| This dissertation provides a historical review of the development, implementation and evaluation of a media ecology curriculum for ninth grade students during the years 1977 - 81. The study explains why there was a need for a media ecology curriculum for disadvantaged high school students. The major assumption of the study is that this type of student needs to understand the message system of the society, and that media ecology as an extension of the language arts curriculum can be the tool used to explain the psychology, as well as the sociology of the culture.;Included in this dissertation is the evaluation of the media ecology curriculum against a course for similar students. A statistical comparison of selected language arts and social indices is analyzed. The approaches, strategies, and reasons for a media ecology curriculum are compared to other curriculum projects in language arts for disadvantaged high school students over the past twenty years.;The study provides a historical account of the development of the media ecology curriculum, as well as the basis of its conceptual design. In the account of the implementation of the curriculum, the strategies and methods are described. This chapter culminates with the media ecology curriculum guide for ninth grade disadvantaged students. |
