Historically, education for active citizenship has not been a high priority in Finnish schools. In this discursive study of Finnish social studies textbooks for grades 4-6, we investigate how students are encouraged to practice active citizenship, where the focus of active citizenship lies, and how active citizenship is limited in antidemocratic…

Purpose: The aim of the article is to examine civic education in Sweden with regard to equality, by comparing curricula and textbooks for social studies in different tracks in upper-secondary school. Method: The study is based on qualitative text analysis, with quantitative features. The analysis maps themes covered, the extent and depth of…

Reviews practical suggestions for social studies textbook evaluation based on research by the Asia Society Textbook Evaluation Project. Teachers should check prices, reading levels, and overall objectives; identify authors and publication dates; and determine underlying assumptions about other cultures depicted in the books. (AV)

By involving teachers in the process of materials selection, the British Columbia Ministry of Education took into account the interests and expertise of those who would have to live with the decisions made. By providing feedback to publishers and by generating quite rigorous selection criteria, better quality materials may evolve. (RM)

Reports on a study trip by 13 U.S. social studies educators and publishers to Japan. Compares development, marketing, and selection of textbooks in the United States and Japan. Concludes that both nations should improve textbooks and textbook selection processes. (CFR)

This comprehensive, annotated resource list is designed to assist in selecting resources authorized by the Alberta (Canada) Education Department for the elementary social studies classroom. Within each grade and topic, annotated entries for basic learning resources are listed, followed by support learning resources and authorized teaching…

A survey of social studies professors in Australian colleges and universities showed that curriculum materials analysis is not a major emphasis in elementary methods courses. (RM)

A British publisher conducted a readability study of its English language content area texts being used in foreign countries to determine how the texts could be made more readable. A cloze procedure assessment of a secondary school Hong Kong social studies series indicated that the English texts were too difficult for 91% of the pupils tested.…

The Canadian cultural focus of contemporary education in Canada is examined, with particular emphasis on language arts, literature, and social studies. Conclusions of the first two chapters are that language arts instructional materials frequently present powerful American and British (and only occasionally Canadian) themes; many reading series,…

This volume is the second of a two-volume series which surveys the extent to which sex, race, and class bias can be found in commonly used elementary-level instructional materials in Manitoba, Canada. Analysis of materials used in grades four through six indicates that the negative biases present in the kindergarten through grade three materials…