Presents information on textbook design and marketing practices, and their consequences for textbook content; recommends that selection committees firmly define the role of the textbook in curriculum, and adapt published materials to their school system's unique requirements. (MCG)

This article reflects on others serialized in the same publication and the general call for a scientific pedagogy in curriculum development around the field of learning disabilities. Curriculum design, textbook adoption processes, and ongoing curriculum alignment are discussed in terms of scientific pedagogy in general and sameness analysis in…

Many recent school-reform efforts have called for increasing decision-making power at the local school level. This report examines state differences in the amount of control that public school teachers believe they have over establishing curriculum; selecting textbooks and other instructional materials; and selecting topics, content, and skills to…

Developing a curriculum is a task that is often discounted in many school corporations during the course of selecting new textbooks. Most school corporations simply adopt a publisher's text and design a curriculum around it. This paper describes some fundamental elements of an effective public-relations program and ways in which the elements can…

In a study designed to determine the impact of state curriculum initiatives on curriculum framework, student assessment, and textbook adoption in the science curriculum, researchers interviewed state education agency staff, completed four case studies in four districts, and surveyed 100 school districts at random in each of the three diverse…

Designed to outline minimum course content for Arizona public schools, this K-12 curriculum guide is divided into 3 sections covering philosophy, goals, and scope and sequence. The stated philosophy emphasizes appreciation of history and culture, skill in acquiring and validating knowledge, critical thinking, and appreciation of…

Recent information drawn from the Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE) Institute's six-year survey and assessment of instructional materials used in United States schools is reported in this paper. Among the conclusions, observations, and recommendations reported are the following: as currently practiced in most schools, the selection…

A model for analyzing and comparing values education materials is presented. The model is based on other curriculum and evaluation models, such as those proposed by Morrissett and others (1969). The first section outlines five existing approaches to teaching values: inculcation, clarification, cognitive-developmental approach, analysis, and the…

The enhancement of the European dimension in the national curriculum is a large scale educational innovation that affects many European countries. This report puts forward the proposition that broad scale educational innovation has more success if the aims and objectives find their way into textbooks. The reasons why a European dimension in…

Reports on a review of 25 content analysis studies of social studies textbooks published between 1982 and 1992. Finds that many of the problems noted in other types of social studies research also are evident in these studies. Provides recommendations for improving the quality of content analysis studies. (CFR)

The paper is designed to aid social studies educators and teachers in selecting curriculum materials. It is presented in three sections. Section I outlines problems involved in choosing among curricula. These problems include similarity of traditional social studies textbooks; recent proliferation of innovative curricula which have not been…

A teaching handbook accompanying North Carolina's revised competency-based curriculum for second language instruction in elementary and secondary schools is presented. An introductory section outlines the philosophy and rationale behind the curriculum and its revision, discusses the role of thinking skills in learning, briefly describes programs…