Abstract
This qualitative study demonstrates the kinds of pedagogical pitfalls that are included in simplistic understandings of child-centeredness in the context of media education, an emerging field of early childhood teacher education with only a little empirical research done so far. Course diaries from 15 preservice teachers were analyzed to find answers to the question: How do preservice teachers approach child-centered education in the context of media education? The main findings can be summarized as follows. First, preservice teachers approached child-centeredness as an all-encompassing principle that guides early childhood education. Second, media education-related issues - beliefs about children and media, ambiguity of media literacy, and insecurity about oneself as a media educator - appear to bolster views of children as self-driven learners, and teachers as mere facilitators who do not have an active role in children’s learning processes.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Mertala, P. (2020). Misunderstanding child-centeredness: The case of “child 2.0” and media education. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 12(1), 26-41. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2020-12-1-3
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Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Technology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons
