Watching Television and Reading Achievement: A Study of Third Grade Language Minority Students

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The current paper examines the relationships between watching television for various times of day and reading achievement for a subsample of third grade language minority (LM) students compared to third grade students in general. Methodology The analysis uses ECLS-K 1998–99 data to first test for significant differences between the two samples, then further explores these relationships using separate OLS multiple regression models, while controlling for past reading achievements and socioeconomic variation. Findings Building on more nuanced versions of displacement theory, this paper finds a positive relationship between reading achievement and watching television after dinner on weekdays specifically for LM students. For the general sample, watching TV on weekends or weekdays at any time period has no relationship with reading achievement. Originality/value This research suggests the potential for TV or perhaps other media to act as a lingual- or cultural-learning facilitator for LM students, being positively tied to reading achievement. The paper’s unique focus on multimedia use and LM students makes it particularly applicable to educators and public policy officials tasked with confronting the reading skills gap for a growing LM student population.