Exploring Media Education as Civic Praxis in Africa

This article argues that African media education must define a pedagogical agenda for citizenship. That task lies in a postcolonial revisionism of liberal modes of thought and practice about media. This neo-colonial dependence of African media education is evident in the pedagogical emphasis on professional-journalistic automation. However, Africans are increasingly becoming politically and civically apathetic. This analysis calls for an emancipatory vision of journalism that is embedded in civil society. It uses a case study of radio listening clubs to illustrate the civic influence of the media in Malawi and Zambia. It concludes by proposing a model of media education for citizenship. The key tenets of the model include enhancing critical analysis of the correlation between media, democracy and development; developing an emancipatory vision of journalism; cultivating an active citizenship; entrenching a viable institutional infrastructure of democracy; and promoting an informed adherence to human rights.