Integrates strategies and suggestions from professional books and articles to provide educators with an overview of components of the textbook selection process. Organizes the smorgasbord into three sections: the salad bar (initial screening), the main course (examination of textbooks), and the dessert bar (plans for implementation of the textbook…

The California History-Social Science Framework seems less prescriptive than some other state curriculum guides and more open to individual teacher decision making. However, the framework's main audience appears to be textbook publishing companies. Reforms will be implemented not by knowledgeable teachers, but by sanctioned textbooks aligned with…

A survey of 18 college textbooks published between 1980 and 1991 showed that there are significant shortcomings in how public administration is presented. Many authors rely on narrow perspectives and popular myths and fail to cite many of the field's leading contributors or consider the critical issues facing the public service profession.…

Describes some of the relatively unknown aspects of the concept of public goods and shows how they might be brought into undergraduate textbooks in microeconomic principles, public finance, and welfare economics. Illustrates how these aspects of public goods can be brought into undergraduate instruction. (DB)

Comparisons of the Wilcoxon test, Friedman test, and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) on ranks in a computer simulation show that the Friedman test performs like the sign test whereas the ANOVA performs like the Wilcoxon test. Classification of these tests in introductory statistics textbooks should be revised. (SLD)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 154 writing textbooks published or reissued in 1994. Includes sections covering developmental and ESL writing texts, first-year writing texts, advanced writing texts, and professional texts. (HB)

High school physics, if taught properly, should be accessible to 50% of students rather than the currently estimated 20% of students. Suggests changes that need to be made in course format, including giving plenty of problem-solving help, improving high school texts to conform to principles of learning, and designing a course so that all can…

Examines the production of new history textbooks that appeared after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Argues that the radical revisions in official history in this context are shaped by the Bakhtinian process of "hidden dialogicality." Suggests that the importance of hidden dialogicality between narrative forms must be considered. (SC)

Errant mathematical views are widely found among teachers, their students, and authors of applied mathematics texts. Suggests classroom experimentation, both to confirm the occurrence of these errors, and to apply the appropriate corrective teaching. (Author/ASK)

Economic pressures in the publishing industry are causing faculty to write shorter books. The authors want their books to be readable, and publishers want to reduce costs and make the books affordable for a wider audience, including students. Brief but broad surveys, short introductory primers, quick biographies, and books with very basic themes…

Offers an example of determining what the experts of psychology deem as essential concepts in their subfield by investigating the current principles in operant conditioning through surveys of the board of editors of the "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior." Recommends concepts that are appropriate for up-to-date coverage of operant…

Examines and categorizes multicultural teaching information found in middle school science teacher resource manuals to determine how multicultural information relates to guidelines for teaching in multicultural classrooms. A content analysis of 21 teacher editions provided the data. Contains 37 references. (DDR)

Interviews of adult literacy learners were compared with depictions of learners as consumers in textbooks. Texts focused on learners' deficits and lack of knowledge, whereas learners viewed themselves as competent, capable consumers despite limited academic skills and income. (Contains 40 references.) (SK)

Focuses on the contents of foreign language texts and the types of foreigners who learn French. The article notes the tone of didactic discussions in these manuals and questions the usage of two terms appearing there--"methodology" and "selection." (Author/CK)

This article describes a content analysis of 16 recent special education/human exceptionality survey textbooks to determine amount of multicultural content information. Results indicated that all 16 texts included some multicultural information and content. Five texts contained a considerably greater amount of such information and content.…