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…

Well-informed decisions on curricular materials can be an efficient way to boost student achievement. Prior studies have employed experimental and quasi-experimental designs to investigate the effects of textbooks on mathematics achievement. This is the first study to consider textbook effects in social studies education. Within the context of a…

This study explores texts used in four 7th-11th grade teachers' history/social studies lessons and these teachers' perspectives about the texts. Specifically, data from interview and observation field notes were analyzed to determine (a) the number, types, and modes of texts teachers used in their lessons and (b) teachers' perspectives on the…

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…

Social studies methods textbooks constitute a rich source of data for trends in teaching and learning. This study examined twenty secondary social studies methods texts for the instructional approaches they recommend. The researchers concluded that methods texts published over the past fifty years consistently call for pedagogical variety and…

This article describes 10 recommendations for creativity, higher-order thinking, and meaningful learning activities that can be used to guide teachers in constructing an engaging AP course: (1) Be on the committee that decides how students will be selected for AP; (2) Maximize time and connections through blocks of time with an English colleague;…

Discusses the development of an instrument to be used by elementary teachers in the evaluation of social studies textbooks. The instrument itself is included in the article. (RM)

Reviews data collected in a 1982 national survey of state social studies coordinators which shows the patterns of textbook adoptions in the area of high school geography for the 20 states that use statewide adoption. Concludes that throughout the 1970s and early 1980s Texas's impact on other states' geography selections was almost nonexistent.…

Although textbooks structure from 75 to 90 percent of classroom instruction, they are often criticized for contributing to American students' appalling ignorance and for being compendia of inadequately treated topics. This article explores deficiencies in science, social studies, and history and offers remedial actions. The key is a careful…

While conclusive evidence of improvement of current elementary social studies textbooks does not exist at this moment, there is evidence of reform in the content, if not the readability of texts, used by disadvantaged students. (DM)

Identifies four principal conditions which might aggravate a crisis in instructional materials and programs--declining enrollment, inflationary fixed costs, increased teacher salaries and fringe benefits, and the back to basics movement. Suggests criteria to help teachers select textbooks, including seadability, appropriateness, and flexibility.…

Steps to be taken in developing a state social studies education program are outlined. (JB)

Contains six responses to two questions concerning high school book censorship and the application of dominant community values to the selection of instructional materials in public education. (AM)

Textbooks have traditionally been the focus of classroom instruction, however, the role of textbooks has been increasingly challenged by various groups. They have raised questions about the quality and content of textbooks in U.S. classrooms. This document provides a program of a 1989 conference that addressed issues related to the role and…