Film and education; a symposium on the role of the film in the field of education ([1948])

FILM AND EDUCATION and Integral components of instructional materials. The problem is not so much that of alleged "lack of funds." Rather, it is one of developing the proper appreciation for the contributions which audio-visual materials can make and should be making to both content and method in the education process. Despite the current interest in audio-visual instruction in both formal and informal education, budgets for the various programs are, with rare exceptions, woefully inadequate. There are relatively few aspects of education for which the range in financial support is as great as for audio-visual programs, and consequently in which there is more diversity in educational opportunity. Most states have minimum standards for education. There is great need for a corollary in the audiovisual field, since it overlaps all phases of the instructional program philosophy, psychology, objectives, methods, and all subject-matter fields. What Constitutes Adequate Budgets for Audio-Visual Programs? Despite the fudamental nature of this question and the frequency with which it is raised, categorical answers are not available. Adequate budgets can be expressed only in terms of adequate programs; and, to date, adequate programs can be defined only in terms of either arbitrary criteria or rather subjective judgment. The major factors which make it practically impossible to define what constitutes an adequate audiovisual budget are these: (l) Adequacy of budget is a relative matter, depending upon many factors of local significance, such as the size and type of the particular school, and the present status of the audio-visual program in the school. Examples: The per-pupil cost of an audio-visual program for a large school is less than for a small school in which a corresponding variety of audiovisual materials is used. The financial outlay for establishing [474]