There is an ongoing debate amongst educators about the
inclusion of popular culture within educational settings (Arthur, 2005). With
digital communication continuously evolving, children are being exposed to more non-print
literacy (Walsh, 2010). I interviewed a parent and student teacher to explore their views on
the matter of incorporating popular culture in the primary classroom.
The parent thought that media culture can be useful as a way of
engaging the children and helping to make learning more accessible to them.
Dean (2010) supports this by stating how digital technologies make it
increasingly easy to access and study non-print texts both in and out of
school. However, the parent also discussed that popular culture should be ‘used
with caution’ as not all children will have seen examples of it at home, therefore,
may feel excluded and will not benefit from the teaching of it. This is supported by Arthur (2005) who states that the issue of equity including popular culture is crucial and should be taken into consideration. Interestingly, the student teacher explored the opposite opinion as she thought that children should not be exposed to media culture whilst they are still considered innocent as it can have a negative impact on their childhood, for example, violence in games. This is explored further by Arthur (2005) who states that exposure to video games and action heroes means children are including more violence and aggressive behaviour in their play.
The parent thought that incorporating media literacy should also be encouraged to engage children in a more interactive way of learning. However, she was adamant that it should not replace traditional methods of teaching literacy but used in conjunction with them. The student also thought it was a good idea as long as it aided the pupil's learning. However, she too was adamant that children should not be prevented from the traditions of talking and playing because they provide children with key skills. On the other hand, Walsh (2010) states that teachers can combine print-based literacy learning with digital communications effectively to aid children's developing skills.
Arthur, L. (2005) 'Popular Culture: views of parents and educators' in Marsh, J. (2005) Popular Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer
Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE
Walsh, M. (2010) 'Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?' Australian journal of Language and Literacy 33(3) pp211 - 239
It is really interesting what the parent had to say about children feeling excluded if they hadn't experienced the same things as other children. I hadn't considered that popular culture doesn't necessary mean all children experience it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment about exposure to violence. However, I think that some elements of popular culture are difficult to avoid at home - so I agree with your interviewee that it should be used with caution so as not to unnecessarily expose children to this in school. It is such a difficult area in education as children are influenced by media almost all of the time. It does raise the question, however, as to whether or not we should embrace popular culture so we can prepare children and help them to understand that for instance 'Call of Duty' (which I heard a child talk about once!) isn't actually reflecting reality.
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ReplyDeleteI agree, the fact that not all children will have experienced certain parts of popular culture did not really cross my mind but after discussion with a parent it is definitley something to take into consideration for the future.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point about how some elements of popular culture are difficult to avoid at home, for example, violence in video games such as Call of Duty. However, if we are to prepare children for such tough topics then at what age do we start, KS1 or KS2?
It is never to early to start children thinking about using the Internet safely, simple rules such as informing a grow up if they see something inappropriate and not using their name online can be taught really early
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