Graduate Program

College Student Affairs

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

2006

Thesis Director

Charles Eberly

Thesis Committee Member

James Wallace

Thesis Committee Member

Barbara Powell

Abstract

This study discusses the impact a critical pedagogy approach may provide for Student Affairs programming. On the one hand, pedagogical theories are often relegated to the classroom proper. On the other hand, despite the fact that Student Affairs programming is often seen froma developmental perspective, the intricacies of a pedagogy are just as often neglected. Critical pedagogy with its focus on valuing student experiences, critical readings of popular texts, and the deconstruction of pervasive public discourses may provide a valuable foundation for Student Affairs programming, thus integrating theory and practice and bridging the gap between Academic and Student Affairs.

This study was conducted within a qualitative, descriptive research paradigm. A media literacy program for the federal TRIO program on Eastern Illinois University's campus based on a critical pedagogy approach, was developed, implemented, and analyzed during the Fall semester of 2005. The program consisted of two workshop sessions, involving the screening of a documentary and two feature films. Subjects' reactions and abilities to critically engage with the texts were summarized in the findings. The results were used in a critical engagement with critical pedagogy as a political and philosophical paradigm. In addition, the results were also used to indicate opportunities for Student Affairs programming.

This study therefore represents an attempt to critically engage with both Student Affairs programming and pedagogical theory. The findings are indicative of a variety of issues, such as a fundamental difference between media literacy awareness, and media literacy abilities, the pervasiveness of the discourse of race over the discourse of class in American society, and the possibilities for future programming based on an integration of academic and student affairs practices founded on a critical approach to teaching and learning.

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