MORPHIN'! TRANSFORMIN'! MUTATIN'!: THE DYNAMIC INTERACTION BETWEEN MEDIA CULTURE AND CHILDREN'S LIVES By NADINE SUE HAWKE Bachelor of Fine Arts University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 1989 Bachelor of Arts University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 1989 Master of Education University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 1991 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for . the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION December, 1998 COPYRIGHT By Nadine Sue Hawke December, 1998 MORPHIN'! TRANSFORMIN'! MUTATIN'!: THE DYNAMIC INTERACTION BETWEEN MEDIA CULTURE AND CHILDREN'S LIVES Thesis Approved: Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my committee, my family, my friends, and others who made this research project possible: Dr. Sally Carter, for her longstanding friendship, guidance and support; Dr. Charles Edgley, for providing food for thought as well as for the stomach; Dr. Wen-Song Hwu, for introducing me to the joy and agony of deconstruc­ tionism; Dr. Pamela Bettis, for still believing in me, even when I gave vacuous answers to her challenging questions; and Dr. Kay Reinke, who kept me on the straight and narrow with the APA format. Extra special applause goes to Merrill and Marie Hawke, my parents, and to my siblings Nedra, Nathan and my twin brother Ne1$on. I thank you all for, well, everything. Your patience, moral support, encouragement and humor have helped me through life's challenges and tribulations. I also wish to thank my friends at Oklahoma State University: Dr. Faith Agostinone-Wilson and (soon-to­ be Dr.) Alan Foley, for keeping me on my toes with curriculum theory banter. I wish to also say ''thank you" to Joan and the students at Madison Elementary for making this study a reality. A special thanks to my students at Meyer Intermediate in Rosenberg, Texas, who were the impetus for this study and to whom this work is dedicated. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ·.. :....................................................................................................... 1 Background .............................................................................................................1 Purpose of This· Study ........................................................................................6 Research Questions .....· ............................................................................... :...... 7 Perspectives and Theoretical Framework .................... :................................. 8 Significance of This Study ................................................................................ 11 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................ 12 Assumptions ................. :............. ;....................................................................... 13 Limitations ..........................................................................................................14 Organization of ·This Study ..............................................................................14 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .............................................................................. 15 Organization of the Review ............................................................................. 15 Postmodern Society ........................................ ;................................................. 15 Introduction ............................................................................................. 15 Questioning of Identity, Self and Relations with Others ................. 16 Media Culture Becomes the Dominant Culture ............................... 18 .High-Techno/Bioculture ........................................................... 18 Manufactured Culture .................................................. :........... 19 The Construction of Consumer Identity .............................................20 . Attaching Identity to a Brand Symbol .............................. :..... 22 Postmodern Children .......................................................................................25 Introduction .............................................................................................25 Formation of a Separate Children's Culture .................................... 26 The Child as Consumer ... :.............................................. :...................... 27 Marketer's Perceptions of the New Child Consumer ......... 28 School Site &s· Market ..............................................................29 Postmodern Children's Culture .......................................................... 29 Changes in Toy Manufacturing .............................................. 29 Characteristics of Postmodem Children's Media ................ 31 Media Culture as a Source for Play ........................... 32 Communal/Global Concerns ...................................... 33 Imagination Games with Chaotic Features .............. 35 Techno-biology Mixed with Spiritualism ................... 36 Complex, Open Ended, Nonlinear Narratives ......... 37 . Class Differences Within Children's Culture ......................... 37 iv Chapter Page Gender Differences Within Children's Culture ............................... 38 Postmodern Art ..................................................................................................39 Introduction ............................................................................................39 Art as a Social/Communal Activity ..................................................... 39 Art as Expression is Replaced by Art as Representation ...•.......... .41 Media Culture as a Source for Art ..................................................... .42 Challenging Originality· ........................................................................43 Art Institutions Viewed as Political Oppressors .............................. .44 Postmodern Curriculum Theory .................................................................... .45 Introduction .............................................................................................45 Media Culture and Its Possible Pedagogical Implications ........... .46 All Content Put into Question ................................................. .46 Public School's Image .............................................................47 Being Both Media Producers and Media Consumers ...... .4 7 The Role of the Teacher .......................................................... .48 Postmodern Art Curriculum .............................................................................49 ·introduction .............................................................................................49 Re-framing Lowenfeld and Kellogg's Theories Within a Social Context Through Mead's Theory · of Self-Formation .......................................................................50 Kellogg's Modernistic Bias in Interpreting Children's Art .............. 58 Postmodern Art Curriculum .................................................................58 DBAE ...........................................................................................59 Non-DBAE Postmodern Art Educators .................................. 60 Summary ............................................................................................................61 Ill. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................62 Introduction .........................................................................................................62 Initial Considerations ........................................................................................62 Site and Sample Selection ....... , ................................ ,........................ 62 .Instruments/Materials ...........................................................................63 Issues of Entry ........................................................................................64 Role Management :.........•...................................................................... 64 Reciprocity ..............................................................................................65 Ethics and Confidentiality ....................................................................66 Research Strategies .........................................................................................68 Data Collection Techniques ............................................................•...68 Managing and Recording Data ..........................................................68 Procedures and Time Line ..................................................................69 Data An~.lysis .....................................................................................................71 Data lnterpretations ...........................................................................................71 V Chapter Page IV. FINDINGS ..'. ....................................... ~ .............. u ....................· •••••••••••• ; .....................73 Introduction ..........................................................................................................73 Chapter Outline ···.········~··· ..................................................................... .-73 . Life in the Field ...................................................................•........................