Increasing children's aesthetic satisfaction with films

The purpose of this study was to determine if children's aesthetic satisfaction with noninstructional narrative films could be increased after participating in a film program designed to expose them to a wide variety of film experiences. The program relied primarily upon the viewing experience. Selection of films was interdisciplinary and guided by: (1) film history, art and criticism; (2) content and peripheral concerns of the language arts, social studies and guidance curricula; (3) Herbert Gans' descriptions of taste preferences; (4) presence of a concept in E. D. Hirsch's Cultural Literacy listings. The six month program included two weekly viewings. Short films and feature movies were included.;Observations made during the film program served as the basis for a quasi-experimental design. Participants included third through sixth graders. Independent variables were film program, grade, and gender. Dependent variables included a likeability rating indicating aesthetic satisfaction on a scale from one to ten. The second dependent variable was a comprehension score.;The study includes both observational analysis of the film program and statistical analysis of the experiment. Observations made during the film program indicated a possibility that younger children may be aesthetically satisfied with a wider variety of films. The experimental film was the G rated version of Lawrence of Arabia. Significant differences were not detected in likeability scale rating between the experimental and control groups. Third, fourth, and sixth graders in the experimental group rated the film higher than their control counterparts.The results regarding the effectiveness of the film program were inconclusive.;The observation made during the film program that younger students tended to like a film more than the older student was reinforced by the experiment. Third and fourth graders rated the film higher than fifth and sixth graders regardless of treatment group. There proved to be no significant differences on the comprehension post-test due to likeability of the film. There was a significant difference between Grade Six and Grade Five on the posttest.