In Another American Skin: Development of Empathy through Desktop Documentary Making
Social Studies Research and Practice
ISSN: 1933-5415
Article publication date: 1 November 2011
Issue publication date: 1 November 2011
Abstract
This article analyzes a classroom project that integrated desktop documentary making with an educational foundations course in order to foster empathetic development in pre-service teachers toward unfamiliar cultural groups. The project required each tertiary student in the course to create a desktop documentary about the school experience of a cultural group with which they did not immediately identify with. The findings indicate that half of the students in this project displayed empathetic development with regard to their chosen topics, using their encounters with imagery and stories to link their world with that which was unfamiliar. Additionally, as a result of the compositional process, several students became advocates for their assigned cultural group, carrying this sentiment with them as they progressed to become teachers. Implications of this study, including possible approaches toward improving this project’s effectiveness in achieving its aims, are discussed.
Keywords
Citation
Schul, J.E. (2011), "In Another American Skin: Development of Empathy through Desktop Documentary Making", Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 104-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-03-2011-B0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Publishing Limited