Media Activist Research Ethics by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030443894
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Curricular EL/CEL: Definitions and the Canadian Landscape

Experiential Learning (EL)

Broadly speaking, EL is a pedagogical ‘approach that educators use to intentionally connect learners with practical experiences that include authentic and focused reflection’ (Western University, 2019). These activities entail, but are not limited to, CEL, short- and long-term internships, co-ops, exchanges, field experience, and practicum placements both at home and abroad. Research about EL is timely given the expansion of this form of pedagogy in communication and media studies and across disciplinary lines (de Peuter, Cohen, & Brophy, 2015; Elliott, 2017; Universities Canada, 2017; Welch, 2016). In Canada, EL is offered in 27 undergraduate programmes, 14 master’s programmes, and seven doctoral programmes in the field.3 Using a five-point Likert scale, respondents to our nation-wide survey were asked if they have seen an increase in demand for EL over the past five years from different stakeholders in their respective locales—provincial government, university, faculty, home unit (i.e. department, school, programme) undergraduate students, home unit graduate students, and external partners (e.g. community partners, local businesses). Overall, the responses point to a clear demand for more EL activities, but especially from universities, followed by undergraduate students, and then provincial governments. When asked if their home unit has concrete plans to increase EL in the future beyond current offerings at the undergraduate level, 58% of respondents answered ‘yes’ (23% said ‘no’ and 19% replied ‘do not know’). Additionally, 22% of respondents with master’s programmes replied ‘yes’ to the same question, and 25% of respondents with doctoral programmes also replied in the affirmative.

These results are important because although there is a growing body of academic literature pertaining to media-oriented internships post-graduation—especially un/underpaid placements in the creative and cultural sectors, which have become alarmingly more prevalent and normalised (Cohen & de Peuter, 2018, 2019; Discenna, 2016; Frenette, 2013)—there is very little about curricular forms of EL. Yet, we know EL is on the rise in the field of communication and media studies education, which indicates a need for more proactive conversations about its future. Our survey also revealed that CEL at the undergraduate level is the foremost type of EL practised in Canadian communication and media studies programmes—20 of the country’s 27 programmes offer some type of CEL—mirroring its growth in other disciplines both at home and abroad (Taylor, 2017, p. 253).

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