Theoretical Foundations for a Critical Reappraisal of the Role of Instructional Media in American Public Education: a Psychoanalytic Perspective

Abstract

This study represents an attempt to address some of the philosophical inadequacies that underlie the use of instructional media in American public schools. By using as a starting point the works of the writers in the curriculum field who have become known as the "reconceptualists," research will range quite far outside the traditional boundaries. From social, legal, and political issues, to the abstractions of the Frankfurt School and Freud's psychodynamics, a line of argumentation will be developed that reappraises the theoretical foundations of the field of instructional media. It is possible that the indiscriminate use of instructional media as a teaching device may inadvertently interfere with the development of some students by its participation in conflict resolution at the site of the ego. When understood from a philosophical vantage point other than the current dominant one, it may be concluded that the use of instructional media in the classroom should be limited until more is known about the manner in which the individual learner experiences media.