Joint Research on Children and Picture Books/Books（Joint research with Poplar Publishing Co.）

Project Background and Objectives

The importance of (picture)books in children's development has been discussed and empirically demonstrated in developmental psychology research. On the other hand, the media environment surrounding children is changing dramatically with the rapid spread of digital media. It is necessary to grasp the actual (picture)book and media environment surrounding children, its relationship with children's development, and the changing values of (picture)books and media, as well as to explore and create new values for (picture)books that respond to the new era.

To address these issues, Cedep and Poplar Publishing are collaborating on the "Joint Research on Children and Picture Books/Books" project starting in August 2019. This project will use a scientific approach to clarify the uniqueness of (picture)books in children's growth and development process, their potential contribution to the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, and the environment surrounding (picture)books in preschools and kindergartens. Through this project, we aim to discover new values of (picture) books in the age of digital media and disseminate the results to society at large, thereby providing a richer reading environment for children in the future.

This project features multifaceted research and comprehensive consideration of the (picture)book environment surrounding children. In order to achieve the project’s goal, we conduct a wide variety of research, including experimental research comparing paper and digital picture books, survey research to clarify the actual conditions and changes in the picture book and digital media environments in homes and communities, and literature research to track local government efforts to promote reading and the historical evolution of ideas about reading.

Project Efforts
To be added later.