Investigating the Effect of Media Literacy on Creativity Skills, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in Sixth-Grade Students

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate media literacy on creativity skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills of sixth-grade students. Methodology: The statistical population of the present study was all sixth-grade students of non-profit schools in Tehran in the academic year of 2018-2019 whom 206 girls (from the population of 5056 people) and 163 boys (from the population of 4002 people) were selected as the cluster sampling method. The Simone Questionnaire (2017) was used to measure media literacy, the Harris Questionnaire (2016) was used to creativity, the Sarigoz Questionnaire (2012) was used to measure critical thinking and the Sirait Questionnaire (2017) was used to measure problem-solving skills. For data analysis, data analysis method of structural equation technique was used and using LISREL and SPSS software at a significance level of 0.05. Findings: The results showed that media literacy affected the development of creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills and these effects were not significantly different in the two groups of girls and boys. Also, the mediating role of critical thinking in the effect of media literacy on creativity and the mediating role of creativity in the effect of media literacy on problem solving skills in boys was stronger than in girls (P <0.001). Conclusion: Based on the research findings, it can be acknowledged that media literacy of students can improve problem-solving skills, creativity and critical thinking.