There are numerous media offerings targeted to young audiences that claim to have educational benefits. It is hard to overemphasize the need for evidence about which of these offerings are effective, for which populations, and for which outcomes. The current article begins by discussing the value and limitations of meta-analysis (as opposed to narrative literature reviews) as a tool for marshaling such evidence. We illustrate these points with a recent meta-analysis of the educational impact of Sesame Street international coproductions. We then present two further studies that emerged from one aspect of the findings, examining effects of educational TV narratives on childrenās racial/ethnic attitudes.
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