Ten basal and supplementary elementary reading series were evaluated for U.S. history content. Approximately 23% of the stories in readers have a U.S. history orientation. The image presented of U.S. history is unbalanced and incomplete. What publishers can do to present a more comprehensive coverage is discussed. (RM)

In an effort to determine whether American Indian stereotypic phrases (identified by Harris) were being employed in California adopted U.S. history textbooks (grade 8), a total of 5 texts were examined longitudinally. Examination of more than 1,900 statements indicated portrayal of Indians had not changed significantly between 1956-76. (JC)

Examines nine basal series to determine the number of stories featuring ethnic groups. Concludes that no one series offers more ethnic content than another. (FL)

The purpose of this study was to discern whether the mental picture a journal creates in its feature articles matches its mission statement. A content analysis was conducted on the feature articles in the seven most recent volumes of "Educational Leadership" (EL) and "Phi Delta Kappan" (PDK). Over 2,200 articles were analyzed…

This paper reports on a study in which five eighth-grade United States history textbooks were analyzed with regard to their treatment of white and nonwhite ethnic groups. Three instruments were employed: a series of questions derived from an article by Robert Blauner on factors necessary to a realistic understanding of ethnic minorities; the…

The "Garcia-Armstrong Matrix System" provides specific instructions for evaluating the way textbooks depict ethnic/minority groups. The matrix is formed by evaluating individual sentences for their references to the activity or passivity of the target group and to the status of the target group in relation to other groups named in the same…

Investigates children's nonfiction multicultural tradebooks published in 1986 and 1987, and discusses the general treatment of multicultural concepts in these tradebooks. Although 12 of 35 books that were reviewed depicted new multicultural personalities and topics, much more must be accomplished to help children learn about themselves and…

A study was conducted to determine how well-balanced and accurately the largest ethnic minority groups are portrayed in major contemporary basal reader series. The amount of ethnic minority content by group and by basal series was investigated, as were the qualitative aspects of that content: the locale of the story, the socioeconomic class…

Noting that major publishers have begun to depict a more balanced portrayal of ethnic story characters and content in their basal reading series, a study was conducted to investigate the extent to which stories depicting the three largest ethnic groups in the United States were contained in nine of the major and current basal reading series…