Intruduction | W2 Q0 | Forum

Hello,

My name is Betul Demiray Sandiraz. I graduated from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. I was also a research assistant in the same university for two and a half years.
Currently, I am a second year Ph.D. student in the CITE program. I am a research assistant in the Great First Eight Project, conducted with University of Michigan and aiming to prepare and pilot an all-day curriculum for children from birth to eight.
I am broadly interested in providing quality early childhood education to all children, especially children from low-income families. My second research interest is related to civic engagement at young ages and how children develop civic identities and awareness that lead to active involvement in the society for justice and equity.
I am still not sure about my future job aspirations, but, for now, I am hoping to work as a researcher in a large organization concerning education or in a university and eventually become a teacher educator.
My research interests related to this course are broadly about young children and their relationships with media. I am wondering how young children’s interactions with media affect their development, identity, and civic engagement practices. I am also interested in how media practices of parents affect children.
At the end of the course, I am hoping to have a better understanding about the relationship between media and learning and learn more about how to develop media literacy skills of children.