The purpose of the study was to identify emerging twenty-first century skills and practices in all-girl, after-school settings, including capacities related to collaboration, project management, sense of audience, media savvy, and competent use of tools (New London Group, 1996; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004). The findings focus on how and what girls learned in after-school writing and leadership programs -- with an emphasis on the instructors' guidance during activities and in-depth discussions, the participants' social interactions and collaborative work, and the production of media related projects.
This research is a multi-methods study that included both quantitative and qualitative data (Creswell, 2006). Quantitative data were drawn from a sample of 108 girls who participated in after-school programs developed and administered by two Girls Inc. chapters located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The data showed how the participants perceived their new media practices and how their interactions mapped onto Jenkins' (2006) twelve "new media literacy skills" (NMLs). Jenkins' NML framework conceives of people as consumers of media but more importantly as creative producers of original media content, both of which require social and cultural skill sets (NMLs). When such skills are not developed, people are often caught in a "participatory gap," with unequal access to opportunities, skills, and knowledge for school and work in the twenty-first century (Jenkins & MacArthur, 2006).
Qualitative data were drawn from two different Girls Inc. after-school programs -- a writing program with the goal of producing an online digital magazine written by teens and for teens, and a leadership program with the goal of designing a model energy-efficient bus for their urban communities. The qualitative fieldwork included a series of observations, staff interviews, a focus group, and artifacts -- including curriculum, photographs, and articles written by the participants. Data analysis was informed by a socio-cultural perspective that views learning as changing participation in social practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and mediated by tools (computers, smart phones, social media sites, cultural inquiry), talk, and activity structures (Vygotsky, 1978). The qualitative results that emerged from the data were organized into the following themes: Environment and Learning Context, Participants' Learning Processes, How Tools and Activities Supported Learning Processes, Production of a Digital Magazine and Green Bus, and Emerging Twenty-first Century Literacies.
The quantitative phase of the study revealed strong connections between new media literacies (NMLs), media exposure, and interaction with different digital technologies. Namely, higher levels of media literacy skills were associated with higher "new media literacy skills" (NMLs) as defined by Jenkins (2006). This information contributed to understanding the way girls interacted with new media while illuminating methods for determining how to engage them in math and science and advanced forms of technology.
Qualitative data revealed the practice and development of NMLs and twenty-first skills as defined by New London Group (1996). These diverse forms of thinking and learning practices were reflected in expressions of identity, independence, creativity, and judgment. Digital tools and networks in the hands of the teens and innovative instructors afforded collaborative engagement as participants interacted, created and problem-solved -- in response to personal and community issues. Interactions among the participants working as part of a collective group and the dynamic exchange that occurred with the use of tools and activities over time transformed both the participants and program goals.
Participants emerged from the programs with burgeoning identities as journalists, photographers, innovators, and collaborators. Mentored by instructors and through communities, their activities and growth provide an example of how dynamic learning environments and new media tools can collectively support and enhance the skills, dispositions, and identities of individuals and groups. The diverse range of skills and practices revealed in this study illustrate how and what new media skills girls are learning and applying both online and offline and how such skills can nurture twenty-first century capabilities applicable for school and work.
