The research paper we read was about social skills developed by youth and the study of how it occurs. The paper gives various definitions of social skills and that stereotyping is most common in white middle class groups, especially due to the influence of media. Degand conducted a 12-month study of black teens and their experiences with media to determine the affect this had on social skills/stereotypes. He offers a description of the literature the describes social success and media in the lives of youth. He writes that this success is different from different perspectives and affects groups differently. Degand decided to us a version of “hermeneutical phenomenology” as a framework for this study; this study focuses on the subjective nature of the individuals in his study. He gives a background on who he is and why he is conducting the study– why he’s fit to do this. Later, he describes his method and why he only chose 2 participants, not a large group as well as the background on the participants. He conducted 12 interviews and 6 observation sessions with each to obtain the necessary data. Even though he gave a background on the two boys, he gives in-depth context of their social situation in the results. Namir, the first boy, defined success as something that comes through money, but social success is necessary before this full success can be attained. Mathieu describes social success as being when someone can live life for themselves, a more “holistic approach.” Degand talked to each boy about their future aspirations, and this success was reflected through that. Following his description of the media experiences of each participant, Degand explains that success was heavily reliant on family, where failures may cause setbacks in the future. In addition, aspirations were reliant on the types of media each boy engaged in, yet the amount of time for each of them varied. Finally, Degand concludes with the limitations of the experiment such as time budgeting, and he tells the reader about future potential research, so that they may conduct a study of their own.
The video by SteinKueler is about interest-driven learning and that games are captivating and aid in education. Games are an easy platform to look at when kids are engaged in what they’re learning about. She lectures on what exactly game does for kids and talks about her daycare process and Ph. D. There is a literacy crisis in males and they are falling out of school more rapidly. She did studies on civic engagement surrounding video games and the difference between school and game identities. She makes a bridge between education and games to hook kids in– a “bait.” He realization that structure and “talking at them,” doesn’t help with this approach she turned it around to follow the kids’ interests and it worked. When they read something they care about understanding, they persists when challenges occur and their comprehension increases. The child needs to work towards their own goals not someone else’s, and there need to be resources for that.
I never knew that there was such a problem with male literacy in the US. I think this could’ve been because I grew up in a more privileged area where everyone went to school and studied. In additions, I may not have done enough schooling to actually see this occur, it’s not easy to keep track of a 35,000 student campus. This topic really intrigues me because I feel like it could be drawn back to earlier ages. Due to women always being home and cooking and cleaning, I believe they had more time to read. Reading was most likely a hobby or activity of enjoyment for these women, which could be why they got so good at it. I do wonder where the woman is from/where the daycare was because seeing the deomgraphic of sign ups and attendees would be interesting as well. I think she definitely could do more research on males and why they struggle more (outside of the info in this video).
What do you define to be social success? Do you think these are personal skills or community based values?
EDU 185: Gigi's Blog 