Effects of Encouraging Israeli Mothers to Co-observe "Sesame Street" with Their Five-Year-Olds.

The study examined the effects on learning produced by encouraging Israeli mothers to co-observe "Sesame Street" with their 5-year-olds. 93 kindergarten children, about half lower and half middle class, were divided between mothers' encouraged and not encouraged conditions. Mothers' co-observation significantly affected the amount of time that lower-SES children watched the show, as well as their enjoyment of the program, producing in turn an affect on learning and significantly attenuating initial SES differences. Co-observation effects were not found in the middle-class group, except for field dependency performance where encouragement of mothers accentuated SES differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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