Welcome to PEA

The Peabody Journal of Education Politics Series

2007: The Media, Democracy, and the Politics of Education, Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin & Darleen Opfer, eds.

The focus of this special issue is not to enter the fray in the debate over media bias, but instead to draw attention to the important role that the media plays in educational politics; and to make a case for research that is attentive to the intersection of educational politics and media coverage. In order to understand the role the media plays in educational politics, it useful to consider the media's role in a participatory democracy. The concept of the news media as “thin” public sphere serves as a pragmatic theoretical lens through which to examine the possibility that the media might play a critical, but limited role in participatory democracy. The articles in this special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education share an interest in critically examining the media's role in shaping the public's understanding of school reform and educational policy. The articles explore two major themes; 1) media (mis)representations of educational politics, and 2) fostering media literacy via education and research.

Section 1: Media [Mis]Representations of Educational Politics

  1. Educational myth-making with ‘due accuracy and impartiality’? A current affairs TV episode in the U.K. Michael Wallace, University of Bath (U.K.)

  2. How the media misleads the story of school consumerism Kieran Killeen, University of Vermont

  3. False equivalency: Think tank references on education in the news media Eric Haas, University of Connecticut

    4. Section 2: Fostering Media Literacy: Our Role as Educators and Researchers

  4. Media, educational policies and practices: Political spectacle and social control Gary L. Anderson, New York University

  5. Boston Public as public pedagogy: Implications for teacher preparation and school leadership Linda Tillman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill James Trier, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  6. The media as educators, educational research, and autonomous deliberation Michelle S. Moses, University of Colorado, Boulder

  7. Developing a research agenda on the media and education V. Darleen Opfer, University of Cambridge (U.K.)