Mass Media Instruction in High School Social Science Classes: A Survey of Southern California Teachers.

A study investigated high school social science teachers' opinions on including media studies in the curriculum. A 53-question survey instrument was constructed and sent to 302 southern California social science teachers, of whom 159 responded, for a return rate of about 53%. Results indicated that all of the teachers thought it was important to help students develop critical thinking skills. About 94% of the teachers said mass media studies should be included in high school social science classes. About 86% of the teachers said they felt qualified to teach about the mass media, although only 34% indicated that their college training had helped them to develop such expertise. Television was ranked as the most important mass medium to include in the study of mass media in high school social science classes. Respondents rated the potential effects of mass media messages on people as the most important element to include in the media curriculum. Results indicated that even though most of the teachers recognized that the social science curriculum was already crowded with critical areas that needed to be taught, almost all of them indicated that room should be found for including meaningful instruction about how the mass media operate, how they should operate, what power they have and how they influence lives every day. (Three tables of data are included, and 28 references are attached.) (MG)