Youth Journalism and SDG 4: Empowering Students Through Media Literacy Promoting education and critical thinking through student media

Abstract

As an educational practice, youth journalism is a transformative tool in supporting the development of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 that focuses on finding inclusive and equitable quality education, as well as providing access to lifelong learning opportunities. Media literacy will enable the students to question what they read or see, question narratives, and create responsible content. The present paper explores how student-led media projects foster critical thinking, advance communication abilities, and help integrate what is learned in the classroom and real-life problem solving. Based on evidence provided by related studies, the paper points out the interests of the youth journalism in promoting civic engagement, inclusivity, and problem-solving. The research methodology is mixed, which entails both the analysis content on student publications and the interview with student journalists. They imply that youth journalism can encourage analytical thinking, cooperation, and digital literacy, which contributes to the vision of SDG 4 of quality education. Nevertheless, there are practical limitations related to the unequal access to the digital tools, insufficient support in the media education in the institution and the likelihood of being misinformed in case the media education is poorly planned. The next step is to find out how scalable digital channels, policy frameworks and cross-cultural case studies could be used to empower youth journalism as the central element of education reform.