Finnish Media Literacy Education Policies and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education and Care Since 2004

Abstract

"The purpose of the article is to describe Finnish media literacy policies and good media education practices in early childhood education and care. This article will focus on describing two central action lines related to the Children and Media Program, initiated by the Division for Cultural Policy of the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2004. These action lines include the reform of the legislation for the protection of Minors and the distribution of audiovisual programs in Finland, and the development of the Media Muffin project, including implementation, evaluation and publication of resource materials. In exploring these two initiatives, this paper identifies the relationship between programmatic actions that focus on teacher education and larger policy initiatives that promote media literacy education for young children."