View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2005 At-Risk Students' Perceptions of the Impact of Popular Culture and the Media on Their Lives. Rebecca Cupples Draper East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons Recommended Citation Draper, Rebecca Cupples, "At-Risk Students' Perceptions of the Impact of Popular Culture and the Media on Their Lives." (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1101. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1101 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. At-Risk Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of Popular Culture and the Media on Their Lives A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education by Rebecca Cupples Draper May 2005 Dr. Louise MacKay, Chair Dr. Cecil Blankenship Dr. Nancy Dishner Dr. Jasmine Renner Keywords: At-risk youth, popular culture, media, television, movies, music, video games, sports ABSTRACT At-Risk Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of Popular Culture and the Media on Their Lives by Rebecca Cupples Draper This qualitative study is comprised of indepth interviews with 16 at-risk high school students. The students were asked to give reasons for their discipline problems in high school. They were also asked to give their perspectives on various forms of popular culture. Questions regarding television, movies, music, video games, and sports were posed to determine the participants' interest level in each of the areas. The students were then asked to gauge how much these interests had taken away from their schoolwork. The students' perceptions and life experiences were explored in depth via the interview process. In general, the lives of these students had been impacted in some way by some form of popular culture. There has been a tendency in recent literature to decry the influence of the media on today’s youth; this seems to be borne out by some of the statements made by these students. Throughout the interview process, they stated that their lives had been both positively and negatively influenced by their culture despite the beliefs held by many parents, teachers, and administrators that popular culture has a strong negative impact on their lives. The implications for the future include ways that educators can incorporate popular culture and the media into the curriculum effectively. Additionally, teachers, administrators, and parents 2 need to gain a better understanding of how important popular culture is to adolescents and how they can combat its negative effects while keeping students interested in school. 3 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the two most important people in my life: my two best friends. The constant encouragement from you both has helped me to realize that trials are temporary, yet love and hope will always remain. Happiness is a choice and you both taught me that choosing a positive attitude is one of life’s essentials. To Ryan, thanks for all the adventures we have shared. Your dedication to helping me achieve my goals has meant so much to me and your support of all my crazy ideas just proves that we are in this together. I am grateful that you have encouraged me to pursue my dreams. You have always cheered me on no matter what the circumstances. Of all the cities and all the apartments we’ve shared, my three constants in life have been your love, your laughter, and a good map. To Pat, your sacrifices have never gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Your support, love, and belief in me have helped me to always stay positive no matter what obstacles I might have faced. Without your guidance and strength, I don’t know how I would have ever accomplished so much. Thank you for being my mother, my friend, and my confidant. Thanks for always keeping your cell phone on too, because I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t talk to my mom! I can’t imagine how I would have made it through any of this without the love and strength of these two amazing individuals. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Louise MacKay has been an outstanding committee chairperson. She adopted me into her already overloaded group of doctoral candidates after Dr. Russell Mays’ departure. She took me under her wing and provided so much guidance for me both as an instructor and as my committee chairperson. I am grateful to her for allowing me to truly express myself and for all the leadership skills she has taught me. Her fine example of life-long learning has inspired me. Without the tireless efforts of Debby Bryan, (doctor of editing), this project might never have reached completion. She has proved to be an invaluable resource over the long course of this project. Her editing skills were essential and her energy and flexibility were both greatly appreciated. She is a great scholar and is solely responsible for polishing the many rough edges of this project. Her encouragement was also greatly appreciated and always came at just the right moment. My other committee members were also critical to this project’s completion. Thanks to Dr. Cecil Blankenship, Dr. Nancy Dishner, and Dr. Jasmine Renner for their suggestions and support both during examinations and with this dissertation. Their kind words, concrete examples, and sincere efforts to push this project to its completion were essential. Thanks also to all my colleagues who critiqued this study throughout its many versions. Your insights and suggestions have helped tremendously. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and principals who contributed to this work for their willingness to share their thoughts and feelings. Without their openness, this study would not have been possible. 5 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 2 DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 Research Questions................................................................................................ 12 Purpose and Significance of the Study.................................................................... 13 Background........................................................................................................... 15 Participants............................................................................................................ 16 Definitions of Terms .............................................................................................. 16 Limitations and Delimitations................................................................................. 18 Statement of the Problem....................................................................................... 20 Overview of the Study ........................................................................................... 21 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.................................................................. 22 Television's Impact on Students' Lives ................................................................... 23 TV in the Classroom ........................................................................................ 24 Televised Violence in the Classroom ................................................................ 25 Reality TV: Whose Reality? ............................................................................. 26 Positive Aspects of Classroom TV Use ............................................................ 27 Television's Evolution ...................................................................................... 28 News to Use: Positive Classroom Applications................................................. 29 6 Chapter Page Media Frenzy in the Classroom ........................................................................ 31 Film's Impact on Today's Youth............................................................................. 32 Movies in Schools............................................................................................ 33 The Ratings Game ........................................................................................... 34 Positive Uses of Film in the Classroom............................................................. 36 Whatever Happened to Good Family Values? ........................................................ 38 Music's Role in the Lives of Adolescents................................................................ 39 Music to Move the Masses............................................................................... 39 Our Nation's