Abstract
This paper proposes a critical pedagogical approach to the use of contemporary television texts that depict refugees in the classroom. Focusing on representations shaped by both racist and humanitarian discourses, it examines how such media content can be explored to foster primary school students’ critical thinking and awareness of social power dynamics. Grounded in the multiliteracies framework (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012), the proposed teaching intervention aims to empower learners to recognize how television texts may contribute to the marginalization of refugees or reproduce hegemonic relationships between dominant social groups and displaced populations. Through the use of the cognitive processes embedded in the multiliteracies model, students are encouraged to engage with news broadcast excerpts that present seemingly opposing perspectives on refugee arrivals and their inclusion in public education (experiencing) and to become familiar with key concepts that support critical textual analysis (conceptualizing). Through analyzing, students critically examine these narratives and are guided to identify how refugee representations are shaped by, and simultaneously reinforce, particular discourses—ranging from those that promote exclusion and marginalization (racist discourse) to those that frame refugees as passive victims (humanitarian discourse). As part of the applying phase they are invited to produce their own counter-texts that challenge dominant ideologies and advocate for solidarity and equality. Ultimately, the aim is to cultivate students’ capacity to critically interpret the media texts they encounter and to empower them as active participants in transforming social realities by revealing and resisting the inequalities embedded—explicitly or implicitly—within them.
Presenters
Nikoletta PanagakiAdjunct Professor, Pedagogical Department of Primary Education, University of Thessaly, Greece
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Multiliteracies, Television Texts, Racist Discourse, Humanitarian Discourse
