Understandings and Tendencies of Edutainment in Turkey: An Evaluation Based on Neil Postman's Criticism on Education, Entertainment and Technology

Abstract

There have been a wide range of studies on the interplay between education and technology. Furthermore, there are many other studies aimed at analyzing the scholarly output on this subject with a holistic approach. However the studies are mostly focused on the facilitator role of technology. Although the idea that educational processes have become more fun, thanks to the widespread use of technology, there is a strong need for the critical analysis of the interplay among education, entertainment and technology. Taking this need into account, and drawing on Neil Postman's critical approach on this trio, this article aims to discuss and evaluate the tendencies and understandings in relation to the notion of "edutainment" primarily with reference to "edutainment" studies carried out in Turkey. It is expected that this evaluation would contribute to similar future studies, thus helping the policy development. According to findings of the study, although the edutainment studies in Turkey reflect the general tendency throughout the world, there only a few of them quantitatively. There is no consensus on the designation and definition of the concept of edutainment. From Postman's point of view, it could be said that edutainment studies in Turkey lack a critical perspective with regard to technology and entertainment, and there is a quite limited framework.

There have been a wide range of studies on the interplay between education and technology. Furthermore, there are many other studies aimed at analyzing the scholarly output on this subject with a holistic approach. However the studies are mostly focused on the facilitator role of technology. Although the idea that educational processes have become more fun, thanks to the widespread use of technology, there is a strong need for the critical analysis of the interplay among education, entertainment and technology. Taking this need into account, and drawing on Neil Postman's critical approach on this trio, this article aims to discuss and evaluate the tendencies and understandings in relation to the notion of "edutainment" primarily with reference to "edutainment" studies carried out in Turkey. It is expected that this evaluation would contribute to similar future studies, thus helping the policy development. According to findings of the study, although the edutainment studies in Turkey reflect the general tendency throughout the world, there only a few of them quantitatively. There is no consensus on the designation and definition of the concept of edutainment. From Postman's point of view, it could be said that edutainment studies in Turkey lack a critical perspective with regard to technology and entertainment, and there is a quite limited framework.