2007 Media Smart Research Award

Parents play a key role in helping children learn about media.  Through parental mediation, children can learn to think critically about the media they use.  But what kinds of parental mediation are most effective and why?

Temple University doctoral candidate Kelly Mendoza reviews the recent literature on this topic in her paper, Mapping Parental Mediation and Making Connections with Media Literacy. Mendoza describes three types of mediation, looks at the research on factors that influence mediation, family communication styles, and the effects of mediation on children's attitudes and behavior.  She then examines potential connections to media literacy and remaps mediation styles to incorporate a media literacy inquiry model.

Download Mapping Parental Mediation and Making Connections with Media Literacy. [PDF]

In addition to a $2,000 prize, Ms. Mendoza and her advisor, Dr. Renee Hobbs, were brought to Washington, DC, to present the findings to an audience of education and policy leaders.

Listen to a podcast [MP3] of the presentation.

Learn more about the Media Smart Research Awards program.