After the Media Literacy Course: Three Early Childhood Teachers Look Back

Three U.S. early childhood teachers (teacher-researchers) and two teacher educators explore meanings in their (teacher's) use of critical media literacy within their early childhood classrooms following initial exposure in a critical media literacy graduate course. The course in critical media literacy was a new requirement for all reading master's students in the lead author's institution. The teacher-researchers' backgrounds and classroom contexts differ significantly. In terms of their backgrounds, one had difficulty understanding the significance of critical media literacy to reading instruction, especially given the conservative private school in which she teaches. Another came from a sheltered media home life yet felt moved in terms of the course to include critical media literacy in her curriculum at her suburban school. And a third, who had celebrated all popular culture, began to open her eyes to the potential critical usages of media culture in her diverse classroom. The results suggest a need for extensive critical media literacy education for teachers and students.