ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on the perceptions, values, and experiences of Latino parents and children regarding television and video games—the two most frequently consumed media among children and youth. They first present quantitative data from the national survey of Latino parents about their perceptions of their children's use of educational media. The authors then share interviews conducted with 16 predominantly low-income Mexican American mothers and children to understand how they define educational media in the context of television and video games. They illuminate what Latino parents and children think of as "educational" media. The authors address the limitations of survey research that often, and most likely unintentionally, perpetuates views of Latino and low-income families as "deficient" when it comes to educational media use. Recent studies that investigate the context of learning inform a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between media and education by highlighting when, how, and with whom children learn around media.
