SITE VISIT - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...

The National Broadcasting Authority in Bangladesh allocates 37 hours a year to educational
programs for children and youth . Programs include song and dance recitals, dramas, traditional
stories, audience participation shows, and a fortnightly magazine program.
In Sri Lanka, children’s programs receive the second highest allocation of broadcast time after
news, on Rupavahini, the government television corporation. In 1990, this was about 256 hours
(Chevallier & Mansosur, 1993).
Television and research in the United States and Brazil
Other models of television shows which were designed to have a positive effect are displayed in
some of the programs that take place in the rural areas of the United States. Although one tends
to believe that the rural areas of America are vastly different from those in developing countries,
the fact is that some of the same educational and social disadvantages occur. Steps have been
taken to decrease the inclination of this occurrence that often leaves children of rural areas less
advantaged as their urban counterparts.
HOPE is a program in rural, lower-middle class West Virginia where 600 children and their
parents were studied. The program was designed to prepare preschool children for school by
increasing verbal interaction in the classroom and reducing extreme shyness, improve early
school failure and grade retention, and decrease poor performance on achievement tests.
HOPE had three parts that included daily television lessons and follow-up home activities for 3-5
year olds, with a parent guide so parents would know what the child was learning from the
television. Weekly home visits were made by local trained paraprofessionals who gave
instruction on how to teach parents how to teach their children. Lastly, weekly half-day group
experiences in a mobile classroom with a certified teacher and aid was provided.
The television show, "Around the Bend," incorporated within the HOPE program, main goal was
to provide experiences to promote children’s cognitive development. A central character, Miss
Patty, served as a positive role model. Results of the study showed that 80% of the parents
watched with their children and facilitated the learning experience. Home visitors were provided
with continuous in-service training and the classroom on wheels gave each child 8 classed per
session, with 15 children. Findings, (e.g. Chevallier & Mansosur, 1993; Choat, 1986) also
suggest that the program was able to reinforce development activities provided by the television,
it gave children the opportunity to socialize in groups, and potential separation anxiety was
greatly reduced upon entrance into school.
In another example, El Arco Iris is a supplementary pre-school program for Hispanic 4- and 5-
year-old children and their parents. El Arco Iris aims to upgrade the entrance level readiness
skills of children whose performance might be inhibited by language difficulties. Twice weekly
parents and their children attend 90-minute sessions that include a television presentation in
which a story is read and major concepts presented. Bilingual teachers present the television
lesson, which contains footage of locations in the community. Paraprofessional aides provide
further instruction, show parents how to complete activities at home, and emphasize learning
with children. Evaluation studies conducted by the Brownsville, Texas Independent School
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