Abstract

In today’s society, television has become a major part of a family’s daily activities. As such, children are continuously exposed to different forms of media, whether it is entertainment or educational based, on their televisions. Parental involvement is necessary in order to influence their child’s decisions and education. Educational television is a form of media that can improve children’s ability to think critically and grow morally. The present study examines whether educational television shows have an influence on children’s long-term development in their desire to learn and pursue a college level education. It also examines whether or not parental involvement can influence their child’s desire to learn. After handing out consent forms and mini surveys to both the parents (N= 31) and students (N= 40) from a middle school in the suburbs of Chicago, correlational analyses and one-way ANOVAs were used to compute the data. Much of the data proved to be non-significant with the stated hypothesis. However, significance was found between the amount of television, educational and entertainment based, the student’s viewed; the students’ school year and their discussion of their academics at home; and their school year and their parents’ involvement in their academics.

Advisor

Casey, Michael B.

Department

Psychology

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Social Psychology

Publication Date

2016

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2016 Julia A. Garcia