How Rural Schoolchildren and Teachers Read TV Dramas: A Case Study on Critical Media Literacy in Turkey

Abstract

This qualitative study attempts to determine favorite TV dramas of children from two rural schools and analyze children’s discourse about messages and values of TV dramas. As parallel to children’s views, teacher perceptions on critical media literacy were investigated in the study. This study aims to explore the content—messages/values—of popular TV dramas through the eyes of fifth-grade students and teachers in two rural schools in Turkey. This study was conducted in two rural public elementary schools in the district of Aydin, Turkey, in 2007. Six volunteer children aged between 10 and 13 (three girls and three boys) and three teachers from two different rural schools were included in this case study. Semistructured interview forms for teachers and children were developed and used in this research for data collection.