YES_A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching in Elementary School

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Volume 9, Number 5, May 2019 (Serial Number 93)
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U S-China
Educ at ion Revie w
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Volume 9, Number 5, May 2019 (Serial Number 93)
Contents
Teacher Education
Cooperativeness in Primary Schools: An Exploratory Investigation of

Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions in Greece 203
Evangeloula Papadatou, Nikolaos Alexopoulos
English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment and Its Cultivation 218

Jinhui Tu, Jumei Xiao
Curriculum and Teaching
Educational Technology and Mass Communication 224

Owuamanam Catherine Nkechinyere
A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching in Elementary School 236

Min Tian, Jumei Xiao
US-China Education Review A, May 2019, Vol. 9, No. 5, 203-217
doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2019.05.001
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Cooperativeness in Primary Schools: An Exploratory

Investigation of Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions in Greece
Evangeloula Papadatou, Nikolaos Alexopoulos

National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
This paper investigates teachers’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the contribution made by school principals
and students’ parents to the cooperative operation of primary schools in Greece. Research data was collected by
means of quantitative descriptive research. The research tool used was the anonymous questionnaire addressed to
primary school teachers. The study entails descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, and
one way ANOVA of the data collected. An econometric analysis was also conducted. The results of the study
indicated that the cooperation between teachers and school principals lacks fluency and substance. As far as
teachers’ cooperation with students’ parents is concerned this study indicated that teachers consider it very important
for school’s effective operation and they are to a great extent, satisfied with it. However, this satisfaction was not
total but primarily applied to dealing with certain school activities and operation problems. The research results can
be taken into account by the members of the school community in order improve the communication/cooperation
among them and expand school-family cooperation. In contrast to previous research, this study examines the
cooperative climate in schools not by taking into consideration the attitudes and perceptions of school directors, but
those of the actors who actually do the teaching work in schools, that is, the teaching staff themselves.
Keywords: school climate, school communication, school effectiveness, interpersonal relationships at school,
parents’ role, school principal’s role
Introduction
Nowadays, despite scepticism expressed in recent literature (e.g., Caplan, 2018), school education enjoys
wide social recognition while the majority of researchers perceive its value in a positive light (e.g., Bacete,
Perrin, Schneider, & Blanchard, 2014; Thijs & Verkuyten, 2014). This is mainly owing to schools’ contribution
towards the smooth function and development of society as well asthe intellectual, spiritual, and psycho-social
growth of students’ maturity, both accomplished through their pedagogical and teaching function. In order for
this contribution to materialize, schools have to operate effectively. Although definitions of what constitutes an
effective school may vary (Saiti & Saitis, 2012; L. Weller & S. Weller, 2002), a series of relevant studies (e.g.,
Saitis & Saiti, 2018; Pasiardi & Savidis, 2016; Zepeda, 2013; Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2012; Everard, Morris, &
Wilson, 2004) seem to concur that, firstly, school effectiveness refers to the degree of multifaceted/holistic
progress of students (which is hard to define), and secondly, that it depends on a variety of factors.
Evangeloula Papadatou, part time, lecturer, Pedagogical Department of Primary Education, National & Kapodistrian University
of Athens.
Nikolaos Alexopoulos (Corresponding author), laboratory teaching staff, Department of Primary Education, National &
Kapodistrian University of Athens.
204 INVESTIGATION OF TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS IN GREECE
Relevant literature (Green, 2015; Saiti & Saitis, 2012; Adeogun & Olisaemeka, 2011, Kapsalis, 2005;
Hargreaves, 1999; Edmonds, 1979) suggests that a good spirit among teachers, quality leadership in school as
well as a regular and genuine collaboration among teaching staff, senior management and parents constitute key
elements that govern a school’s effective operation. Lack thereof has been proven to adversely influence
teaching staff in their work as, apart from communication and cooperation problems among school community
members and the negative impact on students’ learning (e.g., Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2014; Halverson,
2010), it has also been found to increase teaching staff’s stress levels, professional frustration, and burnout
(Antoniou, Polychroni, & Vlachakis, 2014; Pas, Bradshaw, & Hershfeldt, 2012; Collie, Shapka, & Perry, 2012;
Grayson & Alvarez, 2008; E. Skaalvik & S. Skaalvik, 2009; Antoniou, Polychroni, & Walters, 2000; Taylor &
Tashakkori, 1995).
The natural and socio-emotional school environment, quality of teaching and learning, opportunities for
teaching staff professional development, abidance by regulations and procedures, leadership, but primarily, a
consistent and honest cooperation between teaching staff, leadership and parents have all also been identified as
preconditions for a conducive school climate (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins, 2013; Cavrini, Chianesea,
Boccha, & Dozzaa, 2015; Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pickeral, 2009; Litwin & Stringer, 1988).
Nevertheless, despite the importance of cooperation as to the school unit’s effective operation, relevant
research, and studies both in the international and Greek school reality (e.g., Rapti & Papadatou, 2018;
Volakaki, 2015; Tailahidis, 2014; Kosciw, Palmer, Kull, & Greytak, 2013; Shah, 2012; Cohen, McCabe,
Michelli, & Pickeral, 2009; Abdallah, 2009; MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009; Pasiardi, 2001; Saitis, Darra, &
Psarri, 1996) indicate that desired cooperative spirit is either missing from schools or is hard to achieve. All too
often, a virtual, rather superficial cooperative spirit is exhibited at school units (Barth, 2013; Goldsprink, 2007;
Cobourn, 2005), an occurrence which could be attributed to the fact that conflict in the school community is
constantly augmenting mainly due to the increased complexity of educational organizations on an international
level (Saiti, 2014). In the Greek school reality, researchers (e.g., Papadatou, 2018; Saiti, 2014; Koula, 2011)
indicate mainly that: (a) the atmosphere in Greek schools is not amiable; (b) communication within the school
community is primarily formal and insubstantial; and (c) conflict among school community members
constitutes a common occurrence. Thus, teachers, directors, and parents are hindered from feeling at ease,
whilst all too often they act individualistically of their own accord, having a negative bearing on children’s
learning.
The Aim and the Objectives of the Study

Within this framework, the present study aims to investigate teachers’ perceptions of, and attitudes
towards, the contribution made by directors and parents to the cooperative operation of primary schools in
Greece. In contrast to former studies (e.g., Clarke, 2014; Saiti, 2014; Hord & Sommers, 2008; Cosner, 2009;
Youngs, 2007; Quong, 2006), the cooperative climate at schools is examined by not taking into consideration
the attitudes and perceptions of school directors but of the actual actors who do the teaching work at schools,
that is the teaching staff. In addition, while examining the cooperative climate at school, the present study has
not only taken into consideration the relationship of the teaching staff with their director but also with their
students’ parents.
In order to pursue the present study’s goal comprehensively, the following research objectives were
formulated to:
INVESTIGATION OF TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS IN GREECE 205
(a) determine the teachers’ levels of satisfaction from their cooperation with the school director/deputy
director and parents of their school unit;
(b) explore the teachers’ views on the importance of cooperation concerning a school’s effective
operation;
(c) examine to what extent teachers believe that their school’s directors possess the appropriate elements
of leadership behaviour necessary for developing strong relationships of cooperation at school;
(d) determine the factors that may have a bearing on teachers’ beliefs regarding the effectiveness of their
cooperation with their school directors and their students’ parents;
(e) provide suggestions for a more effective cooperation among school community members.
Theoretical Framework: Formulating a Cooperative Climate for Effective Schools

Each school constitutes a social system that aims to contribute to the balanced development of the
student’s psyche, body, and intellect through teaching and learning. However, certain prerequisites are needed
in order to accomplish these goals, and thus, ensure the smooth operation of the school system: the availability
of the necessary material and human resources for the school’s operation, communication with the external
environment, and genuine cooperation among its members (Saiti & Saitis, 2012).
The basic actors in the Greek school system who are responsible for the children’s teaching and learning
(Greek Law 1566/1985, Article 11) have been recognised as: (a) the Teachers’ Board (TB), which is comprised
of the entire teaching staff and is in charge of the school’s policy making as well as the resolution of its basic
operational problems in compliance with current legislation; and (b) the school director (together with their
deputy) who oversees the smooth implementation of legislation, circulars, official instructions, and decisions
taken by the board.
In addition, current literature (Babalis, Kirkigianni, & Tsoli, 2015; Sheridan & Kim, 2015; Wilder, 2014),
relevant legislation (e.g., Greek Law No. 1566/1985, Article 51, Par. 5-6; Greek Law 2621/1998, Article 2, Par.
1-14, Ministerial Decision D4/662/23-12-1998) as well as international practice (European Commission,
Directorate-General for Education and Culture, 2015; UK Department for International Development, 2015)
illustrate the ever-increasing significance of the role that the students’ families play in helping schools attain
their goals.
Aiming to enhance cooperation among the numerous stakeholders involved in school life in Greece, a
collective management system has been adopted, based on predetermined rules about, e.g., the constitution,
composition, and member quorum for each school collective management body.
Nonetheless, regardless of the constitutional and operational rules governing the collective bodies
involved in the school’s management, they do not suffice and above all are not substantial unless their members
act in a cooperative manner and endorse genuine communication. In the relative literature (e.g., Saitis & Saiti,
2018; Thapa et al., 2013; Babalis, 2009; Hoy & Miskel, 2005; Gamage & Pank, 2003), a school climate can be
described as the psychosocial framework (dominant behaviours, attitudes, emotions, and interpersonal
relationships) within and outside the classroom, based on common values, attitudes, views, and expectations of
the school community’s members vis-à-vis their school (e.g., as regards teaching methods, student safety,
cooperation with parents, and the local community). This is a particularly significant parameter, because it
fosters a feeling of “belonging” among all parties involved in the working life of the school. Developing a
cooperative spirit of genuine communication, however, is a difficult parameter to achieve. That is because
school management collective bodies usually contain only a few people, each demonstrating a distinct
behaviour that is particularly difficult to predict.
Since a school’s climate is subject to personal views and perceptions but also varies depending on the
school community’s composition, it cannot remain static. In addition, according to researchers (e.g.,
Magen-Nagar & Azuly, 2016; Thapa et al., 2013; Pepper & Thomas, 2002; Gamage & Pank, 2003; Moos,
1979), it constitutes a school hallmark and a parameter of successful teaching and learning with decisive
influence on students, teachers, and directors (Babalis, Kirkigianni, & Tsoli, 2015; Babalis et al., 2012).
Among different categories of school climates cited in the relevant literature (Saiti & Saitis, 2012; Kavouri,
1998; Hoy & Feldman, 1999; Freiberg & Stein, 1999; Hoy & Clover, 1986; Halpin & Croft, 1963), both the
amenable/cooperative and open/autonomous categories better correspond to a school’s multi-dimensional goals
and various operational needs as they ensure internal harmony and broader cooperation (inside and outside the
school unit) as well as the collegial relationships required for the successful achievement of its goals (Hoy &
Miskel, 2005).
For this desirable climate to be achieved, certain conditions have been prescribed by literature (Raptis &
Psaras, 2015; Saiti & Saitis, 2012; Gamage & Pank, 2003; Fasoulis, 2001):
1. The identification of a commonly accepted school goal, irrespective of any personal pursuits, geared
towards maintaining legality and defending common interests (primarily of students and their parents);
2. The rational distribution of roles and responsibilities that aim to make full use of the TB’s heterogeneity
(e.g., in terms of age, teaching experience, skills, and personality traits) as well as ensure the harmonious
coexistence of its members to prevent pointless conflict and confrontation;
3. Quality leadership behaviour. The demonstration of leadership behaviour on the director’s part
constitutes a vital factor for the effective operation of any social system, such as a school. Whether directors
exercise quality leadership (and, by extension, prove to be effective) mainly depends on their approach towards
handling the human factor;
4. Maturity of the teaching staff and parents. Any positive disposition for cooperation by the school
leadership cannot suffice unless accompanied by a corresponding disposition by the other key players involved
in school communication;
5. Genuine and substantial communication, verbal, or non-verbal that will disseminate through either
formal or informal channels thoughts, emotions and information among the members of the school community.
This communication will ensure that the school community operates with a team spirit, preventing
misunderstandings and conflict.
In sum, it could be asserted that collaborative management may constitute the ideal model for an
organisation in education, such as a school. Despite any potential weaknesses that this management style may
entail (for example, a relatively slow decision-making process) it remains consistent with the democratic
character of school education. In addition, by providing valid solutions to the multifaceted school problems
while taking into consideration different approaches (Saitis & Saiti, 2018; Schermerhorn, 2011), it can play a
decisive role in the school unit’s effectiveness. Its accomplishment requires a sine qua non-climate of fertile
communication/cooperation among the school community members and primarily the school director/leader,
the members of the TB and the parents. Developing such a climate, however, is hard to achieve and entails
factors that were investigated by the present study.
Methodology and Sample

Research data was collected by means of quantitative descriptive research. The research tool used was the
anonymous questionnaire which has been employed in a series of similar studies (Rapti & Papadatou, 2018; Saiti,
2014; Babalis et al., 2015; Koula, 2011; Kavouri, 1998). The questionnaire took its final form upon reviewing
pertinent literature (e.g., Saitis & Saiti, 2012, 2018; Gamage & Pank, 2003; Hoy & Miskel, 2005), former
relevant research (Rapti & Papadatou, 2018; Saiti, 2014, McNeil et al., 2009; Kavouri, 1998) and by
exchanging ideas with primary school teachers in the prefecture of Attica.
The sample was convenient, consisting of 234 teachers the majority of whom were married women, aged
41-50, with seven years of service at the school where the survey was carried out and 15 years of total
experience in school education.
As for its content, the questionnaire of the present survey included: (a) five questions regarding the
school’s composition and the sample’s demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, and years of service); and (b)
18 open and closed questions, requesting participants to express their opinion as to their agreement with a series
of sentences categorised into three sections. The sentences in the first section referred to the cooperation of
teachers with their directors (e.g., frequency of unanimous decisions made by the TB, majority, or compromise),
the second section included statements referring to the attitudes and perceptions of teachers regarding
communication between school and family (e.g., to what extent, parents are believed to respond to teachers’
invitations in respect to their children’s progress) and the third section examined the teachers’ views as regards
elements of their school director’s behaviour (e.g., whether the director undertakes responsibility for any
mishaps related to school events).
The questionnaire data was analysed by use of Statistic Package for Social Science (SPSS version 20)
including an assessment of the questionnaire’s internal consistency measured by Cronbach a, frequency, and
relevant percentages tables, an analysis of qualitative variables through contingency tables, an X2 independence
compliance review, a t-test and one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), depending on the number of
categories. An econometric analysis was further conducted based on accounting model evaluation as well as the
multiple linear regression models in order to evaluate the determinants of the views expressed by participants.
Results
At first, the main questionnaire’s internal consistency was assessed, showing that Cronbach’s a was high
(over 0.801) for all sections and, by extension, the research results are statistically valid and useful.
As regards the first section of the questionnaire, participants stated in their majority (54.4%) that they
“Sometimes” communicate with their director in order to formulate an overview of the agenda to be later
discussed at the TB meeting while 28.5% stated that they do not act accordingly.
Regarding the outcomes emerging from fostering dialogue between their directors and teaching staff
members prior to the TB meeting, teachers emphasised that the most substantial benefit from the above
interaction is the active participation of all teachers in the discussion (36.3%) and, at a lesser extent, the
minimised friction (29.7%) and the unanimous decision-making (31.1%).
The teachers participating in the study also stated that the decisions taken by the TB of their school are
“Sometimes” unanimous at 43.6%, sometimes compromise (draw lot) at 12.4%, and “Always” by the majority at
a percentage of 42.3%.
Pearson’s chi-square test statistic revealed the existence of a statistically significant correlation (p-value =
0.001 < 0.5) between the cooperation of directors and teachers before the TB meetings and the corresponding
decision-making process therein. In particular, the majority among those teachers who stated that decisions at the
TB meetings are taken unanimously also stated that the directors “Sometimes” seek to have a private
conversation with them prior to the Board’s meeting.
As for developing a more general communication between teachers and directors, the results of the present
survey indicated that the views of the teacher sample are divided. That is because 41.5% of the teachers stated
that, regardless of sex (p-value = 0.063 > 0.05) or age group (p-value = 0.064 > 0.05), directors do not discuss
school operation issues with them at a personal level, whereas 42.9% stated just the opposite.
Nonetheless, the irrespective of the directors’ attitude towards personal communication with the school’s
teaching staff prior to the TB meetings, teachers consider this type of communication as conducive to reshaping
their opinions (79.1%) as well as to strengthening cohesion among school unit members (72.6%).
Informal meetings among members of the school community, both within and outside the school unit, are
“Sometimes” pursued by directors according to the majority of the sample (49.6%), regardless of sex (p-value
= 0.273 > 0.05) or age (p-value = 0.126 > 0.05). It is noteworthy, however, that 26.9% of the teachers pointed
out that there are no informal meetings between them and the directors whatsoever. The research results also
indicated a statistically significant positive correlation (p-value = 0.009 < 0.05) between the teachers’ years of
service at the same school when the survey was conducted and the frequency with which teachers believe that
directors work toward developing informal communication relationships.
As for the consequences of those informal meetings within and outside the school premises, the most
popular responses in our study showed that teachers believe that they contribute “Somewhat” (32.9%) or “Very
much” (29.5%) to “strengthening the bonds among directors and teachers”, tackling misunderstandings among
teachers (“Somewhat” [29.1%] or “Very much” [14.5%]) and tackling misunderstandings between teachers and
school principals (“Somewhat” [46.2%] or “Very much” [23.1%]).
As for the relationships between teachers and directors, a sizeable percentage (47.6%) stated that they
“Sometimes” address their school’s director in order to resolve personal or work issues, while only 11% of the
sample does so “Very often”. In addition, 36% of the teachers reported that their directors “Often” mediate, so
as to resolve issues among the school unit’s teachers or between teachers and parents.
As regards the particularly significant cooperation between the school and parents in view of the school’s
effective operation, the results showed that the vast majority (98%) of the sample’s school units have an active
parent association. Teachers further stated in their majority (47.9%) to be “Somewhat” satisfied with their
school’s degree of cooperation with parent while a 9.8% were “Very much” satisfied and a 28.2% were
“Neutral”.
Those teachers who stated that they are “Somewhat” or “Very much” satisfied from their cooperation with
parents were further requested to identify the areas of their cooperation with parents (see Table 1).
The research findings related to parent-teacher cooperation include the fact that for half of the teachers this
cooperation contributes either “Somewhat” or “Very much” to their school’s effective operation (see Figure 1).
In addition, there was a statistically significant positive correlation among the teachers’ satisfaction from the
level of their cooperation with parents and their belief that this cooperation level contributes to the effective
operation of the school unit (p-value = 0.032 < 0.05).
Table 1
Frequency Distribution of Cooperation Opportunities Between School and Parents (More Than One Answer) (%)
Topics of school-family cooperation % answers
Organising pedagogical activities 21.9
Organising artistic events (e.g., theatrical plays) 47.3
Organising sporting events 32.9
Environmental initiatives 22.8
Resolving problems for the school’s operation 41.5
Book exhibitions 17.9
Another cooperation occasion 1.4
Very Much 16.7
Somewhat 51.9
Neutral 23.1
Little 5.5
Not at all 0.3
No answer 2.6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Figure 1. Frequency distribution of the teacher’s opinion on the contribution of the level of cooperation with parents to
school’s effective operation (%).
As regards the way parents respond to school invites in order to be informed about their children’s
progress, the majority of teachers stated that parents respond to them “Somewhat” or “Very much” (39.7% and
12.4%, respectively). It is worth noting, however, that 37.2% of the teachers stated that their response was
“Neutral”. Also, Pearson testing revealed a significantly positive correlation among the teachers’ opinion
regarding the degree of parents’ responsiveness to their invites and their belief that this cooperation level
contributes to the school unit’s effective operation (p-value = 0.001 < 0.01).
With reference to the reasons behind the good cooperation relationships among the school and students’
families, most teachers identified parents’ interest in their children’s future (44.4%) as the most significant
factor (see Table 2).
The results of the present study further revealed teachers’ views on the leadership traits of school directors.
In particular, it was determined that what mainly characterises school directors according to the participants
(68.4%) is their ability to promptly resolve conflicts between school unit members and parents. It is also worth
noting, however, that there is a relatively small percentage of teachers (less than half) who believe that directors
lead by example while executing their duties (see Table 3).
Regression analysis was conducted in order to identify factors that statistically influence two of the most
significant opinions of teachers as regards their cooperation with directors.
Table 2
Frequency Distribution of Teachers’ Views on the Reasons Behind the Good Cooperation Between School and
Family (More Than One Answer) (%)
Teachers’ views % answers
Director’s efforts 24.4
Parents’ education attainment level 29.1
Parents’ interest 44.4
Teachers’ efforts to reach out to their students’ families 31.6
Table 3
Frequency Distribution of Teachers’ Opinions on Directors’ Traits While Executing Their Managerial Duties
(More Than One Answer) (%)
Teachers’ opinion % answers
Resolve conflict promptly 68.4
Adopt judgemental attitude towards teachers who under-execute orders 20.9
Undertake the responsibility for mishaps occurring at school activities 35.9
Develop “work groups” 55.1
Develop personal contact with school teachers 50.0
Lead by example 41.9
Show consideration to teachers’ emotions and employ their experience to assist them 54.7
The first opinion refers to the frequency with which a teacher approaches the school director in order to
resolve a personal or work issue. The variance of the regression equation revealed that: (a) younger teachers
request school directors’ assistance more frequently in order to resolve personal or work issues at school
(p-value < 0.05); and (b) teachers approach their director more frequently in order to seek help in resolving a
personal or work issue if the latter resolves conflicts promptly. This demonstrates an emotional consideration
and employs examples from personal experience in order to facilitate teachers’ better understanding of
themselves (p-value < 0.01).
The second opinion refers to whether teachers believe that one of the directors’ fundamental leadership
traits is their ability to promptly resolve conflict before it gets out of proportion and becomes uncontrollable.
According to the variance of the regression equation, men (p-value < 0.05) and teachers aged over 41 (p-value
< 0.01) seem more likely to consider the ability of a director to resolve conflict promptly as a distinctive
element of leader behaviour.
Discussion and Conclusions

In accordance with relevant studies (Rapti & Papadatou, 2018; Volakaki, 2015; Koula, 2011), the results
of the study indicated that the cooperation between teachers and directors lacks fluency and substance. This
finding leads us to characterise the climate of cooperation at schools examined presently as only partly positive.
In particular, the results indicated that teachers, regardless of sex or age, tend not to cooperate with, or feel
comfortable communicating with, their school director. For that reason, they avoid communicating with them
and ask for guidance on personal/work issues or on the mediation of conflicts with other teachers or parents.
However, despite their hesitation, teachers showed that they consider their cooperation with school
management to be of particular significance, especially as regards strengthening their professional bonds,
resolving misunderstandings, and making unanimous decisions.
The teachers’ hesitant stance may be attributed to the following two research findings:
1. The first refers to the fact that, according to teachers, directors do not communicate regularly with them,
for example, prior to the TB meetings. The lack of communication, however, fails to foster adequate conditions
for teachers’ active participation in the meeting deliberations and for the fertile exchange of opinions required
by the multifaceted character of a school’s operation. This fact seemed to drive its members to resort to
decision-making by majority rule more often than not or even reach a compromise decision (one out of three
times) by drawing lots, with doubtful consequences for the TB’s cohesion, its cooperative spirit and the validity
of its decisions.
2. Our second finding refers to what teachers report as a lack of willingness on the part of directors to
exchange views and opinions with them on school life matters and problems at informal meetings
notwithstanding the fact that both formal and informal communication is considered by this survey’s
participants and relevant literature (Saiti & Saitis, 2012) as a contributory factor for the school unit’s
harmonious operation and coherence. A likely explanation for this finding could be attributed to the fact that
many directors have not been trained in the field of organisational behaviour and their role is underestimated by
central administration (Ministry of Education) as it is restricted to the execution of bureaucratic tasks and
processes (Saiti & Saitis, 2012; Saiti, 2012; Raptis, 2009; Fasoulis, 2006).
The present study also aimed to investigate the level of satisfaction with, and the value of, teachers’
cooperation with students’ parents. The research findings indicated, like others (Babalisetal, 2015; Saitis,
Feggari, & Voulgaris, 1997) that teachers are to a great extent satisfied with the level of their general
cooperation with parents irrespective of their demographics. However, this satisfaction was not total but
primarily applied to dealing with school operation problems, organising artistic and sporting events and
pedagogical meetings.
Regarding the usefulness of cooperation between the school and the parents’ association, the research
indicated that teachers consider it of decisive value for the effective operation of a school unit. This finding is
considered positive as regular cooperation between a school’s teaching staff members and the parents’
association fosters collegiality in their relationship, resolves operational problems at school level and leads to
high student performance as well as students’ balanced behaviour on its premises (Babalisetal, 2015; Babalis,
2011; Milonakou, 2009; Way, Reddy, & Rhodes, 2007).
The value of the above two findings of our research was further underlined by the close positive
correlation between the teachers’ satisfaction from their cooperation with parents and their belief that it
contributes to the school’s smooth operation (This is probably the reason why those teachers had experienced
the positive outcomes from the school-family cooperation).
Taking into consideration that a school’s primary objective is learning, our research focused on the
cooperation between teachers and parents concerning the information provided on students’ progress. The
results indicated that the majority of parents respond positively to the teachers’ call for cooperation, thus
concurring with findings in previous relevant research (Babalis et al., 2015; Ntinidou, 2013; Rekalidou, 2009;
Saitis et al., 1997). Nevertheless, one out of three teachers that participated in our survey stated that parents’
responses span around the “neutral” level of cooperation. This is a finding of particular interest that could be
attributed to the fact that some parents, especially those of lower socio-economic status, immigrants, or
divorced spouses, are not close enough to the school due to lack of time, increased work demands, language
obstacles or a lack of information regarding the positive effect that parental involvement can have on a child’s
academic progress (Saitis, 2014; Babalis, 2011). That said, it could be further attributed to the difficulty of
Greek schools in attracting parents and integrating them into their community. Relevant studies note that this
may be due to the lack of a consistent legislative framework and an organisational management system that
would enhance parental involvement in school education, as well as an insufficient background in the field of
school-family cooperation. On top of that, attention has been drawn to the fact that parents’ alienation from
schools is attributable to the insecurity of some teachers when parents are all too present at school, feeling that
their role ought to stop outside the school doors. Such an attitude results in those teachers not providing all the
required information to parents regarding their children’s education and conduct at school in a regular, clear
and comprehensible manner (see Saitis, 2014; Milonakou-Keke, 2009; Dean, 1995). As explicitly stated in a
study conducted by Voudouri, Bouras, and Triantafyllou (2013), even though Greek teachers may deem
cooperation with parents as important, their meetings are nevertheless restricted to once a month, especially in
the case when students may be having a particular issue.
Another important finding is the fact that the more positively teachers experience a sense of cooperation
with students’ parents, the more they believe that the school-family cooperation benefits their school’s effective
operation. Possibly owing to this correlation, teachers believe that school-family cooperation does not only
come as a result of parents’ interest in their children, but also stems from their own efforts to reach out to their
students’ families.
The present study also aimed at examining whether teachers believe that the school’s management is
equipped with the leadership behaviour traits that would allow them to develop a relationship of genuine
cooperation in the school community. The results showed that teachers, to a great extent, consider their
directors as “leaders” and that is because those particular directors possess and employ their conflict
management techniques (avoidance, compromise, mediation, etc.) to a satisfactory level and refrain from
maintaining a judgemental attitude towards their peers when they under-execute their orders. Furthermore, an
older study (Iordanoglou, 2007) indicated that directors are more likely to demonstrate consideration and
understanding towards teachers when the latter express their emotions (empathy).
This finding is extremely positive given the fact that schools constitute an environment where friction is a
daily occurrence due to the coexistence of people of a different age, education level, and ideology as well as
due to operational problems, such as the accommodation of students when a teacher is absent from school (Saiti,
2014). As a result, understanding, respect, and empathy constitute those elements that could more easily ensure
a cooperative spirit and, by extension, teaching and learning effectiveness at school (Saiti & Saitis, 2018;
Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2014; Iordanoglou, 2007; Fullan, 2001; Palmer, Walls, Burgess, & Stough,
2001).
Despite those positive traits identified in the directors’ leadership conduct, however, teachers would
further expect directors to:
1. Lead by example in the school’s creative activities and show greater interest in their work. This finding
shows that school directors are not aware of: (a) how important it is for their work to serve as an example; and
(b) recent studies proving that school effectiveness (e.g., concerning the success or failure of innovation in
education) is directly related to the interest that directors show in teachers’ work (Saiti & Saitis, 2012; Fullan,
2003; Hall & Hord, 1987).
2. Participate in creative activities with teachers’ work groups at school. This shortcoming may be
explained by the fact that in large urban centres, such as Athens, school directors have a large amount of
organisational, operational, and administrational issues to handle and may not have adequate time for the
development of such groups. At the same time, though it could be attributed to the fact that teachers themselves
are less willing to dedicate more time to carrying out such initiatives.
3. Undertake responsibility for any mishaps related to school events. That may be explained by the fact
that undertaking responsibility for possible mishaps and exercising leadership constitutes a challenging task for
the director as it entails their “ego” and requires self-awareness, boldness, a clear understanding of their role
and duties as well as a natural predisposition to self-criticism.
Taking into consideration how important the communication between teachers and directors is this study
further assessed the profile of those school life actors who desire more frequent communication. According to
the results, younger teachers experience the need to reach out to their director to a greater extent, possibly
owing to their inexperience or insecurity regarding their job requirements.
It further revealed that teachers prefer to approach directors who are capable of resolving conflict, showing
consideration for their emotions and supporting them in their daily work. A possible explanation for this
attitude could be the fact that schools in the Attica region are staffed by a multitude of teachers of different
specialisation who do not work together for an extended period of time. As a result, they do not have the time
to develop collegial relationships that could mitigate their internal conflicts and consequently feel threatened by
them. Another likely reason behind the response of those teachers could be the fact that urban centre schools
are attended by a large number of students—a fact which, according to relevant research and studies (Saiti,
2014; Tekos & Iordanidis, 2011; Hekin & Holliman, 2009), further aggravates social pressures and, by
extension, potential incidences of conflict between them and the students themselves (in senior classes of
primary school) and/or their parents.
Lastly, an important finding emerging from this study concerning communication between teachers and
directors is the positive effect that teachers’ long service in the same school unit has on communication. It is a
result that affirms the positive effect of staff cohesion to which literature on school management has repeatedly
made reference (Saiti & Saitis, 2018; Johnson, Kraft, & Papay, 2012; Darra, Ifanti, Prokopiadou, & Saitis, 2010;
Somech, 2008).
Suggestions and Limitations of the Study

In view of our research findings, we make the following recommendations:
Firstly, in order to improve communication/cooperation between teachers and their director: (a) rid
directors of bureaucratic tasks (through the establishment of a school secretariat, as provisioned by law); and (b)
provide training to teachers and current as well as prospective principals in school management, especially in
areas related to human resource management and organisational behaviour (e.g., communication, conflict
management techniques, fostering emotional intelligence, etc.).
Secondly, expand school-family cooperation into other areas and not limit it to exchanging information on
student performance and organising artistic events. These could involve, for example, volunteer work in
organising and running the school library, co-training with teaching staff on issues of family planning, social
racism, school violence, informal social gatherings, or organised home visits by teachers (see Christenson &
Sheridan, 2001). Those actions, along with institutional support in the case of parent schooling, are expected to
succeed in shaping a collective identity in the school community and an in-depth cooperation of the individuals
and collective bodies that comprise the school community.
Finally, it should be stated that this research is certainly subject to limitations. Consequently, future
research could further examine teachers’ views on the cooperative operation of schools in other urban centres
other than Attica as well as sub-urban or rural areas and draw pertinent comparisons between their findings.
Indeed, a comparison between teachers’ attitudes and perspectives on school cooperation with those of
directors and parents, as well as a consideration of the latter’s views, is distinctly lacking in Greek literature.
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doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2019.05.002
D DAVID PUBLISHING
English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment and Its Cultivation
Jinhui Tu, Jumei Xiao

Huzhou Teachers College, Zhejiang, China
Professional sentiment runs through the whole career of English teachers, imperceptibly changes the teaching
methods, teaching attitudes, and teaching values of English teachers, and presents the characteristics of essence,
dispersion, compatibility, and synchronization in its unique way. To cultivate English teachers’ professional
feelings, on the one hand, it is necessary for English teachers to strengthen the study of professional knowledge,
develop professional ability, and maintain the feelings of English teachers forever. On the other hand, schools
should create a harmonious development environment and establish a benign incentive mechanism, and at the same
time, the society should also improve the status of English teachers, and increase the investment in English
education resources.
Keywords: English teacher, professional sentiment, training strategies
Introduction
The professional knowledge, professional ability, and professional sentiment in teachers’ professional
quality are closely connected and inseparable, and they have internal consistency. Among them, the influence
of professional sentiment on English teachers is profound, internal, and imperceptible, which not only plays an
important role in improving English teachers’ professional knowledge level and professional ability, but also
plays an important role in English teachers’ professional competence. The development of psychology and the
way of thinking will also produce important thoughts. It is of great help to the development of English teachers’
professional sentiment to study the connotation and characteristics of professional sentiment and analyze the
training strategies of professional sentiment.
The Connotation of English Teachers’ Professional Feelings

Professional sentiment is “the integration of teachers’ emotional attitude and values on education, the
concentrated embodiment of teachers’ professional ethics, and the fundamental power of teachers’ professional
sustainable development”. “The dynamic mechanism of teachers’ professional sentiment development, the
catalyst of teachers’ professional happiness” (Tao, 2007), etc. English teachers’ professional affection is a
strong sense of identity of English teachers to their own teaching profession. They have a positive attitude to
the education cause, are willing to devote their whole life to the education cause, and always maintain a good
inner feeling of teachers. Generally speaking, English teachers’ professional sentiment mainly includes the
following three aspects:
Jinhui Tu, M.A., College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.

Jumei Xiao, Ph.D., associate professor, College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.
ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL SENTIMENT AND ITS CULTIVATION 219
Based on Professional Ethics

The most basic of English teachers’ professional ethics is to have professional sentiment. It is the teachers’
emotional experience and reflection on English education and teaching, the foundation of teachers’ values and
moral outlook, the important condition of forming teachers’ teaching personality, and the sign of teachers’
professional sentiment development. The understanding of professional sentiment will be expanded from
professional ethics. First of all, English teachers should have the spirit of dedication and dedication, that is to
say, they should have high professional ethics, especially in the early stage of career development, whether they
agree with the profession they are engaged in, to a large extent, determines the direction of future professional
development and the height they can reach. Therefore, English teachers should actively cultivate their sense of
professional dedication, be loyal to and pursue the social value of English education, and be awed by the
profession they are engaged in. Teachers are a profession, but only when they do not take it as a means of
making a living, can they enjoy the pride brought by teaching English, enjoy the sense of achievement when
students are successful in learning, enjoy their sense of responsibility as an English teacher, and truly achieve
“being happy in work”.
Secondly, English teachers should have the spirit of diligence and dedication, that is, the spirit of lofty
professional ethics, which has added a momentum to the professional development of English teachers in the
later period. English is a new language learning for students. In the deep-rooted Chinese learning mode, it is
difficult to use new learning methods and learning thinking attitude. Therefore, in the face of these challenges,
English teachers should be more devoted, conscientious, and enterprising. Fine industry advances on the basis
of diligence. Every English teacher should be diligent in learning from experienced teachers and be good at
summing up learning experience. Sharp edge of a sword comes out from grinding and plum blossom’s
fragrance comes from the bitter cold. The transformation from quantitative change to qualitative change will be
realized one day.
Take the Charm of Personality as the Link
The personality charm of English teachers is mainly reflected in their professionalism, that is, the
personality characteristics of teaching work. In order to be an excellent English teacher, we should not only
have excellent professional skills, but also from our own unique personality characteristics, which will give off
our own personality charm when we are engaged in teaching. For English teachers, the foundation of their own
personality charm comes from their solid professional knowledge foundation and rich insight. They should not
only be familiar with the cultural knowledge of China from ancient times to the present, but also have in-depth
learning of Western culture. When conducting teaching research, English teachers should have keen insight,
analytical ability, insight, and foresight. Through a large number of reading and analysis, it can accurately
predict the current teaching difficulties and hot spots, and improve the teaching effect. At the same time,
English teachers should not be constrained by the traditional teaching mode, dare to experiment and innovate,
and give students different classroom atmosphere and learning mode. Of course, as a people’s teacher, it is
more important to have the spirit of dedication and service, love students and education. We should educate
students in a different way, which combined strictness and kindness. We should not only establish the prestige
of teachers, but also give them parental care. Harmonious teacher-student relationship and harmonious
colleague relationship, which play an important role in the professional development of English teachers, so as
to reduce the emotional burden of English teachers.
220 ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL SENTIMENT AND ITS CULTIVATION
Driven by Self-Recognition
Professional self-cognition is the psychological tendency of English teachers’ self-perception and
self-identification in English teaching. At the same time, the understanding of self-professional development
and the perception of the future prospect of professional development are also important parts of professional
self. After accepting themselves and affirming themselves, English teachers will not only have a deeper
understanding of the social value of their profession, but also recognize their own self-worth. As an English
teacher, we should be good at discovering the happiness brought by teaching English in the teaching process, so
as to gradually form a deep sense of self-satisfaction and self-trust, and actively seek a positive professional
experience. A respected and experienced English teacher has not only an independent mind and personality, an
accurate understanding of his own development environment, a clear goal for his own professional
development, but also a specific plan for the future prospects. All of these constitute an important part of his
professional self. Professional self is also throughout the whole process of the development of professional
sentiment. Whether in the early stage or in the middle and late stage of professional development, the
psychological tendency and self-awareness of professional self can stimulate the development momentum of
English teachers, promote their continuous learning, and improve the teaching effect.
The Characteristics of English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment

To sum up, understanding the connotation of professional sentiment is helpful to further understand the
permeability, compatibility, and synchronization of teachers’ professional situation.
Permeability
Penetration refers to the diffusion of liquid, gas, etc. to all sides, giving people a sense of silence, if any, if
not. Just as the professional sentiment diffuses in the whole process of English teachers’ professional
development, it influences the English teachers’ professional knowledge learning and professional ability
development imperceptibly, and plays a role of moistening things and silence in the professional growth of
English teachers. English teachers should make full use of the characteristics of the penetration of professional
sentiment. In the process of training, professional sentiment will gradually form unique values and attitudes,
and gradually penetrate into the professional development of English teachers. It can enlighten English teachers
when they are in a confused period of career development, and has a clear plan for their career development.
The penetration of professional sentiment not only affects the professional knowledge and ability of
English teachers, but also marks the teaching and education of English teachers. English teachers will form
their own unique teaching methods and integrate the advantages of new learning teaching methods into their
own teaching system. They will also have their own methods for textbook analysis and teaching research. In
terms of educating students, they will also infect students with their own unique teaching attitude and emotional
charm. As an internal driving force for development, professional sentiment leads English teachers to set up
firm educational ideals, adhere to high professional ethics, improve unique personality characteristics, and
realize their own values. In their daily teaching career, they always maintain their own feelings for teachers.
Compatibility
English teachers’ professional knowledge, professional ability, and professional sentiment are integrated
with each other. Solid professional knowledge is the basis for the development of professional ability, and the
development of professional ability will also promote the absorption of professional knowledge. And
professional sentiment has a profound influence on the development of professional knowledge and
professional ability with a unique emotional power mechanism, so as to promote the overall development of
teachers’ professional quality. For the professional development of English teachers, professional knowledge
and ability are the foundation, professional sentiment is the bridge, and the effective combination of them can
promote the improvement of English teachers’ teaching skills. Professional knowledge, professional
competence, and professional sentiment as a closely linked whole can give full play to their overall functions,
so that the whole teaching process of English teachers can be well connected and integrated. Of course, this
teaching process includes classroom teaching, after-school reflection, and after-school research. Therefore, they
do not develop independently, but need to rely on, promote, and integrate each other.
Therefore, in the process of professional development, English teachers should pay special attention to the
integration of professional knowledge, professional ability, and professional sentiment into a whole, which
cannot be separated from each other, not only has no effect, but also has an impact on their own professional
growth.
Synchronicity
The growth of English teachers and students is synchronous. English teachers internalize what they have
seen and heard into effective knowledge that can be taught to students, and promote the improvement of
students’ cognitive level. In the process of teaching knowledge, English teachers transfer their teaching
emotions to students, and at the same time, they also use their beliefs, ideals, and values to infect students to
achieve the unity of teaching and emotion. It is more effective for students to receive knowledge through
emotional media, and English teachers are more likely to enjoy the sense of teaching achievement and
happiness brought by students’ development and progress, so as to stimulate English teachers’ teaching
enthusiasm and promote their own professional ability. Therefore, the development of English teachers’
professional feelings and students’ development are synchronous.
For English teachers themselves, the development of professional knowledge, professional ability, and
professional sentiment is synchronous. However, as an English teacher, it should be noted that synchronization
is not equal to equivalence. In the process of professional development, professional knowledge, professional
competence, and professional affection cannot demand their development speed and development level to be
the same. English teachers need to focus on the development, develop professional passion and strengthen the
development of professional knowledge and professional ability. Therefore, English teachers should deal with
the relationship between them and realize the synchronous development of the three.
Training Strategies of English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment

The development of English teachers’ professional sentiment needs not only internal self-cultivation, but
also good external development environment and scientific incentive mechanism.
Cultivating English Teachers’ Sentiment
Professional sentiment is the core of English education emotion source, and professional sentiment is
carried by English teachers, so “sentiment” is essential for English teachers. Emotion is a kind of noble mood
and mind, infiltrating the heart bit by bit. For an English teacher, emotion is not only the expression of emotion,
but also the emotional sustenance that supports him on the road of teacher. Schools can also strengthen the
learning of English teachers’ professional ethics and cultivate their professionalism and diligence spirit.
222 ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL SENTIMENT AND ITS CULTIVATION
Professional ethics is not only a moral bottom line, but also a legal bottom line for English teachers, which
plays a role in encouraging English teachers when they are slack. If we want to get the students’ wholehearted
admiration, it is not enough for English teachers only to have broad knowledge, but also to infect students with
their own personality charm. Students’ progress is not only an affirmation of English teachers’ teaching ability,
but also an emotional response to English teachers. We often say that as a teacher we should have devotion to
English education, which is the source of power to support teachers to devote themselves to teaching.
Building a Positive Growth Environment
Environment exerts a subtle influence on the development of English teachers. School environment is the
cradle of the development of English teachers’ professional feelings, and teachers’ personal development also
injects vitality into school development. In order to create a harmonious development environment, we can start
from two aspects: professional environment and humanistic environment. First of all, to build a positive
professional environment, the school should be people-oriented, strive to build a platform for the growth of
English teachers, actively organize English teachers to participate in the teaching ability competition, learn the
micro-classroom video of excellent English teachers, encourage English teachers to participate in more
scientific research projects, participate in academic forums, constantly broaden their horizons, increase their
knowledge, and improve their knowledge literacy. Secondly, we should create a warm human environment.
The school should lighten the tasks of English teachers in addition to teaching, relieve their psychological
pressure and mental pressure, so that English teachers have more time to invest in their professional learning
and ability development, and enjoy more happiness from their own work.
Improve the Evaluation System of Teachers
The establishment of a scientific and effective incentive mechanism can not only stimulate the enthusiasm
and creativity of English teachers in teaching and improve teaching efficiency, but also strengthen the
professional identity of English teachers and strengthen their ideals and beliefs, which has an important impact
on the cultivation of English teachers’ professional feelings. The school should reasonably innovate the teacher
evaluation system according to the changes of the times, adhere to the evaluation principle of “people-oriented”,
establish specific incentive objectives, formulate scientific incentive criteria, and assess whether an English
teacher is qualified from various angles and aspects, instead of taking score as the only standard of evaluation.
They are always exploring, willing to make progress, and promoting the development of professional sentiment.
In terms of performance assessment, we should establish a scientific performance assessment system. We
cannot use data as the only standard for assessment, so that English teachers can accept the assessment results
psychologically and continue to improve. In terms of professional title evaluation and excellent evaluation, we
should adhere to the principles of fairness, justice, and openness, combine the usual evaluation system, and
performance evaluation results, implement democratic evaluation, explore new and effective talent models, and
gradually form a new talent mechanism. Through these various forms of incentives, English teachers are aware
of the glory of their profession and the loftiness of their mission and are willing to devote themselves to the
cause of education.
In a word, English teachers’ professional sentiment plays an extremely important role in the development
of professional quality. It can enable English teachers to work with passion and live with relish, which should
be the dream development realm of every English teacher. Therefore, no matter English teachers, schools, or
society, they should contribute to the development of English education.
Conclusions
To sum up, professional sentiment plays a key role in the professional development of English teachers.
Through in-depth analysis of professional sentiment, professional orientation, and professional self in
professional sentiment, and understand the characteristics of penetration, compatibility, and synchronization of
professional sentiment, so as to help English teachers establish a scientific knowledge system of professional
sentiment and lay a solid theoretical foundation for the cultivation of professional sentiment in the later stage.
Because professional sentiment plays an important role in English teachers’ career, we must pay attention to the
cultivation of English teachers’ professional sentiment. Through the cultivation of English teachers’ sentiment,
we can make them more firm in their professional beliefs and promote English teachers to develop their
professional abilities, so as to achieve a higher level of teaching. Of course, English teachers should also
strengthen the learning of professional knowledge and understand the theoretical sources behind the whole
professional development.
Emotion is a main line running through the professional sentiment of English teachers. As a teacher, we
should not only love our education career, but also love our students and ourselves, so that our emotional
attitude towards education can be sublimated, providing a continuous driving force for the development of
professional feelings. At the same time, the school and society should create a harmonious development
environment and establish a benign incentive mechanism to provide solid support and guarantee for the
development of English teachers’ professional sentiment, so that they can devote themselves to the education
career wholeheartedly, and then realize the optimization of professional feelings for the professional
development of English teachers.
References
Li, Y. F. (2017). Training strategies to improve teachers’ professional sentiment. Think Tank Era, 14, 107-109.
Liu, L. (2014). Interpretation and practical construction of teachers’ professional sentiment. Modern Education Science, 7, 96-98.
Sun, H. (2012). On the influence of teachers’ professional feelings on teachers’ professional development. China Adult Education,
23, 51-52.
Tao, X. P. (2007). Teachers’ professional sentiment. Primary and Secondary School Management, 7, 54.
Wang, S. F. (2010). On teachers’ professional sentiment and its cultivation. Jiangsu Education Research, 34, 46-50.
Zhou, X. Z. (2017). IT Teachers’ professional sentiment: Connotation, structure and training strategy. Journal of Zhoukou Normal
University, 34(3), 130-136.
doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2019.05.003
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Educational Technology and Mass Communication
Owuamanam Catherine Nkechinyere

National Institute for Nigeria Languages, Aba-Abia, Nigeria
Communication is as old as man. It is the basis of social interactions and the lifeblood of human societies. There is
hardly any society or sovereign state that can function properly today without the mass media. Of all earth’s
creature, humans are the only ones not content simply to communicate at interpersonal level. They want to know
what is happening in other far places, lands, and culture. In view of the above, this paper examines the effect of
educational technology in mass communication. This study, however, explores the concepts of educational
technology, mass media, and mass communications, functions and consequences of mass media in mass
communication. Finally, some recommendations were made for the reduction of the consequences.
Keywords: educational technology, media, mass media, communication, mass communication
Introduction
Educational technology is an integrated and systematic way of designing, planning, implementing, and
evaluating total process of teaching and learning in terms of specific objectives, research, and information on
human learning and the process of communication (Onyejemezi, 1996). The communication process involves
all acts of transmitting messages to channels, which link people to the languages, and symbolic codes, which
are used to transmit messages, the means by which messages are received and stored and the rules, customs,
and convention which define and regulate human relationships (Daramola, 2005).
Communication is the transfer of a message to another party, so that it can be understood and acted upon.
It includes all the ways and manner through which we can let other people know and share our thoughts,
feelings, experiences, and knowledge (Federal Ministry of Education [FME], 2007). Communication takes
place at two main levels, namely: interpersonal communication levels and mass communication levels.
Interpersonal communication is person-to-person communication in which the people interacting are physically
present. Mass communication system is impersonal. The people communicating may not necessarily see or
know themselves. But the greater number of people is reached through the mass communication resources.
Such resources are called “mass media” (FME, 2007).
Mass media is described as a means of communication that operate on a large scale, reaching and
involving virtually everyone in a society to a greater or lesser degree (Daramola, 2005). It also refers to a
number of media established and familiar, such as newspaper, magazines, film, radio, television, phonograph
(recorded music), computer, and the Internet.
The creation and multiplication of these technical means of communication have greatly enhanced and
freed the communication process from the limitation of time and space. Mass media provide people with
Owuamanam Catherine Nkechinyere, Ph.D., lecturer, School of Education, National Institute for Nigeria Languages.
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND MASS COMMUNICATION 225
information they need to formulate their own ideas and can stimulate them by presenting the ideas of others. It
provides reliefs from boredom, stimulates our emotions, helps fill our leisure time, keeps us company, and
exposes us to experience and events that we could not attend in person (Daramola, 2005).
Much as mass media enhances the process of mass communication, it also influences mass communication
negatively. For example, mass surveillance can result to needless anxiety and have instigated, supported, and
justified wars. Also, entertainment on media threatens allegiance to the state, corrupt morals and disables the
natural good taste of the public (Daramola, 2005). It is against this background that the researcher examines the
effects of mass media in mass communication.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical base of this work stems from the libertarian theory of the press. Siebert Fred is cited as
foundational influence on the development of this perspective. The theory espouses that the press must have
unfettered freedom to assist men in search of truth. The truth is to be discovered through reason but in this
regard man must have free access to information and ideas. Out of the staple the press serves him, he can by
employing his intellect, distinguish truth from falsehood.
According to the libertarian theory, free expression carries built-in correctives and as such few restrictions
are permitted on what man may speak and write. The theory opines that the great majority of men are moral
creatures who will use their freedom in a responsible way in an honest desire to find truth. The libertarian
theory opposes censorship before publication.
Siebert (as cited in Daramola, 2005) stated that the “mass media in the view of the libertarian is meant to
inform and to entertain their audience”. He went further to say that the understanding of purpose of the media is
to help discover the truth, to assist in the successful working of self-government by presenting all manner of
evidence and opinions as the basis for political and social decisions and to safeguard all liberties by providing a
check on government.
In a nutshell, the libertarian theory of the press opines that man is rational, and as a result, he is imbued
with the ability to find truth and to distinguish right from wrong by the power of his reason and the dictates of
his conscience. The theory believes in self-righting process in a free market place of ideas and opinion. That is,
truth will win out in any free and open encounter of ideas, grant all men the freedom to express themselves in
the clash of ideas that ensues, the true and sound will triumph over falsehood.
Educational Technology
Education is a process of preparing the individual for self-preservation or survival by enabling him to be
able to grow up as a healthy individual, capable of making proper use of his leisure, living as an effective
citizen concerned with the promotion of common welfare and maintaining character (Onwuka, 1996).
Technology on its own is the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical
tasks (Schneider, 2015).
Educational technology is a wide field. It has been defined and explained by its practitioners. According to
Onyejemezi (1996), educational technology:
Embraces educational objectives, curriculum content, means of learning and the evaluation and modification of the
learning system, with a view to improving effectiveness. It is concerned with the whole process of acquiring knowledge.
This process involves the learners, the content, the teacher, methods, resource materials as well as other educating agents.
226 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND MASS COMMUNICATION
Educational technology emphasizes new developments in teaching and learning, course content and the fullest use of
central services concerned with the application of instructional materials and devices.
Explaining further, she states that educational technology is broadly conceptualized with the following as
parts of the whole:
1. Technology (resources, materials, and devices) used in education and training including the
management of the educational technology resources;
2. An objective oriented approach to the solution of educational problem—A technique derived from
programmed learning;
3. A systematic approach to course and/or instructional materials development and evaluation;
4. A systematic management of teaching and learning.
Association for Educational Communication and Technology (as cited in Wikipedia, 2016) defines educational
technology as “the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating,
using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources”. Educational technology refers to the
use of both physical hardware and educational theoretic. It encompasses several domains, including learning
theory, computer-based training, online learning, and m-learning (Wikipedia, 2016). Accordingly, there are
several discrete aspects to describing the intellectual and technical development of educational technology:
1. Educational technology as the theory and practice of educational approaches to learning;
2. Educational technology as technological tools and media that assist in the communication of knowledge,
its development and exchange;
3. Educational technology for learning management systems (LMS), such as tools for student, curriculum
management, and education management information systems (EMIS);
4. Educational technology itself as an educational subject: such courses may be called “Computer Studies”
or “Information and Communication Technology (ITC)” (Wikipedia, 2016).
Similarly, Anderson (2003) defined educational technology as “a complex integrated process involving
people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization for analyzing problems and devising, implementing,
evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems involved in all aspects of human learning”. It is a
systematic iterative process for designing instruction or training used to improve performance (Collins, 1992).
However, Selwyn (2011) stated that educational technology is “a systematic way of carrying out and evaluating
a total process of teaching and learning in terms of specific objectives, based on research in human and
non-human resources to bring about a more effective instruction in a given environment”.
Educational technology encompasses e-learning, instructional technology, information and communication
technology (ICT) in education, learning technology, multimedia learning, technology-enhanced learning (TEL),
computer-based instruction (CBI), computer managed instruction (CMI), computer-based training (CBT),
computer-assisted instruction or computer-aided instruction (CAI), Internet-based training (IBT), flexible
learning, Web-based training (WBT), online education, digital educational collaboration, distributed learning,
computer-mediated communication, cyber-learning, multi-modal instruction, virtual education, personal
learning environment, networked learning, virtual learning environments (VLE) (which are also called
“learning platforms”), m-learning, ubiquitous learning, and digital education (Selwyn, 2011).
Finally, educational technology is both product and processes. The products must be fully and properly
integrated into the processes in order to achieve objectives of instruction or overall educational objectives.
Mass Media
When people communicate with one another, they do so by means of a medium, some device or process
through which they convey information. The English language is a medium, so is a smile, a smoke signal, a
number, anything that people use to transfer information or to represent information is a medium of
communication (Daramola, 2005). Media is the plural of medium, which means a channel or vehicle through
which something is carried or transmitted (Ademoyin, 1991). Media differ from one another, first of all with
respect to the kinds of information they convey.
Numbers, for instance, convey information about quantity but not quality, neither prose nor poetry can
express the information transmitted by a shrug of the shoulders. Media also differ with respect to what modes
of perception and thought and what types of personal experience and social interaction they make possible for
people. This is because each medium transmit only a distinctive, limited range of messages (Daramola, 2005).
According to McQuail (as cited in Dramola, 2005), mass media is described “as a means of
communication that operate on a large scale, reaching and involving virtually everyone in a society to a greater
or lesser degree”. It refers to a number of media that are now long established and familiar, such as newspaper,
magazines, film, radio, television, and the phonograph (recorded music). In other words, mass media are
channels of communication in a modern society, primarily the print and electronic media.
Mass media means the various media, through which individuals are enlightened, educated, entertained,
mobilized, and persuaded (Owuamanam, 2016). According to Barbara (2007), mass media could be
written, broadcast, or spoken, and it is aimed at reaching a large audience. The advent of mass media which
were not based on print culture opened up new worlds to even more people. Mass media operating with
pictures and sounds, most typically film and television, gave really large parts of the population access to media
culture.
Today, electronic media provide access to information and entertainment to all parts of the population
(Njemanze & Ononiwu, 2015). Mass media are the organized means for communication openly and at a
distance to many receivers within a short space of time. The mass media, like spoken word and the raised
eyebrow are simply aspects of human communication. They are technical extensions of speech and gesture. In
fact, communication media extend gesture (Daramola, 2005).
The mass media-television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and movies are impersonal
communication sources and they reach large audiences (Daramola, 2005). The primary function of mass media
systems is to provide information to several millions of people. The fact that they reach a large number of
people far beyond the imagination and reach of human voice, the mass media are extremely influential.
Each of the media is presumed to affect perceptions and behaviour in a distinctive way. They can affect
the society and society can also affect the media. It must, however, be noted that mass media are the uniquely
modern means of mass communication and much of their importance lies in the fact that they are a major cause
of whatever modes of perception, thought, public discourse, and political action (Daramola, 2005). Because of
their size and the large number of people they reach, the mass media have tremendous impact on mass
communication.
Finally, mass media is communication-whether written, broadcast, or spoken-that reaches a large audience.
This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth
(Houghton, 2016).
Characteristics of Mass Media

Mass media have the following characteristics:
1. Mass media are media designed for, distributed to, and consumed by mass audience. The mass
audiences are very large, either in terms of number or proportion of total population and the audience exist in
large, heterogonous societies either industrial or transitional societies like ours in Nigeria.
2. Mass media are big business employing millions of people and making billions of dollars as profit. In
Nigeria, the mass media are striving hard to stand in business despite stringent economic policies and high tariff
over importation of newsprint, chemicals, and further devaluation of local currency (Naira). However, as big
businesses, their news and entertainment are produced by bureaucracies following routine procedures. They
work towards making profits and still operate within commercial constraints.
3. Mass media are sole disseminators of news (defined as factual, current, and verifiable information about
recent events). Mass media also disseminate other sorts of information-frictional stories, political advocacy, and
strictly utilitarian information like recipes.
4. Mass media are characterized by speed with which they gather information and frequency with which
they distribute it. Media producing organizations are continuously gathering information and are instantaneous
communication with their sources of information. They package and distribute such information at least once
each day. The speed and rhythm of this ongoing process of gathering and distributing information especially
news, sharply differentiate mass media from other media and exert enormous influence on the character of their
messages.
5. Mass media are all 20th-century phenomena. In other words, they all developed and attained maturity
during roughly the same period in response to the same circumstances and in pursuit of the same purposes.
Each is said to incorporate modes of communication (typography, language, music, scenery, and so on), some
ancient, all originating in deferent periods. Except for the newspapers which came much earlier, the mass
media are, however, regarded as 20th-century, phenomena serving all nation-states of the world today
(Daramola, 2005).
Mass Communication
Communication is basic to life: Its role in human society is underscored in the fact that no meaningful
development can take place without it (Yaaka, 2017). It is the process of sending and receiving information
(messages). Communication includes all the ways and manner through which we can let other people know and
share our thought, feelings, experiences, and knowledge (FME, 2007).
According to Yaaka (2017), communication is “any means by which a thought is transferred from one
person to another”. It is a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared
understanding. This process which requires a vast repertoire of skills in interpersonal processing, listening,
observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, gestures, and evaluating enables collaboration and cooperation
(Wikipedia, 2016).
Communication is the transfer of a message to another party, so that it can be understood and acted upon
(Daramola, 2005). Communication can be seen as processes of information transmission with three levels of
semiotic rules:
(a) pragmatic (concerned with the relations between signs/expressions and their users);
(b) semantic (study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent);
(c) syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols).
Therefore, communication is social interaction where at least two interacting agents share a common set of
semiotic rules (Wikipedia, 2016). The communication process involves all acts of transmitting messages to
channels which link people to the languages and symbolic codes which are used to transmit messages, the
means by which messages are received and stored, and the rules, customs, and convention, which define and
regulate human relationship.
Communication takes place at different levels. Sometimes, the sender and the receiver may even be the
same person. But most of the time, we communicate with others. As a result, we communicate at two main
levels, namely: interpersonal and mass communication levels. Interpersonal communication is person-to-person
communication, in which the people interacting are physically present.
The process of interpersonal communication involves participants negotiating their role in this process,
whether consciously or unconsciously. Senders and receivers are of course vital in communication. In
face-to-face communication, the roles of the sender and receiver are not distinct as both parties communicate
with each other, even if in very subtle ways, such as through eye-contact and general body language. There are
many other subtle ways that we communicate (perhaps even unintentionally) with others, for example, the tone
of our voice can give clues to our mood or emotional state, whilst hand signals or gesture can add to a spoken
message (Twitter, 2016).
Mass communication is a situation whereby so many people are target audience of the speaker. As a result
of the population of the audience, the speaker may resort to using such mass media like the radio and the
television to reach out to the audience in different locations simultaneously. Other mass media include the
newspapers, magazines, sound film, and the Internet (Yaaka, 2017). According to FME (2007), the mass
communication system is “impersonal”. The people communicating may not necessarily see or know
themselves. But greater numbers of people are reached through the mass communication system than will ever
be the case with the inter-personal communication.
Ike (2006) called it mass media communication. According to him, the communicator sometimes cannot
maintain eye-contact with the audience(s), because they are separated in time and space. The only way possible
of reaching out to the audience(s) is usually through a medium or media of mass communication, which include
the radio, television, telegrams, telephone, fax, Internet, facsimile, and newspapers. Of all earth’s creatures,
humans are the only ones not content simply to communicate at interpersonal level. The quest to communicate
with people at far places led to the development of modern means of communication. This technical or
mediated means include telegraphy, printing, broadcasting, and film. They are the secondary means of
communication (Daramola, 2005). Mass communication, therefore, is an organizational means for
communicating openly and at a distance to many receivers within a short space of time through the technical
and mediated means of communication.
Effects of Mass Media in Mass Communication
There is hardly any society or sovereign state that can function properly today without mass media.
Everywhere, mass media inform the public of important affairs. They transmit government policies and actions
for the information of the people. They also provide information on which many readers form opinions. As a
matter of fact, mass media have shaped culture, influenced politics, played an important role in business and
affected the daily lives of millions in the past few centuries (Daramola, 2005). The mass media are useful and
also dysfunctional to the society.
Mass media have the following functions and consequences in mass communication:
Surveillance of the environment. Surveillance refers to news and information role of mass media. From
1859, the mass media have taken over the function of sentinels and watchers. Correspondents within and
outside Nigeria, especially of the wire services and media giants, such as Cable News Network (CNN) gather
information for us that we could not get by ourselves (Daramola, 2005). Dominick (1996) said that these
information are funneled back to mass media organizations that in turn produce a radio or television newscast
or newspapers or magazines. Today, Nigeria has as many as 100 newspapers either as Private, State government,
or Federal government owned and each of the 36 states in Nigeria has a radio and television station each in
addition to the number of Federal government owned radio and television stations (Daramola, 2005).
There is no gainsaying that the role of surveillance being played today can no longer be played by
individuals because of the size, population, and the complexity of the society. The surveillance function is
divided into two (Dominick, 1996). There are warning or beware surveillance and instrumental surveillance.
Warning surveillance occurs when the newspaper, radio, or television inform people about imminent threats,
erupting volcano, drought, or other disaster, such as the Tsunami flood of December, 2004, depressed economic
conditions, possible attacks in the Bakassi Peninsula and insurgence in the Niger Delta area.
Instrumental surveillance is concerned with the transmission of news and information that is beneficial to
the people, such as news of new film or video film in town, new fashion in vogue, new products, recipes, and
stock market prices. One of the beauties of the modern mass media especially the electronic is that news travels
faster than imagined in the traditional setting. An event can be relayed live almost simultaneously as it is
happening. A good example was what happened in 1998 when the Nigerian Head of State, General Sani
Abacha died. In less than 24 hours, the news had been broadcast, first by Channel Television Station in Lagos
and later by others (Dominick, 1996). Events at the national and international scenes are beamed to us on daily
basis.
As information media, radio, and television are primarily useful in signalizing events, making the
immediate and usually sketchy reports that announce a happening. Newspapers place more emphases on
information. Hence, the abundance of news stories, interpretative articles and editorials, photographs, and other
materials in their content. Newspapers also advise, guide, persuade, and influence their readers by means of
advertisements and editorials (Daramola, 2005).
Consequences of surveillance. Much as news travels faster in the mass media much more than that of
town criers, the speeds leads to problems. The problems take the shape of inaccuracies and distortions of news,
because mass communications relay information without taking the pains to check their facts as required by the
Code of Conduct of Journalism. For example, a report said that Israel had mounted a retaliatory raid against
Iraq whereas no such thing happened (Dominick, 1996).
Also, mass media surveillance can result in needless anxiety. In 1993, the Nigerian media reported a likely
breakup of the country following the annulment of the presidential election believed to have been won by
Social Democratic Party’ candidate, Chief M. K. O. Abiola of Yoruba tribe. The print media coined many
words and beat drums of war. The fear created then led many people of other tribes particularly the easterners
to flee the North and South West for their home land for possible reprisal attacks. The irony of it was that many
of the people perished in automobile accident on their way (Daramola, 2005).
Historians equally say that newspapers have instigated, supported, and justified wars. They cited the
1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, the Spanish-American War of 1898, and the Vietnam War of 1955-1975
(Daramola, 2005). Mass media can also raise false hopes. Sometimes, in the year 2003, it was widely reported
that a possible cure for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) had been discovered in Nigeria. A
Nigerian medical doctor, Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka was said to have developed a curative drug. The news media
gave so much publicity to this story which had given many Nigerians succor and hope of a cure to the dreaded
disease. The Federal government later debunked the claim as lacking scientific proof (Dominick, 1996).
Mass media can do and make a less important person become important by constant coverage of such a
person. That is mass media can make a person a celebrity. The Nigeria mass media made General Ibrahim
Badamosi Banbangida (IBB) (1985-1993), former military president of Nigeria popular. In 1993, when the
general appeared to the vacillating on the handling over plan to a democratically elected government, the media
began a campaign of calumny against him. He was no longer the fine IBB of Yesteryears. He immediately
became to the media an evil genius and dictator (Daramola, 2005).
Interpretation
The mass media do not supply just facts and data but provide detailed analysis on information already
relayed. The mass media provide information on the ultimate meaning and significance of those events.
Interpretation functions are performed by the mass media through articles, editorials, features, and cartoons to
shed more light on issues and discussion on radio and television about political, economical, or social events.
Our attitudes and opinions about political figures for instance are often influenced by the impression we receive
from the mass media (Daramola, 2005).
Apart from straightjacket news in newspapers and magazines, a great deal of information in the print
media is devoted to interpretation. They clarify, explain, and place facts in a meaningful context. As a matter of
fact, these are the raisons d’être of thousands of articles and editorials in newspapers and magazines.
Magazine’s interpretative function is greater (Daramola, 2005). Magazine places events in a national
perspective. Magazines are chiefly devoted to fleshing out the information and carefully analyzing stories
treated in passing in the broadcast media and newspaper. Beside editorials and articles, editorial cartoons are
another popular means of interpreting issues. Some newspapers and magazines review restaurants, cars,
architecture, and even religious services.
Consequences of Interpretation
A negative aspect of this function is that any criticism of an individual, organization, or group may also
affect the views of others about the mass medium involve. Sometimes, in the year 2004, the police discovered a
shrine in Okija, a town in Anambra state of Nigeria where human beings were sacrificed to a deity. The news
was regularly splashed on the pages of newspaper that it becomes agenda of discussion for a long time.
Notwithstanding the enormity of this act, people of Igbo extraction in the Eastern part of Nigeria began to view
the media publicity as people who did not understand the culture of Igbo people and for that stigmatized the
media as Southwest media (Daramola, 2005). Another negative aspect of this function is that an individual may
find it difficult to form his own opinion on any issue. Where such a person relies heavily on media messages,
he/she soon loses his/her critical thinking ability.
Linkage
By linkage, mass media are able to join together by interpersonal channels different elements of society
that are not directly connected (Dominick, 1996). Mass communication attempts to link the needs of buyers
with the products of sellers. Effort by the Comet newspaper in Nigeria to raise money for the Tsunami 2004
survivors in Asia in January 2005 is another example of this linkage function. The needs of the survivors of the
wave matched with the desires of others who wished to see the homeless survivors back to normal condition
(Daramola, 2005).
Media usage reached record levels during the war as people turned to television, radio, newspaper, and
magazines to read and hear about the latest war news. The same thing happened towards the end of year 2004
when Nigerian newspaper began to carry reports of deliberate killing of people in Darfur region in Sudan. The
news reports linked Nigeria to the region to the extent that Nigerians began to call for end to the genocide. The
call of the media attracted President Olusegun Obasanjo, who incidentally is the chairman of African Union
(AU). The president brokered peace and got the matter resolved in a round table (Dominick, 1996).
The various message boards on the Internet or commercial online companies, such as America online and
prodigy have all served the purpose of linkage. Interested members can open the Internet and also leave
message for others to see (Dominick, 1996). The mass communication through the help of mass media can also
create new social groups by linking members of society that were not previously recognized with others that
have similar interest. This is “public-making” ability of the mass media (Dominick, 1996).
The linkage function of mass media is also noted at another level. Certain fashion or dresses put on by
people are done to advertise feelings, so that others with similar concerns might “link up” with them. People
who wear T-shirts and ladies who wear trousers, miniskirts, “jumper”, and “body hog” are believed to have
copied this dressing from foreign films watched on television. Such ladies have been linked up on the media
(Dominick, 1996).
Consequences of Linkage
The societal groups can be mobilized quickly. In 1983, Ondo State radio was used to incite the people
against the election result that nullified the incumbent governor. The protest match led to the killing, arson, and
destruction of life and properties of political opponents in Akure. Similarly, persons with anti-social interests
can be linked easily. Women and girls of antisocial interests on television copied the type of dressing
mentioned earlier, which is in vogue in Nigeria today. Some ladies are almost appearing naked and some are
known to have enticed men with this type of dress. Media attention to violent firms, terrorists, and other
extremist groups might prompt others in the same direction too (Dominick, 1996).
Transmission to Cultural Heritage
One of the functions of mass communication is the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation
to the next. This refers to the mass media’s ability to communicate norms, rules, and values of a society. The
mass media provide cultural guidelines and help teach the citizens of a society how to behave and what is
expected of them through various programmes that are put before the public (Egbon, 1995).
As a teacher, mass communication uses mass media to pass the societal heritage. The mass media present
portrayals of our society and by watching, listing, and reading, we learn how people are supposed to act and
what values are important or permissive. Most of the time, the mass media especially television, show men and
women, who dress in the local attire, appearing decent, cheerful, and colourful. Sometimes, certain drama may
be shown where children clearly demonstrate that they have etiquette in form of greetings and the way they
attend to visitors, elders, and the type of dressing they put on (Egbon, 1995).
Mass media transact values by enforcing societal norms. Media coverage can ensure that acceptable values
of the society are highlighted and upheld by what they choose to emphasize. Not quite long, a mass medium
showed a marriage ceremony held in a church where the church minister protested the way and manner the
bride dressed to the altar half-naked and warned that such so-called civilized way of dressing will not be
condoned in the house of God (Daramola, 2005). This is in consonance with the belief that the media present
and clarify the goals and values of society.
Consequences of Transmission of Cultural Heritage
Violent acts of children have been attributed to violent films, movies, and programmes watched on
television. There is the belief that such films depicting violence could prompt youngsters to want to believe that
what they watched on the television is real. In 1985, the government of General Muhammed Buhari banned
foreign films that tended towards violence on the Nigerian television states (Daramola, 2005).
Entertainment
The entertainment function refers to the communicative acts primarily intended for amusement
irrespective of any instrumental effects they might have. Apart from information and news-proving function of
mass communication among other things, mass media serve the purpose, which the storytellers and jesters of
yesteryears perform. It refers to the media’s ability to present messages that provide escapism and relaxation.
Motion picture, sound recording, and some books are devoted primarily to entertainment. Similarly,
newspapers include comics, word puzzles, games, advice, gossip, humour, and general entertainment feature in
their content to amuse readers or to task the brain of readers in solving crossword puzzles. Television ranks the
highest in terms of entertainment media. In the evening, television entertains viewers with drama, play, films
with which one is able to relax the tension of the day. Some of these dramas entertain as well as teach new
value system. Newspapers and magazines are more informative in nature. Magazines are more into serious
information. Movie making and broadcasting are commonly referred to as entertainment industries, amusing
the public is their acknowledged primary function. Through entertainment, the media are capable of creating
folk heroes. Entertainment is necessary to provide the relief to enable human beings to face the demands of life
in general. People need to relax. Television is a medium of escape (Daramola, 2005).
Consequences of Entertainment
There is great fear that entertainment could lead to corruption of mind at least going by the violent films
on the television. Many also believe that entertainment on the media threatens allegiance to the state, corrupt
morals and disables the natural good taste of the public. Critics have, however, argued that entertainment
provided by the mass media encourage passivity on the part of audience.
The argument is that rather than allowing people to develop the habit of entertaining themselves, the mass
media make them on lookers or spectators without allowing participation. Rather than learn to act drama,
narrate stories or engage in moonlight folklore, many of us now prefer to listen a record of someone else
playing or flick on the TV set, watch entertainment, which does not require any effort on our part. As a result,
critics say the mass media will eventually turn modern society to societies of watchers and listeners instead of
doers (Daramola, 2005).
Conclusions
Educational technology is an integrated and systematic way of designing, planning, implementing, and
evaluating total process of teaching and learning in terms of specific objectives, research, and information on
human learning and the process of communication. Communication is the transfer of a message to another
party, so that it can be understood and acted upon. Communication takes place at two main levels, namely:
interpersonal and mass communication levels.
Interpersonal communication is person-to-person communication in which the people interacting are
physically present. Mass communication is impersonal. But greater number of people is reached through mass
media. It is against this background that this paper examined the functions and consequences of mass media in
mass communication. The theoretical base of this work stems from libertarian theory of the press. The paper
also examined the concepts of educational technology, mass media, and mass communication and the functions
and consequences of mass media in mass communication.
The functions of mass media in mass communication include: surveillance of the environment,
interpretation, linkage, and transmission of cultural heritage. The consequences are as follows:
1. Much as news travels faster in the mass media much more than that of town criers, the speed leads to
problems;
2. Newspapers have instigated, supported, and justified war;
3. Mass media can also raise false hopes;
4. Mass media can make a person a celebrity;
5. Any criticism of an individual, organization, or group may affect the views of others about the mass
medium involved;
6. Individual may find it difficult to form his/her own opinion on any issue;
7. The societal groups can be mobilized quickly;
8. Person with anti social interests can be linked easily;
9. Violet acts of children have been attributed to violet films, movies, and programmes watched;
10. And lastly, entertainment function of the mass media could lead to corruption of the mind.
Recommendation
Based on the consequences of mass media, the following recommendations were made:
1. Mass communication should take the pains to check their facts as required by the code of Conduct of
Journalism. This will prevent inaccuracies and distortions of news. Misrepresentation in the news is often the
result of hasty reporting or misinformation.
2. People should form it as habit to verify information they read in the newspaper, heard over the air and
seen on the screen by themselves. They should not take for granted information from these mass media without
bothering about the veracity and authenticity of such reports.
3. People should be allowed to develop the habit of entertaining themselves, learn to act drama, narrate
stories, and engage in moonlight folklore.
4. The Federal government as a matter of necessity should ban the importation of violet films, movies, and
programmes from foreign countries. There is belief that such films depicting violence could prompt youngsters
to believe that what they watched on the tube is real.
5. People should be encouraged to use their critical thinking ability in dealing with any information from
any mass medium. Also, any person with contrary view outside what any medium publishes should be
respected and not considered as not be abreast with the issue of the moment.
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doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2019.05.004
D DAVID PUBLISHING
A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching

in Elementary School
Min Tian, Jumei Xiao

Huzhou Teachers College, Zhejiang, China
In the course of Chinese reading teaching in elementary school, role-play can give full play to students’ main
position, improve students’ cognitive level, enhance students’ language application ability, and accelerate students’
affective interaction with roles in the text. So that boost the elementary school Chinese reading teaching level,
teachers should select appropriate texts for role-playing, carry out pre-class preparation and post-class evaluation to
carry out role-playing.
Keywords: role-playing, elementary school Chinese reading, reading strategies
Role-Playing and Primary School Chinese Reading

“Role” usually refers to the role of an actor in a play or novel. Due to the transfer of knowledge in modern
society, the word “role” is gradually introduced into teaching, thus forming the teaching strategy of
role-playing. The meaning of role-play in teaching is to carry out teaching in the form of sketches or plays,
which can provide students with real situations, so as to present the teaching content vividly. At this time, the
identity of students becomes “actor” and “audience”, so that students are more likely to be involved in the
classroom (Yang, 2014, p. 81). Role-playing in primary school Chinese reading teaching requires students to
have a preliminary understanding of the text and the characters (Liu, 2008). Students play the characters in the
text and show the story completely, which is a piece or play completed by many students. In the process of
acting, students can experience the emotion and inner world of characters more deeply through a series of
actions and words, and form correct values. If role-playing is introduced into primary school Chinese reading
teaching, reading an article becomes appreciating a play, which can experience the feelings of the authors and
the thoughts and feelings of each role in the article. At the same time, in the process of teaching, the identity of
students has changed greatly, from the identity of readers and onlookers to the “dramatists”, which can give full
play to the main position of students. It is of great help to improve the cognitive level, the ability of language
application and the dialogue between the students and the characters in the text.
Role-Playing in Primary School Chinese Reading Teaching

Role-play can give full play to students’ main position, improve students’ cognitive level, improve
students’ language application ability, and enhance the emotion of text and characters.
Min Tian, M.A., College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.

Jumei Xiao, Ph.D., associate professor, College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.
THE ROLE-PLAY IN CHINESE READING TEACHING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 237
Give Full Play to the Dominant Position of Students

The new round of basic education curriculum reform clearly requires that teachers should actively interact
with students in the classroom during the teaching process, and students should actively and individually learn.
At this time, the identity of teachers becomes a mentor, which promotes the development of every student.
Primary school Chinese reading is very storytelling. Teachers should make full use of this feature to encourage
students to play the role in the text. In this process, teachers should guide students, so as to assign good roles
and give them certain autonomy when students choose roles. Students can also adapt the content of the text
according to their own understanding in this process students can have a direct dialogue with the characters in
the text, construct knowledge independently, and then achieve the understanding of the text. For example, when
teaching the text “Little Tadpole Looking for His Mother”, the teacher can first lead the students to understand
the whole text; secondly, encourage the students to play the roles of “mother carp”, “turtle”, “mother frog”, and
“Little Tadpole” in the text, and make the role assignment; then, let the students go home to prepare some props,
such as some headdresses; and finally, the students can report their achievements are performed in class. Other
students can comment on their performances as small judges. In the whole teaching process, every student is
involved in the classroom, which not only mobilizes the classroom atmosphere, but also gives full play to the
main position of students.
Improve Students’ Cognitive Level
The so-called “cognition” refers to the individual’s psychological activities, such as perception, memory,
thinking, imagination, speech, and attention in the process of understanding things. Cognitive development
refers to the development of children’s psychological representation of the world and the way of thinking about
the world. There will be many rational texts in Chinese reading teaching in primary schools, including some
ideas that the author wants to express (Xu, 2018, p. 312). To improve students’ cognitive level is one of the
important tasks in primary school Chinese teaching. In the reading teaching of primary school Chinese, the
students can quickly understand the implied cognitive value of the text by role-playing, so as to improve their
cognitive level. For example, when teaching the lesson “A Simple and Useful Person”, the teacher can let the
students preview the text first, and then let the students play the roles of “mother”, “father”, “elder sister”,
“elder brother”, and “I” in the text. The students will present the whole story in class, so that the students will
have a deep understanding of the truth in the text. After the performance, the teacher can ask the students,
“What kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?” The student replied, “People like peanuts”. The
teacher continued to ask, “What kind of person is a peanut like person? Who can say specifically?” Some
students will also answer, “Be a person who contributes to the society, and be a useful person”. The teacher
asks, “Are there people like peanuts in our life?” Students replied, “There are, for example, unknown sanitation
workers”. Some students replied, “There are soldiers guarding the border of the motherland”. Through students’
performances and teachers’ questions, students can understand what kind of person to be, comparing with their
current life ideals, understand the truth of being a person, and then improve students’ cognitive level.
Improve Students’ Language Application Ability
Learning the application of language is one of the basic tasks of Chinese teaching. It is a problem we need
to pay attention to improve the language application ability of primary school students. One of the most
important is to provide students with a lively and relaxed learning atmosphere, so that students are brave and
willing to express. Role-play is the best way to mobilize the classroom atmosphere. In role-play, they can enjoy
238 THE ROLE-PLAY IN CHINESE READING TEACHING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
the happiness that the role can bring to them. Teachers should pay attention to the needs of students and try to
let students reproduce the content of the text as much as possible. In this process, students’ language materials
are enriched and learn to use different ways to correct to express one’s own opinions in a correct way improves
one’s ability of language application. For example, when teaching the lesson “Traveling in a Cow’s Stomach”,
the teacher can show the dialogue between red head and green head on the courseware. Who said these words?
What did you say? Under what circumstances? In what tone? Can show the words for students to role-play, let
students experience red head desperately cry for help, red head crying I will die, red head sad to say, but what
do you say to me?, red head said thank you in a low voice, after the success came out of the cow’s stomach, he
was happy to say thank you to green head in tears, in different situations, red head expressed different feelings
when speaking. After the analysis, students can play the roles of “red head” and “green head” according to their
understanding of the text, experience different language expressions in different situations, and improve their
language application ability.
Improve the Emotional Communication Between Students and the Characters in the Text
In primary school Chinese teaching, emotional education is not only an important teaching goal, but also
an important guarantee for the implementation of primary school Chinese teaching. The subject of Chinese has
the characteristics of education, which needs to be promoted by students’ emotions and students’ understanding
of the text needs to be based on emotions. The cultivation of emotion cannot be separated from teaching
activities, which requires teachers to create teaching scenarios, such as using audio and pictures, so that
students can accurately grasp the content of the text, and then students can play different roles to present the
content of the text, so that the characters in the textbook can have spiritual collision and emotional resonance
with the students, can go deep into the author’s inner world, and experience the feelings expressed in the article
Love. For example, when teaching the lesson “The Sparrow”, the teacher asks the students to read through the
text first and then carefully realizes that the boy says: “No, I didn’t see it”. Lenin said, “It must have flown
away or frozen to death. He is afraid of the cold weather”. Lenin said, “What a beautiful Sparrow! It’s a pity
that it will never come back”. From these words, we can see Lenin’s love for larks. In the second half of the
text, through Lenin’s step-by-step guidance and education of the boy, the sparrow finally came back. In the
whole process, Lenin did not blame the boy, but showed his patience and respect for the ingenious education
methods, at the same time, the boy also showed a sense of guilt. In this process, the teacher can take the
illustrations in the text as the situation, and let the students play the role. In the process of playing, the teacher
can experience the boy’s guilt and Lenin’s earnest teaching.
The Application Strategies of Role-Playing in Primary School Chinese Reading Teaching

The fables and the little things in life can be presented by role-playing to deepen students’ understanding
of the text. So, how to use role-play in primary school Chinese reading? Generally speaking, we should select
the appropriate text, prepare for the selected text, and give students feedback.
Select the Text and Mobilize the Classroom Atmosphere
Not all texts are suitable for role-playing teaching. For example, the teaching of “Pinyin” in the lower
grades generally adopts the teaching method. The teaching of “Pinyin” is the basic learning and the premise of
learning the follow-up knowledge. The age of the students is still young, the basic knowledge is not solid
enough, the language expression ability has not developed to a certain level, so the role-playing method is not
suitable for use here. For example, the fifth grade text “The Sun” is an expository text, its purpose is mainly to
introduce the important role of the sun in our lives, so that students can understand that we cannot live without
it the sun, this kind of article tends to introduce some declarative knowledge to students, and the method of
role-playing is not applicable here. For example, some texts describing the great mountains and rivers of China,
Guilin scenery is the best in the world, which is to let students appreciate the great mountains and rivers of our
country, appreciate the characteristics of “strange”, “beautiful”, and “dangerous” mountains of Guilin, and the
characteristics of “quiet”, “clear”, and “green” water of Guilin. This kind of text is not suitable for role-playing.
Role-play is suitable for the dialogue of characters in texts, and different characters express different feelings,
such as fable story and some small things in life. Most of these texts are in the form of dialogue, with rich story
plots, For example, “A simple and useful person”, “Little Tadpole Looking for mother”, “traveling in the belly
of a cow”, and “lark” can use role-playing methods. In teaching, teachers can pay attention to the texts that can
be played by role-playing methods, encourage students to play the characters boldly, mobilize the atmosphere
of the classroom, and improve the quality of teaching.
Pre-class Preparation for Teaching Objectives
The preparation before class mainly includes the preparation of props, the choice of students and the
rehearsal before class. As for the preparation of props, we take the lesson “Little Tadpole Looking for Mother”
taught by the teacher as an example. There are four roles in the lesson: “mother carp”, “turtle”, “mother frog”,
and “Little Tadpole”, which requires students to be able to distinguish the above roles. Because the teaching
object is the second grade students, the teacher can assign the role and prepare the props by the students
themselves, such as preparing some headwear according to the characteristics of the role. In the process of
preparation, middle school students realized the characteristics of “mother carp”, “turtle”, “mother frog”, and
“Little Tadpole”, and expanded their natural science knowledge.
In terms of students’ choice, role-play is very important for students’ choice. For those shy children, they
are ashamed to show themselves. At this time, teachers should give them more encouragement, confidence, and
courage to show. At the same time, we should also do a good job in the role allocation. For example, when the
teacher teaches the lesson “A Simple and Useful Person”, the roles include “mother”, “father”, “elder sister”,
“elder brother”, and “I”. The teacher should assign different roles according to the understanding of the
students. For example, the lively students can play the role of “I” in the ordinary classroom. The contemplative
students can play the role of “father” etc., so that students can show their true feelings and feel the characters in
the text better. When choosing students to perform, we should try our best to give every student a chance to
enjoy the performance. In addition, in the role-playing, the students should be able to use their spare time to
rehearse and have different understanding of the characters in the rehearsal process. At the same time, in
rehearsal, we should also remind students to pay attention to the time of performance. It is better to control it in
about 10 minutes to reduce the burden of students. It should be noted that in addition to the students who need
to perform before class, other students do not review before class. The purpose of doing this is not only to avoid
the preconceived concept, but also to achieve the teaching goal.
After Class Evaluation to Deepen Students’ Understanding
When the class performance is over, the whole class students and teachers should comment and
summarize the performance, praise the students for their good work, and point out the areas that students need
to improve, so that students can know their learning results in time. After class evaluation can give students
240 THE ROLE-PLAY IN CHINESE READING TEACHING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
important feedback information. Only when students get feedback information, know where they are doing well,
and where they are doing well, can they develop their strengths and avoid weaknesses in the next role-play, and
get the best development. At the same time, students can have a deeper understanding of the text in the process
of evaluation. For example, this article “Sparrow”, ask students questions, if you are a boy, Lenin’s question,
“How do you answer?” If you are Lenin, “How do you enlighten the boy?” and so on. By asking students
questions, we can help them to clarify the context of the text, and then achieve the understanding of the text.
For another example, in the lesson “traveling in a cow’s stomach”, first ask the students who watch the
performance. If you are red head, what do you think at this moment? If you are green head, how do you plan to
save your little partner red head? First, the students answer, and then the performers answer. By comparing the
similarities and differences among their answers, the text content is elaborated in detail to deepen the students’
understanding of the text. Another example is the lesson “Falling Flower”. First of all, ask the students who
watch the performance. What kind of people do you want to be when you grow up by watching the
performance? Why do you want to be such a person? Please say your reasons. Then, ask the performing
students, “What kind of person you want to be through the performance?” and explain, “Why you want to be
such a person”. After questioning the students, compare the similarities and differences of their answers, and
sort out the text properly, so as to clarify the thinking of the students on this article.
In a word, the method of role-playing is one of the most important magic weapons in the teaching of
Chinese reading in primary schools. In the classroom, the method of role-playing is used to mobilize the
atmosphere of the classroom, and students’ interest in learning Chinese will be greatly increased. Students can
really participate in the teaching of Chinese classroom and make the classroom full of vitality. In this process,
students should also realize that we have to play a lot of roles in life, and each role has our own responsibilities.
In the process of role-playing, it is very helpful for their future life to recognize their obligations by exchanging
roles. Finally, in the process of application, we should pay attention to mobilize the enthusiasm of students to
ensure that every student in the class can participate in. At the same time, we should understand the skills and
methods of role-playing and do a good job in preparation, so as to optimize the role-playing in primary school
Chinese Reading teaching.
Conclusion
To sum up, through exploring the relationship between role-playing and primary school Chinese reading,
we can find that role-playing can give full play to students’ subject status, improve students’ cognitive level,
improve students’ language application ability, and enhance students’ emotion with the text. In order to better
reflect the value of role-playing in primary school Chinese reading teaching, teachers should select appropriate
texts, be prepared for the selected texts and give students feedback, so as to make primary school Chinese reading
teaching more interesting. Through role-playing, students can also better feel others’ thoughts and feelings,
which is very helpful for the cultivation of students’ empathy ability. Therefore, teachers should excavate the
intrinsic ideological value of the text in teaching. Students can more deeply understand the connotation of the
text by exchanging roles, so as to achieve their own situation, so that students’ emotions can be sublimated.
References
Hu, D. Z. (2015). The application of situational simulation and role-playing in Chinese teaching in primary schools. Curriculum
Education Research, 25, 41.
Liu, H. (2008). Research on the teaching strategy of “role assignment”. Nanjing: Nanjing Normal University.
Xu, Y. (2018). 333 analysis of comprehensive examination oriented Education (p. 312). Beijing: Beijing University of
Technology Press.
Yang, K. (2017). On the application of role-playing method in primary school Chinese teaching. Chinese out of School Education,
21, 20.
Yang, Y. M. (2014). Narrowing the distance in role-playing—On the role of role change in primary school Chinese teaching.
Chinese out of School Education, 23, 81.
Zhang, C. Y. (2017). Role-playing as a skillful assistant for Chinese reading. Masters Online, 23, 10-11.
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YES_A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching in Elementary School

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US-China

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Aims and Scope:

Editorial Board Members:

David Publishing Company

David Publishing Company

Cooperativeness in Primary Schools: An Exploratory Investigation of

English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment and Its Cultivation 218

Curriculum and Teaching

Educational Technology and Mass Communication 224

A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching in Elementary School 236

Cooperativeness in Primary Schools: An Exploratory

Evangeloula Papadatou, Nikolaos Alexopoulos

The Aim and the Objectives of the Study

Theoretical Framework: Formulating a Cooperative Climate for Effective Schools

Methodology and Sample

Very Much 16.7

Not at all 0.3

Discussion and Conclusions

Suggestions and Limitations of the Study

English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment and Its Cultivation

Jinhui Tu, Jumei Xiao

Keywords: English teacher, professional sentiment, training strategies

The Connotation of English Teachers’ Professional Feelings

Jinhui Tu, M.A., College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.

Based on Professional Ethics

The Characteristics of English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment

Training Strategies of English Teachers’ Professional Sentiment

Educational Technology and Mass Communication

Owuamanam Catherine Nkechinyere

Keywords: educational technology, media, mass media, communication, mass communication

Characteristics of Mass Media

A Study on the Role-Play in Chinese Reading Teaching

Min Tian, Jumei Xiao

Keywords: role-playing, elementary school Chinese reading, reading strategies

Role-Playing and Primary School Chinese Reading

Role-Playing in Primary School Chinese Reading Teaching

Min Tian, M.A., College of Teacher Education, Huzhou Teachers College.

Give Full Play to the Dominant Position of Students

The Application Strategies of Role-Playing in Primary School Chinese Reading Teaching

US-China Education Review A & US-China Education Review B

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