Hollywood film has been positioned as a form of public pedagogy -- a site of efficacious informal learning. Acknowledging this educative potential, this article examines the ways in which faculty and students perceive and respond to representations of higher education offered by popular film. Drawing on focus groups and interviews with 22…

Cultural stories provide us with a repertoire of narratives through which we interpret and construct our understandings of the world, including our gendered understandings of the early childhood teacher. Through her notion of "écriture feminine", Cixous [1976. "The Laugh of the Medusa." Trans K. Cohen and P. Cohen. "Signs:…

In this article, we discuss a media discussion group for female students with disabilities, which we created and facilitated using fairy tales to discuss and critique gender norms. Disability was not the primary focus for our media sessions; however, participants occasionally extended dialogue to include intersections between disability and…

Media play an important role in young people's lives as an agent of socialization, both generally and with regard to mathematics. To understand the mathematics-related messages disseminated to young people via popular media, we analyzed portrayals of mathematics and mathematicians in over 40 media examples (television shows, movies, websites,…

School films depict educational leaders as lone miracle workers. Students of colour and/or from low socio-economic backgrounds are shown as victims in need of a saviour, who appears in the form of a (usually White) teacher who lacks the qualifications and experience to work with students living in poverty. "Freedom Writers," "Music…

In a world in which social media, visual images, and instant messaging are the everyday realities of today's young people, films and videos play a crucial role in developing a critical understanding of how social, economic, political, and cultural structures mediate the lives of youth. As teaching tools and cultural media, videos, and films offer…

In this article, we draw on disruptive scenes in a postsecondary classroom to examine a critical incident concerning conflicting readings of the film "Pearl Harbor" (2001). We raise crucial questions for pedagogical work with popular film: Who speaks for whom about the meaning of a given film? Under what conditions do students resist…

Examines strategies students and teachers can use when viewing (and countering) the universal and objective image popular culture diffuses. Focuses on teaching environmental/ecological issues in a grade 11 social studies classroom. Suggests that students must engage texts by "writing themselves" to the conversations these texts initiate.…

Argues that the concerns and reactions of young girls to popular culture often are deemed superficial and irrelevant in social studies. Recalls an incident where a 13-year-old's journal entry regarding her fascination with horror films was poorly graded. Includes transcripts of the girl talking about films. (MJP)