'Kids from the Local School? Tele-pedagogy and the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge

Abstract

Schools and teachers are increasingly confronted by, and engaging, the challenge of techno-popular culture and postmodernity more generally. This paper addresses one manifestation of the postmodern condition in contemporary education and schooling: the emergence of a distinctively new visual and performative sensibility in educational practice, and a new articulation with media practice and popular culture. This is addressed here specifically through the phenomenon of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (REC), a unique and somewhat controversial youth- and school-cultural event incorporating popular music and creative-performing arts, and involving large numbers of schools and students. The particular focus here is the televisual form of the REC. The key concept introduced is the notion of 'tele-pedagogy', drawn from recent debates in media education, cultural studies and poststructuralist theory and philosophy.