STUDYING SCHOOL: DEPICTIONS OF EDUCATION ON THE...

STUDYING SCHOOL: DEPICTIONS OF EDUCATION ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL

Christa E. Weaver

A Thesis Submitted to the

University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

Department of English

University of North Carolina Wilmington

2012

Approved by

Advisory Committee

Katie Peel Lauren Squires

Colleen Reilly

Chair

Accepted by

______________________________

Dean, Graduate School

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. vi

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1

Overview ..............................................................................................................................1

Television’s Significance .....................................................................................................1

Disney’s Impact ...................................................................................................................4

Education as a Focus ............................................................................................................5

METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................................................7

Overview of Content Analysis .............................................................................................7

Benefits Outweigh Drawbacks ..........................................................................................11

Sample................................................................................................................................13

Coding Scheme ..................................................................................................................15

RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................17

Attitudes toward the School System ..................................................................................17

Instances of Learning .........................................................................................................23

Characterizations of Educators ..........................................................................................27

Characterizations of Academic-minded Students ..............................................................34

Combined Portrayals of the School System.......................................................................38

DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................39

Negative Representations...................................................................................................39

Learning is Largely Unnecessary.......................................................................................41

iv

Limitations .........................................................................................................................43

Ramifications .....................................................................................................................45

CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................49

LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................52

APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................................60

v

ABSTRACT

Television is ubiquitous, and it is consistently shaping people’s perceptions of reality.

The Disney Channel, a popular television station, is one faction of the multimedia giant, Disney.

This company constantly sends messages to the consumers via its products. Therefore, I

examined four Disney Channel series—Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck,

Phineas and Ferb, and A.N.T. Farm—to investigate how “reality” was portrayed by these

fictional shows. Specifically, I focused on analyzing the portrayal of education—a common

theme on the Disney Channel.

I performed content analysis on 55 Disney Channel episodes that aired between January

2010 and January 2012. Each series chosen targeted middle-school-aged children because I

wanted to examine the messages children were being sent about the school system while they

were still a part of the school system. When analyzing these series, I coded for characters’

attitudes towards the school system, any instances of learning, and the characterizations of

educators and academic-minded students.

My findings indicate that these Disney Channel series portray a pessimistic view of the

school system. Negative attitudes toward the school system, and those who promote what the

institution stands for, outweigh the positives 309:40. Additionally, learning takes place more

frequently outside of the school system than inside of it; though, it is rarely seen in these series.

Therefore, if television truly shapes the way individuals view reality, then the educational system

is under attack. These Disney Channel series are giving impressions that school is not an

important institution, educators are inept at doing their jobs, students who value academics are

destined to have a low social standing, and learning is more frequently accomplished outside of

school.

vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my committee. First of all, I want to offer a big thanks to my thesis

advisor, Dr. Colleen Reilly, who guided me with encouragement, patience, and timely feedback.

Her consistent affirmation concerning my research kept my excitement for this project alive and

thriving. Also, I would like to thank Dr. Katie Peel and Dr. Lauren Squires for the different

perspectives they brought to my research. Their input helped mold my findings into a well-

rounded study.

Also, special thanks go to my family and friends for their support and encouragement. I

could not have done finished this project without them.

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Episodes Coded and Series Air Dates ................................................................................13

2. Positive Attitudes toward the School System on the Disney Channel...............................18

3. Negative Attitudes toward the School System on the Disney Channel .............................18

4. Positive Views of the School System ................................................................................19

5. Negative Views of the School System ...............................................................................21

6. Learning that Takes Place because of the School System .................................................24

7. Learning that Takes Place Outside of the School System .................................................24

8. Positive Portrayals of Educators ........................................................................................28

9. Negative Portrayals of Educators.......................................................................................30

10. Positive Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics ....................................................34

11. Negative Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics ...................................................36

12. Culmination of the Portrayals of the School, Educators, and Students Who Assign Value

to Academics ......................................................................................................................39

13. Full Results: Negative Views Presented by the Disney Channel about the School System ..

............................................................................................................................................65

14. Full Results: Positive Portrayals of Educators ...................................................................66

15. Full Results: Negative Portrayals of Educators .................................................................67

16. Full Results: Positive Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics ...............................68

17. Full Results: Negative Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics .............................69

STUDYING SCHOOL: DEPICTIONS OF EDUCATION ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL

INTRODUCTION

Overview

According to Robert Butche, the media is successful at playing into America’s consumer-

based society. He states that media sell physical products, as well as ideas, beliefs, and social and

cultural values (para. 6). Currently, the Walt Disney Company is one of the top multimedia

companies in America (Butche para. 5), owning media networks, parks, resorts, studio

entertainment, and consumer products (“Company Overview” para. 1). Consequently, Disney is

constantly disseminating particular ideas, beliefs, and values to the consumers of its products,

influencing people’s views about reality. Therefore, examining Disney’s presentation of reality is

imperative to forming a better understanding of society as a whole.

Since the educational system1 is a foundational part of American society and a frequent

hot-topic in the media (Demir 90), I used content analysis to examine how the Disney Channel

portrayed the school system. I analyzed 55 episodes, and I coded for how this TV station

depicted attitudes toward school, its educators, and academic-minded students. I also looked at

instances of learning throughout these episodes. By analyzing the portrayal of the school system,

I was able to discover the types of messages that the Disney Channel sends to viewers about the

“reality” of education. My findings indicate that the school system and the people closely

associated with it are primarily depicted in a negative fashion. Moreover, learning is rarely

shown to be taking place at all, much less as a result of the school’s prompting.

Television’s Significance

Television is a central part of many people’s lives. Robert Kubey and Mihaly

1 In this paper, the terms “educational system,” “educational institution,” “education,” “school system,”

“school,” and “the institution” are all used interchangeably.

2

Csikszentmihalyi state, “On average, individuals in the industrialized world devote three hours a

day to the pursuit—fully half of their leisure time and more than on any single activity save work

and sleep. At this rate someone who lives to 75 would spend nine years in front of the tube”

(para. 6).

Though the television often consumes viewers’ undivided attention, the television is

frequently on even when individuals are engaged in other activities. Kelly Schmitt, Daniel

Anderson, and Kimberley Woolf researched 50 individuals’ actions in relation to the television

over a 10-day time span (268). They videotaped children and adults, examining their behavior

while the television was on (268). They discovered that the television was often on while the

individuals were doing non-viewing activities, such as social interaction, personal grooming,

chores, eating, playing, reading, writing, and physical activity (270).

Though people may be participating in other activities, television often captures people’s

interest when it is left on. Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi discuss television’s allure; they quote

Percy Tanenbaum from the University of California at Berkeley who states, “Among life’s more

embarrassing moments have been countless occasions when I am engaged in conversation in a

room while a TV set is on, and I cannot for the life of me stop from periodically glancing to the

screen. This occurs not only during dull conversations but during reasonably interesting ones just

as well” (para. 2). Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi explain this occurrence, stating that paying

attention to any “sudden or novel stimulus,” like what the television provides through its sound

and visuals, is part of a biological response ingrained in people to help protect them from

predatory dangers (para. 13). Since television seems to capture people’s attention because of its

form as well as its content (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi para. 14), marketing strategists have

increased viewing areas for this type of media (Romano 14).

3

Allison Romano writes that television networks are catering more to areas outside the

home (14). She states that spaces without television are disappearing because marketers are

aware of the advantages of consumers being consistently subjected to their messages (Romano

14). George Schweitzer, President of Marketing for CBS, furthers this idea by saying, “We’re

looking for places we can be intrusive and exclusive…You can’t turn us off” (qtd. in Romano

14). Some of the intrusive, out of-home spaces that televisions are increasingly appearing in are

supermarket checkout lines, auto-service waiting rooms, subways, buses, and gas stations (14-

15). Therefore, any individual engaging in an activity that occurs at one of these places will be

encountering this form of media and the messages that it presents.

Researchers have uncovered that the amount of television exposure Americans encounter

leads to numerous potential effects. One effect, frequently discussed in scholarship, is an

increase in aggressive behavior among children who watch violence on the screen (Potter 35).

Often this occurs because individuals imitate what they see on TV; however, other studies have

shown that viewers have an emotional connection with violent acts on the screen, filling them

with the urge to be aggressive as well (35). Additionally, other effects are that some children

start to believe violence is a socially acceptable way to express aggression, and some react in

fear to what they see on TV (35). In contrast, not all the effects are negative. Some intervention

studies have shown that children learn that the violent acts they see on TV are wrong; however,

in these studies, this alternate perspective seems to depend on a media-literate person discussing

the violent acts with the children during their exposure (Potter 35).

Despite the research on the effects of television exposure, there are too many factors

involved to create a generalized rule about what will specifically happen to people when exposed

to a particular thing on TV. Many of these factors depend on the viewers’ backgrounds, their

4

emotional states while viewing, their personalities, how much they relate to what they are seeing

on the television, and how frequent their exposure is (Potter 39-41). Other major factors depend

on the portrayal of what is being seen on TV (42). For instance, some these factors include how

realistic the television show is, which actions are rewarded on the screen, and which actions are

punished (42).

Though direct effects are difficult to apply to a universal audience, a general effect that

television has on its viewers is that it shapes people’s views of reality. Tony Schirato and Jen

Webb state that so much of what individuals know about the world is tied up with what is

presented to them through the media (169). In other words, people use media’s depictions of the

world in order to understand it. Many do this without considering that media “are an ideological

state apparatus designed to produce a citizenry that accepts the existing economic and social

power relations” (DeLuca 87). Essentially, the media play a vital role in the hegemonic system

by relaying ideology to consumers and by showing people what is acceptable and desirable

(Gitlin 4-5; Abelman and Atkin 78). Therefore, since television is one of the most popular forms

of media, the TV plays a key role in shaping how people view the world, sometimes to the extent

that individuals substitute what they see and learn while watching fiction with what they expect

from reality (Abelman and Atkin 75).

Education as a Focus

According to Cennet Demir, the media often discuss students’ dissatisfaction with school

and their lack of achievement in the institution (89-90). He states that the media’s persistent

attention to school issues reinforces the fact that the educational system’s goal of teaching

children is still important to society (90). Therefore, Demir conducted a study to determine

students’ attitudes towards the school system. He found that most American middle-school-aged

5

students were critical of their schooling experience (104). These students primarily viewed

school as a “wild, crowded, chaotic, boring, painful, controlled, and regulated environment in

which students needed to learn how to survive” (100).

Demir asserts that students’ perceptions toward school influence their school experiences

and their learning processes (90). Roelande Hofman, W. H. Adriaan Hofman, and Henk

Guldemond further Demir’s claim with their study, finding that students’ perceptions of school

were linked to the students’ “cognitive and affective outcomes” in the school (172). Moreover,

they discovered that students with more positive perceptions of the educational institution

functioned best in the institution (190). The only instance where a positive perception was not

linked with performance was when the school overemphasized the importance of student-

performance (189). Additionally, Elliot Eisner also supports the stance that perceptions of

education impact students’ experiences with the school system. He claims that “metaphors and

images of schooling and teaching that we acquire have profound consequences for our

educational values and for our views of how schooling should occur” (261). Therefore, if media

influence how people view reality, looking into the portrayal of education by the media,

specifically television, is necessary to determine if media is one of the causes of current students’

attitudes toward school.

Disney’s Impact

Butche states that Disney is one of “five multimedia giants [that] exert unchallenged

power in the dissemination of information, ideas, culture, social mores, values and products to

young people” (para. 5). The company does this through its concentration on popular culture and

by continually creating new products, attempting to make use of every form of media (Giroux

and Pollock para. 5).

6

Disney’s commitment to make use of the most current media in order to expand their

consumer-base is apparent in their finances (Iger 3). According to Henry Giroux and Grace

Polluck, “In 1999, Disney was a $22 billion profit-making machine” (para. 6). Twelve years

later, that number has practically doubled despite America’s current economic hardship, which

suggests Disney’s importance to American citizens. Robert Iger, President and Chief Executive

Officer of the Walt Disney Company, states, “In fiscal 2011, net income attributable to Disney

was a record $4.8 billion, an increase of 21% over last year, and revenue was a record $40.9

billion, up 7% from last year” (Iger 1).

Part of the reason for this industry’s ongoing success is its focus on expanding beyond

the United States. According to Iger, “With our [Disney’s] Russia launch, we will have more

than 100 worldwide channels in our Disney Channel portfolio, up from 19 a decade ago” (Iger

2). Here, Iger is referencing Disney’s 24-hour cable network which is aimed to attract children

and families (Org 3). This popular branch of the Disney industry has “99 million subscribers” in

the United States and “141 million [international] subscribers” (Org 2). Clearly, Disney’s reach

is expansive and continually growing. Children around the world, but especially in America, are

likely to encounter something Disney-owned or operated early in their lifetimes. Giroux and

Pollock support this claim, stating that “Disney is a teaching machine that not only exerts

influence over young people in the United States, but also…overseas” (para. 6). Nicholas

Sammond furthers this statement, claiming that Disney has been at the forefront of the idea that

whoever “controls the minds and the desires of children controls their future as subjects and

citizens-as consumers and reproducers of American culture” (29). Thus, according to this

assertion, Disney is a leading disseminator of ideology to children in the United States.

Therefore, I examined the Disney Channel—specifically series aired in America which target

7

middle-school-aged kids—in order to see what kind of education-based messages are being

displayed to children.

METHODOLOGY

Overview of Content Analysis

I used content analysis to explore Disney’s representations of education. Content analysis

is a method that gathers and examines qualitative and/or quantitative data for the purpose of

making inferences about a text or series of texts (Harwood and Garry 479; Lee and Peterson 959;

Weber 9). Klaus Krippendorff provides a more formal definition, stating that content analysis is

“a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful

matter) to the contexts of their use” (18). This definition “aligns content—the target of the

research—with how contemporary society operates and understands itself through its texts”

(Krippendorff xx). This methodology has been used in various research fields, such as

communications, psychology, anthropology, sociology, organizational theory, political science,

education, linguistics, and history in order to analyze television shows, newspaper articles, the

internet, advertisements, one-on-one conversations, speeches, riddles, and folktales. (Harwood

and Garry 479-80; Lee and Peterson 961; Weare and Lin 273). According to Christopher Weare

and Wan-Ying Lin, using content analysis can address almost any research question (273).

Because content analysis is useful for answering numerous research questions, various

purposes can be accomplished by using this methodology. Content analysis can be used to

discover the intended messages of the authors of the text (Berelson 72; Harwood and Garry 480;

Weber 9; Holsti qtd. in Weare and Lin 273). It can also be used to discover individuals’

psychological states, to analyze propaganda, to detect cultural trends, to reveal what issues or

ideas that society is focused on, and to examine people’s physical and mental responses to

8

various communications (Berelson 75, 80, 90, 98, 105; Harwood and Garry 480-1; Weber 9;

Holsti qtd. in Weare and Lin 273). To do this, researchers look at words, themes, characters in

stories, items (i.e. a book or film), “space-and-time measures” of a text, or a combination of

these (Berelson 136, 138, 140-3). Additionally, content analysis can be used to determine how

communication varies among nations and different forms of media (Weber 9; Harwood and

Garry 480; Lee and Peterson 961).

Content analysis is a sorting process which allows researchers to reduce and categorize

texts into qualitative and quantitative data (Lewis-Beck 5). This method allows researchers to

focus on what they want to examine. They can exclude any information that is unrelated to their

focus by studying texts in the contexts2 of their developed question. By analyzing their texts in

this fashion, the “texts acquire significance (meaning, contents, symbolic qualities, and

interpretations)” (Krippendorff 33). Therefore, content analysis allows researchers to look at

their texts through a predetermined lens and discover the different ways in which their texts

answer their question. For example, Thomas Skill et. al conducted a study in which they

examined portrayals of religion on fictional prime time television (251). When conducting this

research, they determined that they would examine these TV shows through the lens of religion

to discover how often religion was shown, what kind of religious behaviors were depicted, the

importance of religion on prime time TV, and what the contexts of religious behaviors were on

television (251). Similarly, when conducting my research, I chose to view my texts through the

lens of education. Other patterns were filtered out of my research because I wanted my results to

focus on my chosen topic; by doing this, I was able to determine the frequency that education

was discussed and how people and activities involved in education were portrayed.

2 “A context is always someone’s construction, the conceptual environment of a text, the situation in which

it plays a role” (Krippendorff 33).

9

Because what researchers study by way of content analysis is very open-ended, Weare

and Lin state that structure of the study will depend on what the researchers are analyzing (273;

Collins and Hussy qtd. in Harwood and Garry 480). However, there is an underlying set of

procedures that everyone must undergo when using content analysis in order to “develop valid

and reliable measures” and to ensure that any inferences made about the studied texts are based

on trustworthy data (Weare and Lin 273; Krippendorff xx). To begin this process, the researchers

need to develop a research question (Krippendorff 31; Holsti qtd. in Weare and Lin 273;

Harwood and Garry 480). With the question in mind, the researchers pick a text to analyze and

then choose how much of that text to examine. They then break down their text into sampling

units, recording/coding units, and context units (Weare and Lin 274; Krippendorff 98).

A sampling unit is the specific text(s) that the researcher will be analyzing (Weare and

Lin 274; Krippendorff 98-9; Lee and Peterson 960). For example, if researchers want to use

content analysis to study a magazine, they could decide the sampling unit should include every

issue ever produced, or they could decide to narrow the sampling unit and only analyze issues

released in a certain year. I did the latter for my study, examining episodes from four Disney

Channel series that aired between a two-year span in order to have a recent sampling category.

On the other hand, the purpose of the recording/coding unit is for researchers to create

categories for what to look for in the sampling unit, which allows them to draw “relevant

distinctions within an observation field,” turn observations into data; the recording/coding unit

also provides the opportunity for other researches to perform the same analysis (Krippendorff 97,

125-6; Lee and Peterson 960; Weare and Lin 274; Harwood and Garry 480). In other words,

researchers describe in detail what they are searching for. Their goal is to limit subjectivity when

choosing what data is relevant to record “without denying the participation of human abilities”

10

(Krippendorff 126). Though people may have vastly different perspectives about the same

concept, researchers create specific instructions detailing the inferences they are making, as well

as the qualitative and quantitative data that they are searching for; this way, if a person who is

not associated with the original project attempts to analyze the same text, that individual will

know what content the researchers want recorded according to their defined categories

(Krippendorff 36, 89). For instance, for my coding/recording categories, I chose to look at three

different categories, each of which showed a different aspect of the school system. These

categories were then further divided into a list of specific questions (see appendix A, B, and C).

For example, I examined attitudes toward the school system as one of my categories. I then

coded for how many times the word “school” was used, if it was used in a positive, negative, or

neutral manner, and what constituted a connotation of “school” being labeled as positive,

negative, or neutral.

Finally, the context unit sets “limits in the information to be considered in the description

of recording units [emphasis in original]”; it provides the context for the message that is to be

recorded (Krippendorff 101; Weare and Lin 274; Lee and Peterson 960). For instance, if

researchers wanted to code for when the word “play” is used on a particular television show,

they may set up a context unit which states that they are only searching for that word in the home

environment. By doing so, they would not record any instance of the word “play” outside of the

home, and the home becomes the context for coding that word. In my study, one of my

coding/recording units was set up to discover characterizations of educators and students who

valued academia. The context unit I put into place enabled me to focus on the characterizations

of these specific characters only within school settings. By doing so, I was able to concentrate on

how these characters were treated in educational settings, instead of also looking for how they

11

were treated at home or in social settings.

After coding for specific information and recording the data that fits into those categories,

researchers describe the results of their content analysis. The results can be “in the form of data

files, summaries, propositions of a factual nature, recommendations for actions, or judgments

(suitably qualified by estimates of validity),” which are written in a way that the intended

audience can understand (Krippendorff 364). In other words, researchers should be able to draw

a conclusion from all of the data they collect and clearly present that conclusion, using the

factual evidence they gathered in their study in order to support their claims (Collins and Hussey

qtd. in Harwood and Garry 480; Weare and Lin 274).

Benefits Outweigh Drawbacks

Like every methodology, content analysis has benefits and limitations. One primary

drawback to using this method is that validity and reliability of studies are sometimes questioned

(Harwood and Garry 492; Lee and Peterson 959; Weare and Lin 274). Every aspect of this

technique is affected by researcher bias, from “data collection methods, to analysis and

ultimately interpretation of results” (Harwood and Garry 484-5). Therefore, some believe that

another method is necessary to verify the results of content analytical studies (Harwood and

Garry 493). Specifically for my study, evidence of reliability will be weaker because I am the

sole researcher; with more researchers, the validity of the results increases because of the variety

of perspectives that intertwine to form the study (Harwood and Garry 485). Additionally, the fact

that content analysis deals with filtering information from a text through a predetermined lens

instead of “exhaustive categorization of all data, may result in undue bias” because researchers

may miss something that is relevant to their study by filtering out certain data (Harwood and

Garry 492; Lee and Peterson 959).

12

Despite the limitations of content analysis, there are a variety of benefits. The structure of

the research is flexible, allowing the researcher more freedom and ingenuity in the development

of the research design (Harwood and Garry 493). Also, quantitative and/or qualitative data can

be gathered and analyzed (Harwood and Garry 493). It can be used on large amounts of data, and

it is an unobtrusive, context sensitive method, meaning that people’s lives do not have to be

interrupted during the research process (Harwood and Garry 493; Lee and Peterson 960).

Another benefit is that “content analysis of popular songs, religious texts, newspaper articles,

political platforms, and the like allows for inferences about social contexts of behavior” (Lee and

Peterson 961). Moreover, longitudinal studies can be done through archival research, enabling

researchers to use instances from the past in their study (Lee and Peterson 960). In other words,

researchers can study how certain factors lead to specific outcomes years later. Identifying these

past patterns may also help enhance predictions about the future (Harwood and Garry 482). It

can be used to examine cross-cultural topics, which is a renewed interest in fields, such as

psychology (Lee and Peterson 961). Furthermore, with the development of computer software

that can perform content analysis, using this method could improve reliability while reducing the

cost and the amount of time that a researcher or researchers spend on the project (Harwood and

Garry 493; Weare and Lin 276).

Though the flexible research structure and the ability to code for qualitative and

quantitative data are benefits of using content analysis for my project, the main benefit is the fact

that inferences can be made about the way people behave in reality by studying popular cultural

artifacts. As mentioned earlier, since the Disney Corporation is one of the largest in America, I

examined one part of it—the Disney Channel. The various series on this channel serve as my

cultural artifacts, allowing me to compare how this television station depicts education with

13

current views that students have regarding the school system. By exploring this, certain

inferences can be made about the influence that the Disney Channel, and other stations like it,

has on how students’ view their school experience.

Sample

To examine messages about education on the Disney Channel, I questioned how it

depicts education, especially in middle school and high school. I randomly selected 55 episodes

from four different series on the Disney Channel—Wizards of Waverly Place, A.N.T. Farm,

Phineas and Ferb, and The Suite Life on Deck—all of which target middle schoolers3 (see table

1). These series were selected because they all depict aspects of middle school and high school.

All of these shows aired between January 2010 and January 20124 (Ashby, “Television Review:

Suite”; Ashby, “Television Review: Wizards”; Barnes; Umstead 39); thus, I could identify trends

and attitudes concerning education in series that have been airing for years, as well as in the

newer Disney creations.

Table 1

Episodes Coded and Series Air Dates

Basic Series Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Information Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck

Number of Episodes Coded 15 10 15 15

Beginning Air Date Oct. 2007 May 2011 Aug. 2007 Sept. 2008

3 My process of random selection consisted of copying and pasting all the episodes from these series,

between the relevant dates listed, onto separate pages. I then used the arrows on my keyboard to scroll up and down

with my eyes closed, and picked an episode with my mouse. I repeated this process for each series, aside from

A.N.T. Farm, until my data set was complete. Since A.N.T. Farm is a new series on the Disney Channel and the first

season is still in the process of airing, I was limited to finding full episodes on YouTube. Out of 20 possible

episodes, only 10 appeared in their entirety, which is why I did not code 15 episodes for this series. 4 Because of my random selection process, I was not able to choose episodes that are all equal in length.

Though most episodes are 30 minutes long, two episodes from Phineas and Ferb are only 15 minutes long and one

episode from Wizards of Waverly Place is an hour long.

14

Basic Series Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Information Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck

Ending Air Date Jan. 2012 Unknown Unknown May 2011

Wizards of Waverly Place, the first series I examined, centers on the Russo family.

Primarily, the focus is on the children—Alex, Justin, and Max. Part of this series revolves around

magic; the Russo children learn and practice wizardry, preparing for a family competition that

will determine which sibling gets to keep his or her powers and which siblings will live the rest

of their lives as mortals. The other part of this series focuses on these kids living among humans

and engaging in regular mortal activities, such as school and parties.

A.N.T. Farm, the next series I analyzed, is about gifted, young students that are placed in

an Advanced Natural Talent program at a local high school. This series primarily follows the

story of Chyna Parks and her friends, Olive and Fletcher—gifted students that are a part of the

A.N.T. program. These gifted students, designated ANTs, attempt to find their place among

average high school students, though their attempts to fit in are often thwarted by the school

bully, Lexi.

The third series I examined, Phineas and Ferb, has a different focus than the other series.

This show takes place during the summer months, when school is not in session; however, there

are still summer school activities and school lectures that are held at times. This series revolves

around two different plots. The first plot involves the stepbrothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb

Fletcher, their sister, Candace Flynn, and their friends, Baljeet, Buford, and Isabella. Phineas and

Ferb are constantly building out-of-this-world creations and having crazy adventures with their

friends, while their sister tries to “bust” the brothers by showing their mom their creations. On

15

the other hand, the other plotline deals with the family’s pet platypus, Perry, who is a secret

agent for a government organization. He constantly battles his rival, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and

keeps him from doing evil to the city of Danville.

The last series that I analyzed was The Suite Life on Deck. This series, a spin-off from

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, is about a group of friends that live and go to school on a cruise

ship; they have adventures as they sail around the world encountering different cultures. This

group of friends is primarily comprised of Zach, Cody, London, Bailey, Marcus, and Woody,

though others come and go throughout the series.

Coding Scheme

I analyze three different aspects of the school system. First of all, I examine attitudes

towards the school system to help determine characters’ opinions of the institution.5 My question

is whether the school system is shown to be a place of enjoyment, respect, and value; or, whether

Disney Channel shows depict school as boring, unnecessary, or ineffective. This data considers

the types (i.e. positive or negative) and numbers of comments/inferences6 being presented. Also,

similar to the content analysis done by Skill et. al to determine the portrayal of religion on TV,

all of the characters who present information that is recorded will be listed (251, 255). Therefore,

by the end of my analysis, connections can be made about how students’ attitudes toward school

affect other students’ perceptions and/or treatment of them (see appendix A).

Second, my study analyzes the portrayal of where and by what means learning takes

place. The question is how school-related learning is portrayed in comparison to learning that

5 While examining portrayals of the school system, I limit my research to examining middle school and

high school. I do not record any magic-related instances that could affect the results or any instances of

homeschooling. 6 When discussing comments, I am referring to direct statements about the school system, though those

statements may not contain the word “school” in them. On the other hand, when discussing inferences, I am

referring to instances where characters indirectly imply something about the school system; nonverbal gestures are

included when talking about inferences.

16

occurs outside of the school system.7 This study seeks to identify three specific types of learning:

interactive, active, and passive.8 Interactive learning is an instance where students learn via

collaboration. In order for this type of learning to occur, two or more students must exchange

ideas and/or knowledge with each other. This type of learning occurs in a conversational setting.

Active learning, on the other hand, occurs when one or more students are involved in the search

for knowledge. It differs from interactive learning because, instead of engaging in a conversation

to learn things, students are seeking knowledge from other sources. The desire to know more

about a subject can be aimed toward educational (i.e. academic/experimenting), constructive (i.e.

building/making), or practical (i.e. need-to-know) causes. Finally, passive learning occurs when

students are instructed by an individual or group of individuals who are knowledgeable about a

certain subject. This type of learning, unlike the other two, places the bulk of the responsibility

of learning on the person/people instructing (see appendix B).

Finally, I code for how the Disney Channel characterizes those who promote the

educational institution. When coding for this, I restrict my analysis to examining characters

while in the school or while doing a school-related activity.9 I examine educators (i.e. teachers,

principals, lecturers, guidance counselors) connected with the school system to discover if they

are portrayed in a positive or negative way through their verbal and nonverbal gestures.10

Educators presented favorably, with qualities such as intelligence and helpfulness, are scored as

positive. However, educators that are presented unfavorably, with qualities such as a lack of

7 Again, I only analyze middle school and high school students. Any magic-related or homeschooling

instances that involve learning are not recorded. 8 I borrowed ideas from Yueh-Min Huang et. al, who study and evaluate ubiquitous learning against

meaningful learning, in order to create my own learning categories. 9 Similar to when coding for portrayals of the school system and instances of learning, while coding for

stereotypes I limit my analysis to middle school and high school. Also, no magic-related instances or depictions of

homeschooling are examined. 10

An example of a verbal gesture would be when a teacher is caught lying, whereas an example of a

nonverbal gesture would be when an educator smashes a pie in someone’s face out of meanness.

17

intelligence, are scored negatively. Also, borrowing from Skill et. al’s coding scheme concerning

the portrayal of religious figures and events on TV, any satirical or silly depictions of educators

were scored as negative (257). Additionally, I examine how Disney depicts students who value

education or who strive to do well in school.11

By recording how these students are represented, I

discover the implications of being involved with or liking academia. For instance, if teachers are

viewed as idiots and good students are perceived negatively by peers, the implication is that the

cost of valuing academia is one’s social standing (see appendix C).12

RESULTS

Attitudes toward the School System

Out of the 55 episodes I coded, the word “school” is mentioned 114 times and 43

inferences and/or comments are made about the school system. Some of the episodes center

around school, whereas some do not mention it; however, overall, this institution is strongly

represented on all of the Disney Channel series I coded. It is important to point out that not all

mentions of “school” are said with a positive or negative connotation. There are 40 instances

which fall into neutral territory, meaning that there are 74 statements invoking the word “school”

which convey some sort of positive or negative meaning about the institution.

11

When examining these individuals, I only code for how they are portrayed in relation to other students. In

order to do this, I look at how other students treat them, talk to them, and talk about them. Verbal and nonverbal

communications are recorded. 12

While coding, I do not use computer aids to help collect and analyze data because this study deals

primarily with qualitative data. Though computers can be programmed to search for both qualitative and quantitative

data, non-verbal data is not as easily captured with recording equipment (Harwood and Garry 489). Therefore,

manual coding is used for this study because both verbal and non-verbal behaviors are analyzed. Also, since

connotations to words are important when dealing with qualitative data, manual coding seems to be the best choice

to do a thorough analysis (Harwood and Garry 483).

18

Table 2

Positive Attitudes toward the School System on the Disney Channel

Positive Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Attitudes Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck Total

Statements using “School” 1 2 0 1 4

Inferences/Comments 3 4 1 3 11

Other 0 0 0 0 0

Total 4 6 1 4 15

Each show has more negative representations of the school system than positive ones.

Wizards of Waverly Place has nine negative references to the school system and four positive

references; A.N.T. Farm has 29 negative instances and six positive ones; Phineas and Ferb has

50 negative mentions and one positive depiction; The Suite Life on Deck has 14 negative

references and four positive ones. All in all, there are 103 negative representations of school,

while 15 positive representations are depicted (see tables 2 and 3).

Table 3

Negative Attitudes toward the School System on the Disney Channel

Negative Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Attitudes Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck Total

Statements using “School” 4 11 49 6 70

Inferences/Comments 5 18 1 8 32

Other 0 1 0 0 1

Total 9 30 50 14 103

19

When examining the depictions of the school system, I was able to place all the

illustrations into predetermined positive and negative categories. The positive portrayals

included the school being viewed as liked, valuable, and safe; ironically, the overwhelmingly

dominant negative representations were completely opposite, showing the school as disliked, not

valuable, and unsafe.

The main positive portrayal given is that the school system is liked by the students (see

table 4). There are nine instances that students either discuss their excitement about what the

school offers or discuss the school as a place where they enjoy being. For instance, in The Suite

Life on Deck, Cody says he loves “everything about school” (“Bon Voyage”). Also, in A.N.T.

Farm, Chyna is excited about all of the club choices that the school offers (“ParticipANTs”).

The view that the school system is valuable is seen four times throughout these episodes,

making it the next most common positive depiction (see table 4). In these instances, the school is

discussed as being a place that enables learning and is viewed as important by the students. For

instance, in A.N.T. Farm, Chyna writes a speech about the ANT program, stating that it has been

a great experience for her (“IgnorANTs is Bliss”). Also, in Phineas and Ferb, Candace believes

that the leadership seminar will help her accomplish her goal of busting her brothers (“The

Secret of Success”). Therefore, these examples illustrate that the students recognize the value of

the school system in their lives.

Table 4

Positive Views of the School System

Connotations of the Inference/Comments

Views Word, “School” about School Total

Liked 1 8 9

20



Safe 1 1 2

Valuable 2 2 4

Finally, the last positive portrayal of the school system is that it is a safe place for

students (see table 4). There are two instances where school is regarded as being a place where

students can feel at ease and confident that nothing bad will happen to them. Both of these

instances take place in A.N.T. Farm. After worrying that the school is haunted, Olive discovers

that Cameron has been playing tricks on her (“The PhANTom Locker”). Chyna comments that

Olive can feel confident that the school is not haunted. Also, Chyna tells Olive that no one,

meaning the bigger kids, can do anything to the ANTs while they are in class (“TransplANTed”).

This indicates a feeling of protection that shows confidence in the school system, as well as those

in charge of it, to keep students safe.

Though there are positive depictions of the school system, the main portrayal of this

institution throughout these episodes is that it is disliked (see table 5). Essentially, it is not a

place that students want to be. In Wizards of Waverly Place, after telling Justin about one of her

schemes, Alex says, “So basically I just saved you from like four more years of school”

(“Delinquent Justin”). In A.N.T. Farm, Olive fakes memory loss after an injury in order to get

out of high school, which she refers to as a “prison,” “jungle,” and “demonville” (“IgnorANTs is

Bliss”; “CANTonese Style Cuisine”; “ParticipANTs”; “SciANTs Fair”). Phineas and Ferb’s

theme song, which is sung by Phineas and Ferb, states, “There’s 104 days of summer vacation

and school comes along just to end it,” which gives school a negative connotation. In this theme

21

song, kids do not look forward to school starting; instead, the focus is on summer ending because

of school (“The Curse of Candace”). Also, in The Suite Life on Deck, London repeatedly refers

to the “stupid, not cool sea school,” showing school as an unpleasant thing that hurts one’s social

status (“Senior Ditch Day”). These instances of school being seen as a place that traps students, a

place that makes the fun cease, and a place that makes the students desperate for a way out are

seen 42 times throughout these coded episodes.

Table 5

Negative Views of the School Systema



Disliked 33 9 42

Not Valuable 25 2 27

Unsafe 5 11 16

Physically 3 10 13

Emotionally 2 1 3

a. This table only presents the top three negative portrayals of the school system. The

school system is also seen as being disingenuous (when the school or its programs are

deceptively presented one way but are later found out to be another way), ineffective

(when the goals and methods of the school are brought into question or looked down

upon), and easily manipulated (when students and teachers can maneuver around the

rules of the school system for their own personal gain).

The Disney Channel also presents school as not being valuable (see table 5). This view

ranks next highest in numbers of portrayals. There are 27 instances where school is seen as either

22

unimportant to the students or as something that gets in the way of real learning. In The Suite

Life on Deck, Cody comments that his brother views school as “a place to sleep between naps”

(“Bon Voyage”). London proudly tells her teacher that she did not do her homework (“Can You

Dig It?”). Also, in Phineas and Ferb’s theme song, the lyrics state, “there’s a whole lotta stuff to

do before school starts this fall,” after discussing all the complex tasks and adventures they are

going to complete during the summer, like “building a rocket,” “discovering something that

doesn’t exist,” and “creating nanobots” (“Phineas and Ferb Interrupted”).13

These assertions

create the impression that school puts an end to learning. In these shows, students can do almost

anything they set their minds on, and school is often not necessary to helping them achieve their

goals. In fact, school often seems to interfere with students’ lives because it takes up their time.

Therefore, students avoid their homework or sleep through their classes because what they are

supposedly being taught is not valuable to them; more often than not, they seem to be able to do

better on their own.

The third major category demonstrating the portrayal of the school system relates to

safety issues (see table 5). In 16 instances, the school is discussed as being unsafe, either to

students’ physical or emotional well-being. Thirteen of those instances refer to physical safety

issues. For example, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Justin says that he is going to give a

graduation speech that will “rock the flimsy foundation of this school,” and the principal replies,

“Who told you about our flimsy foundation? Look, you can either have a music department or

structural safety, but you can’t have both” (“Delinquent Justin”). Also, repeatedly in A.N.T.

Farm, different ANTs discuss how they have to run, hide in their lockers, or put on armor for

protection from the “big kids” when the bell rings in the school; when they do not do one of

13

I included the theme song in the material that I coded because school is directly mentioned in the song

and is presented to the audience upon each viewing.

23

these, the ANTs are seen getting thrown on the floor and stepped on by the older students

(“ParticipANTs”; “TransplANTed”; “IgnorANTs is Bliss”). Additionally, the principal in A.N.T.

Farm tells some of the ANTs that the school has fire alarms but they do not work (“The

PhANTom Locker”). Therefore, physical safety is portrayed as an issue in the Disney Channel’s

school systems because the structural integrity of the buildings are displayed as being unsound,

safety precautions are not in place, and there are not guidelines to keep certain students from

hurting others.

Moreover, there are three instances where emotional safety is in question in these series.

When discussing emotional safety, I am referring to anything that happens in school, or because

of it, that causes students to have intense emotions, or anything that causes students to avoid their

regular routine in an attempt to avoid any form of mental abuse, such as bullying. For example,

in A.N.T. Farm, Olive and Chyna hide from Lexi—the head cheerleader—because she is known

for being verbally mean to the ANTs (“ParticipANTs”). Also, Chyna is upset that she does not

feel like she belongs in high school because she is a younger and smaller students than average,

and her dad acknowledges the intense feelings that come along with attempting the “tough

process” of “fitting in” (“InformANT”). Additionally, as Olive emotionally screams at Chyna

about the science fair, she ends up saying that it was a terrible idea to place “innocent grade-

schoolers in the demonville which is high school” (“SciANTs Fair”). Therefore, as these

examples show, the school system is a place that does not seem to address or ensure the

emotional safety of their students.

Instances of Learning

I also examined learning in these Disney Channel shows (see tables 6 and 7). Out of 55

episodes, learning is only seen as taking place 50 times. Thirty-seven of those 50 instances take

24

place outside of the school system,14

whereas only 13 instances of learning are seen taking place

because of the school system. The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place have the

most instances of school-related learning, numbering seven and four, whereas A.N.T. Farm and

Phineas and Ferb are tied, only showing one instance of learning that happens because of the

school system. On the other hand, Phineas and Ferb and The Suite Life on Deck show the most

examples of learning outside of the school system, numbering 23 and eight, whereas A.N.T.

Farm and Wizards of Waverly Place each present three instances.

Table 6

Learning that Takes Place because of the School System

Types of Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Learning Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck Total

Active 2 0 0 1 3

Interactive 2 0 0 0 2

Passive 0 1 1 5 7

Other 0 0 0 1 1

Total 4 1 1 7 13

Table 7

Learning that Takes Place Outside of the School System



Active 1 0 8 6 15

14

Outside of the school system does not mean physically outside the school grounds, though often this is

the case. It means that the learning that is taking place is not sanctioned by the school.

25



Interactive 0 1 1 1 3

Passive 0 2 13 1 16

Other 2 0 1 0 3

Total 3 3 23 8 37

In addition to recording where learning takes place, I also recorded what types of learning

occur (see tables 6 and 7). Whether students are seen engaging in educational activities as a

result of a school assignment or by their own initiative, passive learning is the most common

method displayed on the Disney Channel. While in school, teachers contribute to students’

passive learning three times and guest lecturers and tour guides on field trips contribute to

students’ passive learning four times. Outside of school, on the other hand, passive learning

occurs 16 times as students are seen assuming the role of teachers, instructing other students

about educational, experimental, and practical matters.

Additionally, active learning ranks second both in and out of school. This type of learning

includes reading to discover information and self-induced study or experimentation. Active

learning is more closely associated in frequency with passive learning when it is seen taking

place outside of the school system—there are 15 instances of this. However, active learning that

occurs because of the school system is only portrayed three times, making this type of learning

more closely associated with interactive learning—the least common form of learning seen in

these series.

Interactive learning occurs when students are working together on a project or

26

brainstorming about the best way to proceed with a project. Whether in or out of school, the

number of occurrences of this type of learning are closely linked in frequency. There are only

two instances of interactive learning that take place because of school; however, there are three

that take place outside of the school system.

In addition to active, interactive, and passive learning, there are four instances of learning

I have categorized as “other” because they do not neatly fit into the prescribed categories. In one

instance, learning occurs outside of the sanctioning of the school system, but happens as a result

of the school-related environment. For example, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Harper and Alex

are in the Driver’s Ed car with Mr. Laritate (“Lucky Charmed”). Harper does not have a firm

grasp on what she is doing, and Mr. Laritate complains; he does not provide any instruction.

Therefore, Alex, who is sitting in the backseat, starts giving Harper driving tips to help her

improve. Normally, this would be seen as passive learning because Alex, who has assumed the

role of instructor, is teaching Harper what she knows. However, this situation would not have

occurred if it were not for the school system’s program; therefore, it cannot be categorized as

learning that occurs outside of the school. On the other hand, Alex is not sanctioned to teach

Harper anything. She has taken Mr. Laritate’s responsibility, who is neglecting his duties.

Consequently, this instance of learning cannot be categorized as learning that occurs because of

the school system either.

The other three illustrations of learning that I have categorized as “other” resemble active

learning in all respects except one—students are being forced to engage in learning instead of

having the desire to do it. In these examples, the only desire these students have is to avoid

negative consequences. They do not care about the subject matter they are engaging with. For

example, when viewing instances of learning outside of the school system, Candace’s mom gives

27

Candace an ultimatum to read The Wizard of Oz or wipe “down Perry’s platypus plaza play set”

in Phineas and Ferb (“The Wizard of Odd”). Therefore, Candace chooses to read. Also, in

Wizards of Waverly Place, Alex tries to take Harper’s place on tour with the Finkles because

Harper does not want to go, and Alex wants Harper—the Finkles’ daughter—to be happy

(“Wizards vs. Finkles”). The Finkles agree to the substitution and tell Alex that she must learn

(by herself) some script lines, how to juggle, and how to play an instrument in the time span of a

few hours. They let Alex know that if she is not up to the challenge Harper will suffer the

consequences and be made to go on tour. Therefore, Alex’s desire is not to learn, but to make her

friend’s life better. Lastly, one example of forced learning that happens because of the school

system is the marriage exercise Ms. Tutweiller assigns in The Suite Life on Deck (“Marriage

101”). Regardless of the students’ attitudes towards the exercise, they are forced to engage in this

activity because their grade is at stake otherwise.

Characterizations of Educators

In addition to examining learning, I also looked for how the Disney Channel

characterized the school’s educators. Educators are presented positively 10 times and negatively

114 times throughout these series (see tables 8 and 9). A.N.T. Farm has four positive

representations of educators, which is the most of any series I examine; however, it also has 72

negative representations, which is the most extreme of any series. Additionally, Wizards of

Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Deck are almost evenly matched. Wizards has 21 negative

illustrations and three positive ones, whereas The Suite Life has 20 negative portrayals and three

positive ones. Phineas and Ferb, on the other hand, only depicts an educator in one instance, and

that depiction is negative.

28

Table 8

Positive Portrayals of Educators


Portrayal Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck Total

Encouraging 1 2 0 1 4

Helpful 1 0 0 2 3

Respected 0 1 0 0 1

Smart 1 1 0 0 2

Other 0 0 0 0 0

Total 3 4 0 3 10

Both the positive and negative representations of educators were placed into

predetermined categories to help separate and illustrate the kinds of portrayals presented. The

positive depictions included educators being seen as encouraging, helpful, respected, and smart,

whereas the negative portrayals included educators being seen as primarily dumb, mean,

unprofessional, not respected, and weird.

When examining the positive depictions, there are four instances where an educator is

seen as encouraging (see table 8). For the purpose of this study, I define encouragement as giving

verbal affirmation to individuals about their abilities and/or their actions. For example, in

Wizards of Waverly Place, Alex usually tries to get out of trouble or pass the blame to someone

else for any actions that have consequences. However, when she wrecks the Driver’s Ed. Car,

she tells Mr. Laritate what she had done (“Lucky Charmed”). He responds to Alex by telling her

how proud he is of her for finally taking responsibility for her actions. Also, in The Suite Life on

29

Deck, when Cody does not feel like he would make a good journalist because his story resulted

in the cancellation of the Seven Seas News, Ms. Tutweiller tells him that a good journalist

follows his instinct, which is exactly what he was doing (“The Seven Seas News”).

In addition to being encouraging, there are three instances where educators are presented

as helpful. During these times, educators give assistance and/or guidance to those who need it,

either verbally or by the rules they implement. For instance, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Max

says that the new principal at the high school has helped him to focus by implementing “strict

rules and [a] dress code,” which has “taken the guess work” out of his life (“Western Show”).

Also, in The Suite Life on Deck, Ms. Tutweiller tells the cameraman what to focus on during the

Seven Seas News broadcast (“The Seven Seas News”).

The third type of positive portrayal of educators is that they are individuals who are

respected by those around them. Others demonstrate their admiration for educators by showing

respect through their actions or words; however, this does not include the respect associated with

adding a Mr. or Ms. in front of the educators’ names. A.N.T. Farm displays the only instance of

this. In this episode, the principal lies to the students, telling them that she is tasking them with

making gifts for orphaned children; however, the truth is that she is selling the toys online and

pocketing the money for herself (“SANTa’s Little Helpers”). When the ANTs find out about this,

Olive says that she admires the principal’s “entrepreneurial spirit.” Though the act of deceit can

be taken as a negative representation of this educator, the fact that a student found something

admirable about the act indicates that respect is being shown.

The last positive depiction of educators is when they are represented as being smart; that

is, when they piece bits of information together to show they are knowledgeable about a subject

because of their perceptions. There are two instances of this in the 55 episodes. In Wizards of

30

Waverly Place, Alex bakes the new principal a cake, telling him that it is a peace offering for

causing disruptions the day before; however, the principal deduces that something is wrong with

the cake (“Western Show”). Therefore, instead of eating it, he puts a glove on, sticks his hand in

it, and pulls out the fish that Alex baked into the middle of the cake. Also, in A.N.T. Farm, some

of the students have created an “End Hunger Today” club; however, the club is just a guise for

them to use school funds to buy food for themselves. (“ParticipANTs”). Their secret does not

stay secret for long, however, since the principal quickly figures out what they are doing.

Table 9

Negative Portrayals of Educatorsb



Dumb 4 12 0 0 16

Mean 3 11 0 1 15

Not Respected 6 20 0 3 29

Unprofessional 4 13 0 14 31

Weird 1 10 1 0 12

Other 3 6 0 2 11

Total 21 72 1 20 114

b. This table only names the top five negative portrayals of educators; however, the

“Other” category stands for when educators are presented as boring (when the

educator is not interesting to listen/talk to), dishonest (when the educators do not tell

the truth about something pertaining to school), irresponsible (when the educators

lose control of one or more students’ actions in a school setting or school-related

31

setting), and uneducated (when the educators lack the credentials to fill a position

they have been placed in).

Though there are some positive depictions of educators, negative portrayals are far more

common (see table 9). The most common is that the educator is unprofessional. There are 31

instances of this. I define unprofessionalism as any action or verbal interaction which could

diminish educators’ authority or respectability because they are not conducting themselves

according to business etiquette with regards to students, or any instance where they actively

choose to go against their jobs’ expectations. I do not consider their ethics, their fairness in

making judgments, their competence to do their jobs, or the degree of responsibility that they

display in this category. One example of how an educator is displayed as being unprofessional is

in Wizards of Waverly Place. When Alex initially tells Mr. Laritate that she accidentally crashed

the Driver’s Ed. car, his first reaction is to do a “happy dance” and tell every stranger near him

that he finally has an air-tight confession from Alex, since she usually tries to pass the blame

when she does something wrong (“Lucky Charmed”). In The Suite Life on Deck, when the class

goes on a field trip to an archeological dig, viewers discover through characters’ conversations

that the bus ride to the dig was rough and scary because of the roads; instead of Ms. Tutweiller

being in control and helping keep the students calm, she is hysterical (“Can You Dig It?”).

Therefore, the students end up helping her to a place where she can sit down and many of them

do their best to calm her down. Also, there are numerous instances where educators talk to

students about their personal lives and problems, focusing on themselves instead of the students.

For instance, in A.N.T. Farm, the principal tells students about how she goes “prowling for silver

foxes” at night, how she wants to draw attention away from her niece at her niece’s wedding

(“SANTa’ Little Helpers”; “ManagemANT”). Additionally, the science teacher from that series

32

tells Fletcher how stressed he is because of his new baby and his mother-in-law moving in

(“SciANTs Fair”).

Another negative portrayal, appearing 29 times throughout the series, is that educators are

not respected individuals. I recorded any negative statement or inference made about the

educators. For example, in The Suite Life on Deck, London feels the urge to be mean to someone,

so she starts looking for her teacher (“Mean Chicks”). London states that she hopes Ms.

Tutweiller is wearing her hideous headband so that she can make fun of her. Also, in Wizards of

Waverly Place, Alex tells Mason, “Just because Mr. Laritate picks a painting doesn’t mean it’s

good. I mean, look at him. He picks out those clothes” (“Alex Charms a Boy”). Moreover, in

A.N.T. Farm, after getting caught being dishonest, the principal later tells the ANTs that the

ghosts of her past, present, and future visited her in her sleep (“SANTa’s Little Helpers”).

Fletcher responds, “In one night? I would think your past alone would take a good month.” Olive

adds, “And, given your age, I’m surprised you even had a future.” Statements, such as these,

indicate the condescending view that many students have toward their educators in these series.

In addition to showing educators to be unprofessional and not respected, there are 16

instances where educators are depicted as dumb. “Dumb” educators do or say something that

seems to lack intelligence, or they lack understanding of verbal comments that others easily

grasp. For instance, in Wizards of Waverly Place, the principal and superintendent are speaking

in metaphors and they do not understand each other; however, Alex understands and must serve

as their interpreter so that they can effectively communicate (“Western Show”). Furthermore, in

A.N.T. Farm, Cameron sees the ANTs’ guidance counselor walking down the school hall in his

bathrobe (“You’re the One that I Want”). When he questions him, Gibson says that he has been

sleeping and taking a shower at the school by using the urinal water and soap in the men’s room.

33

Cameron asks him if he is aware there is a sink in the men’s room that he could use, and Gibson

responds, “Eww. Sinks are filthy. People wash their hands in them.” The implication here is that

Gibson lacks the intelligence to know the purpose of a urinal.

An additional negative quality that educators possess on the Disney Channel is that they

are often mean to the people around them. There are 15 times that educators are verbally hateful,

critical, or rude to someone else, or they act in a way towards someone that shows they are not

nice, considerate, or caring. Though some of these instances may overlap with being

unprofessional, in those cases the instance was coded only as mean. For example, in Wizards of

Waverly Place, after firing Mr. Laritate, the superintendent wipes pie all over Mr. Laritate’s face

in front of everyone at the school (“Western Show”). Also, in A.N.T. Farm, when Olive wants to

join the “End Hunger Today” club, the principal says that the club is full and throws a chicken

wing at her to get her to leave (“ParticipANTs”). Furthermore, when the principal’s raven attacks

the janitor and tries to peck out his eyes, she just laughs while the students are concerned

(“IgnorANTs is Bliss”).

The last major negative quality that educators embody is weirdness. There are 12

instances where educators appear to act in a way that is culturally non-standard in terms of

general human behavior. Like the quality of meanness, though some of these representations

may overlap with being unprofessional, I only counted them as “weird” to ensure that nothing

was being counted for multiple categories. An example of a weird portrayal is in A.N.T. Farm

when Gibson raises his shirt in front of the ANTs, sticks his finger in his bellybutton, and smells

it (“TransplANTed”). Also, Gibson has an afro, and often when the ANTs are upset, he bends

over and offers them a tissue that he has stuffed in his hair (“ParticipANTs”).

34

Characterizations of Academic-minded Students

In addition to the portrayal of educators, I also coded for the portrayal of students who

value academics. The following students emerged from my analysis: Harper, Zeke, and Justin

from Wizards of Waverly Place; Chyna, Olive, Fletcher, and Angus from A.N.T. Farm; Baljeet

and Irving from Phineas and Ferb; and Cody and Bailey from The Suite Life on Deck.

I was able to place the representations of these students into predetermined positive and

negative categories (see tables 10 and 11). The 15 positive depictions of academic-minded

students included them being seen as admired, likable, respected, and smart. On the other hand,

the 92 negative portrayals primarily included students being seen as being bullied, disliked, and

called derogatory names. The Suite Life on Deck contains the most negative representations of

these students, numbering 37, and has only three positive illustrations of those who favor

academics. A.N.T. Farm contains the next highest number of negative portrayals, having 35

negative depictions and only six positive ones. Wizards of Waverly Place ranks third, having 20

negative illustrations and six positive ones. Phineas and Ferb, however, does not depict students

who value academics in either a negative or positive way.

Table 10

Positive Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics



Admired 0 4 0 1 5

Likeable 5 1 0 1 7

Respected 0 1 0 0 1

Smart 1 0 0 1 2

35



Total 6 6 0 3 15

When examining the 15 positive representations of students who value school, there are

four qualities of these students which can be categorized (see table 10). There are seven instances

where these students are seen as being likable. In other words, their peers want to be around

them or think they are attractive, either because of their physical appearance or their personality.

For instance, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Harper is excited that Zeke is going to be her partner

for the science fair because she has a crush on him (“Alex Russo, Matchmaker?). Moreover,

Alex tells Justin that even though he is a “dork,” she would miss him if he was not around (“Eat

to the Beat”).

The next most common positive representation is that these students are admired; this

quality is displayed five times in these series, when students receive verbal or nonverbal

affirmation about something that they do or say. I excluded any reference to intellect as the basis

for admiration because intellect has its own separate category. An example of an academic-

oriented student being admired is in A.N.T. Farm. When Chyna sings in the school, all the

students clap for her, acknowledging her talent (“ManagemANT”). Also, when describing the

Advanced Natural Talent program, Chyna blatantly states that every ANT has a “special talent”

(“The InformANT”).

Additionally, students who value academics are also positively viewed as smart two

times throughout these series. This means students receive affirmation solely based on their

intellect. For example, in The Suite Life on Deck, all of Cody’s classmates know that he usually

36

receives A’s in school; therefore, they all want to be his partner for a group assignment in class

(“Marriage 101”). Also, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Justin is showing Zeke a food pyramid

that “you can actually eat and get all your daily nutrients out of” (“Alex Russo, Matchmaker?”).

Zeke tells Justin that he a “genius” after seeing his project, giving Justin verbal affirmation for

his intellect and creation.

Lastly, there is one instance where these students are shown to have the respect of their

classmates. For this category I am referring to the kind of respect people have for the law. In

other words, people show respect by doing what is asked of them. The only example of this is in

A.N.T. Farm. When some of the ANTs were “busted” by the cops at a party, Olive states that the

ANTs gained some “serious street-cred” with the bigger kids. In other words, by the end of this

episode the bigger kids will do what the ANTs want them to do (“TransplANTed”). When Olive

stomps her foot, the two bigger kids run, which shows respect for the ANTs because they obey

the nonverbal command.

Table 11

Negative Portrayals of Students Who Value Academicsc



Bullied 5 17 0 27 49

Disliked 6 12 0 5 23

Called Derogatory Names 9 0 0 2 11

Other 0 6 0 3 9

Total 20 35 0 37 92

c. This table only illustrates the top three negative representations of these students. The

37

category labeled “Other” also contain four depictions of the students not being

respected (peers are shown looking down on these students through verbal and

nonverbal gestures), four illustrations of them not being included (peers single out

these students so as not to involve them in social activities or be involved with them

in a school-related activities), and one instance of them being regarded as dumb

(when students lack the correct knowledge about something that they say they know

about).

Though there are some positive portrayals of academically-minded students, there are far

more negative representations (see table 11). Of these, the top three are that these students are

bullied, disliked, and subjected to name-calling. The most frequent negative representation of

these students, seen 49 times throughout the 55 episodes, is that they are bullied by other

students. When discussing being bullied, I am referring to instances where these students’ peers

attack them by directly making fun of them, manipulating them, being mean to them, or

attempting to control them. However, I do not include instances where students are subjected to

name-calling in this category, though that often falls under bullying. An example of bullying is

in A.N.T. Farm when a girl dumps Chyna out of a seat, claiming that seat belonged to her

(“TransplANTed”). Another instance is in Wizards of Waverly Place when a classmate tells

Justin that he “will” be doing his math homework for him (“Detention Election”).

The next highest negative association in regards to students who value academics is that

they are disliked by their peers. There are 23 instances where peers discuss the undesirable

qualities (i.e. appearance, speech, actions) of academic-minded students, which make them

unpleasant to be around. These indirect comments come in the form of nonverbal communication

when talking to the individual being referenced or verbal communication when talking to a third

38

party about the student being referenced. Again, I do not include the instances when academic-

minded students are called names in this category. Therefore, an example is in A.N.T. Farm

when Cameron says that Olive is “the most annoying locker neighbor ever” (“The PhANTom

Locker”). An additional example is in The Suite Life on Deck when London is talking in a

derogatory tone about how Bailey smells like corn (“Seven Seas News”).

Additionally, there are 11 instances of these students being called derogatory names by

other students. For example, in Wizards of Waverly Place, Alex refers to Justin as a “loser,”

“nerd,” “dork,” and “joke” (“Alex Russo, Matchmaker?”; “Dad’s Buggin’ Out”; “Detention

Election”; “Eat to the Beat”). Also, in The Suite Life on Deck, Zack labels Cody an “idiot”

(“Seven Seas News”).

Combined Portrayals of the School System

By combining the findings concerning the Disney Channel’s presentation of attitudes

toward the school system, educators, and students who assign value to academics, a more

rounded depiction of how Disney portrays education and those who promote it can be derived.

Based on this study’s scope, the Disney Channel contains a total of 309 negative portrayals but

only 40 positive ones (see table 12). A.N.T. Farm has the most negative and positive depictions,

numbering 137 to 16; The Suite Life on Deck has 71 negative portrayals, while only showing 10

positive illustrations; Phineas and Ferb has 51 negative representations and only one positive

depiction; lastly, Wizards of Waverly Place has 50 negative illustrations and thirteen positive

ones.

Also, educators make up the top ranking negatively portrayed category on the Disney

Channel, numbering 114, yet they only have 10 positive representations, which is the least of any

category (see table 12). Additionally, though the school system and academic-minded students

39

are tied, having 15 positive illustrations each, the school system has the second most negative

representation, numbering 103, leaving the portrayal of students with 92 negative

representations—the least negative depiction in these categories.

Table 12

Culmination of the Portrayals of the School, Educators, and Students Who Assign Value to

Academicsd

Wizards of A.N.T. Phineas The Suite Life

Categories Waverly Place Farm and Ferb on Deck

Pe N

f P N P N P N

School System 4 9 6 30 1 50 4 14

Educators 3 21 4 72 0 1 3 20

Students 6 20 6 35 0 0 3 37

Total 13 50 16 137 1 51 10 71

d. This table does not include instances of learning on the Disney Channel since there

was not a positive or negative association tied to learning inside or outside of the

school system.

e. “P” stands for positive portrayals.

f. “N” stands for negative portrayals.

DISCUSSION

Negative Representations

In light of the results, it is interesting to note that the only two shows on the Disney

Channel that are still airing new episodes, A.N.T. Farm and Phineas and Ferb, have the most

negative portrayals of the school system. A.N.T. Farm does contain the most positive

40

representations of this institution, but the negative portrayals depicted by this series greatly

outnumber the positive. Also, though Phineas and Ferb has the largest number of negative

representations of school, 48 of the 50 negative depictions come from its theme song. As stated

earlier, they are included in the data set because the connotations associated with the school

system are presented to the audience every time the series comes on the television; however, as

for content within the episodes’ plots, A.N.T. Farm outnumbers Phineas and Ferb 29 to 2 in

terms of negative portrayals. Consequently, this TV station portrays school as an institution that

is primarily disliked, not valuable, unsafe, disingenuous, easily manipulated, and ineffective.

In addition to having the most negative portrayals of the school system within the plot,

A.N.T. Farm also has the most negative representations of educators. These negative illustrations

range from unprofessional to dumb, not respected, unjust, mean, irresponsible, weird, boring,

dishonest, and uneducated. Often educators are seen as acting childish, while students are shown

correcting teachers mistakes and taking on their instructor’s responsibilities. Also, the educators

do not seem to genuinely care about teaching their students; they are highly preoccupied with

their own lives, especially their love lives.

In relation to how students who value education are portrayed, The Suite Life on Deck

leads the other series in negative portrayals. These students are primarily shown to be annoying

know-it-alls who are disliked by many and picked on by even more. For the most part, they have

low social-standings and seem to act a bit awkwardly, like they are unsure of how to interact

with others in a socially acceptable manner.

Additionally, the illustrations of how educators and academically-minded students are

represented on the Disney Channel contributes to the overall depiction of the school system.

Educators are those that are hired to fulfill the purpose of this institution. School is a place for

41

teaching students; therefore, by portraying educators primarily in a negative fashion, the Disney

Channel is not only sending messages about the external representation of the school, but the

internal workings of it as well. Also, by focusing on negative depictions of students who value

this institution, the Disney Channel is showing those who promote what this system stands for;

therefore, adding to the overall negative portrayal of the school system.

Although The Suite Life on Deck contains the most negative representations of students

who like school, A.N.T. Farm has the most overall negative portrayals related to this institution.

This is important because I coded five fewer episodes for A.N.T. Farm than any other, and this is

one of Disney Channel’s newest series. The overwhelming amount of negative portrayals in this

series is also ironic since A.N.T. Farm is centered on gifted students. Considering this focus, one

might think that the positive depictions would outweigh the negative, which is not the case.

Instead, educators are not respected, students who value academics are bullied, and the school

system is a physically and emotionally unsafe place for students.

Learning is Largely Unnecessary

Though I coded for learning throughout the Disney Channel series, it is not often seen

happening because of the school system or outside of it. However, learning does not seem to be

needed. When students want to build something, they just do it. They seem to intrinsically know

how to construct whatever creation their imaginations hold. Also, students not only seem to

know how to construct things, they also seem to know academic terms, phrases, and methods. As

far as practical matters are concerned, students seem to understand how to work things; they do

not appear to be lacking in much knowledge in any area. For example, in Wizards of Waverly

Place, Justin works to create an engine run by water for the science fair (“Alex Russo,

Matchmaker?”). However, the viewers never see him doing research on how to construct it,

42

hypothesizing about how it can work, or failing in any attempt to build it, even though it is clear

at the beginning of the episode that he is not sure how to construct the engine. Viewers are able

to see a couple short instances where he is working on the engine, and then the audience sees his

successful accomplishment. Also, when students are doing artwork in class, all their paintings

turn out how they want them to. None of the students are seen having problems, learning through

experience, or being in need of instruction (WWP “Alex Charms a Boy”). Furthermore, in

Phineas and Ferb, the boys are seen building a mechanical dog; however, once again, no

learning of any kind is needed for them to construct this creation, and the dog ends up working

perfectly (“Canderemy”).

One reason that learning may not be seen often is because these Disney Channel series

are entertainment-based; however, though education is not the goal of these series, there are still

some instances when learning occurs. Therefore, it is interesting to note that when learning does

take place, it occurs nearly three times more outside of the school setting than inside of it, with a

ratio of 37:13. From these numbers, it appears that students can learn more on their own or with

their friends than they can in the school system. In fact, A.N.T. Farm and Phineas and Ferb each

only display one instance of learning because of the school system. This type of data goes

against many societal expectations because many generally consider educating children as the

role of this institution.

Another factor that may have influenced the results about learning pertains to the basic

settings of the shows. Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Deck tend to distribute

school and socializing fairly evenly, despite the fact that the students in The Suite Life on Deck

live and go to school on a cruise ship. However, Phineas and Ferb and A.N.T. Farm have more

focused settings.

43

As stated earlier, Phineas and Ferb takes place during the summer months when school

is not in session. Despite this fact, there are certain summer school activities and school-related

seminars that take place in the series. However, since the focus is not at a time when school is in

session, this may account for the fact that there is only one instance of school-related learning in

the 15 episodes I coded, yet there are 23 times that learning occurs outside of the school system.

Of course, there is the possibility that the numerical data for learning in school would not

increase if school was in session, especially considering the theme song’s statement that these

students “have a whole lotta stuff to do before school starts this fall” (“Canderemy”). Since

learning happens more in this series than any other, one could argue that learning is part of what

they have to do before school starts back up; the end of summer may signal the end of learning.

Finally, A.N.T. Farm is the opposite of Phineas and Ferb in terms of setting. As

previously mentioned, this series’ setting primarily takes place in the school or it shows students

doing school-related activities. Therefore, this may account for the fact that there are only three

instances of non-school-related learning in the coded episodes. Though, just like the case with

Phineas and Ferb, there is the possibility that these numbers would not increase if the setting

was altered.

Limitations

Though my findings give a general overview about what type of educational views are

presented by the Disney Channel, there are some limitations to my study. First of all, I only

examined four of the Disney Channel’s original series. Currently, Disney Channel is airing new

episodes of seven other original series that I do not examine: Fish Hooks, Good Luck Charlie,

Shake It Up, So Random, PrankStars, Jessie, and Austin & Ally (“Disney Channel” para. 28;

“What’s on Disney Channel”). Additionally, the Disney Channel is still broadcasting reruns of

44

The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place (“Disney Channel” para. 28); therefore,

past content that does not fall into the predetermined airdates for my study is still currently being

presented to the public. Incorporation of reruns that aired in my study’s timeframe may have

altered my findings.

Furthermore, the predetermined lens my study is based on filtered out some data that can

be deemed relevant. First of all, when coding for the portrayal of educators, my findings indicate

that they are presented in negative ways. However, since these are the only adult figures that are

directly relevant to my study, I did not code for the representation of the rest of the adults in

these series, though it appears that adult figures in general are associated with many negative

attributes. If I had coded for how all adults are portrayed, I would have been able to determine if

the educators are represented in a worse light than other adults, or if authority figures in general

are equally antagonized throughout these series.

Also, when coding for educators, I limited my research to studying them only within

school-related settings. However, there are instances in the Disney Channel episodes where

educators interact with students outside of the mandates of the school. Therefore, if I had coded

for this, I would have been able to determine if educators were consistently viewed the same

regardless of the setting or whether a lack of association with the institution changed the way the

educators were portrayed.

Additionally, I only coded for how students who value school are viewed and treated by

other students within a school setting. By limiting observation of these students to the school, my

study is unable to judge if others act differently toward them in social or private settings. By

examining this data, I would have been able to make inferences about whether or not the mere

act of being in the school or performing school-related activities caused more antagonism

45

towards these students or not. Also, by limiting the examination of this category to only peer

judgments, I was unable to show how educators and parental figures viewed these students.

Coding for this information would have given a more rounded view about whether or not

everyone in these students’ lives shared a common view of them, or whether adult views of these

students opposed the peer views.

Another facet that would have added to my findings would have been examining the

negative and positive portrayals of students who do not seem to value academics. Doing this

would have provided a more rounded view about students in general. By examining if they are

generally revered or looked down upon, I could have compared and contrasted the results, both

in and out of school, with the views of students who do value school; thereby, inferences could

have been made about who is most heavily antagonized throughout these Disney Channel series

and who is held in the highest esteem.

Ramifications

I uncovered a number of trends by examining these 55 Disney Channel episodes. First of

all, the minimal data accumulated in relation to learning is significant. Learning is being

portrayed as a largely unneeded process. Since most would agree that the purpose of the school

system is to teach students, the lack of learning being shown can place the school’s importance

to society into question.

Also, by portraying knowledge as intrinsically being a part of most of these students

make-up, a form of instant gratification is being promoted. According to Dafna Lemish, the idea

of instant gratification is that children:

learn from viewing television to demand innovation and surprise, expect a quick

pace, constant stimulation, and immediate satisfaction. These expectations stand

46

in contrast to typical learning processes in school, which are relatively slow paced

and oriented to long term goals. (152)

Similar to this definition, students in these shows do not have to struggle to build and to know

things; it just happens for them. In fact, even when learning does take place, it is not a

complicated or tedious process. Students try to research something, and they find it quickly; or,

students only have to listen while others explain certain things to them and then, for the most

part, they are seen as able to remember it and put that knowledge into use whenever they desire.

There are exceptions, such as London Tipton form The Suite Life on Deck, who always seems to

zone out in class, ask the teacher unrelated questions, and never do her homework. However, for

the students that pay even minimal attention, the little knowledge they do not already know is

easily attained.

As mentioned earlier, the portrayal of learning throughout the episodes I coded could be

due to the fact that these series are entertainment-based. However, by not showing learning, the

creators of these Disney Channel series are assuming that the audience would not be interested in

watching learning occur. This attitude is important because just as the television is able to shape

people’s perceptions, the creators of such media write and produce their shows based on current

attitudes in society. Todd Gitlin states, “High consumption corporate capitalism implies a certain

sensitivity to audience taste, taste which is never wholly manufactured. Shows are made by

guessing at audience desires and tolerances, and finding ways to speak to them that perpetuate

the going system” (14). Therefore, the Disney Channel’s writers are creating the content of these

series by responding to the way they think people view the world. Then, by displaying the

content to viewers, the Disney Channel is reinforcing certain attitudes and expectations

concerning learning, as well as other aspects of education.

47

Additionally, as stated earlier, all of the Disney Channel shows coded in this study are

aimed towards middle schoolers; therefore, all of the messages found in these episodes are also

aimed towards this age group. While school officials are working hard to reduce bullying in

schools (Kert et. al 193), the Disney Channel is showing viewers how to bully others and who to

target. Generally, in the shows I coded, the people doing the bullying are considered popular

and/or “cool” by their peers, and, most of the time, they display verbal or physical aggression

against students who value academics.

Though the amount of influence that media, such as the Disney Channel, has over

viewers differs from person to person, there is a correlation between the way my coded episodes

depict bullying and certain trends found in the school system. When it comes to bullies, Allison

Kert et. al state that they generally target victims who have not shown any aggression towards

them since bullying often is “characterized by an unequal distribution of power” (193).

Additionally, Kert et. al assert that bullying usually occurs when an individual continually harms

another person in order to “feel superior within the social context, most often in a school” (193).

Also, a recent study about middle schoolers’ social standing, which was published in 2011 by

Amy Bellmore, Vanessa Villarreal, and Alice Ho, furthers Kert et. al’s concepts about bullying.

In their study, they assert that the need to have a high social standing peaks with middle school

students (776). They also discovered that aggressive reputations led to students receiving “a cool

status” amongst middle school students (776). It seems that verbal, physical, and relational

aggression is often used both to achieve and maintain popular status among peers in school

(777). Thus, in relation to the Disney Channel shows, this finding correlates with the

presentation of the popular kids being the main bullies, whereas the unpopular kids, who tend to

value academics, are consistently the victims. Additionally, this finding correlates with the “to be

48

cool, do not like school” attitude that the Disney Channel presents.

Moreover, in addition to teaching children how to bully each other, these Disney Channel

series are teaching children to treat teachers disrespectfully. Throughout the 55 episodes,

students often made fun of the educators’ appearances and values. They played tricks on the

educators, continually seeking to break established rules. Also, these types of actions were not

limited to students who actively opposed school; even academic-minded students often

possessed negative attitudes about the educators. Therefore, this is another example of how the

Disney Channel may be molding people’s perceptions about the educational system’s educators

or reinforcing current societal views about what to expect in this institution. In either case, the

message is negative for the educators and the school system.

Though the messages sent are predominantly negative for the school system and those

involved, many student depictions are empowering. Children are granted the opportunity

throughout these series to make their own rules and do as they wish. They are portrayed as smart

and capable; consequently, the world bends to their wishes as they adventure through life. By

depicting many students in this manner, the Disney Channel is appropriating the desires of

numerous middle school children. For instance, according to Demir’s findings concerning

middle schoolers’ attitudes towards the school system, most of the American students felt that

the institution was a confining space and they wished for more autonomy and freedom (101).

Therefore, by giving students power and independence in these Disney Channel shows, the

creators are appealing to the wants of their target audience. However, it is important to note that

though these students are given the freedom of adults, they often do not behave like adults.

Frequently, they run from responsibility or any activities that they do not want to do; instead,

they focus on doing what they desire. Therefore, on the Disney Channel, children have the best

49

of both worlds; they possess power and freedom without the responsibility, which is rarely the

case for individuals in reality.

CONCLUSIONS

With television being an ever-increasing part of people’s lives, it is important to know

what kinds of messages are being viewed for two primary reasons. First, television affects

people’s perceptions of reality in varying degrees; therefore, identifying messages sent by this

medium is a necessary part of understanding the different ways viewers can be influenced. Also,

the contents of television serve as a reflection of popular culture. Creators of television shows

and other forms of media manufacture content based on societal trends; they display content that

they believe will be received well by the public.

Since the importance of education is a widely discussed topic, I performed content

analysis on four entertainment-based programs to discover how education was portrayed on these

shows. I aimed my analysis at the Disney Channel, which is one facet of the multimedia giant,

Disney. The Disney Channel is a television station which targets middle school children, and it is

continually growing in popularity in the United States and overseas; therefore, examining this

station’s portrayal of education is prevalent to understanding current attitudes and expectations

regarding the educational institution.

By doing content analysis on 55 episodes of four Disney Channel shows, which aired

from January 2010 to January 2012, my study provides a recent snapshot of how school is

portrayed to viewers. One of the main messages is that the school system is a disliked institution

that is not valued by students. The students do not enjoy being at school and do not understand

how what they are learning will be useful for their lives. Another main message that the Disney

Channel is sending is that the school’s educators are unprofessional and not respected by

50

students. It is possible that the lack of respect comes from the lack of professionalism displayed

by these adults; in any case, educators are not seen as people that students generally listen to,

like, or want to imitate. Additionally, the Disney Channel rarely depicts learning; however, when

learning does happen, it occurs mainly outside of the school system. The lack of representation

of learning is important because viewers are being shown a world in which learning does not

take time and effort, which is typically not the case in reality. Furthermore, the fact that learning

occurs more frequently outside of the school system than because of it in these series is also

important to note because most would agree that the school system’s purpose is to teach students.

Therefore, in these shows, the reason for the existence of the school system is questionable since

its goal is not being accomplished inside this institution. Moreover, another primary message

presented by these Disney Channel shows is that students who value academics are bullied and

disliked. It appears that a low social standing is the consequence for students who value and

promote the purpose of the school system. Granted, there are some positive messages being sent

about the school system, those who support it, and learning; however, there are far more negative

depictions being aimed towards middle schoolers.

Given what my study has discovered, this research can serve to inform the public about

what messages are being sent via the Disney Channel. For instance, A.N.T. Farm, the most recent

Disney Channel show, had the most negative portrayals of the school system as a whole.

Therefore, this study could serve as a foundational study in correlation with others to concretely

identify Disney Channel trends regarding education. Also, it can be used to help determine if

Disney’s depiction of this institution, and those closely related to it, can be linked to real-life

student attitudes towards school, teachers, and academically-minded peers. Given Demir’s

findings that many students view school as a place of confinement, it appears that there is some

51

overlap between real-life views and the fictional portrayals on the Disney Channel, such as

Olive, from A.N.T. Farm, comparing the school to confining terms, like a prison.

Additionally, this study could be of great importance for school officials. By examining

what children are being exposed to, leaders in the school system can learn about student

expectations in relation to what the school system is about and the interactions that take place

inside of it. Understanding students’ perceptions caused by the media can be an important first

step in countering any negative expectations in order to help students form more positive views

of what the institution has to offer and the relationships that will be developed during the

students’ time in the institution.

Furthermore, this study can be useful to parents. Often, parents express concern about

what their children are watching on TV. My findings show what the Disney Channel portrays

about education, as well as what specific Disney Channel shows have the most negative versus

positive content in relation to this institution in the four coded series. Though I do not claim to

know the specific impact that negative educational views have on viewers, this research could

serve as a guide to concerned parents who would rather not expose their kids to such anti-

educational messages.

Overall, the data collected in this study is relevant to numerous people and academic

conversations. Parents can use this data to make more informed decisions concerning children’s

viewing habits. School officials can use this information to address concerns about the school

system, such as occurrences of bullying and student expectations about learning. Finally, this

study can be used to better understand current societal perceptions regarding education,

particularly the perceptions that are presented to, and influence, middle-school-aged children.

LITERATURE CITED

Abelman, Robert, and David Atkin. The Televiewing Audience: The Art and Science of Watching

TV. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2002. Print.

“Alex Charms a Boy.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 15 January 2010.

Television.

“Alex Russo, Matchmaker?” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 2 July 2010.

Television.

“Alex the Puppetmaster.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 16 September

2011. Television.

“All about You-niverse.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 20 August 2010.

Television.

“A London Carol.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 3 December 2010.

Television.

“A.N.T. Farm (A Titles & Air Dates Guide).” epguides.com and TVRage.com. George Fergus,

2011. Web. 3 December 2011.

Ashby, Emily. “Television Review: Suite Life on Deck.” Disneyfamily.com. Disney. Web. 3

December 2011.

---. “Television Review: Wizards of Waverly Place.” Disneyfamily.com. Disney. Web. 3

December 2011.

“Ask a Foolish Question”/“Misperceived Monotreme.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS,

Wilmington. 13 May 2011. Television.

Barnes, Brooks. “Tween Stars Wanted: Must Be Primed for Pressure.” NYTimes.com. The New

York Times. 10 May 2011. Web. 3 December 2011.

53

Bellmore, Amy, Vanessa Villarreal, and Alice Ho. “Staying Cool Across the First Year of

Middle School.” J Youth Adolescence 40 (2011): 776-785. Web. 1 March 2011.

“Bon Voyage.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 20 August 2010. Television.

“Can You Dig It?” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 12 February 2010.

Television.

Butche, Robert. “Media: Undermining Education.” Newsroom Magazine USA Edition. 12 June

2009. Web. 30 November 2011.

“CANTonese Style Cuisine.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 28 October 2011.

Television.

“Company Overview.” Disney.com. The Walt Disney Company. n.d. Web. 12 September 2011.

“Dad’s Buggin’ Out.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 4 June 2010.

Television.

“Delinquent Justin.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 16 July 2010.

Television.

DeLuca, Kevin. Image Politics: The New Rhetoric of Environmental Activism. New York:

Routledge, 1999. Print.

Demir, Cennet. “Metaphors as a Reflection of Middle School Perceptions: A Cross-Cultural

Analysis.” Educational Research and Evaluation 13.2 (2007): 89-107. Academic Search

Premiere. Web. 19 April 2012.

“Detention Election.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 19 March 2010.

Television.

“Disney Channel.” Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. n.d. Web. 22 March 2012.

“Eat to the Beat.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 30 April 2010.

54

Television.

Eisner, Elliot. The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs.

New York: MacMillian, 1979. Print.

“Everything’s Rosie for Justin.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 4

February 2011. Television.

Giroux, Henry, and Grace Pollock. “How Disney Magic and the Corporate Media Shape Youth

Identity in the Digital Age.” Truthout. 21 August 2011. Web. 2 February 2012.

Gitlin, Todd. “Prime Time Ideology: The Hegemonic Process in Television Entertainment.”

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Mass Media and Society. 7th

ed.

Ed. Alison Alexander and Jarice Hanson. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 4-17. Print.

Harwood, Tracy G., and Tony Garry. “An Overview of Content Analysis.” The Marketing

Review 3 (2003): 479-498. Web. 8 February 2012.

Hofman, Roelande, W.H. Adriaan Hofman, and Henk Guldemond. “Social Context Effects on

Pupils’ Perception of School.” Learning and Instruction 11 (2001): 171-194. Web. 1

February 2012.

Huang, Yueh-Min et. al. “The Design and Implementation of a Meaningful Learning-based

Evaluation Method for Ubiquitous Learning.” Computers & Education 57.4 (2011):

2291-2302. ScienceDirect. Web. 2 February 2012.

“I Brake for Whales.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 23 April 2010.

Television.

Iger, Robert. Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter. January 2012,

Disney.com: The Walt Disney Company, 2012. 1-3. Web. 22 March 2012.

“IgnorANTs is Bliss.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 4 November 2011. Television.

55

“Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers”/“Ain’t No Kiddie Ride.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS,

Wilmington. 20 February 2010. Television.

“I Was a Middle Aged Robot”/“Suddenly Suzy.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington.

13 February 2010. Television.

Kert, Allison et. al. “Impact of the Word ‘Bully’ on the Reported Rate of Bullying Behavior.”

Psychology in the Schools 47.2 (2010): 193-204. Web. 1 March 2011.

Krippendorff, Klaus. Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. 2nd ed. Thousand

Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2004. Print.

Kubey, Robert, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. “Television Addiction is No Mere Metaphor.”

Scientific American Special Edition 14.1 (2004). Academic Search Premier. Web. 2

December 2011.

Lee, Fiona, and Christopher Peterson. “Content Analysis of Archival Data.” Journal of

Consulting and Clinical Psychology 65.6 (1997): 959-969. Web. 8 February 2012.

Lemish, Dafna. Children and Television: A Global Perspective. Malden, MA: Blackwell

Publishing, 2007. Print.

Lewis-Beck, Michael. “Series Editor’s Introduction.” Basic Content Analysis. 2nd

ed. Ed. Lewis-

Beck. London: SAGE Publications, 1990. 5-6. Print.

“Love and War.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 24 September 2010.

Television.

“Lucky Charmed.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 10 December 2010.

Television.

“Make Play”/“Candace Gets Busted.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 11 February

2011. Television.

56

“ManagemANT.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 26 August 2011. Television.

“Marriage 101.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 19 March 2010. Television.

“Mean Chicks.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 11 June 2010. Television.

“Mother of the Groom.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 8 January 2010.

Television.

“My Oh Maya.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 23 July 2010. Television.

“Nerds of a Feather.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 16 August 2010. Television.

Org. Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter. January 2012,

Disney.com: The Walt Disney Company, 2012. 1-106. Web. 22 March 2012.

“ParticipANTs.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 17 June 2011. Television.

“Party On!” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 10 September 2010. Television.

“Phineas and Ferb (A Titles & Air Dates Guide).” epguides.com and TVRage.com. George

Fergus, 2007. Web. 3 December 2011.

“Phineas and Ferb Interrupted”/”A Real Boy.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 15

July 2011. Television.

“Phineas’ Birthday Clip-O-Rama!” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 1 April 2011.

Television.

Potter, W. James. “On Media Violence.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues

in Mass Media and Society. 7th

ed. Ed. Alison Alexander and Jarice Hanson. Guilford,

CT: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 34-46. Print.

Romano, Allison. “Television Everywhere: How Networks and Advertisers are Reaching

Viewers in Stores, at Gas Pumps and in Elevators.” Broadcasting & Cable 136.26

(2006): 14-15. Business Source Premier. Web. 2 December 2011.

57

Sammond, Nicholas. “Manufacturing the American Child: Child-Rearing and the Rise of Walt

Disney.” Journal of Media and Cultural Studies 13.1 (1999): 29-55. Web. 19 April 2012.

“SANTa’s Little Helpers.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 9 December 2011.

Television.

Schirato, Tony, and Jen Webb. Understanding the Visual. London: SAGE Publications, 2004.

Print.

Schmitt, Kelly L., Kimberly Duyck Woolf, and Daniel R. Anderson. “Viewing the Viewers:

Viewing Behaviors by Children and Adults During Television Programs and

Commercials.” Journal of Communication 53.2 (2003): 265-281. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 17 November 2011.

“SciANTs Fair.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 1 July 2011. Television.

“Senior Ditch Day.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 22 October 2010.

Television.

“Seven Seas News.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 8 May 2010. Television.

Skill, Thomas et. al. “The Portrayal of Religion and Spirituality on Fictional Network

Television.” Review of Religious Research 35.3 (1994): 251-267. JSTOR. Web. 8

February 2012.

“Snakes on a Boat.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 4 March 2011.

Television.

“Split Personality”/”Brain Drain.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 29 October

2010. Television.

“The Beak.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 8 March 2010. Television.

“The Curse of Candace.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 7 October 2011.

58

Television.

“The Great Indoors”/“Canderemy.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 4 March 2011.

Television.

“The InformANT.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 29 July 2011. Television.

“The Lizard Whisperer”/“Robot Rodeo.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 6 March

2010. Television.

“The PhANTom Locker.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 24 June 2011. Television.

“The Secret of Success”/“The Doof Side of the Moon.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS,

Wilmington. 8 October 2010. Television.

“The Suite Life on Deck (A Titles & Air Dates Guide).” epguides.com and TVRage.com. George

Fergus, 2008. Web. 3 December 2011.

“Three Maxes and a Little Lady.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 7

January 2011. Television.

“Tour de Ferb.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 12 August 2011. Television.

“TransplANTed.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 6 May 2011. Television.

“Trouble in Tokyo.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 29 September 2010.

Television.

“Twister Part 1.” The Suite Life on Deck. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 14 January 2011.

Television.

Umstead, Thomas. “‘Ferb’ Next Big Tween Thing: Disney Aims to Continue Hot Streak.”

Multichannel.com. Multichannel News, 28 January 2008. Web. 17 September 2010.

Weare, Christopher, and Wan-Ying Lin. “Content Analysis of the World Wide Web:

Opportunities and Challenges.” Social Science Computer Review 18.3 (2000): 272-292.

59

SAGE. Web. 8 February 2012.

Weber, Philip. Basic Content Analysis. 2nd

ed. London: SAGE Publications, 1990. Print.

“What’s on Disney Channel.” Disney.com. The Walt Disney Company. n.d. Web. 22 March

2012.

“Western Show.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 14 May 2010.

Television.

“Wizard of Odd.” Phineas and Ferb. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 24 September 2010. Television.

“Wizards of Waverly Place (A Titles & Air Dates Guide).” epguides.com and TVRage.com.

George Fergus, 2007. Web. 3 December 2011.

“Wizards vs. Finkles.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 30 July 2010.

Television.

“Wizards vs. Werewolves.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 22 January

2010. Television.

“You’re the One that I Want.” A.N.T. Farm. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 20 January 2012.

Television.

“Zeke Finds Out.” Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney. DIS, Wilmington. 8 April 2011.

Television.

APPENDIX

Appendix A: Coding list for discovering attitudes toward the school system.

Qualitative Information

All of the information below is referring to middle school or high school. No magic-related

instances or homeschooling are examined.

1. Is the word, “school,” associated with a positive connotation? Specifically, is school viewed

as effective or valuable? Is it considered a safe space for students emotionally and structurally?

Is it a place where students like being?

2. Is the word, “school,” associated with a negative connotation? Is it viewed as ineffective or

not valuable? Is it considered an unsafe place for students emotionally and structurally? Is it a

place that students dislike being at?

3. Is the word, “school,” associated with a neutral connotation? Is the word said in the sentence,

but nothing positive or negative revealed about the system?

4. Are inferences (verbal or nonverbal) or comments made by students about the school system

positive? Again, is the establishment a place where students like being? Is it discussed as being

an effective establishment? Do students like, respect, and/or admire the leaders of the

establishment? Do students enjoy and/or value work given to them by establishment leaders? Do

the students feel safe?


negative? Is the establishment a place where students dislike being? Is it discussed as being an

ineffective establishment? Do students dislike or have a low opinion of the leaders of the

establishment? Do students dislike and/or not value work given to them by establishment

leaders? Do the students not feel safe?

61


neutral?

7. What character is making each qualitative statement in this section?

Quantitative Information

All of the information below is referring to middle school or high school. No magic-related

instances or homeschooling are examined.

1. How many times is the word, “school,” used?

2. How many positive connotations are associated with the word, “school?”

3. How many negative connotations are associated with the word, “school?”

4. How many neutral connotations are associated with the word, “school?”

5. How many positive inferences or comments are made about the school system?

6. How many negative inferences or comments are made about the school system?

7. How many neutral inferences or comments are made about the school system?

62

Appendix B: Coding list for discovering instances of learning.


All of the school-related information below is referring to middle school or high school. No

magic-related instances or homeschooling are examined.

1. What types of student learning are seen taking place (in-process of occurring) because of the

school system (i.e. requirements/recommendations in class work and via homework)?

2. What types of student learning are seen taking place (in-process of occurring) outside of the

school system (i.e. learning not required/recommended by the school)?

3. What characters are involved in each instance of learning in this section?


All of the school-related information below is referring to middle school or high school. No

magic-related instances or homeschooling are examined.

1. How often does each type of learning take place because of the school system?

2. How often does each type of learning take place outside of the school system?

63

Appendix C: Coding list for discovering the characterizations of educators and academic-minded

students.


All of the information below is referring to when students are in their middle school or high

school or when students are doing school work. No magic-related instances, homeschooling, or

settings outside of the school-related functions are examined.

1. Are the school system’s educators seen in a positive way? Specifically, are educators seen as

smart, helpful, encouraging, educated, honest, responsible, professional, just, nice, respected

individuals?

2. Are the school system’s educators seen in a negative way? Are they portrayed as dumb,

unhelpful, boring, weird, irresponsible, unjust, unprofessional, uneducated, mean, dishonest,

people who are not respected?

3. Which students in the series value school related academics/academic performance based on

their words and/or actions? Students fall into this category if they like school, promote what the

school teaches, or if they strive to get good grades.

4. Are the students who seem to value school related academics/academic performance viewed in

a positive way? Specifically, are they likes, respected, or admired? Do they have a high social

standing that is recognized by various other students?

5. Are the students who value school-related academics/academic performance viewed in a

negative way? Are they disliked, not respected, bullied, and stereotyped? Do they have a low

social standing that is recognized by various other students?


All of the information below is referring to when students are in their middle school or high

64

school or when students are doing school work. No magic-related instances, homeschooling, or

settings outside of school-related functions are examined.

1. How many instances are the school’s educators seen in a positive light?

2. How many instances are the school’s educators seen in a negative light?

3. How many times are students who like academics/academic performance referred to

positively?

4. How many times are students who like academics/academic performance referred to

negatively?

65

Appendix D: Table 13

Full Results: Negative Views Presented by the Disney Channel about the School System



Disingenuous 0 4 4

Disliked 33 9 42

Ineffective 5 3 8

Manipulated 2 4 6

Not Valuable 25 2 27

Unsafe 5 11 16

Physically 3 10 13

Emotionally 2 1 3

66

Appendix E: Table 14

Full Results: Positive Portrayals of Educators



Encouraging 1 2 0 1 4

Helpful 1 0 0 2 3

Respected 0 1 0 0 1

Smart 1 1 0 0 2

Other 0 0 0 0 0

Total 3 4 0 3 10

67

Appendix F: Table 15

Full Version: Negative Portrayals of Educators



Boring 0 1 0 1 2

Dishonest 0 1 0 0 1

Dumb 4 12 0 0 16

Irresponsible 2 1 0 1 4

Mean 3 11 0 1 15


Uneducated 0 1 0 0 1

Unjust 1 2 0 0 3

Unprofessional 4 13 0 14 31

Weird 1 10 1 0 12

Total 21 72 1 20 114

68

Appendix G: Table 16

Full Version: Positive Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics



Admired 0 4 0 1 5

Likeable 5 1 0 1 7

Respected 0 1 0 0 1

Smart 1 0 0 1 2

Total 6 6 0 3 15

69

Appendix H: Table 17

Full Version: Negative Portrayals of Students Who Value Academics



Bullied 5 17 0 27 49

Disliked 6 12 0 5 23

Dumb 0 0 0 1 1

Not Included 0 2 0 2 4


Called Derogatory Names 9 0 0 2 11

Total 20 35 0 37 92

STUDYING SCHOOL: DEPICTIONS OF EDUCATION ON THE...

Documents

Transcript of STUDYING SCHOOL: DEPICTIONS OF EDUCATION ON THE...