ABSTRACT
Viewed globally, the history of using television for the instruction and education of children (educational television, or ETV), is as brief and spectacular as a theme-park ride. The early years, from the 1950s on, saw experiments and developments in many countries, often initially condemned by critics, later welcomed by educators and politicians with extravagant praise and high hopes. During the late 1960s, there was a period of disappointment as experiences proved the expectations of television’s educational powers unrealistic. The following decade saw the emergence of several outstandingly successful systems, some of which continue to offer valued services to the education of children, but the 1980s was generally a decade of decline in funding and support for ETV in many countries, a decline that led to large-scale change in the 1990s, as new technologies challenged one another for attention and resources.
