1. Capitalists, Consumers, and Communicators: How Schools Approach Civic Education Renee Hobbs Harrington School of Communication and Media University of Rhode Island Twitter: @reneehobbs The Civic Media Project: Citizens, Technology & Learning in Digital Culture DML Los Angeles June 12, 2015 2. School-based civic education programs are shifting from emphasis on transmission of civic content towards a focus on cultivating skills & dispositions Partnerships with the business and philanthropic community are bringing new approaches to teaching and learning of civic education These approaches use civic education to address a particular problem of interest to the funder The most sustainable school-based programs are developed by educators who engage in partnership programs while crafting learning experiences to meet the civic education needs of the students they serve 3. 50% live in California, Texas and Florida 20 years of U.S. educational reforms Race to the Top testing regime Common Core State Standards Emphasis on individual economic competitiveness and not preparation for citizenship in a democracy 4. How Schools Approach Civic Education 5. Racial Disparities in Civic Competencies National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nations Report Card: Civics 2010 (NCES 2011466). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 6. National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nations Report Card: Civics 2010 (NCES 2011466). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 7. National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nations Report Card: Civics 2010 (NCES 2011466). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 8. 600,000students annually 9. Examples of Civic Education Initiatives in Schools 10. News literacy curricula are developed by members of the journalistic community Emphasis is on understanding how to evaluate quality and credibility of news sources through understanding practices of verification Former journalists offer their insight to students and inspire them to appreciate the ideals of American journalistic objectivity Little emphasis on providing critiques of journalism or offering information about the economics of news and public relations 11. Financial literacy curricula are developed by members of the business community Emphasis is on framing up personal economic practices as fundamentally rational choices Little emphasis on providing critiques of capitalism or alternative framing that positions individual behavior within a larger global and structural economic context Educational and instructional strategies are described as delivery systems designed to affect behaviors of learners 12. Financial Literacy in Navajo Country 13. Programs emphasize the practice of students in gathering, analyzing and sharing information about the community with members of their community Emphasis is on articulating personal voice and/or learning as a practice of finding out information and sharing it using language, image, sound and multimedia Educational and instructional strategies emphasize collaboration, the acquisition of digital skills & the ability to use genre norms for communicating informational content Student work products may or may not reach an authentic audience 14. Communication Arts Program (CAP) Montgomery Blair High School Silver Spring MD A comprehensive program that connects the humanities to the media, now in its 28th year 15. Research Design Quasi-experimental study 2 x 2 factorial Open Selective Admission Admission Media Literacy No ML COMMUNICATION ARTS PROGRAM MEDIA LITERACY ACADEMY CONTROL CONTROL Academy Level Treatment Martens, H. & Hobbs, R. (2015). How media literacy supports civic engagement in a digital age. Atlantic Journal of Communication 23(2), 120 137. 16. School-based civic education programs are shifting from emphasis on transmission of civic content towards a focus on cultivating skills & dispositions Partnerships with the business and philanthropic community are bringing new approaches to teaching and learning of civic education to schools These approaches use civic education to address a particular problem of interest to the funder The most sustainable school-based programs are developed by educators who engage in partnership programs while crafting learning experiences to meet the civic education needs of the students they serve 17. How do teachers become inspired to engage in instructional practices that combine real-world inquiry with digital media literacy? What kinds of professional development experiences advance teacher learning? What kinds of school leadership practices best support teachers strategic risk-taking in media literacy education? 18. Martens, H. & Hobbs, R. (2015). How media literacy supports civic engagement in a digital age. Atlantic Journal of Communication 23(2), 120 137. Hobbs, R. & Donnelly, K. How Adolescents Advance Intellectual Curiosity, Collaboration and Civic Engagement by Learning to Create Broadcast News, International Communication Association, San Juan, May 24, 2015. Hobbs, R. & McGee, S. (2014). Teaching about propaganda: An examination of the historical roots of media literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education 6(2), 56 67. Hobbs, R., He, H. & RobbGrieco, M. (2014). Seeing, believing and learning to be skeptical: Supporting language learning through advertising analysis activities. TESOL Journal DOI: 10.1002/tesj.153 Hobbs, R., Donnelly, K., Friesem, J. & Moen, M. (2013). Learning to engage: How positive attitudes about the news, media literacy and video production contribute to adolescent civic engagement. Educational Media International 50(4), 231 246. Hobbs, R. (2013). The blurring of art, journalism and advocacy: Confronting 21st century propaganda in a world of online journalism. I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society 8(3), 625 638. Hobbs, R. (2011). Connecting kids with news in their community. Nieman Reports 65(2), 48 51. Hobbs, R., Cohn-Geltner, H. & Landis, J. (2011). Views on the news: Media literacy empowerment competencies in the elementary grades. In C. Von Feilitzen, U. Carlsson & C. Bucht (Eds.). New questions, new insights, new approaches. The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. NORDICOM. University of Gothenburg, Sweden (pp. 43 56). Hobbs, R., Clay, D., Clapman, L. & Cheers, I. (2010). PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs. [News reporting and production curriculum.] PBS News Hour: Washington, D.C. Available: http://studentreportinglabs.org 19. Renee Hobbs Harrington School of Communication and Media University of Rhode Island Email: hobbs@uri.edu Twitter: @reneehobbs Web: www.mediaeducationlab.com