Effects of television on academic performance and languages acquisition of pre-school children
Publication Date
2011Author
Avosa Arthur Ahinda, Zadock Obuchere Murundu, Michael O Okwara, Benson Charles Odongo, Joel Okutoyi
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract/ Overview
Pre-school children come into daily contact with various forms of mass media which influence their
academic and social behaviour. Though television has been used to play a monumental role in
promotion of education and entertainment, children with full exposure to television have been found
to perform poorly in class and fail to speak languages fluently. Public confidence in it is in question
as many stakeholders have expressed concern about the amount of television and the type of
programming to which children are being exposed to. The purpose of the study was to investigate
the effects of television on academic performance and languages acquisition of pre-school children
in Tiriki East Division, Hamisi Sub-County, Vihiga County, Kenya. The study involved 40 teachers
and 132 parents drawn from 20 pre-schools selected by simple random technique. It employed
descriptive survey design and an ex-post facto research design. Data was collected by
questionnaires. The study found out that; Television watching has a negative effect on both
academic achievement and languages acquisition of pre-school children. The study recommends
that; both parents and teachers should be involved in the choice and selection of appropriate and
educative Television programs for pre-school children.