Facilitating Creative Media Production through the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
Abstract
As the focus in media education has shifted more from the analysis of media texts to their production, the question of creativity has simultaneously come into the spotlight. The skills of creative media production enable people to get their voices heard and to participate in our mediatised society. The media educational study “Young People in the Limelight” examines how to inspire youth to participate, particularly in media culture. Nearly 100 vulnerable young people aged fifteen to twenty-two years participated in the action research. They had, for example, social or learning difficulties. The qualitative data mainly include diaries and interviews. In this article, it is asked how the pedagogy of multiliteracies can facilitate vulnerable young people’s creative work within media production in the context of youth work. The results demonstrate four factors of pedagogy facilitating their creative work: building motivation and self-confidence, creating an encouraging atmosphere, facilitating creative media production, and providing opportunities to publish in authentic settings. The study confirms the significance of the pedagogy of multiliteracies in a youth work context. Furthermore, it raises the value of the many-sided reception of art and media culture, use of the methods of creativity, and publishing in authentic settings.