Abstract
This study examines Australian teachers (n = 268) and parents’ (n = 206) self-reported perceptions of education news coverage and how the coverage affects them. Overall, the participants reported a perception that news coverage of teachers, schools, the education system and standardised testing was generally negative in tone. Participants reported typically feeling demoralised by negative stories and inspired by positive stories. A high importance was placed upon the public perception of education by participants. However, trust in the media reporting of educational issues was low. An exception to this general pattern of findings was that participants did not place as much importance upon the public perception of standardised testing and reported being less affected by negative or positive stories on that topic compared to the other education aspects. This research is one of the few studies to investigate the potential emotional impact that news coverage of education can have on media consumers.
Highlights
News about K-12 schooling appears regularly in local, metropolitan and national media
The same argument cannot be be argued that teachers have a particular sensitivity to news coverage of them and their applied to parents, so we argue that this broader view about the negativity of education work environment, which may skew their perception
We examined public perceptions of news coverage of education and the emotional effect of this coverage
Summary
News about K-12 schooling appears regularly in local, metropolitan and national media. Scholars have recognised the impact that news coverage of schooling, schools and teaching can have on public perceptions, and a small but growing body of research into education reporting has emerged. 65), the news media play “a central role in determining the issues that are debated and how policymakers and the public interpret these issues”. This is significant when one considers that related research has pointed to a prevalence of negative reporting of. Our study, outlined here, builds on the limited existing research by outlining the results of a survey of Australian teachers (n = 268) and parents (n = 206) about their perceptions of, and attitudes towards, news coverage of education. Comparisons between the parent and teacher groups will be identified and explored
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