"Books are Fun, Books are Great": The effects of television messages about literacy on young children's literacy attitudes in the US

Television has been shown to influence young children's development of attitudes and skills. Evidence also suggests that children's television programs contain both positive and negative messages about various topics, including literacy. Yet little has been done to examine whether and how...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of children and media 2011-05, Vol.5 (2), p.164-180
Main Author: Moses, Annie M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Children & youth
early childhood
Effects
Literacy
Skills
television influence
Television programs
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Summary:Television has been shown to influence young children's development of attitudes and skills. Evidence also suggests that children's television programs contain both positive and negative messages about various topics, including literacy. Yet little has been done to examine whether and how television messages about literacy affect young children's attitudes about literacy. Guided by three theoretical frameworks (Emergent Literacy perspective, Active Viewing model, and Social Cognitive Theory), this investigation involved two experiments in which 4- and 5-year-olds (N1 = 63; N2 = 52) in the US viewed clips that contained positive or negative messages about literacy. The General Literacy Attitudes Measure (GLAM) and the Specific Literacy Attitudes Measure (SLAM) were employed. Results from both experiments suggest that, although participants understood the varying messages, the messages had little significant effect on their attitudes. Limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed in light of these findings.
ISSN:1748-2798
1748-2801
DOI:10.1080/17482798.2011.558268