The Media Research Team Goals:

• To rate the ethical content of children’s books and shows for future posting on a website accessible to the public
• To test and modify the Rating Ethical Content Scale (RECS) on multiple types of media
• To make a version of the RECS user-friendly for children and adults The MRT will meet weekly to evaluate children’s stores and watch children’s television. Participants will have an opportunity to contribute to the database of ratings and possible publications.

Some Background

In the United States, parents, child advocates and even government officials have been pitted against the barons of television in advocating specific descriptions about the sexual, violent, and adult-language content of each program. The focus has been on limiting the harmful content of programs that children might watch.

In contrast, advocates of ethical and character education have often encouraged parents and educators to expose children to stories and films that teach morality. Some of the best-loved storybooks and films appear to be morally plentiful (e.g., Pinocchio). However, there are some that are not (e.g., some Winnie-the-Pooh episodes, in which several of the characters tend to be morally insensitive and self indulgent).

How can we identify more precisely what “moral stories” are teaching- or what is it children can learn from them? How can an educator/psychologist make recommendations for parents regarding texts and movies suitable for ethical development?

The Four-Component model of morality (Rest, 1983, Narvaez & Rest, 1995) is helpful in providing a framework for analysis. We can analyze stories according to how they promote each component: moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral action completion.

For more information, contact Anna Gomberg (agomberg@nd.edu) or Amanda Matthews, (amatthew@nd.edu), or Darcia Narvaez (dnarvaez@nd.edu)