ERIC Number: ED675327
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 28
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Empower Year 2: Evaluation Report
National Literacy Trust
The Empower programme was developed to improve the media literacy of young girls in alternative provision or at risk of exclusion. In its first year, Empower focused on supporting girls in Key Stage 3 (11-14-year-olds) to navigate online information, understand how media shapes perception, and use their voices with confidence. Following its success, the second year expanded to include Key Stage 4 students (14-16-year-olds), introduced new content on Artificial Intelligence, and had a renewed focus on oracy--equipping young people with the skills to think critically and speak powerfully. A small pilot programme to train a voluntary group of Empower Teachers, Media Literacy Leaders, was also trialled as an approach to help teachers embed media literacy school wide. This was done to ensure every student has the tools to question what they see online and make safer, more informed choices. In this second year, Empower was delivered to 3,746 students as part of 393 cohorts in 266 settings, 83% of which were alternative provision settings. To evaluate Empower and Media Literacy Leaders, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys and interviews. Findings show that Empower successfully improved students' knowledge and confidence around media literacy, evidenced by the improvement in their ability to spot fake news, their self-reported confidence and their teachers' observations. Whilst self-reported confidence in oracy skills was already high, this evaluation has shown an increase in these areas, as well as strong feedback from teachers about oracy benefits. Media Literacy Leaders was also well received by attendees, with the online model of delivery working well and the resources being useful as both a teaching tool and a launching point for further action. [The Empower programme was funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) of the United Kingdom.]
Descriptors: Media Literacy, Womens Education, Media Education, At Risk Students, Nontraditional Education, Secondary School Students, Program Effectiveness, Educational Benefits, Social Media, Mass Media Use, Speech Skills, Secondary School Teachers, Foreign Countries
National Literacy Trust. Swire House, 59 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AJ, UK. Tel: +44-2078-282435; Fax: +44-2079-319986; e-mail: contact@literacytrust.org.uk; Web site: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk
Related Records: ED675326
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Literacy Trust (United Kingdom)
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


