Use of media in the immigration context has been a prominent object of media and communications research since the 1990s. There exist numerous studies for this, which, however, mostly gather empirical-quantitative usage data limited to adult and adolescent target groups. Until now, a focused look at specific educational institutions has been the exception. Previously, language skills and the integration type linked to them (Berry, 1997) were emphasized as an interpretive overlay for media use behaviors of immigrants. The study proposed here differs in several respects from the state of research to date. For one, we observe an age cohort that until now has been overlooked for this research question, i.e., four to six-year olds before they enter school. For another, we gather data in quasi-homogeneous reference groups in the educational institution of the kindergarten. Thus, the study turns out to be a multi-disciplinary approach within the meaning of media education research. The innovative nature of our research project also includes the methodological approach. This places the study in the tradition of action research, and it is distinguished by a continuous gathering of data that is fed back into the research area (metacognitive reflection). This research process is embedded in a two-year, media-pedagogic intervention scientifically supervised by the research team. The media practices of four- to six-year olds are surveyed empirically and qualitatively according to a multi-perspective, multi-method design. Precisely by taking a culturally sensitive perspective, differences in the assessment and evaluation of media use in childhood are clarified. The parents’ assessments in part are clearly differentiated from the educators‘ assessments. Central importance is assigned to the children’s own statements, which were recorded in a child-friendly interview setting. 

Approximately 100 qualitative interviews with children done in the course of this research project were analyzed. They focused on the following research questions:

– What media competencies can children recognize and describe on their own?

– How do the children describe their parents’ media monitoring and the familial contexts of media use?

– What structural features does children’s media use exhibit?

– Which types of media actions do the children report as part of their media practice (habitus in the sense of Pierre Bourdieu)?

– What role do media play in discourse with the peer group?

– Do cultural differences surface in this?

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