ERIC Number: ED556269
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 218
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-3035-6527-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Tensions of Teaching Media Literacy in Teacher Education
Ngomba-Westbrook, Nalova Elaine
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University
This study investigates the tensions a teacher educator faces in facilitating a media literacy teacher education course at the university level. Teaching tensions are conceptualized as a three-tier framework. At the first level, tensions may arise in the selection and application of pedagogies associated with critical and new/21st century literacies. At the second level, tensions exist within debates about the extent to which media literacy is conceptualized as a core subject itself in contrast to a process for learning core subjects. The third level of tensions involves diverse stakeholders including individuals who are connected to university teacher education programs, teacher professional organizations (e.g., NCATE, IRA, NBPTS), K-12 teachers, the media industry, media watchdog/activist organizations, and government/policies. Depending upon the specific issues involved, these stakeholders may either compete against each other, pushing media literacy education in opposing directions, or complement each other, exerting a unified influence on media literacy teacher education. The study employs a case study methodology to research the teaching tensions facing a media literacy teacher educator in a Masters' level literacy education course. The media literacy course that was examined in this study includes a teacher educator and in-service teachers and graduate education students (N = 24) matriculating at a university on the East Coast. An exploratory triangulation design utilizes three pre-course data sources: the teacher educator's published research, a course syllabus, and a survey administered by the researcher to gauge teacher student levels of media literacy knowledge. The design also incorporates the following data collected during the media literacy education course: interviews, class observations, and teacher student artifacts. Findings of this study show that: (1) the media literacy teacher educator focuses more heavily on critical and socio-cultural practice-based media literacy pedagogy as opposed to new/21st century literacies and skills-based pedagogy, (2) the media literacy teacher educator focuses more on media literacy pedagogy as a process as opposed to content, particularly in the latter part of the course, and (3) the teacher educator draws pedagogical cues from media watchdog/activist organizations as opposed to the media industry, and responds to pressures from teacher professional organizations. Additional implications for teacher education pedagogical decisions are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Teacher Educators, Media Literacy, Teacher Associations, Elementary Secondary Education, Mass Media, Political Influences, Stakeholders, Case Studies, Teaching Methods, Inservice Teacher Education, Graduate Students, Teacher Researchers, Course Descriptions, Surveys, Interviews, Observation, Social Influences, Cultural Influences, Activism, Industry
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A