Television and Education

At its best, educational television can provide children with enormous opportunities and can serve as a window to new experiences, enrich academic knowledge, enhance attitudes and motivation, and nurture social skills. This volume documents the impact of educational television in a variety of subject areas and proposes mechanisms to explain its effects. Drawing from a wide variety of research spanning several disciplines, author Shalom M. Fisch analyzes the literature on the impact of educational resources. He focuses on television programs designed for children rather than for adults, although adult literature is included when it is particularly relevant. In addition, much of the discussion concerns the effects of unaided viewing by children, rather than viewing in the context of adult-led follow-up activities. The role of parent-child co-viewing and issues relevant to the use of television in school or child care also receives consideration. This volume is intended to make the disparate literature on educational television's impact more accessible, by bringing it together into a centralized resource. To that end, the volume draws together empirical data on the impact of educational television programs--both academic and prosocial--on children's knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior. In addition to its emphasis on positive effects, this volume addresses a gap in the existing research literature regarding children's learning from exposure to educational television. Acknowledging that little theoretical work has been done to explain why or how these effects occur, Fisch takes a step toward correcting this situation by proposing theoretical models to explore aspects of the mental processing that underlies children's learning from educational television. With its unique perspective on children's educational television and comprehensive approach to studying the topic, this volume is required reading for scholars, researchers, and students working in the area of children and television. It offers crucial insights to scholars in developmental psychology, family studies, educational psychology, and related areas.

This comprehensive treatment in an historical framework examines the ways in which television extends postsecondary educational and training opportunities. The book focuses on the applications of technologies to relevant needs and problems, such as the ever-growing demand for continuing occupational/professional education and training. The study covers early successes and failures, the telecourse as a teaching method, new instructional uses of television, and the future of television use in higher education. Those involved in education, occupational training, and communications will find essential information in this book.

Since the mid-1970s a shift in perspective has occurred on the relationship between TV and young viewers. Researchers, parents, teachers, policymakers, and consumer advocate groups have shown increased criticism of televisions's role as social educator, babysitter, agent for mass consumer socialization, and perpetrator of questionable social values, morals, and mythical human behaviors. Educators intersted in understanding the complex and wide-ranging contrversies about the influence of television on children will find much in this edited collection to clarify their understanding of the empirical research, educational practice, and national policy issues raised by the relationship between TV and children.

This book grew out of the perceived need for an authoritative sourcebook and compendium of existing research. Each chapter consists of an extensive review of the literature and research relating to numerous aspects of the broad topic, including content, commercials, viewing habits, cognitive effects, behavioral effects, educational impact, and a brief history of children's programming. The first section focuses on the more formal aspects of television and how they relate to children. The second section examines the content and effects of television and the impact they may have on children's behavior and their ideas of the world.

"This book fills a need. It will be used by scholars and revered by undergraduates doing papers. It is a highly desirable acquisition for libraries of all types." Choice "[an] essential purchase for universityand most college libraries as well as large public libraries." Reference Books Bulletin

Entertainment-Education and Social Change introduces readers to entertainment-education (E-E) literature from multiple perspectives. This distinctive collection covers the history of entertainment-education, its applications in the United States and throughout the world, the multiple communication theories that bear on E-E, and a range of research methods for studying the effects of E-E interventions. The editors include commentary and insights from prominent E-E theoreticians, practitioners, activists, and researchers, representing a wide range of nationalities and theoretical orientations. Examples of effective E-E designs and applications, as well as an agenda for future E-E initiatives and campaigns, make this work a useful volume for scholars, educators, and practitioners in entertainment media studies, behavior change communications, public health, psychology, social work, and other arenas concerned with strategies for social change. It will be an invaluable resource book for members of governmental and non-profit agencies, public health and development professionals, and social activists.

At last, a collection in one volume informing the citizenry about a phenomenon that has existed for nearly a quarter century: community television represents our single source for media access in the United States. With more than 2,000 community groups providing some 15,000 hours of original programming each week--more than the annual output of ABC, CBS, and NBC combined--Community Television compares and contrasts broadcasting and grassroots cablecasting in the form of public, educational, and government (PEG) access. Fuller describes community television in terms of its history, its technical characteristics, and its legal, economic, political, and social concerns, highlighting the work of more than 150 related organizations and local television efforts from 100 cities and towns. She analyzes how competing exigencies and emerging communication technologies might threaten access in the future. Students, scholars, and professionals in television, communications, and public policy will find this reference a definitive one.