Sesame Street can be considered a phenomenon in educational television, without which the face of educational television and research on television and children would be totally different. Shortly after it was first aired in the United States, many countries expressed interest in adopting the series. This paper looks at the international co-production format aired outside of the U.S. and explores patterns of adoption as well as its outcomes. In this format, approximately half of the materials are taken from the original series produced in the United States while the rest are made locally. Television as a medium is unique in the sense that it provides an audiovisual experience that is shared among a large number of people. It is considered a powerful vehicle for socialization and hegemonization. Such effects are arguably at a more influential and widespread level in the age of globalization, which is characterized by the intensification of social processes, communication and economic interpenetration (Caruso, 2008). Through studying publications on the adaptations and use of the series in other countries, both on peer-reviewed journals and popular media, I aim to explore the patterns in this process, how local actors interact with the series, what changes in curriculum and production are made, and what effects it brings about. It is found that each country actively introduces and integrates its own goals and flavors into the series through a shared understanding of the importance of the medium, and the child as a learner. There are efforts to keep content, objectives and references culturally specific. The use of materials from the original series inevitably introduces certain American ideas, narratives or aesthetics, but their effects are not yet addressed in research.

1. The International Sesame Street -
Convergence and Divergence in the Age of Globalization
Nguyễn Thanh Hà
Michigan State University & Vietnam National University
CIES 2015 March 11

2. Sesame Street in the United States
- Launched in November, 1969
- Targeted 3 to 5 year-olds, including racially and
geographically diverse communities
- Extensive program of formative research & testing
- "The CTW model": a system of television show planning,
production, and evaluation based on collaborations
between producers, writers, educators, and researchers.

3. The Sesame Street curriculum
The first season
- symbolic representation;
- cognitive processes;
- the physical environment;
- the social environment
“The guiding curriculum has evolved
over time in response to changing
circumstances, to reassessments of
needs, and to opportunity”
(Lesser & Schneider, 2001, p.37)

4. Going Global
lShown in over 140 countries by 2009

5. Going Global
lCo-production format:
lHalf of the materials from the original series in the United States
lThe other half are made locally
lMain licensing policies
l(1) broadcast without commercials;
l(2) any changes would have to meet high production standards;
l(3) all versions had to reflect the country's cultural values and
traditions;
l(4) all changes would have to be approved, initiated, and
supervised by a local committee working with the CTW

6. Plaza Sésamo in Mexico and
Latin America
lpremiered in Mexico in 1972
laired throughout Latin America, to a potential
audience of 25 million children in 34 countries
lAdaptation
lNew music & set
lMore emphasis on problem solving and
reasoning
lLocally relevant topics (community
cooperation, family life, nutrition, health,
safety, self-esteem, and expressing
emotions)
lTeach reading through the “whole
language” method
lThe fourth season, filmed in 1995, was
broadcast in the U.S.

7. Sesame Tree in Northen Ireland
lFirst series debuted in April 2008. Second
series began airing November 2010.
lBroadcast throughout the U.K. but was
"rooted in everyday life in Northern Ireland"
lTargets 3-6 year-olds
lNew set inspired by a centuries-old “fairy
tree” in Irish folklore
lSeveral new muppet characters
Potto, Hilda the Irish Hare
and Claribelle.
l“It is especially apt at this time that the focus of
[Sesame Tree] is on helping children learn about
each other and the diverse society in which they
live.” (Deputy First Minister McGuinness)

8. lTakalani Sesame (South Africa)
lTargets children aged 3 and 7.
lInspired to be distinctly South African
lPromotes literacy, numeracy and basic life
skills
lHigh awareness across all age groups.

9. Sesame Street in Japan
lImported in 1971 to teach English to NHK audience of
students in their third year of junior highschool
l2004 replaced by a local Sesame Street, to
lFacilitate socio-emotional development of young children
lHelp them to “use their imagination, think independently,
appreciate diversity”
lTeach simple English phrases
lCancelled in 2007

10. Conclusion
lTelevision as a medium for education and identity
construction
lChildren as learners
lLocal needs, priorities, values, culture & current
events
lGlobalization as the traveling of ideas, products,
images, in full or in parts