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ERIC Number: ED436234
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1998-Apr
Pages: 19
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Different World: Children's Perceptions of Race and Class in the Media. A Series of Focus Groups and a National Poll of Children.
Children Now, Oakland, CA.
Although America is engaged in a national dialogue about race, children's voices have yet to be heard on the matter. This study used a series of focus groups and a national poll of 10- to 17-year-olds to examine their views about race and the role of the media in shaping understanding. Participating in the polls were 1,200 children, 300 in each group of Asian, African, Latino, and White Americans. Among the key findings of the study are the following: (1) children of all races watch a great deal of television; (2) African-Americans strongly felt that entertainment media represent their race more fairly than the news media, while Asian-Americans slightly favored the news media; (3) children of color primarily chose African-Americans as those they admire and White children primarily chose White television figures as favorites; (4) children agreed that it is important for youth to see people of their own race on television, although children of color had stronger feelings than White children; (5) children thought that White characters on entertainment television were most likely to be shown in a positive way while Latino characters were most likely to be negatively portrayed; (6) children across all races associated positive characteristics more with the White characters on television and negative characteristics more with the minority characters; (7) all children agreed that there were racial differences in the types of role portrayed on television; and (8) White children were more likely to say that money rather than race divides people in America, while other groups were split in their opinion. (KB)
Children Now, 1212 Broadway, 5th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Tel: 800-CHILD-44 (Toll Free); Tel: 510-763-2444; Fax: 510-763-1974; Web site: .
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, San Francisco, CA.; Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ.; Ford Foundation, New York, NY.; Levi Strauss Foundation, Inc., San Francisco, CA.; Rockefeller Foundation, New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: Children Now, Oakland, CA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A