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Dora the Explorer: Preschool Geographic EducatorJames R. CarterPublished online: 26 Nov 2008.

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Dora the Explorer: Preschool Geographic EducatorJames R. Carter

ABSTRACTDora the Explorer is a twenty-three-minutetelevision program for preschoolersviewed by millions every day in manycountries. These programs are alsomarketed as videotapes and DVDs.This seven-year-old Latina, bilingualcartoon character teaches many thingsby interacting with the young viewers.On every program Dora and friendshave to go someplace to solve aproblem. Map is a cartoon character whohelps viewers read the map and tellsDora where to go next. Some episodesare particularly geographic. Geographersneed to evaluate the contributions ofDora the Explorer to geographic educationfor preschool children, a little-studiedsubject.

Key Words: preschoolers, map-reading,Latina, television, bilingual

James R. Carter, Emeritus Professor, receivedhis Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in1973. He was a member of the Geography De-partment, University of Tennessee, Knoxvillefrom 1972–1990 and the Geography-GeologyDepartment, Illinois State University (ISU),1990–2005. Dr. Carter was the Directorof Academic Computing, ISU, 1990–1993,Chair, Map Use Commission of the Interna-tional Cartographic Association, 1991–1999,and corresponding member, Children andCartography Commission of the ICA.

INTRODUCTIONEvery weekday millions of preschool children watch the Dora the Explorer

television program and help the seven-year-old Latina cartoon character navigatean environment to reach some destination and solve a problem. Dora is bilingualand encourages her young viewers to call out English or Spanish words frequentlyas well as to get up and move to solve an immediate task. On every programchildren have to call forth a map and at many steps during the program thechildren view one or more maps as Dora teaches counting, colors, shapes,language, and, in the process, map- reading. I became interested in this programwhen a former student told me his eighteen-month-old son knew what a map isbecause he watches Dora every day. Then a colleague reported his three-year-olddaughter asked him about Tanzania after watching a Dora the Explorer program.A Newsweek article reported that a mother with sons ages two and three whowatch Dora “. . . draws a map—the bank, the grocery store—so they can tracktheir progress as Dora does” (McGinn 2002). Obviously, the program Dora theExplorer is having an impact on preschoolers that should be of interest to thegeographic education community.

Dora the Explorer came to television in 2000 on Nick Jr., a commercialchannel on cable and satellite. Frey (2004, C01) reported that “Dora is watchedby 21 million viewers (adults and children) each month . . . and, of that totalviewership, 3 million are Latino children ages 2 to 11.” Derdeyn (2005) reportedthe program was viewed by 8.8 million children in North American and wasbroadcast in seventy-four countries in fifteen languages Siegel-Itzkovich (2007)reported that in Israel the program is in Hebrew and English and noted thataround the world it is broadcast in Greek, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, andother languages. Suffice it to say millions of children around the world watchDora the Explorer, which “has garnered several daytime Emmy nominationsand has won two Emmy awards, including Outstanding Children’s AnimatedProgram” (Guidotti-Hernandez 2007, 210). Dora has become a commercialenterprise, and a visit to a toy store or bookstore will demonstrate herpopularity. Dora’s face is found in grocery aisles, on parade floats, and onconcert stages. Caramanica (2005) reported that Dora the Explorer had generatedmore than $3 billion in retail sales, and certainly that figure has grown sincethen.

There are more than one hundred episodes of Dora the Explorer (TV.com 2007).Most are about twenty-three minutes long and are designed to stand alone ina half-hour time slot on television. A few episodes are about forty minutes inlength and are shown on television in two sequential segments. All single Dorathe Explorer episodes are shown uninterrupted and the longer segments are brokeninto two uninterrupted segments. NickJr.com (2008a) has an online schedule forthe week indicating when Dora the Explorer will be shown, but it does not listepisodes by name.

Many of the episodes of Dora the Explorer are available on video tapesand DVDs, making it possible for those without cable/satellite televisionto see this programming as well as making it possible for children towatch this cartoon character again and again at their convenience, or theconvenience of the parents. On a DVD viewers can control the presentationof the language; Dora may speak English/Spanish, Spanish/English, and French/English.

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DESIGN OF THE DORA THE EXPLORER PROGRAMAlthough Dora has become a commercial success, the

creators of the program argue they had educational goalsin mind in the design of the program.

Preschoolers are our least powerful citizens.They can’t reach the light switch; they havetrouble pouring the milk on their cereal.They’re faced with obstacles throughouttheir day and it can get pretty discouraging.Problem-solving strategies like stopping tothink, asking for help, and using what youknow are modelled in every Dora show.(NickJr.co.uk 2007)

Dora the Explorer teaches children basicSpanish words and phrases along withmath and music skills and physical coordi-nation. Children also learn with Dora howto observe situations and solve problems.(NickJr.co.uk 2007)

Dora was designed as a young Latina able to succeedin great adventures, an empowering model for thosewho can identify with her. Dora’s creators argue that ifchildren start speaking a second language by the age ofsix or seven they have a greater probability of achievingfluency. In addition, the use of a second language byDora might help Spanish speakers “. . . take pride in beingbilingual” (NickJr.co.uk 2007). While the program teachesa foreign language, text never appears on the screen; allof the vocabulary words are expressed verbally. In manyepisodes Dora teaches counting in English and/or Spanish.In a few cases numerals are shown but they are theexception.

It generally takes a year to produce a program frombeginning to end, including testing and retesting on largenumbers of preschoolers. The show’s curriculum is

. . . based on Howard Gardner’s ideas aboutmultiple intelligences. In every episodewe incorporate 7 different learning "in-telligences” such as logical/mathematical,musical/auditory, and bodily/kinaesthetic.We script the show so little kids actively useeach intelligence to help Dora and Boots.(NickJr.co.uk 2007)

Boots is Dora’s purple monkey sidekick. Although thecreators do not state spatial skills on their Web page, thoseare one of the intelligences articulated by Gardner (1993,21) who wrote “Spatial problem solving is required fornavigation and in the use of the notational system of maps.”The creators certainly give attention to spatial skills.

A major characteristic of Dora the Explorer is that childrenare encouraged to talk back to the television characters andrepeat everything three times. The talking map is very in-sistent on having viewers tell Dora time and again where togo to get to the destination. Nickelodeon first used this talk-

back with Blue’s Clues. They found great success in askingchildren to help, for youngsters do not get asked to helpvery often. More recently, other television programminghas picked up on this mode of interactivity (Toronto Star2005). An indication of the effectiveness of the interactivemodel of Dora the Explorer was captured by Jordan whointerviewed teachers in a child development center for two-to five-year-olds in a low-income environment to find waysin which they use various media. One teacher reflected onthe one-time use of a Dora the Explorer episode, noting thestudents related to the program, were quiet for some twentyminutes, repeated everything she said and kept doing so forthe rest of the day (Jordan 2005, 529).

GEOGRAPHICAL AWARENESS OF FIVE-YEAR-OLDSThis very popular television program in which maps are

employed in every episode in a systematic fashion musthave some impact on what preschool children know aboutmaps and on their readiness to learn more about mapsand geography. Catling (2006) provides a comprehensivesummary of what the professional literature tells us five-year-olds know about geography and maps. His articleis designed to help structure education programming inEnglish schools but his overview gives a framework forconsidering this specific program.

Catling (2006, 55) writes that

. . . children enter primary school at fiveyears old with experience in learninggeography . . . they have already brought. . . their developing geographical experi-ence from the home environment, theirlocal area and senses of places and liveselsewhere, drawn from family, friends andthe media.

He recognizes that children’s awareness of a wider worldcomes from a variety of sources “including the story booksread to pre-school children and programmes on television”(p.59) He also realizes that children learn by imitating thingsthey see on television in general (p.67).

Catling (2006, 56–58) emphasizes the role of play in theintellectual growth of preschool children and notes thatthey have a very limited play range, as dictated by parents.A television program that attracts children falls into theplay range acceptable to most parents. This was addressedby Val, one of the creators of Dora the Explorer:

One of the things I love most about theshow, and something that makes it unique,is that viewers are asked to be activeparticipants—not only by answering ques-tions, but by getting off the couch and mov-ing their bodies. Parents tell us they knowwhen Dora is on because they’ll see andhear their kids playing along with the show:counting, speaking Spanish, jumping, row-ing, clapping, etc. (NickJr.co.uk 2007)

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This programming of Dora the Explorer contributes to atleast three things that Catling (2006, 58) looks for:

1. young children’s language development and skill,such as whether they have the vocabulary toname/describe features;

2. young children’s spatial awareness, their sense ofdirection and their ability to ‘map’ their familiarterritory ‘in their heads’; and

3. the physical skills that young children may havebegun to develop, including coordination.

Dora introduces many images of natural and man-made environments that many children would have littleopportunity to see or experience. The use of maps certainlycontributes to spatial awareness and the sense of direction.And, being told by Dora to get off the couch to saltan(jump) over melons rolling down the hill helps developcoordination.

Catling (2006, 69–70) gives four environmental contextsfor place play:

1. Using real environments

2. Miniature environments

3. Toy environments

4. Virtual environments

His virtual environments are made up of computer softwareand Internet activities where children can explore or createtheir own environments. After examining the geographicdimensions of many episodes of Dora the Explorer and otherchildren’s television programming, I believe the televisionprograms that get viewers actively involved with theprotagonists give a fifth environmental context for play,particularly for younger children.

Dora the Explorer is designed for the preschool childand by the age of five or six most children move beyondtelevision characters that talk to them and demand theirinput. But, for a few years Dora gave these youngsters manyconcepts, skills, and capabilities that are a foundation tolearn geography and for using maps and graphic imagery.

YOUNG CHILDREN AND TELEVISIONA comprehensive overview of what is known about

the broad topic of children and television was given byGuernsey (2004) in the Washington Post. Anderson andPempek (2005) summarize what is known about the impactof television on young children, particularly as it relatesto the 1999 recommendations of the American Academyof Pediatrics. While the American Academy of Pediatricsrecommended that children younger than two-years-of-ageshould not be exposed to television, Anderson and Pempek(2005, 505) recognize that in reality from birth childrenare exposed to television, at least as background. Whenchildren start to watch television and it becomes somewhatcomprehensible, these researchers think of television asforeground. They suggest that proper programming “could

in principle be educational for very young children andhave positive impact in addition to or instead of thepresumed negative impact” (Anderson and Pempek 2005,506). After reviewing many studies, they conclude thatmuch of the information is not definitive but they donote it is recognized that at thirty-months there is a sharpincrease in children’s viewing of television programming(Anderson and Pempek 2005, 509). These authors point tothe work of Linebarger and Walker (2005) who conducteda longitudinal study that gets at the questions that need tobe addressed.

Linebarger and Walker (2005) set out to examine thenature of television viewing patterns of children andinfants over time and how that viewing relates to languagedevelopment. They referenced other studies of televisionviewing by infants and toddlers but were critical of thosebecause they did not view actual programming but lookedat how the subjects performed specific tasks after seeinga controlled activity on a television display in a labenvironment (Linebarger and Walker 2005, 625–626). Theseauthors conducted a controlled study of fifty-one subjectsto examine the relationships between television viewing,program content, and language development. They sys-tematically examined children every three months fromage six-months to age thirty-months. They observed thatchildren on average started to pay attention to television atabout age nine-months and at about age eighteen-monthstheir amount of viewing began to accelerate (Linebargerand Walker 2005, 638).

They set out to observe effects of types of TV programsfor young children, and so they grouped programs bytypes. Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues were combinedbecause these two programs have “onscreen charactersspeak directly to the child, actively elicit participation, labelobjects, and provide opportunities to respond” (Linebargerand Walker 2005, 639). Of all of the pairings of children’sprograms, the combination of Dora the Explorer and Blue’sClues resulted in the most significant increase in vocabularywords at thirty-months, well above that of nonviewers.Interestingly, some very popular children’s television pro-grams were negatively related to vocabulary acquisitionand Linebarger and Walker (2005, 626) emphasize thatrepeated and consistent activities are required for infantsto “acquire new skills and understand concepts.” Certainly,in some aspects Dora the Explorer is very repetitive andmost programming is quite consistent from episode toepisode. One educator found that consistent repetition tobe quite offensive, contending Dora the Explorer is quiteconstraining, although she concedes her granddaughterloves the program (Huntly 2006, 60–62).

GEOGRAPHY AS TAUGHT IN DORA THE EXPLORERIn most episodes Dora is outdoors with her sidekick

Boots, a purple monkey. In the mix of personalities there areBackpack and Map, which resides in Backpack. Along theway we are likely to see Swiper the fox, Isa the chameleon,

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Figure 1. Map in fire hat showing viewers that they need to tell Dora and theothers on the fire truck to go through the village, past the gas station to the tall treeto rescue the kitten. ( c© 2008 Viacom International Inc., Undercover Dora, courtesyof Nick Jr.)

Tico the squirrel, and Benny the bull. And between scenesit is not uncommon to see a small band of three musicians(snail, grasshopper, frog) zip across the screen. All of thesecartoon characters are very stylized and it takes imaginationto relate these characters to their real-world counterparts.On some occasions, Dora starts or ends at her house andwe get to meet her Mami, Papi, Abuela (grandmother), andher cousin Diego. As the story dictates, other humans mayappear and their appearance varies from quite-humanliketo fanciful cartoon characters. When we see Boot’s father (apurple monkey) he is dressed as a construction engineer, inwhite shirt, necktie, suspenders, hardhat, and pencils in hisshirt pocket.

Each episode starts with Dora and Boots encountering asituation that needs to be corrected. To address the situationthey have to travel to some place. To find out how toget there, Dora asks viewers “Who do we ask where weneed to go?” In response, the viewers have to call Mapout of Backpack. As a personality Map is a roll of paperstanding vertically. He or she—gender never seems to beindicated—has a mouth, two eyes, and eyebrows, and singsand talks. Map has no appendages nor does it need any aidsto locomotion. In some programs Map is given a red scarfto become Super Map, permitting it to carry out super taskssuch as blowing clouds away. In pirate adventures Map islikely to have a black patch over one eye.

When Dora needs a map as a spatialtool, a flat map fills the screen andthe animated rolled-up Map appearsabove the spatial map singing on andon: “If there’s a place you gotta go,I’m the one you need to know. I’mthe map . . . .” As appropriate, Mapthen tells viewers at least three timesto go through the village, past thegas station to get to the tallest tree torescue the kitty (Fig 1.) and returns tosinging “I’m the map, I’m the map . . . .If there’s a place you gotta get, I canget you there I’ll bet, I’m the map, I’mthe map, I’m the map. . . .” (Dora 2007).

Thus, young viewers see two formsof a map—a spatial representationof an environment in traditionalmap form and an animated characternamed Map. The personality Mapnever unrolls to become the flat mapso young viewers have to make theconnection between these two repre-sentations of a map. Many times thepersonality Map is shown above andoverlooking the flat map.

In the television programs the routeDora and friends have to followtakes them from their starting posi-tion through or across specific placesto their destination. Shown on most

maps the starting position is in the lower left corner and thedestination is to the right and above. In the standard twenty-three-minute episode there will be three places shownon the map, the last being the destination. In the longerepisodes there will be four places shown. When Map showsDora where to go the path lights up and that light movesalong the path showing the route they must take as Mapgives directions. In most cases, the maps we see in Dora theExplorer are oblique so that the symbols appear as if viewedfrom about 45 degrees above the horizon. Thus, the bridge,barn, river, forest, and so on are more easily identified bythe young viewers.

Preschoolers will be introduced to lakes and rivers, pondsand oceans, forests and swamps, and hills and mountainsas well as constructed items such as roads, bridges, gates,gardens, cornfields, villages, playgrounds, and amusementparks. On occasion we see Dora’s house, school, andgrandmother’s house. We also may see Mayan pyramidsor a European castle similar to those in Austria. In oneprogram Dora travels from one season to another to helpget characters back into their proper season, and the mapin this case shows the seasons in a 2×2 matrix.

There are two episodes of Dora the Explorer thatare particularly relevant to geography. On the DVDDora the Explorer, Map Adventure (Nick Jr. 2003) thereis a twenty-three-minute episode where rolled-up Map

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Figure 2. Dora constructs her own map to reach Tallest Mountain, going throughButterfly Garden and the Cornfield. ( c© 2003 Viacom International Inc., Dora theExplorer: Map Adventures, courtesy of Nick Jr.)

Figure 3. Map showing Dora and Boots possible routes through the cornfieldto avoid nasty ants. ( c© 2003 Viacom International Inc., Dora the Explorer: MapAdventures, courtesy of Nick Jr.)

is picked up by a large bird andcarried off to be used in constructingthe bird’s nest. As Map is carriedaway Dora calls to Map and asks howshe can find him. Map instructs her tomake her own map. So, she invokesBackpack to get the things she needsto make a map. Viewers then help herdraw the road through the butterflygarden and the cornfield to get tothe tallest mountain (Fig. 2). Then,when they get to the garden they areconfronted with three optional paths.Thankfully, there is a map posted atthe entrance portraying the routesthrough the garden. Viewers haveto help Dora read the map to findthat the blue path is the one thatcontinues through the garden. Laterwhen they get to the cornfield thereis a map showing the six alternativepaths to get through the field. If theydo not follow the best route they willencounter nasty ants (Fig. 3). Eachlink of the six options is in a differentcolor, but with viewers’ help Doralearns that they will be safe if theyfollow the red, then blue, then greenpaths through the cornfield. Finally,as our protagonists near the tallestmountain the large bird realizes Mapis not a twig and returns Map to Dora.Map then reviews Dora’s map and isvery impressed with what she drew.So, here in one episode we use mapsat two different scales, and we seeDora empowered to create her ownmap sufficient to accomplish the taskat hand.

Dora the Explorer World Adventure(Nick Jr. 2006) is a long episodewhere Dora needs to deliver friend-ship bracelets to boys and girls inother parts of the world. Specifically,Dora has to go to France, Tanzania,Russia, and China. Rather than thedistorted world maps on rectangularprojections adults see so frequently,Map presents the young viewers aglobe rotating from west to east (Fig.4). The perspective is from about 30degrees north giving coverage fromthe southern tips of South America,Africa, and Australia to the north-ern tip of Greenland and the ArcticOcean. The fidelity of the shapesand orientations of the continentsand water bodies is quite good.

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Figure 4. Map showing viewers where we have to go to deliver friendshipbracelets—France, Tanzania, Russia, and China. ( c© 2006 Viacom InternationalInc., Dora the Explorer: World Adventure, courtesy of Nick Jr.)

Water bodies are portrayed in blue, and landmasses in tra-ditional colors of green and tan. The creators deserve creditfor making the effort to give a reasonable representation ofour world as a spherical object.

Less credit is due for the map symbolization of the targetareas in each of the four countries. France is symbolizedby the Eiffel Tower, Tanzania by a gumdrop-like MountKilimanjaro, snow-covered Russia by the Winter Palace,and China by the Great Wall. In France, Dora meets upwith her friend Anamie, and they go past small shopssinging a “Bonjour” song on the way to the Eiffel Tower. InTanzania, she strolls through a village with circular stonehouses and thatched roofs, sharing greetings of “Jambo”with everyone (Fig. 5). At the edge of town she meets herfriend Andari and climbs aboard his elephant. They take asafari through the savannas on the way to the mountain.In all of these visits Dora is wearing the clothing of theindigenous children. Russia is characterized with wintercold. Dora meets Vladimir and they go into the Palace wherethey distribute bracelets to the children. A train takes Dorato China and as she moves through the country viewers arecalled on to say “Nihau” to the rice fields, pagodas, pandas,and bamboo. At the Great Wall, Dora is met by her friendMing, and together they are able to deliver the bracelets tothe children assembled there (Fig. 6). Dora flies back home.

In many cases the portrayals oflandscapes in Dora the Explorer arequite realistic, such as that of Antarc-tica when Dora and Diego help a babypenguin get back to its parents at theSouth Pole. By contrast, when Doraand Boots have to cross Icy River toget to the North Pole, three whalesline up in the river and they are able tojump from back to back to get across.In recent years stars were added insome episodes, and with the starsDora is able to carry out herculeantasks as needed. Such fantasy detractsfrom the reality of the environmentsin which Dora moves.

There are many aspects of cul-tural and human geography thatare embedded in Dora the Explorerthat probably are not evident tomost adults and certainly not to thepreschoolers. Dora is a Latina and insome episodes we see images thatrepresent that culture, such as onoccasion her long ruffled white skirt,the vernacular architecture of herfamily house, and the reference to herabuela (grandmother). While view-ers may see stereotypical images ofLatina/os occasionally, those imagesshould be seen in comparison to the

stereotypical images of life in Paris, a village in Tanzania,a winter scene in Russia, and people in China playingbeside the Great Wall. And children will see talking giants,mermaids, kings and queens, witches, and much more ascartoon characters. Fantasy and fancy are intermixed withrather faithful representations of geographic realities.

Of particular note is the consistent use of maps in theseprograms targeted at preschoolers. Wiegand (2006) givesan overview of the use of maps in teaching and hasnothing related to teaching or use of maps by preschoolers.However, he does spell out what it takes to teach childrenhow to use maps:

Successful wayfinding with a map in thereal world includes the skills of being ableto locate your own position on the map,identify the location of the destination,orient the map to the environment, planan appropriate route using map symbolsand then follow the route, matching land-marks to map symbols as you travel . . . Forobvious reasons, studies with very youngchildren have been limited to the scale ofroom-sized spaces and smallish areas suchas playgrounds. (p. 41)

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Figure 5. Dora and Swiper passing through village in Tanzania. ( c© 2006 ViacomInternational Inc., Dora the Explorer: World Adventure, courtesy of Nick Jr.)

The creators of Dora the Explorer follow the charge ofWeigand and seemingly do all they can do to teach millionsof children to use a map for wayfinding, within theconstraints of the television interface and a twenty-three-minute window. On every program children are calledupon to read the map and then tell Dora where to go toget to the goal. Dora and Map take children beyond thelimits of room-sized spaces, although they live in virtualenvironments.

While it is great that preschool children get to see mapsused every day in an environment where they can readand interact with the map, we might be concerned with themany images of Map, the character. Certainly, when Mapdons a red scarf, turning him into Super Map, able to blowclouds away, it is very fanciful and probably detracts fromthe concept of maps. When something disappears Dora callson Map to tell us where it is and Map knows, althoughit went absent only minutes before. Map has unlimitedpowers to locate any and every thing. The character Map isvery forceful and after shouting his last command he oftenmoves forward and fills the full screen with his mouth. Onthe other hand, Map empowered Dora to make her ownmap and she did so.

THE MAP VIEWING ENVIRONMENT IN DORATHE EXPLORER

Television imposes constraints on the nature of graphicsand maps that can be shown on the screen, but in spite of

these constraints many maps appearon television, with little input fromthe cartographic community. In mosttelevision programming a map ormaps appear on the screen unexpect-edly and will be removed after afew seconds as the story progresses.Upon the appearance of a map inmost television programming view-ers have to determine what is beingshown and orient themselves to theimage. At some time the map willdisappear from the screen making itimpossible to view the map again.Unlike printed maps and interactivecomputer programs, the viewer oftelevision maps has no control overany aspect of viewing the map.

In Dora the Explorer the use ofmaps is relatively unique for tele-vision because maps are presentedregularly in the program sequence,have the same basic format day-to-day, and have an intermediary tohelp interpret the content of the map.In this regard, the use of maps onDora the Explorer is similar to the useof maps in most television weatherpresentations because viewers know

the nature of the maps, the types of information that areshown on the maps, and the familiar personalities helpingthem use the maps (Carter 1998, 19). These televisionmap-use environments seem to be quite effective becausemillions of viewers tune into them day-after-day to seemaps used for either guiding a child and her friends orpresenting the patterns of weather.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES ON DORA THE EXPLORERDora the Explorer and the character Dora have been

written about in the popular press and academic journals.Moran (2006, 287) observed:

The landscape of children’s programmingis changing because of the increased ex-portation of children’s television programscreated in the USA. Networks have beenaggressively marketing programs to aninternational audience through individ-ual program sales and satellite networkexpansion.

Moran (2006, 290–291) goes on to note that Blue’s Cluesand Dora the Explorer have been successful promotions butquestions how well the prosocial lessons of these programsfit in other cultures.

Popp (2006) examined media’s reactions to Dora theExplorer’s use of Spanish and Mel Gibson’s use of ancientlanguages in his movie The Passion of the Christ to show howtheir use of language gives them a market power.

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Figure 6. Dora and Ming near the Great Wall in China. ( c© 2006 ViacomInternational Inc., Dora the Explorer: World Adventure, courtesy of Nick Jr.)

It is posited that Dora’s use of Spanishand English bilingualism lends the series asense of educational merit and cosmopoli-tanism. These perceived attributes are keyto the animated series’ monumental suc-cess in attracting audiences and growinga billion-dollar merchandising enterprise.(Popp 2006, 6)

Others mention Dora the Explorer as one of the programstargeted at children in the mix of the global conglomerates.Calvert et al. (2007) observed Caucasian and Hispanicboys and girls of mean age four-years two-months, underfour different situations, to see how they identified withDora and what they comprehended from the programcontent. Girls more identified with Dora than boys, butto their surprise Caucasians identified with her more thanHispanics, particularly Hispanic boys (Calvert et al. 2007,441). The researchers did not identify the content questionsbut there is no suggestion anything they tested related togeography.

The Latino community has paid attention to Dora theExplorer as a recognized voice in the commercial media.Guidotti-Hernandez (2007, 211) sees Dora the Explorer in thecontext of a global enterprise that by its size and reach hasimpact far beyond entertaining and teaching preschoolers,to sparking “public debates about race, class, gender,

and citizenship in transnational con-texts.” She argues that “there is nosuch thing as an authentic Latina”(p. 213) but, many might argue thatDora has become the model andimage of what a Latina is. Dorahas the freedom to travel anywhereshe needs to go and always hasthe resources she needs when sheneeds them. Guidotti-Hernandez ar-gues that this is out of keepingwith the reality of Latinas in theUnited States or around the world.Such concerns probably contributedto Nickelodeon’s decision to estab-lish “a cultural advisory board. Eachepisode of Dora the Explorer under-goes scrutiny by the cultural advisoryboard, which shapes notions of La-tinidad” (Guidotti-Hernandez 2007,216).

Huntly (2006) contrasts Dora theExplorer to Linny the Guinea Pigof Wonder Pets (NickJr.com 2008b).Huntly, by way of her granddaugh-ter, accidentally discovered a shortsegment of Wonder Pets on a DVD.She found Linny to be refreshing afterthe routine of Dora and reflects on thetypes of education derived from each

set of programs. She makes a number of observations aboutthe nature of the Dora the Explorer program, including“Dora. . . is not particularly adventurous as explorers go,since she follows a map through every episode, bothliterally and figuratively” (Huntly 2006, 60). Huntly notesthat Dora never strays from a preplanned sequence ofevents and that the same basic sequence is followed in everyepisode. Dora tends to shout everything and much of herspeech is repetitive. Dora strides purposefully along herroute and does not play, but she makes many commandsto the viewers to find this and say that. She sets a freneticpace but is always cheerful and positive (Huntly 2006, 60–62). The fact that “Dora and her cohorts are almost alwaysin this telling mode—telling the viewer what to do andsay, explaining where things are, giving instructions, andreminding other characters what they are doing and whatwill happen next” (Huntly 2006, 64) falls into a rationalistmode of education as “teaching as instructing.” Buildingon the work of Davis (2004, 64), she observes that “Dora theExplorer is closely aligned with most North American publiceducation.” Huntly (2006, 65) contends that at a very basiclevel Dora is about marketing and the corporate culture,and spells out the corporate structure and enterprises ofwhich Nick Jr. is a part. Note that Wonder Pets with Linnythe Guinea Pig is also shown on Nick Jr. and often precedesor follows Dora the Explorer in the daily sequence and thusis part of the same culture.

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Preschool Geographic Educator

As a part of popular culture, Dora the Explorer hasbecome a force that extends beyond preschool children toinclude parents and caregivers, advertisers and marketingcommunities, and many persons concerned about languagedevelopment, cultural images, and society in general. Thisyoung girl is very busy and seems to have a large agenda.There are many who consider Dora the Explorer to be ratherinane and childish, but the primary audience is smallpersons who seem to find appeal in and benefit from thislevel of presentation.

CONCLUSIONSSince 2000 Dora the Explorer has become part of a world

culture focused on capturing the eyes of preschool children.In many cases parents and caregivers are happy that thereis a Dora there because she provides a safe diversionfor about twenty-three minutes once or twice a day.But Dora also has evolved into a marketable commodityand many parents probably have second thoughts abouthaving invited Dora into their lives when they see Doramerchandise on sale everywhere.

Conversations with parents and children show that Dorathe Explorer has great appeal to young people until theyoutgrow the program at about five- to seven-years-of-age.By virtually crossing rivers and lakes, walking throughforests and swamps, and climbing mountains and hills,preschool children that seldom venture out of the houseor yard are introduced to a larger world. These children areintroduced to maps at different scales, learn a few wordsin another language, are introduced to other cultures incartoon representations, and physically interact with theprotagonist. Geographic educators should recognize thatthis educational environment exists on television and DVDsand is seen by millions of preschoolers every day, in manycountries. If only our other geographic offerings had suchbroad reach.

REFERENCESAnderson, D. R., and T. A. Pempek. 2005. Television and

very young children. American Behavioral Scientist 48:505–522.

Calvert, S. L., B. L. Strong, E. L. Jacobs, and E. E. Conger.2007. Interaction and participation for young Hispanicand Caucasian children’s learning of media content.Media Psychology 9: 431–445.

Caramanica, J. 2005. Directions: Nickelodeon Heads (Fur-ther) South. New York Times, September 4, sec. 2, 2.

Carter, J. R. 1998. Uses, users and use environments oftelevision maps. Cartographic Perspectives 8(Spring): 18–37.

Catling, S. 2006. What do five year olds know of theworld? —Geographical understanding and play inyoung children’s early learning. Geography 91(1): 55–74.

Davis, B. 2004. Inventions in Teaching. Mahwah, New Jersey:Lawrence Erlbaum.

Derdeyn, S. 2005. Dora the Explorer. The Vancouver Province,November 10, C3.

Dora. 2007. Notes by author on viewing episodes of Dorathe Explorer on television.

Frey, J. 2004. Hello, ‘Dora,’ Hola; Bilingual show’s appealto kids is easy to understand. Washington Post. March5, C01.

Gardner, H. 1993. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory inPractice. New York: Basic Books.

Guernsey, L. 2004. Tuning in to a problem; A worriedmom pursues the facts about what TV does toits youngest viewers. Washington Post, November 9,F01.

Guidotti-Hernandez, N. M. 2007. Dora the Explorer, con-structing “LATINIDADES” and the politics of globalcitizenship. Latino Studies 5: 209–232.

Huntly, A. 2006. Art interrupting advertising: A critique ofthe educational paradigms of Linny the Guinea Pig andDora the Explorer. Journal of the Canadian Association forCurriculum Studies 4(1): 59–72.

Jordan, A. B. 2005. Learning to use books and tele-vision: An exploratory study in the ecologicalperspective. American Behavioral Scientist 48: 523–538.

Linebarger, D. L., and D. Walker. 2005. Infants’ and toddlers’television viewing and language outcomes. AmericanBehavioral Scientist 48: 624.

McGinn, D. 2002. Guilt-free TV. Newsweek, November 11,53–59.

Moran, K. C. 2006. The global expansion of children’stelevision: A case study of the adaptation of SesameStreet in Spain. Learning, Media and Technology 31(3):287–300.

Nick Jr. 2003. “Lost map.” Dora the Explorer: Map Adventures,DVD. New York: Viacom International Inc.

———. 2006. “World adventure!” Dora the Explorer: WorldAdventure, DVD. New York: Viacom International Inc.

———. 2008. “Rojo: The fire truck.” Undercover Dora, DVD.New York: Viacom International Inc.

NickJr.co.uk. 2007. Dora the Explorer: “All About” and“Show Creators” http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/dora/more.aspx#creators (accessed October 16,2008).

NickJr.com. 2008a. On-line schedule for coming week.http://www.nickjr.com/home/tv schedule.jhtml(accessed October 16, 2008).

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James R. Carter

———. 2008b. “Meet the Wonder Pets.” http://www.nickjr.com/home/wond about.jhtml (accessedOctober 16, 2008).

Popp, R. K. 2006. Mass media and the linguistic mar-ketplace: Media, language, and distinction. Journal ofCommunication Inquiry 30(5): 5–20.

Siegel-Itzkovich, J. 2007. Boring Dora. The Jerusalem Post,July 20, 40.

Toronto Star. 2005. When tweens become teens, some Doraadorers just won’t let go. May 29, C05.

TV.com. 2007. http://www.tv.com/dora-the-explorer/show/2817/episode guide.html (accessed October 16,2008).

Wiegand, P. 2006. Learning and Teaching with Maps. London:Routledge.

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