Digital Media, Learning and Social Confidence: An Ethnography of a Small Island, Knowledge Society A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sheba Sharla Mohammid B.A. (First Class Hons) Literary Studies & Built and Natural Environment - The University of Manchester Postgraduate Certificate in Internet Governance – University of Malta, Diplofoundation School of Media and Communication College of Design and Social Context RMIT University July 2017 DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE ii Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Sheba Mohammid 20.07.2017 DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE iii Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to the Trinidadian people. I owe a debt of gratitude to my participants without whom none of this would be possible. You were my field guides, cartographers and great teachers. You know who you are and I am forever grateful. My unending appreciation goes to my supervisors. I thank the brilliant Prof. Heather Horst for her astute insightfulness, wisdom, support and always being there even if we were thousands of miles away. Words are inadequate to express all that she has done and the deep admiration and recognition she deserves. I am also grateful to Prof. Jo Tacchi for not only her academic contributions but also her profound generosity. And to my third supervisor, honorary Trini and friend Prof. Daniel Miller, I say thank you for his commitment to ethnographic rigour and genuine welfare outcomes that make a real contribution to people’s lives. My work was funded through the award of the RMIT PhD International Scholarship. I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity. Research was partially supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant, Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific Region, led by Prof. Heather Horst, Prof. Jo Tacchi and Mr Domenic Friguglietti at ABC International Development. I am thankful to everyone who has supported my study in the project team and at the RMIT Digital Ethnography Research Centre (DERC) and RMIT at large. I express my appreciation to academics that I have liaised with and learnt from, including (but not limited to) Prof. Larissa Hjorth, Prof. Tania Lewis, Dr. John Postill, Prof. Pilar LaCasa, Prof Sarah Pink, Dr. Mirca Madianou, Dr. Linje Manyozo, Dr. Erin Taylor, Dr. Jessica Noske-Turner, Prof. Murray Pittock and the whole UCL Why We Post team. Thank you to my examiners Prof. Julian Sefton-Green and Dr. Anna Pertierra for their kind comments, feedback and groundbreaking work that has paved the way for work like my own. My appreciation goes to DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE iv Akila Valentine, Louise McNeela and Kristi Beharry for their assistance and firm support. I also recognise and thank practitioners and colleagues like Tracy Hackshaw, Jesse Bartoo (and others who remain anonymised) in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean who persist in the unspectacular to create something extraordinary. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my grandparents, family and friends for their unfailing encouragement and belief. I am always in awe at these remarkable people and how they help me grow. You know who you are and I hope you also know how grateful I am to each of you. In my high school valedictorian speech (now years ago!), the simplest words I wrote were also the most poignant to me. To my parents: Thank you. They remain true. Thank you to my beautiful parents for their unwavering support and for always encouraging boundless exploration, intellectual freedom, adventures, faith and determination in the face of adversity. We’ve been through a lot together and you are ever my inspiration. DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE v Contents DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION - CONTOURING A CARTOGRAPHY: SOCIAL PRACTICES IN DIGITAL MEDIA AND LEARNING IN THE “KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY”........................................................................................ 2 1.2 “The Future of Learning Through Technology” ............................................... 2 1.3 Situating the Study ............................................................................................ 3 1.4 Knowledge Society ........................................................................................... 8 1.5 Unpacking Digital Media and Learning as Dimensions in Constructing the Knowledge Society in Trinidad and Tobago ........................................................ 10 1.6 ICTD and Education Development ................................................................. 12 1.7 Social Practice and Situated Learning ............................................................ 17 1.8 Social Confidence as a Conceptual Tool for Understanding Practice in Digital Media and Learning .............................................................................................. 20 1.9 Research Need ................................................................................................ 22 1.10 Objectives and Importance of the Study ....................................................... 23 1.11 Research Questions ....................................................................................... 24 1.12 Methodology: Ethnographic Approach......................................................... 25 1.13 Thesis Outline: Negotiating Social Confidence in Formal and Informal DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE vi Learning with Digital Media ................................................................................. 30 1.15 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER TWO: GETTING THROUGH IN BELLETON - MAPPING THE FIELD ..................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1 The Belleton ‘Community’ ............................................................................. 36 2.2 Locating the Field: In the Computer Centre and Out Again ........................... 40 2.3 “Getting Through” in Belleton........................................................................ 41 2.4 “Making Sure Our Children Not Getting Left Behind:” The Imagination of Technology as Educational Investment ................................................................ 55 2.5 Personal Histories of First Computers in Belleton ......................................... 55 2.6 Communicative Ecologies, Polymedia, and the Popularity of Smartphones During the Study ................................................................................................... 60 2.7 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER THREE: LOCAL CONTEXT OF EDUCATION - STRUCTURES AND IDEOLOGIES ............................................................................................................. 73 3.1 Education in Trinidad and Tobago: The Facts ................................................ 75 3.2 Getting out of Poverty: Ideologies of Education, Economic Improvement, and Social Mobility...................................................................................................... 77 3.3 Getting into the “Right” School: Selection, Merit, and Prestige .................... 84 3.4 An Examined Life: Pressure and Quality in Education .................................. 90 3.5 “Non-Academic” Training .............................................................................. 96 DIGITAL MEDIA, LEARNING, AND SOCIAL CONFIDENCE vii 3.6 Book Sense, Common Sense, and Social Confidence .................................. 100 3.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 103 CHAPTER FOUR: CLASSROOM CONTAINERS AND CORRIDORS - FORMAL PEDAGOGIES AND INFORMAL STRATEGIES OF DIGITAL MEDIA USE WITHIN EDUCATION............................................................................................ 107 4.1 White Board/ Black Board and Blue: Digital Media as Dissemination in the Classroom ........................................................................................................... 111 4.2 Liming in Corridors: Informal Strategies in Formal Education.................... 117 4.3 “Learnin for Yuh Self on YouTube:” Attempting to Avoid Shame and Navigate Social Confidence in the Classroom.................................................... 127 4.4 Imagining and Experiencing Formal eLearning ........................................... 132 4.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 138 CHAPTER FIVE: TRINI “OWN WAY”