Abstract

This qualitative study demonstrates the kinds of pedagogical pitfalls that are included in simplistic understandings of child-centeredness in the context of media education, an emerging field of early childhood teacher education with only a little empirical research done so far. Course diaries from 15 preservice teachers were analyzed to find answers to the question: How do preservice teachers approach child-centered education in the context of media education? The main findings can be summarized as follows. First, preservice teachers approached child-centeredness as an all-encompassing principle that guides early childhood education. Second, media education-related issues — beliefs about children and media, ambiguity of media literacy, and insecurity about oneself as a media educator — appear to bolster views of children as self-driven learners, and teachers as mere facilitators who do not have an active role in children’s learning processes.