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Issues in Educational Research, 2020, Vol 30(1), 58-78.
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"Instagram has well and truly got a hold of me": Exploring a parent's representation of her children

Madeleine Dobson and Jenny Jay
Curtin University, Australia

Images of children and family life are prevalent across social media contexts. In particular, Instagram is a popular platform for sharing photographs and videos of children and families. This paper explores the representation of children and family life, with an emphasis on the 'image of the child' that exists on Instagram. A qualitative case study methodology was used to analyse a parent's Instagram posts for one month and her questionnaire responses. The deep meaning that Instagram holds in her life will be explored, the processes she engages in to take and share photos, and key issues and ideas for educators, researchers, and family members to consider. Focus will be drawn towards the 'image of the child' as understood by early childhood educators, and how the image of children presented in this parent's Instagram posts compares or contrasts to that.
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Authors: Dr Madeleine Dobson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Curtin University, with a focus on early childhood education and care. Her research interests include media, digital technologies, social justice, and children's rights.
Email: madeleine.dobson@curtin.edu.au

Associate Professor Jenny Jay worked as an early childhood teacher for 23 years and a teacher educator for 17 years. Her passion is ensuring high-quality, play-based education for young children and supporting pre-service teachers to become strong advocates and leaders. Research interests include play-based curriculum, respect and agency of children in the online environment, and teacher resilience.
Email: jenny.jay@curtin.edu.au

Please cite as: Dobson, M. & Jay, J. (2020). "Instagram has well and truly got a hold of me": Exploring a parent's representation of her children. Issues in Educational Research, 30(1), 58-78. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/dobson.pdf


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Created 8 Feb 2020. Last correction: 8 Feb 2020.
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