Are children's TV programs too cool for the school?

Television has a big impact on the lives of children. Studies have shown that for 3 hours spent at school, 5 hours are spent watching television. While other studies have examined the impact of television on aspects of childhood, such as diet and exercise, little research has been conducted on how television shapes the perception of school by children.

The abstract of the study, "Too Cool for the School: Review of Academic Representations in Children's TV Shows", will be presented on Saturday, November 3 at the 2018 National Conference and Exhibition of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, Florida. specific activities and traits are shown by the characters in popular children's television programs.

The ratings were used to identify the 30 most popular children's TV shows, and two 30-minute episodes of each show were then randomly selected. The researchers looked at how the programs described life and school clbades, how teachers were described (friendly, naughty, willing to help students), how the characters approached the students. school and stereotypical representations of students (popular, nerdy, rebellious).

General attitudes toward school were 46% positive and 33% negative. Teachers were presented in a negative light in 33% of the cases, while 59% of the students were labeled "nerd-non-cool" or "socially clumsy". Programs for younger viewers tend to show enthusiastic learners a positive approach to school. But as the age of viewing recommended increased, the overall representation of the school became more negative.

"Television content can have a profound impact on the psychosocial well-being and development of students, we do not want our children to go to school with fear or be less enthusiastic about their future academic experiences." said Prithwijit Das, senior researcher at Cohen Children & # 39; s. Medical in Lake Success, NY, "We hope that parents, educators and clinicians start the discussion on media awareness and support high-quality television programs that stimulate children's enthusiasm for learning. . "

As television is ubiquitous, these types of negative portrayals can have a long-term impact on how children view their academic experiences and may impact on their idea of ​​academics and the school for the most part. future, according to the abstract authors. This study highlights the need to advocate for more positive representation of academics and schools in children's programs, especially as children grow up, they said.

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