Sisimpur; Sesame Street in Bangladesh: Children's Perspectives and Development.

Children's reception of television programs can provide valuable insights on the process of Early Childhood and Development (ECD). However, studies on children's reactions to television have predominantly focused on measuring cognitive skills, such as knowledge of the alphabets and numeracy skills among them. This paper studies the impact of Sisimpur, the Bengali adaptation of Sesame Street USA, on child audiences. We argue that television viewing by children is a complex, interactive process, and we demonstrate the ways in which Sisimpur contributes to the ECD discourse. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with Sisimpur's local production team in Bangladesh, we analyze how they conceptualize Sisimpur as a program that reflects Bangladeshi culture and ways of life. In addition, through household observations and focus group discussions with children, we observe their reactions to Sisimpur. Our findings highlight that Sisimpur, for the most part, encourages learning and development among children through an entertaining and interactive manner. The program has a larger impact on children living in poor and disadvantaged areas, where there are fewer opportunities for growth when compared to urban areas. Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature on ECD by examining the impact of educational programs like Sisimpur on children. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]