Critical Media Literacy and Gender: Teaching Middle School Children about Gender Stereotypes and Occupations.

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of the implementation of a small-scale critical media literacy curriculum unit focused on gender stereotypes, especially as they pertain to occupations. The research question was whether students exposed to the critical media literacy (CML) curriculum were more likely than students not exposed to believe: that women experience discrimination in the workplace; that the media constructs stereotypical messages about women and men, especially regarding occupations; and that the media influences people’s thinking. Participants were students in 5 seventh grade classes, who were exposed to a 4-workshop curriculum, and students in 5 eighth grades classes, who were not. Methods included a 14-question pre-post survey and interviews with 4 students before and after implementation of the CML unit. Quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that the CML unit was generally successful at increasing the seventh graders’ understanding of target issues.

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