Technological and Societal Innovations to Cultivate Critical Reading in the Internet Era (CRITICAL)

Main funder

Funder's project number: 335727

Funds granted by main funder (€)

Funding program

Project timetable

Project start date: 01/10/2020

Project end date: 30/09/2023

Summary

One of the main challenges of our times is the wide and rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation on the Internet. The exposure to false information, in conjunction with poor Critical Reading (CR) skills, may endanger citizens’ possibilities to form evidence-informed decisions on important issues in their lives. Previous research suggests that our education system has not been able to prepare all adolescents with sufficient critical reading skills, to analyze, evaluate, and interpret conflicting information they encounter. Even though politicians have recognized the importance of CR skills, there is a need for effective, research-based practices to address this challenge. As critical reading in the Internet era is complex, we believe that not a single actor can solve the challenge of educating critical readers alone. Instead, there is a need for a coordinated effort between families, schools, libraries, the third sector, and researchers to support the development of critical readers. Our multidisciplinary CRITICAL consortium combining fields of education, psychology, computer science, and geography will take a lead to coordinate this effort. The CRITICAL project will develop research-based educational practices and intelligent digital learning materials for CR education, and provide new knowledge and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to support adolescents’ critical reading

Principal Investigator

Other persons related to this project (JYU)

Primary responsible unit

Related publications and other outputs

Related research datasets