Teacher motivations for digital and media literacy: An examination of Turkish educators

Educators have a variety of beliefs and attitudes about the best ways to support students’ critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration skills by connecting the classroom to contemporary society, mass media and popular culture. Teachers who advance digital and media literacy may have a complex set of attitudes and habits of mind that influence their motivations to use digital media for learning. We conducted a survey research with a sample of 2820 Turkish educators to examine teachers’ motivations for digital learning, using a 48-item Likert scale instrument that assesses teachers’ perception of the value and relevance of six conceptual themes, namely: attitudes toward technology tools, genres and formats; message content and quality; community connectedness; texts and audiences; media systems; and learner-centered focus. Digital learning motivation profiles reveal distinctive identity positions of social science, language arts and information and communication technology (ICT) teachers in Turkey. The most common profiles include the identity positions of “Techie,” “Demystifier” and “Tastemaker.” Statistically significant associations were found between teachers’ subject-area specialization and their digital learning motivation profiles. Professional development programs should assess teachers’ digital learning motivation profiles and build learning experiences that expand upon the strengths of teachers’ beliefs and the conceptual themes of most importance to them. Introduction A wide variety of innovative practices is occurring with the use of media and technology in education in ways that incorporate information and communication technology (ICT skills) with digital and media literacy. American and European researchers and policymakers are developing a series of school-wide or district-wide experiments to collect evidence on the implementation and impact of 1:1 tablet use in classrooms. But other initiatives are being developed on a national scale. For example, Turkey has embarked on one of the world’s largest educational technology projects: putting interactive whiteboards in 84 000 classrooms and tablet computers in the hands of more than 63 000 students in grades 5 to 12. However, insufficient attention to providing teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to integrate technology into the curriculum is limiting the effectiveness of the initiative (Pouzevara, Dincer, Kipp & Sarnsik, 2014). To address these challenges, some approaches have emphasized the value of integrating media literacy into the elementary and secondary curriculum (Stein & Prewett, 2009; Tuzel, 2013a). In Turkey, middle-school students can enroll in two elective courses: ICT Literacy introduces students to software tools and Media Literacy introduces students to critical analysis of news, British Journal of Educational Technology (2015) doi:10.1111/bjet.12326 © 2015 British Educational Research Association advertising and information, where students create their own media messages. Developed in 2006, the Media Literacy elective course has grown in popularity. In the 2013–2014 academic year, more than 4 million children participated in the course (Medya Okuryazarligi Dersi Sil Bastan, 2014, Sept 23). While the European Commission defines media literacy as the ability of individuals to access and understand information through different means, such as television, radio, print media, the Internet and digital technology (Silver, 2009), most scholars and practitioners use a definition that includes a wider variety of aims, goals and intentions, including the ability to create messages, reflect on media influence and consider the social responsibilities of being an effective communicator, and use the power of information and communication to take appropriate forms of personal, social and political action (Hobbs, 2010). Teachers may be attracted to media literacy because they recognize that it enables them to connect the curriculum to contemporary culture, including mass media, digital media and popular culture (Silverstone, 2004). Media literacy instructional strategies explicitly promote transfer of learning between home and school. Transfer is an active process that occurs when learners explore ideas across multiple contexts; it promotes adaptability, flexibility and enhances lifelong learning (National Research Council, Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000). By tapping into students’ funds of knowledge, media literacy helps create a learner-centered classroom (Hart, 1998) where student voice is activated and dialogue and Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic • Teachers’ attitudes, skills and habits of mind contribute to different motivations for using digital media and technology for digital and media literacy education. • Turkey has embarked on one of the world’s largest educational technology projects by putting interactive whiteboards and tablets in thousands of classrooms but without providing consistent levels of teacher training. • There are different levels of availability and use of media, computer-based resources and media production tools by elementary and secondary teachers in Europe and around the world. What this paper adds • The measurement of digital learning motivation profiles can help assess teachers’ perception of the relevance of six conceptual themes, namely: attitudes toward technology tools, genres and formats; message content and quality; community connectedness; texts and audiences; media systems; and learner-centered focus. • Teachers’ digital learning motivation profiles reveal distinctive identity positions that differentiate social science, language arts and information and communication technology (ICT) teachers in Turkey. • There are differences among teachers in access to and use of media and computerbased technologies, and these differences are associated with digital learning motivation profiles. Implications for practice and/or policy • Professional development programs should assess teachers’ digital learning motivation profiles and design professional learning experiences that expand upon teachers’ beliefs, values and attitudes, and the conceptual themes of most importance to them. 2 British Journal of Educational Technology © 2015 British Educational Research Association reflection promote a deeper, more authentic learning environment (Frau-Meigs & Torrent, 2009) that promotes intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning (Tyner, 2014). The significant literature on teacher professionalism indicates that there is a complex set of knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits of mind needed for innovation in education (Shulman & Shulman, 2004). For more than 20 years, educators have debated the best ways to support students’ critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration skills by connecting the classroom to contemporary society, mass media and popular culture. Should media literacy be embedded in existing subjects or taught as a stand-alone course? Should teachers emphasize the importance of protecting oneself against unwanted negative media influence or instead focus on using the power of media and communication technology for personal or social development? Should creative media production activities be an essential pedagogy or should the focus of instruction be on critical analysis activities (Hobbs, 1998, 2004)? Such questions have been part of a dynamic global conversation as media literacy education has spread to five continents and taken many forms in the process of adapting to particular cultural and national contexts and educational systems (Frau-Meigs & Torrent, 2009). Today, as teachers in language arts, ICT technology and social sciences are all exploring how to use digital media and technology to improve student learning, it may be possible to connect to their existing motivations, values and attitudes to customize professional development opportunities that better support teachers as they learn how to use media texts, tools and technologies to promote student learning. For this to occur, a robust theoretical and methodological conceptualization of teachers’ differential motivations for digital learning is needed. Toward this aim, in this study we report on research conducted with a large sample of Turkish teachers, using a new measure of digital learning motivation to assess teachers’ perception of the relevance of six conceptual themes, namely: attitudes toward technology tools, genres and formats; message content and quality; community connectedness; texts and audiences; media systems; and learner-centered focus. In this study, we examine the relationship between differential teacher motivations for using digital media and technology in relation to their professional identities as subject area specialists. Theoretical framework The Turkish context for media literacy and ICT education In Turkey, media literacy has been developed in secondary education since 2004, the year elective classes in media literacy were first offered. In addition, since the early 2000s ICT courses that are elective or compulsory in several terms have been included in middle and high schools. Both ICT and media literacy courses are the most preferred elective courses by the students (EARGED, 2008, p. 27). As in many parts of Europe, Turkish educators are feeling pressure from the business community, parents and policymakers to use digital media to advance ICT skills and for digital and media literacy. As in most of the world, both protectionist and empowerment dimensions are evident in the rationale provided for media literacy in Turkey (Bek, 2006). Turkey’s initiative in media literacy education was initially promoted by the Radio and Television Supreme Council as a means to address the impact of the mass media on the cultural values of the Turkish people as part of a larger political strategy to promote self-regulation as an alternative to government regulation of the media. Turkish education is highly centralized and the original rationale for the program emphasized that early learning about media could reduce people’s vulnerability to media influence (Karaduman, 2013) and also emphasized values of nationalism, militarism, family and other traditional, conservative Turkish values (Bek, 2006). But many Turkish educators embrace an empowerment perspective to media literacy education (Binark & Bek, 2007; Tuzel, 2013c). Because digital and media literacy education focuses on a Teacher motivations 3 © 2015 British Educational Research Association pedagogy on inquiry, scholars have recommended that a revision of the Turkish curriculum should focus on asking “how” and “why” questions to promote critical analysis and learner autonomy, inviting learners to consider “the political economic context and historical dynamics in the production processes of media texts” (Bek, 2006, p. 3). The media literacy course curriculum was revised in 2013 based on these discussions and general reforms in curriculums. In the new curriculum, students’ skills to be able to access, analyze, evaluate and create were taken as central points. In addition, a production-based approach was adopted through targeting the development of skills regarding the production of printed, visual and digital content (Minister of Education, 2013). Considering the role of media literacy in language arts education, scholars emphasize the deep and organic connection between media literacy and literacy, noting that students analyze the technical structure of texts; question texts by understanding the author’s aims, point of view and production choices; analyze texts by examining persuasive strategies, evaluating claims and arguments, and examining reliability and accuracy; and consider the effect of media messages on other people, including empathizing with other points of view (Tuzel, 2013a). Opportunities for teacher education in media literacy are still scarce. For students to acquire a critical perspective on the media, “the critical thinking skills of the teacher who will effectively guide students’ conceptualization” are paramount (Karaduman, 2013, p. 375). However, research on preservice Turkish language arts teachers has shown that even though they experience multimodal texts as a part of daily life, most do not receive even basic instruction on how to incorporate visual, digital or media texts into instruction. Research showed that when a group of Turkish university students were exposed to media literacy education as part of their preservice teacher education, their ICT skills were so low that they were challenged with simple activities that required them to access, search and find multimodal texts through using search engines, uploading and downloading files, and creating media using word processing, image manipulation, screencasting and video editing software. Although they were initially resistant in having to learn to use these tools, preservice teachers gradually recognized the fundamental relationship between literacy, media literacy and ICT skills. One student noted, “I wish we had been enabled to develop similar skills in the preceding two years at university” (Tuzel, 2013b, p. 625). This finding parallels evidence from other countries, where research has identified attitudinal factors that influence how and why a teacher will (or will not) use digital media for teaching and learning in digital and media literacy (Flores-Koulish, Deal, McCarthy, McGuigan & Rosebrugh, 2011). Teacher motivations for digital and media literacy Teacher beliefs influence teaching practices, helping them to define problems and develop solutions to everyday situations in the classroom (Kagan, 1990). Teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning with ICT are central to integration; even with intensive professional development, shifts in teacher attitudes may take five years from the period of initial engagement (Chen, 2008). Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes about mass media, digital media and popular culture shape the choices they make in the classroom regarding the use of media texts, tools and technologies. For example, teachers who are concerned about the negative impact of time spent with screen media will likely be more cautious and selective about using technology in the classroom than those who feel that screen media is a normative part of daily life. When teachers reflect on their own motivations, it may increase metacognition that promotes reflective practice and discussing motivations may cultivate respect for diversity among the teaching staff (Hobbs & Moore, 2013; Kopp, 2012). However, teachers’ attitudes about digital media and technology can only be appreciated within a particular cultural and national context. Researchers have examined how teacher receptivity to 4 British Journal of Educational Technology © 2015 British Educational Research Association use digital media is influenced by a number of external factors, including access to equipment and other resources, quality of software and hardware, ease of use, incentives to change, support and collegiality in their school, school and national polices (Mumtaz, 2000). In the United States, teachers have diverse perspectives on digital technology and about their own use of media and technology for purposes of teaching and learning. In a meta-analysis of nationally representative teacher surveys in the United States, five teacher surveys conducted by Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Learning, Common Sense Media, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, the Gates Foundation and the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project were examined (Pressey, 2013). Several key themes in teacher attitudes about media and technology emerged, including some fear associated with negative impact of media and technology. For example, one in five teachers believe that technology distracts from learning and 71% agree that students’ use of entertainment media is diminishing attention span. However, teachers also value the many benefits that media and technology can provide. For example, 75% agree that technology engages and motivates learners and 17% agree that media has a positive impact on prosocial behaviors “by exposing them to diverse viewpoints and experiences.” Notably, all five studies found that teacher comfort level was one of the biggest barriers to incorporating technology into teaching, with fewer than one in five teachers identifying as “tech savvy.” Other differences in the frequency of use of educational technology were found between teachers depending on their subject specialization, with science teachers being most likely to use media and technology and math teachers being most unlikely to use it. Because educators have a variety of beliefs and attitudes about the best ways to support students’ critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration skills using media, computer-based technologies and media production tools, it is essential to examine the attitudes and habits of mind that may shape teachers’ decision to use digital media for learning. Purpose and research questions The study investigates the digital learning motivation profiles of a large sample of Turkish teachers in relation to their subject-area specializations, access to media and digital tools, and frequency of use of different types of media and technology tools in their role as educators. These research questions are explored: RQ1. How available are media, computer-based and media production tools and how frequently do teachers use different types of media and technology tools? RQ2. What is the relationship between teachers’ access to media and digital tools, their subject-area specializations, and the frequency of their use of these devices? RQ3. What is the relationship between the digital learning motivation profiles of Turkish teachers and their subject-area specialization? Methodology This study uses descriptive survey research methodology to determine specific characteristics of the sample and then to determine the possible causes for differences (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012). After describing the availability of different types of media and digital technologies, we examine teachers’ frequency of use of media and technology by comparing this to their subjectarea specialization and digital learning motivation profiles.