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Cross Media Analysis for Preventing School Violence

This research project conducts exploratory analysis into the cultural and sociological antecedents of violence in the Chilean school system, and violence-prevention initiatives through multi-media literacy methods (X-media). 

An approach on ethical and aesthetical insights on the forms of violence in the Chilean school system through the study of translation processes between cross-media platform materialities.

The research project, which emerged out of a Harvard-UAI Collaborative Research Grant, conducts exploratory analysis into the cultural and sociological antecedents of violence in the Chilean school system. In the context of prevention science and practice principles applied to school violence through multi-media literacy methods from Cross Media Projects from X-Media Lab, Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Professors Robert Selman and Randy Testa (HGSE) and Pedro Moscoso from Universidad Adolfo Ibañez (UAI), in collaboration with the Municipality of Santiago and its public schools, are using hybrid methodologies to make visible forms of situated and concrete expressions of violence that appear in educational socialization and academic contexts.

Cross Media studies constitute a concrete and real contribution with a methodology focused on story building processes around three ways of knowing and valuing: academic, ethical and aesthetical. The use of multi-media content platforms enables new ways of understanding educational experience by: 1) deepening student close cross media understanding of stories; 2) helping teachers understand how students make meaning of these stories: 3) giving direction to educational resources designs specifically focused on stories of violence and its amelioration.

In complementary fashion, within the interdisciplinary research group Languages and Materialities at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, professor Pedro Moscoso et. al have been developing interviews in public schools and studies regarding the relationship and the impact in different forms of experience construction from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Workshops for School Administrators

In August 2018 Professor Randy Testa did a two-day workshop with 45 school representatives of key public schools (including high-level administrators, school directors, local teachers, professors, and media experts). By using multi-media content platforms the group enabled new ways of understanding educational experience about youth violence, developing skills and tools for socio-emotional education through media analysis. The workshop was held at Instituto Nacional José Miguel Carrera – one of the most emblematic public school in Santiago.

Current Work

The Film Machuca, by Chilean filmmaker Andres Wood, will be used as a Cross Media educator resource

The exploration of historical based translation processes in relation to the interaction between different material platforms gives new ways to understand and create new practices to critically intervene reality. The upcoming phase involves a two-days workshop with students and educators from the municipality of Santiago and a public event featuring the screening of the movie and an after-panel to discuss the results of the research.