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Open research questions in Literacy, Media, and Education

173 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 7,354 Literacy, Media, and Education papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Based on the findings and discussion, it is recommended that: • Curriculum designers should embed Indigenous proverbs in digital teaching resources to support culturally responsive learning. • Government and NGOs should fund the development of language-specific educational apps incorporating oral traditions. • Teachers should be trained to create multimedia content that leverages local linguistic and cultural assets. • Researchers should further explore the impact of proverbs on learning outcomes in multilingual, digitally connected classrooms.

    Integrating Tshivenḓa proverbs in digital education platforms: Enhancing Indigenous language learning through technology · 2026 · DOI

  • • Additionally, future research should explore long-term retention and transfer of reading gains to writing, translation, and content-area learning. Three decades of ESP Innovation: A review of research across specialized and underexplored domains.

    An Interpretive Systematic Review of a Researcher’s Contributions to EFL Reading Instruction: Themes, Methods, and Pedagogical Insights · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore similar pedagogical designs in diverse educational contexts, including high school students and pre-service language teachers, contributing to both the conceptual and practical development of digital literacies, particularly by incorporating algorithmic awareness alongside AI literacy.

    Language learners’ social media engagement, autonomy, and algorithmic awareness · 2026 · DOI

  • We argue that the findings presented here provide a new impetus for further studies into how plurilingual pedagogies are negotiated within teachers’ everyday technology practices (state-of-the-actual), providing complemen- tary insights alongside existing research that explores plurilingual pedagogies and technology practices via university-school collaborations (state-of-the-art).

    Plurilingual pedagogies in teachers’ everyday technology practices: negotiating possibilities for EAL students · 2026 · DOI

  • , 2023), few studies have explored how younger children experience and artic- ulate engagement across different writing tasks, particularly when multimodal elements are involved. Coding techniques for quantitative and mixed data.

    Increasing writing engagement in a South Australian year two classroom · 2026 · DOI

  • Exploring different strategies to further enhance the four dimensions of writing engagement and investigating the long-term effects of such strategies could be useful areas of study. On this ground, throughout the intervention and in general terms, students were observed tending to write longer texts as they used Instagram in their writing tasks. In other words, this showed the potential of Instagram to encourage extended writing. In this matter, future research projects should explore the contribution of Instagram not only to the students’ engagement in writing, but also to enhancing their 144 writing fluency. The importance of understanding how students develop writing fluency through the integration of Instagram may provide useful data on how social media could shape communicative competence by fostering writing skills.

    Enhancing Writing Engagement in the EFL Context: Social Media Intervention Using Instagram · 2026 · DOI

  • As such, future studies might investigate broader time periods of DMC literature, and also examine the extent to which the two focal issues involving discussions of theory and task selection have evolved over time. Relatedly, another limitation of the current study involves the use of only two databases – namely, LLBA and Google Scholar.

    Digital multimodal composing: A synthesis of theory-research connections and justifications for task selection · 2026 · DOI

  • Additionally, the concept of agency for student writers remains underexplored in the development of GenAI, with insufficient focus on embedding learners’ values and addressing linguistic and cultural stereotypes in AI outputs.

    “I No Longer Know Who Wrote This”: Reclaiming Student Writer Identities and Agency Against Generative AI Hegemony in Ecuador · 2026 · DOI

  • Addressing a limited research field and current policy reforms shaping literacy instruction in Sweden, the study identifies three dimensions of drawing: (1) the pedagogical width, that is, drawing’s pervasive presence across instructional practice; (2) the bridge-building function; and (3) the contradictory positioning as both intrinsically valuable and interlinked with other modes, primarily alphabetic writing.

    Drawing in Early Literacy Instruction: How Teachers Position Drawing in Contemporary Swedish Preschool Class · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite growing interest in the role of digital media in language learning, limited research examined how teenagers in EFL contexts engage with social media as informal spaces for English development, particularly through the lens of cognitive, social, and critical literacies.

    Social Media as a Digital Language Learning Ecosystem: An Interpretive Study of Thai Teenagers’ English Development · 2026 · DOI

  • What remains to be understood — the complementary methods of through interview, discourse analysis, and audience reception research — is why they say it in these particular ways, and what difference it makes to how the people of Pakistan understand and pursue education as a fundamental right.

    Education in Pakistan's English-Language Press (2023–2025): A Longitudinal Content Analysis of Thematic Patterns and Media Salience · 2026 · DOI

  • Three limitations are acknowledged. First, keyword-based coding, while reproducible and transparent, may misclassify items in which a keyword appears in a non-primary context; manual verification of the C15 residual category is recommended for any subsequent sub-study focusing on that cluster. Second, the analytical scope is limited to factual news reporting; editorials, op-eds, opinion columns, and letters to the editor were systematically excluded for the methodological reasons set out in Section 4.2. The findings therefore speak specifically to the journalistic register of the press and not to the broader universe of education-related commentary. Third, the corpus covers English-language press only. Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi, Brahvi, Pashto and other regional language newspapers also reach substantially larger audiences and may quite education construct differently; the findings reported here should not be generalised to Pakistan's media landscape as a whole. Each of these limitations also identifies a productive direction for future research.

    Education in Pakistan's English-Language Press (2023–2025): A Longitudinal Content Analysis of Thematic Patterns and Media Salience · 2026 · DOI

  • Based on the study's findings, the following recommendations are put forward. 1. Pre-service teachers may engage in structured media analysis activities, including bias detection tasks and reflective discussions, to strengthen critical viewing competencies. 2. Teacher educators may integrate explicit instructional strategies such as guided media critique, case-based analysis, and metacognitive reflection to enhance analytical thinking. 3. Curriculum developers may embed critical viewing skills and media analysis competencies into teacher education curricula and learning standards. 4. School leaders may support professional development programs focusing on media literacy instruction and critical thinking strategies in digital learning environments. 5. Education policymakers may consider strengthening policies on media and information literacy integration to ensure systematic development of critical viewing skills across educational levels. REFERENCES Aljalabneh, A. A. (2024). Visual media literacy: Educational strategies to combat image and video disinformation on social media. Frontiers in Communication, 9, 1490798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1490798 430 International Journal of Education, Learning, and Pedagogical Sciences (INJELPS) Ariza, M., Quesada, A., & Abril, A. M. (2021). Socio-scientific issues and graph interpretation in teacher education: Developing critical thinking through climate change education. International Journal of Science Education, 43(9), 1425–1444. https://doi.org/10.1080/02103702.2021.1926164 Baja, J. P. P., & Borja, R. E. (2025). Countering misinformation and disinformation in Philippine education: A systematic review of strategies, challenges, and the role of media and information literacy.

    Interplay of media literacy exposure, visual bias recognition, cognitive flexibility, and critical viewing skills of pre-service teachers · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies that unstable infrastructure and poor connectivity curb equal technology integration but does not differentiate outcomes or implementation strategies between low-connectivity contexts versus adequate-connectivity contexts in ESP classrooms. Comparative case studies of ESP programs under different connectivity conditions would clarify context-sensitive professional development needs.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • The research uses van Dijk's (2005) four-level digital divide framework (motivational, material, skills, usage access) to analyze ESP instruction but does not operationalize or measure how institutional support interventions should specifically address each level in sequence or simultaneously. A longitudinal intervention study testing differential support strategies across these four dimensions is needed.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • The study shows that some ESP teachers creatively adapt technologies (QR codes, surveys, forum discussions) while others fail despite high intrinsic motivation, attributed to lack of peer support. However, the specific mechanisms, frequency, and formats of peer support systems that enable successful technology adoption in ESP writing instruction are not empirically tested.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper documents institutional inertia and neoliberal learning environments as barriers to technology integration but does not specify which institutional policies, governance structures, or performance metrics actively prevent equitable digital tool adoption in ESP contexts. Future work should conduct comparative institutional policy analysis across different educational settings to identify specific policy changes needed.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • The research reveals tension between hard and soft determinism in ESP teachers' responses regarding AI misuse and academic integrity, but lacks empirical data on the actual frequency, types, and contexts of student AI misuse in ESP writing assignments. A quantitative or mixed-methods study documenting specific instances of AI-generated content replacement in ESP classrooms would clarify the scope of this challenge.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a skills-based digital divide among ESP teachers but does not specify which particular AI tools, LMS systems, or interactive platforms require targeted training. Future research should map the specific digital competencies needed for each tool category and measure learning outcomes before and after context-sensitive professional development interventions in ESP writing instruction.

    Balancing agency and automation to overcome digital divide in ESP writing instruction · 2026 · DOI

  • Among its myriad elements, one that has not been addressed in recent research is the importance of engaging in the creation of multimodal texts in EFL classes.

    Exploring the impact of multimodal artifact creation in Canva on the understanding of multimodal texts in EFL Learners · 2025 · DOI

  • Although the benefits of COIL for cross-cultural learning are well documented, its role in explicitly enhancing SEL competencies and supporting crisis-responsive education remains underexplored.

    Fostering SEL competencies in digital learning environments: A COIL approach · 2025 · DOI

  • Secondly, participants identified that a major limitation of BookTok is the abundance of unregulated content that may lead to unproductive engagement with reading communities.

    Teaching with TikTok: leveraging social reading cultures through #BookTok · 2025 · DOI

  • In addition, although the workshop seems to have enhanced participants’ critical thinking about mediatisation and datafication of CT further research is needed to develop and evaluate this pedagogical strategy, especially in relation to multiperspectival thinking and democratic discussions of CT in formal educational contexts.

    Addressing conspiracy theories through Media and Data Literacy Education. An exploratory case study · 2024 · DOI

  • Abstract While digital multimodal composing, underpinned by a critical literacies approach, provides opportunities for students to make informed semiotic choices and voice concerns about social issues, there is limited research exploring how digital multimodal composing is employed to interrogate and challenge the entanglements of language, immigration status and power.

    Empowering English as an Additional Language students through digital multimodal composing · 2023 · DOI

  • The article fills a gap in the literature on two levels: firstly, by providing a multi-stakeholder perspective on IL offsetting the multitude of single stakeholder IL studies and secondly by focusing on an international middle school environment which has not been a context for IL research in the recent past.

    The seven voices of information literacy (IL) · 2018 · DOI

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173 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 7,354 Literacy, Media, and Education papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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