Examined the cultural basis and relevance of "Zhima Jie," a Chinese adaptation of "Sesame Street." Found that most of 3- to 6-year-olds in the sample desired books and learning materials, with disadvantaged children more likely than more advantaged children to desire books and learning materials. Older children showed a greater…

Provides examples from a study of six test segments of the television series "Alam Simsim," the Egyptian "Sesame Street," to illustrate how a systematic analysis of children's artwork can be used with other research tools to gain feedback from children. Shows how formative research is used to bring children into the production…

"Lift Off" is a new, innovative children's television series produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation that has been well received by young children, parents, critics, and educators. One typical half-hour program is profiled. Questions the claims that "Lift Off" will enrich the lives of a whole age cohort,…

Provides examples from six studies to illustrate how the formative research element of the Sesame Workshop production model has been used to create effective educational media in the United States, South Africa, Egypt, and China. Shows how lessons learned from formative studies provide insights into the development of new research methodologies…

Describes the process of developing an HIV/AIDS education curriculum for "Takalani Sesame," an educational media project for young South African children. Illustrates the formative research conducted with adults and children, and recounts discussions with HIV/AIDS health specialists. Describes the knowledge, attitude, and skill…

This discussion of issues that merit investigation in British primary schools focuses on those issues that concern the links between pedagogic positions, the practices these involve, the media education issues that are thus addressed, the consequences for the activities of the learner, and the critical understandings these practices facilitate. It…

Some studies have suggested that TV encourages a variety of problems such as malnutrition, drug consumption, poor consumer habits, and violence. Others have argued that TV is a window to the world, promoting knowledge, cultural experiences and positive social values. This article examines some of these controversial claims and evaluates the impact…

Earlier versions of the four papers presented in this collection formed a symposium, "Children's Interactions with Television," at the 1982 International Congress of Applied Psychology in Edinburgh. In the first paper, "Children's Comprehension of Television Programs," Peter Rendell and Mary Nixon describe a study which…

A questionnaire on attitudes toward war play was given to 316 Italian and 84 English parents of children aged 2 to 6 years. In both cultures, boys were significantly more likely than girls to engage in solitary and social war play. Parental attitudes, television, and peers were the major sources of influence on war play. (Author/LB)

This paper reports the results of a comparative study carried out with populations from two distinct cultural environments: kibbutz and city raised children in Israel. The study examined how perceptions and responses to television differ across social environments and how children's perceptions of, and reactions to, television may affect…

Very little research has been carried out on the extent to which educational television is recognized as part of the curriculum in nursery and infant schools and how it facilitates learning in young children. The aim of the curriculum at this level should be to offer experiences to children that, through conceptualization, will develop in them the…