Education

Public broadcasting supports lifelong learning for all Americans by producing award winning educational programming for children and adults. Ranging from full-length audio and video documentaries on science and history to daily television programs for children, public broadcasters are a heavily relied upon resource in living rooms and classrooms alike.

While commercial television stations air on average 4 hours of children’s programming each week, public television stations air a minimum of 7 hours of non-commercial children’s programming each day.(1) In addition, public radio and television stations in underserved areas around the country hold events such as literacy camps in classrooms to help ensure that all American kids are prepared for success.

Public broadcasting is committed to providing research-based and teacher-tested educational programming and resources that help prepare children for academic success. This commitment has proven to have a demonstrable positive effect on children’s learning, particularly in building the literacy skills of children between the ages of two and eight, setting the stage for success in school and in life.

Students in classrooms using curriculum based on public television’s research-based programming outscored students using a comparison curriculum in five out of five measures of early literacy. (2)
Students who participated in week-long reading camps based on public television’s programming and led by local teachers in partnership with local PBS member stations, showed gains in all of the literacy skills presented in the program and developed proficiency in letters, sounds, and words. In addition, pre-schoolers in these programs demonstrate an 84% gain in phonics skills and a 139% gain in word recognition skills. (3)

Public broadcasting is maximizing the power of ground-breaking technologies to bring high value educational content and services to children via television, online, and mobile platforms – in the classroom, at home and into the world of play.

Local public broadcasting stations are helping to meet the needs of the 21st century classroom by expanding digital educational resources for teachers, students and parents. For example, many public broadcasting stations are creating online libraries where educators can access digital, standards-aligned audio and video clips of public television content for use in their classrooms.

Through a combination of on-air television programming, online interactive games and “apps”, and on the ground resources in classrooms, summer camps, and elsewhere, public broadcasting provides effective educational activities to America’s children every day.

(1) Source: http://www.freepress.net/files/New_Public_Media.doc.pdf

(2) Summative Evaluation of the Ready To Learn Initiative: http://cct.edc.org/rtl/pdf/RTLEvalReport.pdf

(3) The Florida State University’s Center for Reading Research

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