Critically redefining and repositioning media texts in early childhood teacher education: What if? and Why?
Abstract
Given the prevalence of popular media in the lives of young children today, early child- hood teacher education stands to benefit from fostering critical media literacy practices. Through the use of critical media literary practices, early childhood teacher educators can facilitate a process whereby preservice teachers learn how to critically reposi- tion cartoons and other media texts, transforming them into tools for more equitable teaching. Offering a situated representation of this phenomenon, this article features a semester-long qualitative study in which a teacher educator engaged preservice teacher educators in critically reading the texts and contexts of media, while simultaneously discussing inequities in education and society. Findings indicate that such media texts can serve as codifications of generative themes whereby preservice teachers can start acknowledging and addressing issues of inequity. Implications point toward the power and possibilities of early childhood teacher educators engaging preservice teachers in making curricula more accessible and equitable by repositioning popular culture media texts in early childhood classrooms.
Reference
Souto-Manning, M. & Price-Dennis, D. (2012). Critically redefining and repositioning media texts in early childhood teacher education: What if? and Why? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 33(4), 304-321.
Journal
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
- early childhood
- early childhood special education
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
23
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- audio memos
- fieldnotes
- Interviews
- lesson plans
- narrative journals
- Observations
- retrospective notes
- Survey
Data Analysis Tools
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own practices)
Research Questions
"How can early childhood teacher educators engage preservice teachers in making multicultural curricula more accessible, meaningful, and authentic through the use of popular culture texts?" (p. 309)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
Subquestion (a): "in what ways can a teacher educator reposition children’s popular culture (i.e., cartoons)
to critically address issues of inequity in an early childhood teacher education classroom?"
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Unknown
subquestion (b): "what are the affordances of such repositioning within this particular setting?"
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Unknown