scholarly journals Social Studies Teacher Perceptions of News Source Credibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-272
Author(s):  
Christopher H. Clark ◽  
Mardi Schmeichel ◽  
H. James Garrett
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
News Media ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Social Studies Teachers ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Secondary Social Studies ◽  
News Source ◽  
News Credibility

Politically tumultuous times have created a problematic space for teachers who include the news in their classrooms. Few studies have explored perceptions of news credibility among secondary social studies teachers, the educators most likely to regularly incorporate news media into their classrooms. We investigated teachers’ operational definitions of credibility and the relationships between political ideology and assessments of news source credibility. Most teachers in this study used either static or dynamic definitions to describe news media sources’ credibility. Further, teachers’ conceptualizations of credibility and perceived ideological differences with news sources were associated with how credible teachers found each source. These results indicate potential inconsistencies in how news credibility is defined and possible political bias in which sources social studies teachers use as exemplars of credibility.

How Social Studies Teachers Choose News Resources for Current Events Instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-37
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER H. CLARK ◽  
MARDI SCHMEICHEL ◽  
H. JAMES GARRETT
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
News Media ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Social Studies Teachers ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Current Events ◽  
Citizenship Skills

Integrating current events and news media in the curriculum is essential to social studies teachers’ efforts to promote critical citizenship skills. In this mixed-methods study, Christopher H. Clark, Mardi Schmeichel, and H. James Garrett draw from a survey of more than one thousand social studies teachers to examine factors that influence the frequency of teachers’ current events instruction and their choices of news resources for use in their classes. They found that respondents’ ideologies influenced the number and type of sources they preferred and that teachers listed student-focused reasons like reading accessibility more than news-focused criteria like in-depth reporting as reasons for their choices. These findings have significant consequences for researchers and teacher educators who must find ways to help teachers discard assumptions that news sources are neutral or without perspective. The authors maintain that if teachers are to help students develop the ability to interpret news media within a complicated political and informational landscape, they must be better prepared to think critically about the news sources they incorporate into their lessons.

scholarly journals Examining the relationship between trust and online usage of news media

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kathryn Yaeger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
News Media ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
News Sources ◽  
News Source ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Financial Impacts ◽  
The Relationship

This study tests the relationship between overall trust and online usage of 35 popular United States news sources. Trust of news media, currently at its lowest percentage in Gallup's 45-year polling history, has both brand and financial impacts; as news organizations employ strategies to rebuild trust, knowing the relationship between trust and usage can help them measure the effectiveness of their efforts. A series of regression models using three months of pooled cross-sectional data of trust measures from the Pew Research Center and usage measures from ComScore found a positive, statistically significant relationship between trust and direct traffic, but it found no association between trust and frequent usage. When testing how additional variables moderated the relationship between trust and frequent traffic, the study found no evidence that having a multiplatform presence or political ideology impacted the relationship. It found evidence in one month that being a mainstream news source could impact this relationship, but results are overall inconclusive.

News Sources and Framing of Responsibility on Devolution in Kenya, 2013–2017

2022 ◽  
pp. 107769902110665
Author(s):  
Jimmy Ochieng
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Attribution Of Responsibility ◽  
News Sources ◽  
News Source ◽  
Official Sources

The present research examines two aspects of newspaper coverage of devolution during a 4-year period between March 27, 2013, and May 28, 2017: first, through the lens of attribution of responsibility, who the news media most blamed for problems facing devolution; second, whether reliance on official sources in reporting of devolution mirrors the indexing hypothesis. Findings show that the most-blamed actor and dominant news source on devolution is the county executive. Journalists continue to rely on the elite as their main news source and as a result they shape the discourse on devolution.

Preservice teachers’ perceptions of teaching news media literacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Joseph McAnulty
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Social Studies Teachers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Civil Sphere

PurposeThis study explores social studies preservice teacher’s orientation toward teaching news media literacy in the era of fake news. Previous literature indicates that many social studies teachers express a desire to maintain neutrality in the classroom. As such, this study focuses on the preservice teachers’ articulated pedagogical practices around news media literacy, as well as the described forces and factors that influence their described stances.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses work from the field of political communication to analyze course assignments, semi-structured interviews and survey responses in order to consider the ways 39 preservice social studies teachers articulated their anticipated and enacted pedagogical practices around news media literacy.FindingsFindings suggest a prevalent desire among the participants to pursue neutrality by presenting “both sides,” echoing traditional journalistic pursuits of objectivity. The possible consequences of this desire are also explored. Additionally, the study suggests that parents, administrators and the content standards are viewed as forces, which will constrain their practices.Practical implicationsUsing theorizing about the civil sphere, this paper considers implications for teacher educators. The civil sphere may provide a lens with which to analyze news media and may help preservice teachers adopt practices they view as risky.Originality/valueThis study aims to extend conversations around the teaching of news media, controversial political and social issues and the preparation of social studies teachers in the current social and political ecology by working to align the field with growing conversations in the field of political communication and journalism.

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