Mapping the field of education research and media

Abstract

An emerging field of education research focuses on public discourse about education issues, in and through traditional and social media. This chapter provides an historical, statistical and thematic account of the archive of publications in this emerging field of education research and media. Following a review of the literature, the chapter maps the theoretical and methodological contributions which include theorising about mediatisation of education, the effects of moral panic, the inclusion and exclusion of particular voices, and the issues with notions of representation. Drawing on a thematic analysis, a discussion of the empirical conceptualisations of media constructions of education follows. The empirical findings can be categorised into literature about: education policy and politics; student assessments; schools, education systems and reforms; teachers’ work; and children and young people. These studies outline the mediatisation of education, describing the messages about education that are being constructed and conveyed by print and social media. Such theorising about the influence of these media better enables better understandings for education stakeholders of this global publics.