Seeing disability in children's made for television programmes: An Australian case study

Disability awareness is an issue that can inform societal understanding of marginalised groups. Contemporary literature continues to show the importance of inclusion in society and the impact inclusion has on people with disabilities and society more broadly. The importance of disability awareness is important in the context of the daily challenges faced such as discriminatory practices, stigma, stereotyping and exclusion and manifested in areas such as access to buildings, educational opportunities, and visibility in the media. Given the importance of disability awareness and the significant influence of media, especially on children today, this research investigated the inclusion of disability as one element of ‘awareness’ in one ‘made-for-children’ (2–5 years old) television programme. Drawing on a social model of disability, three key concepts of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity were used to explore the way that disability is portrayed for early learners. Analysis of 265 episodes (2015–2021) revealed that inclusion of disability appeared in fewer than 15% of episodes and was not representative of the community broadly speaking. This lack of representation exposed the limited potential that the media currently has as an educative function for preschool children in disability awareness and understanding of disability as part of contemporary society. Including more people with disabilities in made-for-preschool children's programmes is one way to both build awareness and progressively ameliorate this position.