All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects

Year of Award

2024

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

College

College of Education & Allied Health

Degree Program

Collaborative High Impact Instruction

Department

Education and Special Education

First Advisor

Jamie Doronkin

Second Advisor

Sarah Huisman

Third Advisor

Gale Rice

Fourth Advisor

Cathy Schroy

Keywords

Language development, Language, Early childhood, Children, Screen media

Abstract

Young children are frequently exposed to screen media that may not be appropriate to develop their speech and language skills effectively (Kartushina et al. 2022). The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if popular television shows geared toward young children could facilitate language skills via the content they model. A survey investigating the perspectives of parents and caregivers of children aged 2-5 about popular television shows gathered information regarding how they view screen media, the effect it may have on their children’s language skills, and opinions of the popular television shows, Bluey and Blippi. A content analysis of the shows, Bluey and Blippi, was conducted to gather information about language skills modeled by the shows, and if they contain features that could support or deter young children’s language skill development. The SUGAR language sampling analysis protocol (Pavelko & Owens, 2018) and an original Pragmatics Rubric were used in the content analysis. The findings indicate that the show, Bluey, models richer, more varied pragmatic skills, and leads to more co-viewing and active mediation from parents, while Blippi models higher measures of linguistic structures, with less co-viewing, per parent reports. This study adds to the literature by providing a practical analysis of two popular television shows’ language, and includes an organizational improvement plan to assist constituents in making informed decisions about their children’s screen media consumption, and practical strategies to gain benefits from screen media to support language development.

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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