| An examination of the nature and range of the English teaching profession's concern with media, this study reviewed the literature of English education from 1961-1978, with emphasis on four journals of the National Council of Teachers of English (Elementary English/Language Arts, English Journal, College English, and College Composition and Communication). A major purpose of the study was to discover the extent to which the media movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's was supported by rationales for the study and use of electronic and artistic media in English programs. The journals were the basis of a tally in which the profession's concerns with media were categorized, quantified, and analyzed. Other resources--methods texts, other journals, books from related subject areas--were also consulted, especially when the journals failed to treat some aspect of media adequately.;The examination of the categories revealed several points of interest, including a strong tendency for writers of Analytical articles to use the terminologies and methods of literary criticism when analyzing materials in non-print media. However, a smaller number of writers did use medium-specific approaches, criticizing the application of inappropriate tools of analysis. The Mechanical articles revealed the profession's persisting but unfocused concern with hardware aspects of media. Film hardware was seldom described in the journals. The tape recorder was the machine most frequently treated, usually in Practical articles. Computers were often cited for their potential for influencing instruction but were not seen as adequate tools for teaching most important skills and concepts. Several Practical articles uncovered theoretical concepts, such as transmediation, which refers to student translation of ideas from one medium (e.g., print) to another (e.g., a collage). Another such concept is focused perception, in which students react to a direct experience (e.g., a physical object) as if it were artistically mediated (e.g., a painting).;Theoretical materials in the journals generally took the form of briefly stated rationales, which were subcategorized and analyzed. The subcategories included media for their own sake; media as motivators; media as expedients; media as vehicles for traditional goals of English instruction; English and media in learning theory contexts; and English and media as bases for broader disciplines. The broader disciplines included humanities, general semantics, visual literacy, communications, semiotics, and aesthetic education.;The most powerful Theoretical rationales, both in the journals and other sources, were the infrequent explorations of media and English in relation to communication theory, semiotics, and learning theory. The last of these focused largely on Piagetian psychology, whole-brain education, and James Moffett's theories. Theoretical models that supported these rationales were presented and analyzed, and the author presented an original four-part theoretical model for media in English, bringing together the most useful theoretical statements and previous theoretical models.;The categories of media-related materials found in the journals were, in order of frequency of inclusion: Referential (brief citations), Theoretical, Practical, Mechanical (media hardware), Quantitative (dealing with effects of media on students and society) and Analytical. The number of media-related articles (1,799 in all) showed a continuing pattern of growth between 1961 and 1978. |
