摘要
Previous studies have shown that children learn from educational television; however, these studies have not explored how closely the educational content of the program is integrated to the narrative. The following study uses a systematic content analysis of 100 top-rated U.S. children＇s television programs to explore the tangential relationship （i.e., distance） of narrative and educational content through the lens of the capacity model--which is built upon three basic components： narrative content, educational content, and the distance between them. Programs were analyzed for distance by examining lesson clarity and integration, show type, target audience age, and station type. One-way ANOVAs indicates significant differences between the means of these variables. Programs targeting younger children presented educational content that was closely integrated into the plotline of the program and helped further the story. However, as the target audience aged, the educational content became more tangential to the narrative content and was less tied to the plotline of the program.
