Culture is an essential
aspect to the formation of individual identity, allowing for the explanation of
the diversity of human behaviour and attitudes (Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd, 2007, 4).
Humans are essentially cultural beings, developing meanings and interpretation
of the world, by actively producing and reproducing culture (Wadham, Pudsey and
Boyd, 2007, 4). Culture significantly contributes to the educational
institution as it is viewed as a level of social development, encompassing intellectual
and artistic elites. Indeed, identity is perceived as a symbolic and material
realm, inhibiting the mind and body possessing profound impact upon the
physical and psychological environment of an individual. It allows one to
comprehend themselves and those around them, providing meaning to their
actions. It can also be contextualised, as identity shifts in accordance with
the physical and psychological surroundings of an individual. Mass Media as a
means of contemporary culture has shifted the educational institution,
possessing positive and negative impacts.
Media, a form communication
has significantly contributed to human life and society. Wadham, Pudsey and
Boyd explain that contemporary society has become dominated by mass media,
commonly referred to as the ‘media-isation’ of society (2007, 16). Face to face
communication has been overshadowed by the co presence of media or mass
interaction, shaping the structure and interactions among the educational
organisation. Historically, the value of imaginative writing or art classes is
perceived to enhance the expression of the creativity of the human mind,
something which the media defies against (Digital Media and Learning, Page 9).
Educators now have the
opportunity to transmit information and broadcast interactive motion, as a
means of enhancing the knowledge attained to the students. Access to online
databases is readily available, deemed as a necessity to any educational
facility with computing lessons administered from an early age. Hand written
assessments are no longer acceptable, perceived as an outdated form of
submitting formal writings. The mass existence and reliance of media has
allowed for the uniting of local and international communication, easing the
transmission of information (Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd, 2007, 17).
However, there are
consequences associated with the mass acceptance and utility of media,
including cyber bullying a form of denigrating people. This was clearly
portrayed when a Primary School Teacher posted unauthorised images of his students
on his personal Facebook account, with sexual connotations (The Telegraph,
2013). The furious parents of the students demanded the educator be suspended of
his Teaching License as his actions are deemed to be not acceptable. Parents
and caregivers of the exposed students believed that the public exposure should
not be tolerated, with the Department of Education claiming the situation to be
a “serious breach of its policies” (the Telegraph, 2013). This reignites the
idea of the negative consequences of the wide usage and reliance upon mass
media, implicating the physical and psychological environment.
Communication and the
integration of Media among the Educational Institution have resulted in both
positive and negative outcomes. It has contributed to the formation of an
individual’s identity, shifting in accordance with the physical and
psychological environment. Indeed, individuals develop meanings and
interpretations of the world by producing and reproducing culture amended
through their subjectivity to media. Face to Face communication has
deteriorated, as the transmission of information via the internet is now
perceived as the norm, constricting the individual of expressing emotions.
Society has become extremely reliant on Media that the creativity of the human
mind has been neglected.
References
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