Previous studies have often demonstrated that educational television can have a positive effect on learning outcomes in low‐income countries when delivered in controlled settings. However, existing research in low‐resource contexts has scarcely considered the association between child outcomes and viewing in usual environments (ie, at their home, a friend’s home or a relative’s home). This lack of research is striking, as evidence from controlled settings might provide limited information on the effects of normal television exposure. This paper, therefore, investigates the relationship between normal exposure to a popular Tanzania‐produced cartoon, Ubongo Kids and mathematics capability, as represented by plausible values derived from an item response theory model applied to children’s test responses. Cross‐sectional investigation of a sample of 38 682 Tanzanian children suggested normal educational television exposure to be significantly associated with mathematics capability, when controlling for age, sex, school enrolment, Kiswahili attainment and household fixed effects. While cross‐sectional results are not necessarily causal, the findings in this paper broadly correspond with those from previous designs using repeated observations. What is more, considering association results alongside cost and viewership estimates suggests television‐based interventions to be highly cost effective.

中文翻译：

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坦桑尼亚的教育电视与数学能力之间的关系

以前的研究通常证明，在受控环境中投放教育电视可以对低收入国家的学习成果产生积极影响。但是，在资源匮乏的情况下，现有的研究很少考虑儿童结局与平常环境（即，在他们的家中，朋友的家中或亲戚的家中）的观看之间的关系。缺乏研究令人震惊，因为受控环境的证据可能无法提供有关正常电视曝光效果的有限信息。因此，本文研究了正常接触坦桑尼亚流行的卡通漫画《Ubongo Kids》之间的关系。数学能力，如从适用于儿童测试反应的项目反应理论模型得出的合理值所代表。对38 682名坦桑尼亚儿童的样本进行的横断面调查显示，在控制年龄，性别，入学率，斯瓦希里语素养和家庭固定效应时，正常的电视教育与数学能力有着显着的联系。尽管横截面结果不一定是因果关系，但本文中的发现与使用重复观察的先前设计得出的结论大致相同。此外，考虑关联结果以及费用和收视率估算值，表明基于电视的干预措施具有很高的成本效益。