We would like to briefly introduce this issue which opens with a series of four linked papers relating to a European project on the use of learning objects in schools, guest edited by Robert McCormick from the Open University, UK. The background to this project is presented below. Space permits us to include two more articles which relate to children and media. Finally, we are delighted to announce that in the forthcoming volume in 2007 we will regularly include a new section called ‘Viewpoints’. The editors Jae‐Eun Joo, Marta Turcsányi‐Szabó and Ben Williamson outline their vision for this new forum for discussion and invite contributions for future issues.
The first of the additional articles by Moran presents a case study of the process of ‘glocalising’ children’s educational television programmes through co‐production. Drawing on interviews with production staff, parents and teachers, she outlines the advantages of mixing and matching ‘culturally neutral, previously created segments’ (global) with new material and characters that are designed to be ‘culturally relevant’ for the target national audience. Cranmer, in the second of these articles, presents a fascinating insight into children’s uses of the Internet for school homework in relation to three types of families classified by their social class, Bourdieu’s notions of forms of capital, educational experiences and aspirations. She raises and explores issues relating to plagiarism and stakeholders perceptions of such practices, economic constraints, and different forms of parental and family support.
Jenny Leach, Cathy Lewin and Matthew Pearson
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
The Open University, UK