Challenging the Educational Imaginary: Issues of Form, Substance, and Quality in Film-Based Research

1 April 2003

journal article
research article
Published by SAGE Publications in Qualitative Inquiry

Vol. 9 (2) , 202-217
https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800402250931

Abstract

This article addresses issues of quality in film-based educational research projects. It recommends criteria related to aesthetic form and substance as appropriate for judging the usefulness of educational films in achieving one possible goal for film-based educational research. That goal is to effectively challenge the prevailing educational imaginary. This imaginary is described as a set of images of schools and school people, rooted in the larger culture, that supports a debilitating master narrative about education. Issues of quality and utility are explored within the context of one teacher-made film exhibited at (among other places) a film festival at the author’s college of education.

Keywords

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