Portrayals of Print Literacy in Children's Television Programming

Abstract

Television continues to be an important part of young children's daily lives. Therefore, an important question lies in how popular television programs depict aspects of children's development and learning, including literacy. Through a content analysis, this study analyzed the top 10 programs for viewers between the ages of 2 and 5 for portrayals of literacy, specifically looking at the amount of and affective qualities of print literacy events in these programs. Print literacy events were defined as any time print appeared and was read, written, or listened to by characters in the sample episodes. They were coded for characteristics of the print literacy events, the print used within events, and the literacy user(s). Major findings included: (a) little print included and used, (b) a limited variety of texts, and (c) a lack of gender or racial balance in the characters who interacted with print. Relatively few positive messages about literacy were found, and negative messages about literacy were observed. Missed opportunities to include print literacy in programs were also noted. These findings address gaps in current bodies of research on television, literacy, and young children. They also can help to inform decisionmaking by families, educators, producers, and policymakers about television and young children.

Educational TV Consumption and Children’s Interest in Leisure Reading and Writing: A Test of the Validated Curriculum Hypothesis

“…We postulated that RB educational shows would be positively related to literacy outcomes because they are designed around a curriculum to teach a specific academic or socio-emotional lesson. Consistent with this idea, the work of Linebarger and colleagues has shown that Between the Lions promotes basic literacy skills for early readers (e.g., Linebarger, 2000;Linebarger, Kosanic, Greenwood, & Doku, 2003), and several studies have been published that show Reading Rainbow is effective at promoting literacy development (e.g., Moses, 2011;Moses & Duke, 2008). On the other hand, Boohbah and Teletubbies may be labeled as educational-indeed, both of these programs are/were rated as E/I ("educational/informational") on PBS-but they are not produced and created in the same way as RB educational programs.…”