Misinformation, digital literacy and the school curriculum

Key messages As misinformation takes on new and viral forms in the digital age, teaching children how to identify it has become urgent. But while digital literacy is crucial, there is no clear and unified framework on how to promote it. Digital literacy is a complex topic to teach and learn, and needs to be taught across a number of different subject areas. The Government thinks the national curriculum needs no revision to promote digital literacy, but there is evidence that shows otherwise. The national curriculum falls short of teaching primary and secondary school children about the broader digital environment. As with existing teaching resources, it overlooks how their digital skills and knowledge about the internet can be used to identify misinformation. Teaching resources, furthermore, focus predominantly on traditional media bias over online misinformation. Teachers need training about how to teach children the skills and knowledge they require, while we also need research on teachers’ levels of digital literacy.