Reports on how Dutch instructive texts have changed in the course of this century. Gives insight into the kinds of documents studied. Presents investigation results: the disappearance of persuasive passages and of realistic representations of human beings. Gives a detailed sketch of the development of the algorithmic style. (PA)

Discusses the problem of content-area textbooks that are not matched with students reading levels. Describes how exemplary content-area teachers moderate the textbook mismatch problem and improve student learning by creating a multi-source, multileveled curriculum, providing student choice, and offering individualized instruction. (Contains 15…

Reviews "The Elements of Literature," a high school literature anthology series. Concludes that the series is particularly strong in grades 9 and 10 although the selections for grades 11 and 12 are conservative. Recommends not purchasing the entire series with all its ancillary materials. (RS)

Discusses the role of ethics in the public relations curriculum. Notes textbooks used in ethics courses. Discusses how the topic of ethics fares in the most popular public relations texts (basic and advanced). (SR)

Compares undergraduates' preference for and performance with traditional and narrative text. Explores whether traditional expository text could be translated into the narrative mode without loss in student learning. Conducts a statistical analysis of students scores on quizzes, examinations, and a questionnaire. Finds that the narrative is more…

This article examines two relevant features in the historical development of sexology, the body of knowledge upon which sex education is based: its depoliticization of sexuality and its attempts to ground itself as scientific. Also examined are the sexual politics of sexology, via a content analysis of several college texts. (IAH)

Argues for a progressive method of teaching German attributive adjective endings based on textbook analyses, other techniques, and tasks involved in processing these endings. The progressive method first presents the weak endings and introduces their cases, then presents strong endings as a special form of the der- words. (Author/JL)

Reviews the terminological, methodological, and pedagogical confusion present in the German textbooks of the past 15 years, and proposes an improved terminology for teaching 4 basic grammatical components: strong verbs, mixed verbs, declensions, and the subjunctive. The new terminology is based on the principle of rational simplicity. (21…

Focuses on messages found in primary-level textbooks used in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania. Assesses the extent to which these materials reflect government policy. Found that the Tanzanian texts do reflect the value of the national leadership values, but that those used in Kenya had an orientation in sharp contrast to government…

Analyzed is the lack of specificity in the approach to environmental issues in Brazilian biology textbooks. The main reasons for this are discussed and results of an evaluation of the effectiveness of a local publication in the development of environmental awareness among a group of students is presented. (CW)

Analyzes nine of the leading textbooks in the field of curriculum to determine if there are common domains of content knowledge. Points out that there is no dominant textbook in curriculum which establishes a format for other textbooks to follow because there is no consensus on what content knowledge is important for curriculum study. (GG)

Suggests that economics textbooks are often misleading in their discussions of the shape of the long-run average cost curve. Clarifies and amplifies the importance of the concept of return to scale and the concept of economies of scale. Identifies illustrations provided in textbooks as the greatest source of confusion. (KO)

The authors report on a project designed to determine how nursing is presented in high school health textbooks. A total of 27 books was analyzed and 427 assertions about nursing were found. Nearly half described something nurses do. The authors recommend that nurses be involved in health textbook content. (CH)

Presents three commentaries--by a teacher, a textbook author, and a textbook publisher--examining issues associated with elementary and secondary school textbooks. (MM)

Focuses on how to teach English-speaking students of Spanish the practical distinction between the verbs, "saber" (to be cognizant of) and "conocer" (to be acquainted with). This article describes a solution proposed by K. Taylor for explaining the limits of the two verbs and examines similar proposals delineated in three other Spanish textbooks.…