ABSTRACT
There is real concern from researchers and the general public about the influence of mass media, particularly television, on preschool children’s choice and use of play materials. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of television watching on pre- school children’s choice and use of play material in Kenyenya Sub-county in Kisii County. The objectives of the study were to find out the type of TV programs children frequently watch while at home; to assess the content in the programs children frequently watch while at home; to establish the time spent by children while watching TV programs at home and to determine the relationship between the programs children frequently watch and their choice and use of play materials at school. The study employed the Social Learning Theory proposed by Bandura which states that children learn social behaviour by observation and imitation of role models. Survey research design was used as the findings could easily be generalized on the whole population of the sub-county. The study targeted a population that consisted of 900 pre-school children aged between three and six years from 60 pre-schools and 180 pre-school teachers in Kenyenya Sub-County. Stratified random sampling was used to sample the pre-schools and the children who took part in the research study. Questionnaires and an interview schedules were used in the study for data collection. Piloting was done in 10% of the study population in order to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument that were used for data collection. The minimum threshold for social sciences research (Cronbach reliability) of α=.8723 was obtained. It was established that children watched various TV programmes which were action oriented. It was also established that majority of the learners spent long hours watching preferred programmes during weekends and holidays. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that the ECDE county director in the Kisii County government should organize for workshops, seminars and conferences to sensitize all preschool teachers on the choice and use of play materials that could be influenced by watching TV programmes at home by children.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Introduction
This section comprises of background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research objectives, research questions, and significance of the study, limitations and delimitations of the study, assumptions of the study, theoretical and conceptual framework and operational definition of terms.
Background to the Study
There is really concern from researchers and the general public about the extent of influence of mass media, particularly television, on preschool children’s learning and development. Preschool children interact with various forms of mass media on a daily basis. This influences their academic and social behaviour (Clifford, 1995). According to Clifford, the various forms of mass media such as cable communications, television, video games, internet, newspapers and magazines are changing ways of acquiring knowledge, socialization and entertainment. According to Less (1988), television plays a very important role in the promotion of education above all other forms of mass media. Many young children find television more appealing than other forms of mass media and thus prefer using much of their time on it than with other media (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2005, Royal Children’s Hospital 2009, ACMA, 2007). Psychological and educational research on children’s choice and use of play materials offers rich insight into the process through which children encounter and interact with objects in their imaginative worlds.
The provision of a variety of materials and play objects to children helps them improve their creativity (Saracho, 2002). Various studies have shown that the creativity of children has deteriorated and the preferences made in the choice of play materials have changed as a result of TV watching (Baines & Slutsky, 2009; Stegelin, 2005; Vig, 2007). Therefore there is need to provide a variety of play materials through various TV programmes designed to improve creativity.
According to Edgar and Edgar (2008), quality TV programs provide exposure to a child to new world adventures which improves his/her imagination and also offering entertainment to a child. Children can learn the basic and social skills and develop through playing. Television watching, play materials, playground and play mates influences the choice of the type of play the children engage in, with play materials having a significant a positive impact on a child’s acquisition of new knowledge with creativity (Celebi, Oncu & Ozbay, 2005). Thus television watching should be encouraged so that children can learn and develop new skills on the choice and use of play materials.
In review of his work Vygotsky (1986), gives the media as an example of the learning environment where children should be socialized in order for the cognitive development to take place. Kiernan and Huerta (2008) stated that economic status of the family of the child determines development of cognition in them. Children from high economic status get more opportunities, resources and better training, which helps improve their cognitive development. The children also have an encouraging environment where there are people they can interact with and plenty of play materials to manipulate. However, children from low economic status families lack resources and conducive enviroment. Scaffolding advocated for by Vygostky, is not available to them because adults are busy trying to
make ends meet (Wertsch, 1985). Similar research has been carried out in Kenya. Mbugua (2011) carried out a research in Tetu zone, Nyeri County, in which better performance in cognitive learning among learners was associated to exposure to television with the help of the parents.
Play faces threats from many directions in modern Kenyan life. The growing population and hard economic situations emphasizes on standards, assessment, and accountability. This has led schools and homes to reduce outdoor and active physical play. In many schools, centers and homes, play has been all but eliminated to make room for quieter, academic learning (Stipek, 2006). Passive television viewing and use of other media are also replacing active play, and have even been found to interrupt the play of young infants (Schmidt, Pempek, Kirkorian, Lund, & Anderson, 2008; Zimmerman, Christakis, & Meltzoff, 2007). Television programs provide a variety of materials that children can be exposed to .The play materials chosen influence the creativity of children and hence their academic achievement. Thiel (2010) did research on how children learn mathematical concepts through play. Children collect rocks, leaves, pine cones, and branches and count, sort, and gather them. All these are prerequisites to mathematical computational skills. However, the type of TV program, its content and the length of time children watch TV may influence the type of play materials chosen and may thus determine the extent of their creativity.
Kenyenya in Kisii is located in a peri-urban area and television coverage is same as urban areas. As such, its residents equally access a number of television channels (RoK, 2010). It is densely populated. This has reduced the available playground space for outdoor activities. Most children spend most of their time watching television after
school. Kenyenya has a good road network which provides easy access and has many preschools because of the high population density. All the above facts make Kenyenya an ideal place to carry out the study. Review of literature in the western world has shown that TV influences preschool children’s choice and use of play materials. However, there is no relationship shown between watching television and the play materials chosen on cognitive development and academic achievement in school. This forms the basis for the study of influence of TV watching on choice and use of play materials.
Statement of the Problem
Improvisation of a variety of play materials helps children to improve their creativity. When children play outdoors they are able to improvise and create an imaginative world on their own. This helps them develop cognitively. Unfortunately, recent research has shown that children’s creativity has deteriorated and the preferences made in the choice of play materials have changed as a result of TV watching. Studies in Western countries have shown that the choice and use of play materials among preschool children is highly influenced by TV watching. Consequently, many children choose materials that are bought rather than self-made or improvised. An increase of accessibility of TV in Africa, Kenya and in particular Kenyenya may have an influence on choice and use of play materials. This would mean that children go for play materials that are bought rather than improvised. Given the economic situation in the region, many parents may be unable to provide materials. As a result children may play less thereby missing out on the opportunity to develop creativity. Little is known on how much children in Kenya watch TV and whether or not it influences their choice and use of play materials, and hence my research study.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of television watching on pre- school children choice and use of play material in Kenyenya , Kisii, Kenya.
Research Objectives
The objectives of the study were:-
- To find out the type of TV programs children frequently watch while at home and how they influence their choice of play materials.
- To assess the content in the programs children frequently watch while at home and how it influences choice and use of play materials.
- To establish the time spent by children while watching TV programs at home and how it influences choice and use of play materials.
- To determine whether the programs children frequently watch influence their choice and use of play materials at school.
Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions:
- What type of TV programs do children frequently watch while at home?
- What are the contents in the TV programs that children frequently watch while at home?
- For how long do the children watch the TV programs while at home?
- How do the programs children frequently watch influence their choice and use of play materials at school?
