Until the end of the last century the school textbook served only one purpose, which was to educate; today, faced with competition from the media, it also must be attractive. The development of the textbook over the last century has been characterized, on one hand, by greater diversity, and hence greater complexity, in the typographical methods…

Reports on the scholarly content of four widely adopted introductory college sociology textbooks and the scholarly activity of their respective authors. Finds that, although all used a wide variety of source materials, there were substantial differences in source selection. (CFR)

The paper analyzes seven widely-used fifth grade social studies textbooks with the hypothesis that texts are unnecessarily loaded with poorly conceived instructional design features that often do not relate to content or skills and tend to minimize the primary function of the texts. Using present and future challenges facing the United States as a…

Contends that an author's contribution to a textbook may be more or less significant, depending on how much importance is attached to curricula, publishers, consultants, and the school environment. Discusses the changing role of textbook authors in Norway and other nations. Reviews research on textbook development and textbook writing. (CFR)

Reports on a study of "considerateness" of five fifth-grade social studies textbooks. Identifies four elements of considerateness: (1) readability level; (2) placement of relevant pictures or illustrations; (3) use of subtitles; and (4) use of words and phrases to connect ideas within and between sentences. (CFR)

Discusses the applicability of research into cognitive schemas, metacognition, instructional design, and learning strategies to textbook creation; the value of well-structured, coherent, and focused texts; readability formulas, narrative characteristics, science and social studies texts, glossaries, dictionaries, teachers' manuals, and practice…

Reports on a study of the treatment of family issues in 12 college-level U.S. history textbooks. Concludes that instructors who want to introduce serious discussions of families into a survey course must be prepared to offer additional readings, lecture material, and exercises beyond the textbook content. (CFR)

Examines aspects of the introductory psychology textbook market through a publishing house survey. Aspects covered are the current and future number of introductory texts, fewer textbook publishers, custom publishing, changing content, and computer technologies. Discusses the results of the publishers' responses and provides statistical tables of…

Discusses lying by public officials and governments. Reviews history textbook research, and concludes that the content is selected and written to preserve political and economic power. Questions whether or not societies should allow children to be brought up with false beliefs about their own history. (CFR)

Maintains that educational history and the history of textbooks have merged recently within the history and sociology of culture. Examines school textbooks as a focal element in the processes of cultural transmission. Focuses specifically on Benjamin Kennedy's Latin grammars that are still in use in Great Britain today. (CFR)

Reports on a forum of publishers with international experience producing geography textbooks for higher education. Discusses the role of textbooks, international differences in courses, impact of changes within the discipline, and emerging technologies. Outlines three thematic trends in geography textbook publishing. (CFR)

Reports on the research and development of a history textbook on Puerto Rico. Discusses the issues of historical synthesis and the special problems associated with writing a book about an island that is neither an independent nation nor a colonial possession. (CFR)

Analyzes leading journal citations for introductory sociology textbooks to determine if there has been a decline in the quality of such textbooks. Discovers a greater percentage of citations to earlier textbooks. Suggests, however, that this could be due to expanded publishing opportunities and the emphasis given to original research. (MJP)

Asserts that decisions regarding textbook content China are political and determined by the central government. Reports on a study of 15 elementary and secondary geography textbooks published between 1948 and 1991. Finds that the image of the United States portrayed in these books has changed dramatically. (CFR)

Asserts that during the past two decades, the coverage of African Americans in college-level U.S. history textbooks has improved in both quantity and quality. Reports that, despite these advances, a survey of 14 textbooks revealed a significant portion of African American history remains beyond the boundaries of these texts. (ACM)