Pedagogical Media Competencies of Preservice Teachers in Germany and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice

Abstract

Teachers need knowledge and skills to make effective use of the growing variety of media and technology texts and tools available for use in elementary and secondary education. For this reason, pedagogical media competencies are highly relevant for teachers’ professional development. The theory of media pedagogical competencies is first defined and then located in the context of the relevant scholarly literature from both Germany and the United States. We conducted a comparative analysis of German and U.S. pedagogical media competency models and report data on a survey of teacher education programs in Germany and the United States to identify the proportion of programs of study that include courses in media didactics, media and school reform, and media education. We consider the implications of the missing connections between the theoretical framework of pedagogical media competencies and the current practice of media pedagogical teacher training, revealing implications for further work needed to improve the integration of media in various school-related contexts.

Notes

The institutions were identified and classified by means of broad Internet research where several databases and the home pages of all universities and colleges in question were analyzed. Hence, it is possible that some information might be out of date. Furthermore, a small number of home pages were not accessible due to technical reasons, which is why single institutions might be omitted although relevant.

M.A. degree program at the Universität Duisburg-Essen. Cf. http://mediendidaktik.uni-due.de/buchseite/3069

M.A. degree program at the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg. Cf. http://www.ph-heidelberg.de/elmeb21/

When comparing these figures, it should be considered that the total of German study programs in the study is significantly smaller than its U.S. equivalent (12 vs. 208).