Educating parents about gaming : action research in a Hungarian elementary school
Varuhin, Abigél (2018)
2018
Master's Degree Programme in Media Education
Viestintätieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2018-06-04
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201807032230
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201807032230
Tiivistelmä
Game education is an integral part of media education the aim of which is to provide people with skills and competence to be able to function in today’s society which is becoming highly mediatized and digitalized.
This study aims to discover ways of educating parents about video games so that they can become the primary media educators of their children. As action research in this study a co-playing event was implemented for parents and their children in a Hungarian elementary school. Through the collected qualitative data (interviews, research diary, feed-back discussion audio recordings) this thesis aims to answer the question: “How to support parents in educating their children about video games through reinforcing co-playing and other mediation strategies?”
This study relies on three categories that were identified in connection with television and are used for video games as well. These categories are: restrictive mediation, active mediation and co-playing. Restrictive mediation refers to time and content limitations that parents enforce on their children. Active mediation is parents talking with their children about video game contents, approving or disapproving media messages and contents or providing information about video games. Co-playing is when parents sit down to play together with their children. These mediation strategies are used by different parents with different weight. A well-balanced use of these strategies is important for the sake of effective game education.
As a conclusion a diagram was produced adding new dimensions and impacting factors to the three mediation types, complementing the theory of parents’ mediation strategies. The attitude of parents about video games is confirmed to be a key factor determining their choice of mediation strategy. The implemented co-playing event seemed to influence the attitude of the parents therefore it is concluded that co-playing is an effective way of educating parents about video games.
Based on the results, it is proposed that parents should receive more support and guidance regarding their mediation and educating their children about media and specifically video games. This need should be considered in the research field, in schools and on a policy level.
This study aims to discover ways of educating parents about video games so that they can become the primary media educators of their children. As action research in this study a co-playing event was implemented for parents and their children in a Hungarian elementary school. Through the collected qualitative data (interviews, research diary, feed-back discussion audio recordings) this thesis aims to answer the question: “How to support parents in educating their children about video games through reinforcing co-playing and other mediation strategies?”
This study relies on three categories that were identified in connection with television and are used for video games as well. These categories are: restrictive mediation, active mediation and co-playing. Restrictive mediation refers to time and content limitations that parents enforce on their children. Active mediation is parents talking with their children about video game contents, approving or disapproving media messages and contents or providing information about video games. Co-playing is when parents sit down to play together with their children. These mediation strategies are used by different parents with different weight. A well-balanced use of these strategies is important for the sake of effective game education.
As a conclusion a diagram was produced adding new dimensions and impacting factors to the three mediation types, complementing the theory of parents’ mediation strategies. The attitude of parents about video games is confirmed to be a key factor determining their choice of mediation strategy. The implemented co-playing event seemed to influence the attitude of the parents therefore it is concluded that co-playing is an effective way of educating parents about video games.
Based on the results, it is proposed that parents should receive more support and guidance regarding their mediation and educating their children about media and specifically video games. This need should be considered in the research field, in schools and on a policy level.