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New link between news literacy and civic engagement in UK children revealed

A new report reveals, for the first time, strong correlations between news literacy and civic engagement amongst 9- to 11-year-olds in the UK.

15 February 2024•2 min read
Two children, old sister and younger brother, reading a book together.

A new report released today (Thursday 15th February) reveals, for the first time, strong correlations between news literacy and civic engagement amongst 9- to 11-year-olds in the UK, showing important wider societal reasons for encouraging our children’s engagement with the news from an early age.

Research funded by The Nuffield Foundation and conducted by academics from the University of Birmingham and the University of Liverpool involved almost 2,000 participants from 40 schools across the UK. The project aimed to evaluate the NewsWise programme (designed by the Guardian Foundation in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and the PSHE Association) to better understand how news literacy in primary schools could be effectively educated and measured.

The need to educate our children in the realms of mis- and dis-information has been clear for a while, but what these findings really suggest for the first time is the ways in which our pupils’ learnings around these subjects and engagement with the news have wider positive implications for society.

Professor Tom Harrison, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor of Education Innovation, University of Birmingham

For the first time, the resulting report, ‘Educating & Measuring News Literacy and Civic Engagement in 9- to 11-year olds’, revealed a strong positive relationship between news literacy and civic engagement among this age group in the UK. This means that news literacy levels can be used to predict civic engagement and vice versa. The research also revealed key findings pertaining to children’s attitudes of news literacy and civic engagement. 

These include:

  • Only three in ten 9- to 11-year-olds in the UK are interested in the news.
  • While the majority believe the news should be truthful and balanced, less than half (47%) know how to spot fake news.
  • Only 52% can name trustworthy places to find news and find it is easy to tell if a news story is real.
  • 68% strongly agree or agree that adults should vote in elections, yet just under half say they will vote in an election themselves when they grow up (49% extremely likely or likely).
  • 90% strongly agree or agree that it is important to know what is happening in the world.
  • 57% believe adults should take part in peaceful protests.
  • And 61% say that when they grow up, they will regularly volunteer their time for good causes.

Researchers found that the participating schools selected to implement the NewsWise programme in classrooms demonstrated a clear improvement in the ability of their 9-11-year-old pupils to detect fake news, and that this improvement sustained over time. This finding is particularly significant as it was based on a performance-based, rather than self-report, measure used in the study.

Prof. Tom Harrison, Professor of Education and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor: Education Innovation at the University of Birmingham and the study’s primary investigator says: “The need to educate our children in the realms of mis- and dis-information has been clear for a while, but what these findings really suggest for the first time is the ways in which our pupils’ learnings around these subjects and engagement with the news have wider positive implications for society.”

The research uncovered strong correlations between all dimensions of news literacy and of civic engagement among 9-11-year-olds.

  1. their awareness of socio-political issues and motivation to follow the news,
  2.  such awareness and their self-reported ability to evaluate news stories, and
  3. their participation in civic life (e.g., through community involvement) and interest in the news.

Professor Harrison continues: “These findings should make us all stop and ask ourselves, ‘what’s the purpose of education for this generation?’ Yes, literacy and numeracy are very important but in a world where career paths are no longer clear, space should be made in the curriculum for helping our children to develop the competencies, character and human qualities necessary to navigate the complexities and challenges of the modern world.”

Elli Narewska, Head of NewsWise and Primary education at The Guardian Foundation adds: “There is a critical need for engaging and effective news and media literacy education in the 21st century, where there is potential for even greater spread of mis- and disinformation, which may be exacerbated through the rise of generative AI and other emerging technologies.

“The NewsWise programme was designed to equip primary school children aged 9-11 in the UK with the news literacy skills they need in order to thrive in the digital age and the findings from this research have shown it to be an effective tool that has wider implications beyond the education system. The relationship between news literacy and civic engagement is something we have seen in our work with children and teachers across a number of years; meaning that news literacy contributes to society in general.”

Elli goes on to say: “As a result, key recommendations of this report are that policymakers and educators should consider news literacy and civic engagement from an early age, what children are learning in this space and how this can be enhanced through effective teaching methods and how it is measured. This can foster news literacy and civic engagement more effectively in our young learners, which is important in an era of rapid technological transformation.”

Nuffield Foundation Programme Head, Ruth Maisey said: “To address the challenges of the future, education needs to equip children with the means to fully participate in society as responsible, engaged citizens. So, it is encouraging to see the development of interventions like NewsWise to help children detect misinformation, and the potential for news literacy interventions to enhance civic engagement.”

The full ‘Educating & Measuring News Literacy and Civic Engagement in 9- to 11-year olds’ report can be found here.

Notes for editors

  • For media inquiries please contact Ellie Hail, Communications Officer, University of Birmingham on +44 (0)7966 311 409. Out-of-hours, please call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.

  • The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.

Featured staff

  • Professor Tom Harrison

    Professor of Education and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor: Education Innovation

    Tom Harrison is Professor of Education, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor: Education Innovation and Deputy Director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham

    Phone: +44 (0)121 414 4812
    Email: t.j.harrison@bham.ac.uk

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