Setting The Stage

Internal code: 3.2

Target groups: school teachers, students

General description

In thinking about what teachers and educators need in terms of resources to tackle disinformation and promote digital literacy, it is important to consider how best to create the right environment in the classroom.

Interventions
 * (adT): "For teachers covering disinformation, two basic strategies are available in order to create a more tolerant and trusting space for students to engage. Firstly, they should try to avoid triggering contrarian social identities that increase affective distance, for instance by underlining hierarchical differences between them and their students or by employing top-down teaching methods. Secondly, they should try to diminish, at least temporarily, the level of student affective identification with their in-groups, be they external or within the classroom, while at the same time strengthening a common group identity for them and for their students which is inclusive (Di Bernardo et al., 2021) and affective. In practice this means promoting one-on-one teacher-student and student-student interactions that safeguard basic student needs to feel safe and to be seen and heard (Van der Kolk, 2014), that are not aiming at compromise or consensus (Keegan, 2021) but rather at dialogue, and that are based on a random selection of those participating in the interactions. Disinformation is not the only potentially divisive topic for students. Also the less controversial general topic of digital and media literacy can spark opposing social identities. These opposing social identities are generation-related. Youngsters and adults often see one another's' digital media usage as ‘inappropriate’ and use this as a basis for negative stereotyping of the other group (Comunello et al., 2020). The pandemic has intensified negative stereotyping of older generations by youngsters; for instance on social media older generations are increasingly portrayed as an expendable nuisance to younger generations (Meisner, 2021). Therefore, the basic strategies for creating a more tolerant and trusting space in the classroom could also serve teachers well when planning to dedicate lesson time to digital and media literacy."

Setting the Stage Impact Measurement

Assumptions
 * (adT) "Increased polarization within our societies poses a challenge to teachers planning to dedicate lesson time to the topic of disinformation. The inherently divisive nature of the topic (Belgian Senate, 2021) has the potential to trigger vehement contrary emotional student reactions in the classroom (Keegan, 2021). Often these reactions stem from students’ social identities that have formed in reaction to their basic human need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Alexander, 2008). Social identities impact cognition - individuals rely on people they trust to form knowledgeable, nuanced views about complex matters (Sloman & Fernbach, 2017) – as well as goals, emotions and behaviours (Van Bavel & Packer, 2021). Currently, social identities are increasingly communicated in moral and uncompromising terms. More and more individuals define those with kindred opinions as inherently ‘good’ people for whom the ends justify any means. In contrast, those with different opinions are more and more condemned as inherently ‘bad’ people who must be opposed at all costs. (Van Bavel & Packer, 2021) Research has shown that the increase in polarization is affective rather than ideology-based (Orhan, 2021). In adition, people see political opponents as more stupid than evil. As a result, pedagogical approaches relying mainly on a transfer of knowledge are insufficient to address controversial topics in the classroom (Keegan, 2021)."
 * Di Bernardo et al. (2021) Perceptions on outgroups rely on in-group norms (a) for those identifying strongly with the in-group, and (b) not having had much contact with outgroups. Górska et al. (2021) f.i. found that in-group norms moderate the link between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and outgroup-directed attitudes. This is why fostering inclusive in-group norms is crucial.

Recommendations

Setting the stage projects

Literature/ research

- Alexander, B. (2008). ''The globalization of addiction. A study in poverty of the spirit.'' Oxford University Press.

- Baumeister, R. & Leary, M. (1995). The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation. In: Psychological Bulletin, June 1995. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497

- Belgian Senate (2021). Informatieverslag betreffende de noodzakelijke samenwerking tussen de federale overheid en de Gemeenschappen inzake de bestrijding van fake news. 7-110/3. Zitting 2021-2022. 25.10.2021.

- Comunello, F., Rosales, A., Mulargia, S., Ieracitano, F., Belotti, F., & Fernández-Ardèvol, M. (2020). ‘Youngsplaining’ and moralistic judgements: Exploring ageism through the lens of digital ‘media ideologies’. Ageing and Society, 1-24. doi:10.1017/S0144686X20001312

- Di Bernardo, G. et al. (2021). Following the best of us to help them: Group member prototypicality and collective action. In: Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. October 2021. doi:10.1177/13684302211038062

- Górska,P., Stefaniak,A., Lipowska,K., Malinowska,K., Skrodzka, M., Marchlewska, M. (2021). Authoritarians Go with the Flow: Social Norms Moderate the Link between Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Outgroup-Directed Attitudes. Political Psychology, Volume 43, issue 1, Februari 2022, Pages 131-152. First published: 04 May 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12744

- Keegan, P. (2021). Critical affective civic literacy: A framework for attending to political emotion in the social studies classroom. In: The Journal of Social Studies Research, 45(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssr.2020.06.003

- Meisner, B. (2021). Are You OK, Boomer? Intensification of Ageism and Intergenerational Tensions on Social Media Amid COVID-19. Leisure Sciences, 43:1-2, 56-61, DOI: 10.1080/01490400.2020.1773983

- Orhan, Y. (2021). The Relationship between Affective Polarization and Democratic Backsliding: Comparative Evidence. Forthcoming in: Democratization, 2021.

- Sloman, S. & Fernbach, P. (2017). ''The knowledge illusion. Why we never think alone.'' Riverhead books.

- Van Bavel, J. & Packer, D. (2021). ''The power of us. Harnessing our shared identities for personal and collective success.'' Wildfire.

- Van der Kolk, B. (2014). ''The body keeps the score. Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma.'' Viking Press.