Critical Digital Literacy as a Tool for Fostering Critical Moral Reasoning: A Theoretical Integration

• In Event: Critical Literacies: Agency, Place, Story

Abstract

This paper draws connections between the goals and processes of critical digital literacy, as outlined by Mirra, Morrell and Filipiak (2018), and critical moral reasoning processes. Critical moral reasoning is rooted in findings from social cognitive domain theory (Turiel, 1983), and refers to one’s capacity to coordinate multiple competing concerns in making judgments, engage in responsive dialogue, and work towards justice (Nucci, 2009). Previous research on facilitating critical moral reasoning has primarily advocated for peer discourse. I expand these methods to include critical digital literacy as a set of practices that can stimulate the same type of reasoning. Each theoretical framework is explained, and then an analysis of the domain-reasoning opportunities within each component of critical digital literacy is provided.

Author

• Robyn Ilten-Gee, Simon Fraser University