER (Portugal), American Farm School (Greece). We particularly thank Alfredo Garmendia, Ainhoa De La Cruz, Lara Meijer, Ryanne Sandstra, Clara Bovenberg, Yrina Res-Drost, Susanne Libbenga, Paula Cristina Soares Pedro, Susana Isabel Rodrigues Casimiro, Stavroula Antonopoulou, and Erikaiti Fintzou for their comments and discussions on our paper. We are grateful to the Editors of the EJTD Dr Ronan Carbery and Prof Thomas Garavan for their thoughtful editing of this paper.
Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Authors’ work on this paper was supported by of the European Union funding for the project NERDVET, ERASMUS + KA3 – Support for Policy Reform, Social inclusion through education, training and youth.
Citation
Tommasi, F., Ceschi, A., Sartori, R., Gostimir, M., Passaia, G., Genero, S. and Belotto, S. (2023), "Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET: a systematic scoping review", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 47 No. 1/2, pp. 85-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-06-2021-0074
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited