Media Education 4.0 in Practice: The SRF Model. Towards Applied Media Studies and Post‑Digital Education

Abstract

The article addresses the development of media and digital competencies among children and adolescents as a key challenge for twenty‑first‑century education. In response to the growing importance of media and technology in the lives of the younger generation, it presents an original systemic‑relational‑functional (SRF) model designed to diagnose patterns of media use from the perspectives of students, peers, and adults. The model is based on a review of the literature, findings from qualitative research, and training experience. The article also discusses the concept of post‑digital education and its practical implementation within Media Education 4.0, which involves a shift from learning about technology to learning through technology and redefines the agency of students and teachers as co‑actors within a cognitive‑technological network. The proposed perspective promotes a critical, relational, and hybrid approach to learning in a digital environment, emphasizing the co‑agency of humans and technology. The aim of the article is to present the author’s theoretical model and the related diagnostic and educational tool. The article is therefore both research‑oriented and implementation‑oriented, as the questionnaires included with it illustrate the main assumptions of the SRF model.