A research brief investigating educational television and U.S. children’s interest in science and world culture

Bibliographic Data

ID21190831
AuthorsJames Alex Bonus (0000-0001-5173-6411, The Ohio State University, corresponding author), Miriam Brinberg (0000-0001-5202-9292, The Ohio State University), Rebecca A Dore (0000-0001-7778-389X, The Ohio State University), Jason C Coronel (0000-0001-6397-3860, The Ohio State University)
Year2025
Volume19
Issue2
Pages418-430
Publication date2025-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Children and Media (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-2798 • E-ISSN: 1748-2801
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17482798.2024.2424835
OpenAlexW4404291503
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

Research on educational television has overwhelmingly investigated the impact of viewing on children’s knowledge acquisition. However, this content might influence other important outcomes, such as children’s interest in learning about new topics. To investigate this possibility, we invited parents of 3- to 8-year-old children (N = 83) to answer three surveys over 1 month. The first survey included a video encouraging families to view a popular science program (Hero Elementary) or cultural program (Let’s Go Luna). The remaining surveys asked about children’s exposure to science and cultural programs, as well as their engagement with science and cultural topics in everyday conversation. Although our encouragement intervention had no impact on children’s exposure to science or cultural programs, viewing that content was associated with increased science and cultural talk over time. These findings suggest that educational television might motivate children to explore new topics of interest in non-mediated contexts

Media studies · Sociology · Child Development and Digital Technology · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Literacy, Media, and Education · Psychology

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