There is general agreement among sociologists that teaching social structure is a core component of a sociological curriculum. Despite this agreement, there are few guides for instructors on how to teach this key concept. Using the sociological literacy framework, this research examines the most popular undergraduate Introduction to Sociology…

This article reports research on the occurrence of terms related to food in textbooks written for students of English as an Additional Language. Ten such textbooks were examined. Of the 3767 total activities in the textbooks, 641 activities (17%) contained at least one reference to food, and seven of the books contained an entire unit focused on…

The number of women enrolled in college increasingly outpaces the number of men. In prominent art history textbooks, however, identified men artists far outnumber women. Feminist-inspired inquiry has highlighted this imbalance and historical content analysis of art history textbooks has shown small increases in inclusion of women artists over the…

Asch's classic social pressure experiments are discussed in almost all introductory and social psychology textbooks. However, the results of these experiments have been shown to be misrepresented in textbooks. An analysis of textbooks from 1953 to 1984 revealed that although most of the responses on critical trials were independent correct ones,…

This textual content analysis set out to determine the extent to which the theories, principles, and guidelines in 4 standard books of instructional design and technology were also addressed in 4 popular books on web design. The standard books on instructional design and the popular books on web design were chosen by experts in the fields. The…

This study aims to evaluate the consistency of teaching content with teaching approaches in calculus on the basis of lecturers' views. In this sense, the structures of the examples given in two commonly used calculus textbooks, both in traditional and reform classrooms, are compared. The content analysis findings show that the examples in both…

While previous scholarship suggests that "American government textbooks are more alike than they are different," an examination of the market's most frequently adopted texts suggests that this consistency does not extend much further than the subjects of major chapters. We explore the degree to which four major introductory American…

This study sought to identify content on the federal budget, national debt, and budget deficit in the 12 most commonly used high school and college-level economics textbooks. Our systematic review of these sources leads to two key findings: (1) Textbooks are similar in how they represent fiscal policy yet treat the federal budget, deficit, and…

As a field of study, international business (IB) has evolved with accelerated tempo in the last four decades. The subject has brought with it an increasing plethora of textbooks. We analyze the contents of major textbooks, both classic and new, to find the extent to which these textbooks cover the various components of the common body of knowledge…

Whistleblowers are a key journalistic source for many current news stories. However, reporters pursuing these major stories must navigate the dilemma between transparent full disclosure and protecting their confidential source. Professional journalists begin their journey as students, and students begin their journey in the classroom with a…

The link between religion and political tolerance in the United States, which has focused predominantly on Christianity, is replete with unfavorable images. Often, religious adherents (largely Evangelicals or the Christian right) are characterized as uneducated, poor, and white, suggesting that members of these groups may act in an intolerant…

Despite being a landmark of 20th century biology, the "classical molecular gene concept," according to which a gene is a stretch of DNA encoding a functional product, which may be a single polypeptide or RNA molecule, has been recently challenged by a series of findings (e.g., split genes, alternative splicing, overlapping and nested…

Analysis of 24 introductory accounting textbooks identified number and percentage of pages and chapters with international content. Financial accounting books generally had the most international content. There were wide variations in topics presented, extent of coverage, and number of relevant assignments. (SK)

Discusses reasons why students find chemistry abstract and difficult. Highlights the fact that there has been very little change in the general chemistry course or in the textbooks. Argues in favor of the need for a new textbook that can influence enough teachers to change. Presents suggestions for future textbook authors. (JRH)

The course units which form the core of the four foundation courses at the Open University were sampled for readability, using an electronic version of R. Flesch's (1951) Reading Ease Score. The textload (reading workload) of the courses was predicted by estimating the total length in words of all text components of these courses. Large variations…