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Published in the Slovak Republic
Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie)
Has been issued since 2005
ISSN 1994-4160
E-ISSN 1994-4195
2018, 58(3): 140-146
DOI: 10.13187/me.2018.3.140 www. ej ournal53 .com
Interaction of educational process participants in network online-space: the trends of new media reality development
Tatyana Ryabova a , *, Elena Frolova a, Olga Rogach a
a Russian State Social University, Russian Federation
Abstract
The modern development of digital technologies, the transfer of communicative interaction on most socially important issues into a network online space, initiates the growth of citizens' appeals to various forums, blogs, social networks, etc. The availability and depersonalization of the network online space open unlimited opportunities for participants to develop a media reality. The authors set the goal of the study - to determine the key characteristics of educational process participant interaction in the context of a new media reality, to analyze the specifics and the themes of their appeals within the network online space. The main method of research was a qualitative analysis of Internet forum media texts devoted to the discussion of school education. In the course of the study, it was found that the trends of a new media reality development are ambivalent ones. Positive changes include the increase of contact frequency, a higher level of parent involvement in school education issue solution, the increase of awareness about the problems of their children. However, for many parents, the search for problem solutions is shifting from real communication practices with teachers and administration to artificially formed social groups. The opportunities for the replication and dissemination of one's own opinions through the online space is a testimony to their own competence for parents, an indirect factor of a teacher authority reduction. The authors revealed that in the context of a new media reality, the criticism of teacher actions, their professional and moral qualities is increased more and more. The increase of media competence level among Internet users, the development of information selection and analysis skills will contribute to the development of media text critical perception.
Keywords: educational process, media reality, media texts, content analysis, online space
1. Introduction
The actual trends and the challenges of modern reality, expressed in the change of conceptual notions about the role, the goals and the content of education in the modern world, have led to significant transformations in the basics of the educational sector management in Russia. Today, the trends and the patterns of education development that carry the potential of social solidarity and consolidation come to the forefront, which implies the broadening of public participation in the discussion of the key vectors concerning education system reforming (Frolova, Rogach, 2017).
The globalization of information processes, computerization, the expansion of the interactive space shifts the boundaries of public discourse from normatively regulated areas of discussion towards network interaction, to the Internet (Neskromnykh, Mamadaliev, 2017; Egorova et al.,
* Corresponding author
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (T.M. Ryabova)
2017). In modern conditions, the level of demand for print media is decreasing, while Internet media texts are becoming more and more demanded due to the availability and the variability of information (Gorun, 2012). In a number of media sources, various kinds of Internet forums begin to play a key role in public opinion broadcasting and development concerning the school education development. It should be borne in mind that Internet technologies and the network online space become the main niche for the existence of mass communication modern form, whereas new media formats for the communication between subjects of the educational space are the main methods of indirect interaction (Kryukova et al., 2017).
In modern conditions, communication and interaction between educational space subjects go beyond the traditional school boundaries. Online applications, social networks offer users the opportunity to publish media texts, edit them and transfer content to other users on a global scale (Loveland, 2018).
The reform of Russian education initiates the growth of the population appeals to the Internet, the broadcasting of their assessments and the exchange of views in the network online space. The transfer of communicative interaction between the participants of the educational process in the network community contributes to the rapid receipt of relevant information, the selection of its most important segment for an individual. The variability of the interpretation, the interactivity and the possibility of an active participation in a discussion transfers a user from the status of a "viewer" to the status of a "co-author", giving unlimited possibilities for media reality development (Chelysheva, 2014; Makeeva et al., 2017).
2. Materials and methods
The goal is to determine the key characteristics of participant interaction in the educational process within the context of a new media reality, to analyze the specifics and themes of their appeals within the network online space. The study was conducted in 2018. The main method of research was the qualitative and quantitative analysis of media texts from Internet forums devoted to the discussion of school education. Media texts were selected for the analysis, the authors of which were the parents of modern schoolchildren as a rule.
The following sites were randomly selected as sources of the analyzed media texts: http://education-reviews.ru; http://ratings.7ya.ru/schools/; https://www.spr.ru; http://www.s-cool.ru/forum7.html; http://otzovik.com/; https://www.u-mama.ru.
Units of quantitative analysis were taken such areas as: areas related to dissatisfaction or changes in personnel policy; areas related to infrastructure; areas related to the content and methods of education; areas related to the financing of school education.
The calculation was carried out by the number of reviews devoted to a particular direction for the period 2016-2017.
The method of qualitative-quantitative study of documents implies the search and the processing of media text content, as well as the interpretation of the obtained data (Churasheva, 2007). This method allows you to identify the expectations and the interests of text creators; the values and the norms, distributed in media texts, the specificity of their perception in different audiences (the comments of other users). The specificity of the method is in the fact that it provides the opportunity to study the social context of a document creation, to study a media text as a manifestation, and as an assessment of a new social reality simultaneously (Pashinyan, 2012).
According to the results of the quantitative analysis, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis of the selected media texts and in order to identify the social context of the creation of these media texts and their impact on other participants of the media space.
3. Discussion
Current trends of Russian society development cause significant changes in the conditions and the specifics of key actor interactions in the educational space (Smith et al., 2010; Apanasyuk et al., 2017). There are rapid changes in approaches to the organization of the educational process, the development of information and telecommunication technologies (Frolova et al., 2017), a high level of the Internet space use, the development of the digital nature of interactions among young people (Nawaila, Bicen, 2018).
Table 1. Quantitative analysis of media texts
Unit of analysis Total
number of
mentions
Areas related to personnel policy: 174
- Teachers ' attitude to students 100
- Medical service, care for the health of students at school 41
- Psychological service (unloading, trust) in schools 33
Directions associated with the infrastructure: 132
- The introduction of short-stay groups 9
- Improvement of material and technical equipment and repair of schools 87
- The provision of free school textbooks, library books; 24
- Computerization of schools 12
Areas related to the content and methods of teaching at school: 206
- Profiling of the school, providing students with a choice of choice
(choice of classes, subjects, etc.) 67
- Change of training programs (introduction of new subjects: foreign language, 36
economics, foreign literature, etc.)
- Reducing the student workload 54
- Improvement of teaching methods, teachers' qualification, assessment system 21
- Reducing the time of lessons to 40 minutes 9
- Cancellation of the EGE 19
Areas related to the financing of school education: 181
- Misappropriation of funds 72
- Increase teachers' salaries, increase funding for school education 51
- More free additional features in the school (clubs, sections, etc.) 26
- Free meals at school 22
- Introduction of a system of financial incentives, prizes, scholarships 10
for academic success
The use of technologies for information search and creation, the communication in network communities becomes an important component of public life (Gallo , Horton, 1994; Shearer, 2010). The issues related to the transfer of communication between educational process subjects in the Internet space have a controversial nature due to the vague understanding of ethical and moral constructions of the network community (Sisti, 2007), the lack of media competence among population and the criticality of information perception (Küter-Luks et al., 2011).
Media education allows people to exercise their right to freedom of expression and information (Rowe, 2014), which promotes personal development, and also increases social participation and interactivity (Fedorov, 2015). Without reliable sources of information on the changes in various spheres of life, without a critical analysis of this information using media resources, and without a constant interaction with the media environment, it is impossible to make a balanced, an optimal and an effective management decision in the modern world (Frolova et al., 2018).
Information and communication technologies can act as a tool for cooperation, participation and shared responsibility in the day-to-day Russian school functioning. The results of foreign studies show the correlation between the degree of integration into the school practice of information and communication technologies as the means of interaction and the effectiveness of a network community creation for the improvement of management, education and education processes (Meneses , Mominó, 2012). In this aspect, the transfer of interaction focus from contact communication to network communities creates new trends in the development of a "space for transaction conduct" between the subjects of the educational process, and updates the issues of media culture and digital literacy (Erstad, Gilje , Lange, 2007).
The Internet is a full-fledged social and cultural (creative) site for certain groups within the defined borders (social networks), and for individual people - the most preferred place of interaction, conditioned by different motivations (Tanatova, 2016).
Thus, the network online space becomes one of the key areas for public opinion development, the replication of assessments and opinions about the contemporary development of Russian school, the transformation of its functions and qualitative characteristics.
4. Results
The comments on the functioning of a modern school are characterized by a fairly limited scope of discussions and a high level of evaluation criticism. The users of network resources most often paid attention to such problems as the material and technical equipment improvement and the repair of schools, as well as the need to increase the funding for school education. The parental community was focused on school life infrastructure provision, the characteristics of the teaching staff, the content and the methods of teaching.
□ Material and technical equipment
□ Financing
□ Content and methods of teaching
□ Infrastructural support
□ Canteens work and quality of food
□ The professinalism of the teaching staff
Fig. 1. The main problems of school education, highlighted on the Internet forums
"The pool is missing, the building is old, the ceilings flow, it's cold in winter and there are no normal dressing rooms."
"A disgusting school. There is mud and mess here. The area around the school is large and almost empty. It seems that all the money allocated from the budget goes to the headmaster's pocket"
"As for teachers, it's a nursing home to put it mildly ... The average age is a pension one..."
There are many mentions of nutrition problem at schools: the nutrition price and quality is a concern. Most of the forum participants support the need to review the school feeding system. But at the same time, parents Express opposite views on the menu of schoolchildren and the introduction of hot Lunches.
"The problem is that meals are cold often. The child refuses to eat and remains hungry, and food is an integral part of the learning process in fact."
A significant number of comments is devoted to the topic of high school load for schoolchildren and the need for USE preparation. In connection with these trends, the topics of medical and psychological support for students become urgent.
"You can forget about your free time, the parties on weekends, a healthy sleep, the normal psyche of a child in a high school."
Children are too overwhelmed. The child comes home incapable to anything. They are exhausted on any extra - unnecessary subjects"
"The school is so exhausting as no university will exhaust."
At the same time, urgent security topics are ignored, the effectiveness of innovative teaching technologies, there is no constructive approach to the integration of participant efforts in the educational process. The existing practices of resource consolidation by subjects of educational space to solve school problems raises a number of critical remarks, which requires their revision.
As the analysis of media text showed, the topic of an individual approach to a student, the consumer attitude towards the school is one of the key topics.
"There are oxygen cocktails everywhere now, even in kindergartens. I now wonder why they do not know anything about this at school! I explain to them that my child even knows what an oxygen cocktail is and why he needs it, but the class teacher does not know it, and it's very strange!"
"Additional courses after classes, that are free, is a waste of time! A teacher crawls with a textbook around the board."
This trend is associated with the introduction of market economy mechanisms in the educational space of the modern school. The consideration of educational services as "goods" and the parents as "buyers" transforms the socio-cultural attitudes of a school and a teacher perception, whose image is not associated with a high authority.
The consequence of these trends is the confrontation of the parental and the pedagogical community positions. The articulation of negative assessments in a family and their translation in educational institutions promotes the development of certain stereotypes, their negative impact on the educational process. The focus of interactions between the teaching corps and the parental community is centered around the ambiguity of role position perception concerning the key subjects of educational process: client-consumer-customer. A teacher's dissatisfaction with the current situation is reflected in the development of a sufficiently rigid opposite position. So, in one of the Moscow schools was posted the following announcement: «Dear students! Remember that you are students, not clients and always the teacher is right! You do not serve, but give knowledge, learn new things and improve your skills!!!»
The accents of the educational space perception are closely intertwined with the commodity-monetary theme, and differ by an excessive focus on a student servicing and his needs.
The orientation to prestige and the strategies of life success are one of the central discussion themes among schoolchildren parents in online network space. Many parents express the opinion on the need for additional classes, tutor hiring, an individual approach to educational trajectory development, etc., in order to gain the competitive advantages for schoolchildren in comparison with his average peer.
"In order to get normal knowledge in all subjects, you have to hire teachers additionally. Foreign languages are taught very little and haphazardly."
A high level of criticism of opinions leads to the development of stable stereotypes about negative trends in education development.
"A school is not suitable for teaching children, the teaching staff does not care about knowledge or the peace of mind of children. Eleven years in these walls remove the faith in the kindness of people, the love for science and self-confidence."
"Some teachers do not have pedagogical skills at all, nobody can solve conflicts and conduct personal work with students."
The possibility of broad discussion, the articulation of one's own ideas and subjective views on the existing problems, give the status of an education expert to parents. In the event of problems, a large part of the parental community seeks to find support and "expert" help from the same commoners, rather than among professional educators (teachers, administration, social psychologist, etc.). The specificity of interaction between the educational process participants in the Internet indirectly distorts the real situation, contributes to the escalation of the critical attitude, the cautious perception of any innovations. Thus, the increase of communication intensity among parents due to the possibilities of the Internet accelerates cooperation, exchange and the collection of information, on the one hand (Greaves, 2016), and, on the other hand, the transformation of communication channels leads to the replication of "pseudo-expert" opinions, reduces the level of confidence in education institute. "The virtual environment promotes the spread of destructive communities in many ways that undermine the basic values of traditional culture" (Skorodumova, 2017).
5. Conclusion
Because of the burgeoning of the Internet and the increasing number of online electronic media resources, the level of demand for print media content is declining. Under the new conditions, digital and mobile media begin to acquire ubiquity, exerting a decisive influence on population values, expectations and interests, primarily among young people (Hashem et al., 2017).
These trends in the development of a new media reality are ambivalent. Positive changes include the increase of contact frequency, a higher level of parental involvement in school education issue solution, the raising of awareness about the problems of their children. However, these trends also have the opposite effect, which consists in a strong distortion of information and the dominance of subjective judgments. For many parents who are active Internet users, the search for problem solutions is shifted from real communication practices with teachers and administration to artificially formed social groups. At the same time the professional users of the Internet acquire a greater expert weight in resolving educational issues rather than the experts in the educational field. The opportunities for the replication and the dissemination of one's own opinions through the online space is the testimony of their own competence for parents, an indirect factor of a teacher authority reduction.
According to the ideas dominant in Soviet media texts, a teacher was positioned as a role model both in appearance and in the world outlook, equated in to the builder of a new society in his socio-cultural role (Chelysheva, 2017). However, in the context of the new media reality, the criticism of teacher's actions, their professional and moral qualities is increased more and more. The possibility of unsupported anonymous criticism discredits the profession of a teacher, transforms the perception of the educational process not as a channel of knowledge transfer, but as a sphere of consumption (seller-buyer).
At the same time, there are the reasons to believe that the level of media competence increase among Internet users, the development of data selection and analysis skills, will contribute to the formation of media text perception criticism. In modern conditions, a special attention should be paid to teaching technologies, which form a responsible approach to the search for and creation of media texts among young people, a thoughtful attitude to new technologies, and Internet information resources (Pietrzak, 2017). Media education is a key factor in negative consequence reduction concerning the spread of subjective assessments and pseudo-expert conclusions that reduce the effectiveness of cooperation between educational process participants.
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