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Identified the Media
The project identified the media environment surrounding middle
school students by:
- asking
the students
What popular
magazines, movies, television programs, books, career-related
materials, and Internet resources do middle school students
report that they read and view regularly?
- asking
the librarians
What popular magazines, career-related materials and Internet
resources are available in middle school media centers and local
public libraries?
Analyzed
the Content
The
next step was to analyze the content of the identified media to
determine:
How
are women and minorities represented in the media regarding their
involvement with information technology?
How do middle school students interpret the media messages regarding
gender and race as they relate to IT as a career choice?
Research
Track A: Data Analysis
All material gathered through both Track A and Track B was analyzed
by the Principal Investigators (PIs) using content analysis. Students
in the middle school classes conducted their own content analysis
on materials they identified and collected as a result of surveys
of their peers. |
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Research Track B: Curriculum Component
Embedded in the research design was an Internet-based curriculum
project, called Getting the
Media Message,
connecting students and teachers in grades six through eight nationwide
and involving them as junior researchers in both data gathering
and content analysis. This project was an interdisciplinary learning
activity integrated into the middle school curriculum.
The curriculum project was grounded in the principles of student-centered,
interdisciplinary, problem-based learning in which students are
active participants in their own learning and have opportunities
to apply their knowledge to real-world situations. As part of this
project, students applied math, language arts, and social studies
skills to address a critical and real problem, namely, the dearth
of women and minorities in information technology careers.
Reported
the Findings
Presentations
Research findings were presented formally at academic and professional
conferences and submitted for publication to scholarly and trade
journals.
Website
postings
Results, reports, data and curricular materials
are posted to the project website.
Curriculum
project
The curriculum project, Getting the Media Message, will be available
as a booklet with accompanying CD and on the project website.
DVD
A video illustrating the findings of the study's content analyses,
documenting the classroom activities of teachers and students
participating in the research, and offering examples of additional
classroom research projects was produced as a stand-alone product.
Final Report
The
Representation of Computer and Information Technology, Race, and
Gender in the Media Environment of Middle School Students
(PDF document)
A final formal report is available for download. This report describes
the study's rationale, offers a literature review, reviews the
methodologies employed and research questions addressed, presents
the results of PI content analyses and interpretation of these
findings, and offers recommendations for promoting IT careers
to middle school students.
Career Material Analysis Report
Gender
and Race in the Visual Representation of Technical, Scientific,
and IT Occupations in Career Materials Recommended to Middle School
Students (PDF document)
This
report presents the results of analyses conducted on information
sources recommended to middle school students who seek information
about IT careers. The study analyzed the visual images associated
with science, technical and IT careers found in career materials
as a part of a larger examination of the middle school media environment
that studied whether the media content reinforces or hinders the
development of gender and racial diversity in the IT workforce.
Top | Identified
the Media | Analyzed the Content
| Reported the Findings
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