Crossing the Bridge: Literacy Between School Education and Contemporary Cultures

The article focuses on the concept of "literacy", from a pedagogical and media-educational point of view. At the beginning, it centers on the reasons for the gap between school and media cultures; then, it argues that the concept of literacy – in its most modern form, which include the idea of "multiliteracies" – is the cornerstone to link the media culture to school activities, that is the theories and practice of media education (or media literacy education). In the second part, the article shows the goals of media literacy education (understanding, critical viewing, and produce media messages) and some possible connections between this area and other school's goals, as critical thinking, civic participation, and gender identity development, health, and aesthetic education.