News literacy education and civic engagement among primary school children: a mixed-methods evaluation

Developing children’s news literacy skills to critically engage with news is crucial to their development as informed and engaged citizens. Yet, primary school children remain largely overlooked by research and practice, which have focused primarily on older cohorts. This article draws on the mixed-methods evaluation of NewsWise – a news literacy programme for UK primary school children aged 9–11 – to explore the effectiveness of the programme and what aspects of NewsWise were perceived to work better than others. A randomised controlled trial with pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys revealed that NewsWise was effective in developing children’s ability to spot misinformation, and that there was a positive relationship between their news literacy and civic engagement. Focus groups with pupils and semi-structured interviews with teachers further indicated that the programme developed pupils’ interest in the news and news literacy skills, motivated them to be more involved in civic life, and was well received but could be improved for future delivery. We argue that media and news literacy education should be embedded more robustly in the UK school curriculum, and that future research and practice should focus more closely on primary school children’s development of news literacy and civic engagement.