Information Technology Workforce - ITWF: Getting the Media Message: The Portrayal of Gender, Race, and Information Technology in the Media Environment of Middle School Students

Ohio University, Athens OH

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Information Technology Workforce (ITWF) Proposal Id: EIA-0120056 Investigator: Phyllis Bernt, Joseph Bernt and Sandra Turner Institution: Ohio University Title: Getting the Media Message: The Portrayal of Gender, Race, and Information Technology in the Media Environment of Middle School Students. This award provides support for a study examining media messages about Information Technology (IT) careers that middle school students receive from television, popular magazines, videotapes, movies, and from books, brochures and Internet sites that provide career information. The analysis will concentrate on the media portrayal of IT occupations, especially in terms of gender and race, that students are likely to encounter during the middle school years. Sixth and Seventh grade students in 12 demographically diverse classrooms across the nation will participate in classroom-based action research employing mathematics, language arts, and social science skills in surveying their peers and conducting their own content analysis of media messages about IT careers.