Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology
Eric J. Anctil
Advancing Media Literacy for Educational Leadership in the 21st Century

Download a printable pdf

With students, parents, and employers demanding that K-20 schools provide better media and technology leadership, educational leadership programs at the college level need to develop and deliver curricula that create new leadership in the areas of media literacy and technology. Currently, educational policy and curriculum are not keeping pace with the real-world advances in technology. The impact of this becomes increasingly more pronounced as technology continues to outpace current practice and school leaders assess their school’s needs and the myriad of choices offered to them by the various forms of media.

As the digital broadcasting spectrum expands, the opportunity for the educational environment to be the setting of reality television shows, student created media projects, and athletics is also expanding. “Sorority Life,” “Fraternity Life,” “High School Stories,” and the new television network ESPNU are just a few examples of how television and education regularly co-mingle for entertainment purposes. Although there have been fictional television programs about education for decades, the past few years have brought programming that features real schools, real students, and real teachers. Rather than portraying a fictionalized education system, television now captures education in the real world environment. This influences how educational leaders make organizational decisions, how schools are marketed and promoted, and how the public perceives education.

Dr. Anctil critically examines the new frontier of education as entertainment and his work is serving as the foundation for a new field of research in education. As the global economy and education change, so must educational leaders. The demand for media literacy in educational leadership positions is high, but the ability to provide the appropriate leadership to meet this demand is low.

Contact Information
Eric Anctil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology

Washington State University
PO Box 642136
Pullman, WA 99164-2136

Telephone: 509-335-7214
E-mail: ejanctil@wsu.edu