Agents of Change? Analyzing the Effect of Media Bias and Attitudinal Change in the Political Opinions of High School Students

Abstract

This research is an action-research study that will analyze the effect of media on high school students' political perceptions. There are many things that influence students' political perceptions and these influences could potentially shape students' political and personal opinions. The process for how these influences actually play out is not well known. What we do know is that mass media resources can have an effect on the attitudes of students, and the degree to which this occurs can be either positive or negative. This action research study was conducted using two student groups of similar demographics and exposing them to different media materials in order to identify changes in political attitudes. This research attempts to answer the question: How does political media affect student opinions about politics and civic participation?