Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2011 Citizen journalism and digital voices: instituting a collaborative process between global youth, technology and media for positive social change Robin Worley Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Worley, Robin, "Citizen journalism and digital voices: instituting a collaborative process between global youth, technology and media for positive social change" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 112. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/112 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology CITIZEN JOURNALISM AND DIGITAL VOICES: INSTITUTING A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS BETWEEN GLOBAL YOUTH, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA FOR POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Technology by Robin Worley March, 2011 Kay Davis, Ed.D. – Dissertation Chairperson This dissertation, written by Robin Worley under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Doctoral Committee: Kay Davis, Ed.D., Chairperson Paul Sparks, Ph.D. Jack McManus, Ph.D. © Copyright by Robin Worley (2011) All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ix VITA ....................................................................................................................................x ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... xi Preface.............................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................1 The Problem: Marginalized Youth without a Voice ........................................................1 Citizen Journalism Defined ..............................................................................................3 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................4 The Purpose: Studying the Impact of Citizen Journalism ................................................8 Research Objectives .........................................................................................................8 Summary ..........................................................................................................................8 Chapter 2. Literature Review .............................................................................................10 Introduction ....................................................................................................................10 State of the World‘s Children ........................................................................................10 Poverty. .......................................................................................................................12 Education. ...................................................................................................................13 Gender parity. .............................................................................................................13 Access to healthcare. ..................................................................................................14 Conclusion. .................................................................................................................15 Storytelling .....................................................................................................................15 Stories throughout history. .........................................................................................16 Stories in the information age. ...................................................................................18 Types of change initiated through storytelling. ..........................................................19 Conclusion. .................................................................................................................22 Citizen Journalism ..........................................................................................................23 What is citizen journalism? ........................................................................................23 What are the causal factors responsible for the emergence of citizen journalism? ....25 Limitations facing digital storytellers and citizen journalists in developing countries. ....................................................................................................................................27 Why become a citizen journalist?...............................................................................32 Conclusion. .................................................................................................................35 v Page Chapter 3. Methods ............................................................................................................37 Research Objectives .......................................................................................................37 Research Design .............................................................................................................37 Utilization-focused evaluation with case study research……....................................40 Case Selection ................................................................................................................42 Data Sources ..................................................................................................................42 The people. .................................................................................................................42 The artifacts. ...............................................................................................................44 Role of the Researcher ...................................................................................................45 Data Collection Strategies & Human Subjects Considerations .....................................47 Analysis ..........................................................................................................................47 Strategies to Minimize Researcher Bias and Support Internal Validity ........................48 Chapter 4. Findings ............................................................................................................50 Personal Stories ..............................................................................................................50 Podcasts ..........................................................................................................................58 Videos ............................................................................................................................66 The Resultant Themes from the Stories, Podcasts & Videos ....................................... 76 The negative themes. ..................................................................................................77 The positive themes. ...................................................................................................78 Chapter 5. The Study of JUMP ..........................................................................................83 Key Findings ..................................................................................................................85 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 86 Conclusion I: Being a social change agent brings out the best in people: courage, self-sacrifice, strength, faith, collaboration, compassion, optimism and hope. ......... 87 Conclusion II: Citizen journalism and digital storytelling are effective means of empowering global youths to create positive social change. ..................................... 90 Methodological Limitations ...........................................................................................94 Final Thoughts ........................................................................................................94 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................96 APPENDIX A: IRB Approval .........................................................................................104 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Negative Topics Identified in Personal Stories………………………………...51