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Censorship, the Internet and schools: a new moral panic?
Author(s) -
Lawson Tony,
Comber Chris
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the curriculum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1469-3704
pISSN - 0958-5176
DOI - 10.1080/09585170050045236
Subject(s) - moral panic , censorship , the internet , context (archaeology) , sanctions , public relations , internet privacy , psychology , political science , sociology , social psychology , criminology , law , computer science , paleontology , world wide web , biology
As the use of the Internet in schools increases, so too do anxieties over inappropriate access, often fuelled by a popular media focus upon the dangers of children's exposure to pornographic or extremist material. Teachers and school managers, attempting to weigh such hazards against the education potential of access to global information sources, are caught in the crossfire between those who call for rigid controls and those who argue for freedom and access. In the context of these contrary positions, this article begins by exploring the extent to which current public concern over Internet access can be seen as the “moral panic” of the 1990s. Following this, we draw upon examples from Education Departments' Superhighways Initiative (EDSI) to examine the responses of teachers faced with these dilemmas and the effectiveness of various strategies in resolving them. While a combination of control over access (particularly for younger children) and sanctions for inappropriate use was in operation in most schools, many teachers' preferred strategy was to alert pupils to the potential dangers, and to educate them to become responsible users.