In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney was a documentary producer at Channel 13 when Lloyd Morrisett, then Vice President at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, offered her an opportunity that would change the landscape of children's media forever. The Carnegie Corporation provided funding for a three-month study during which Joan traveled the country to…

Over time children's educational television has successfully modified programming to incorporate research-based strategies to facilitate learning and engagement during viewing. However, research has been limited on whether these same strategies would work with preschool deaf children viewing videos in American Sign Language. In a descriptive…

Following a content analysis, 85 children's programs were assigned a pacing index derived from the following criteria: (1) frequency of camera cuts; (2) frequency of related scene changes; (3) frequency of unrelated scene changes; (4) frequency of auditory changes; (5) percentage of active motion; (6) percentage of active talking; and (7)…

This paper describes the proposed School Without Walls program in the United Kingdom, a television-centered project which is designed to deliver high quality nursery (preschool) education direct to children at a fraction of the cost of traditional educational television programming. The daily programs will present a selection of practical learning…

This workshop guide and its accompanying videotape are intended to help early childhood caregivers learn about using the "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" television program interactively and effectively in child care settings. The workshop guide provides preparation instructions, and scripts for three workshops of increasing length: basic,…

The Randomized Control Trials (RCT) design and its quasi-experimental kissing cousin, the Comparison Group Trials (CGT), are golden to some and not even silver to others. At the center of the affection, at the vortex of the discomfort, are beliefs about what it takes to establish causality. These designs are considered primarily when the purpose…

More parents than ever before are making a conscious decision to be more selective about what their children watch and the types of games they play. This guide lists recommended videos and provides parents with informative guidelines to enable them to make informed program choices. The first part of the guide presents brief reports from the field:…

This article reports on the development and systematic evaluation of an innovative early years programme aimed at encouraging young children to respect differences within a deeply divided society that is emerging out of a prolonged period of violent conflict. The programme, the Media Initiative for Children--Northern Ireland, has been the product…

Surveys television cartoons for preschoolers to analyze how they present the female gender. Finds that infant, shrew, eccentric, mother, frump, vamp, and twin role models dominate; argues that these stereotypes limit children's imagination of other possibilities. Notes that the repertoire of female characters seems to have become more…

Presents picture books, collections of star stories, poetry, magazines, radio programs, biographies, nonfiction, and activities to help young students (preschool-grade 8) understand what celestial objects meant to ancient civilizations and to provide insights into the customs and attitudes of other cultures; alternative literary experiences; and…

The impact of television on the development of preschool children is considered, and some popular programs are reviewed. After a review of the literature on the effects of television, a rating scale was prepared and applied to a number of broadcast (noncable) television shows aimed at children. Ratings were compared with those of 60 parents of…

Television plays a dominant role in our society; however, television on its own is neither bad nor good. It offers children benefits such as education and entertainment, but television can impact negatively on young lives by detracting children from other activities such as physical and dramatic play. The effect of television on children's…

These hearing transcripts present testimony concerning S. 3134, the Ready to Learn Act, which is designed to expand the production and distribution of educational and instructional video programming; support educational programming for preschool and elementary school children, parents, child care providers, and educators of young children; and…