Each month, "Curriculum Review" offers teachers mutual support, the sharing of ideas, and words of encouragement to help them face challenges in the classroom. The May 2004 issue of "Curriculum Review" contains the following articles: (1) "Inspiring Words for Educators"; (2) "We Hear from Readers"; (3) "Last Month in Education"; (4) "What They're…

Textbooks contain information. They also contain attitudes, beliefs and values that are conveyed covertly through a variety of mechanisms such as the use of language, the choice of topic inclusion or exclusion, the focus on certain aspects of an issue, the simultaneous omission of other aspects, and other strategies. This paper analyses…

The aim of this article is to map out the priority directions and shape the program for the development of the textbook. The tasks of adjusting the aims of education, renovating the priority directions in the selection of the content of areas of education and school subjects, and improving the tools and means, methods, and organizational forms of…

Ten randomly sampled college reading/study skill texts published since 1987 were analyzed based on external text aids and validated research recommendations. Many articles exist that contain a detailed description of one specific skill such as mapping, underlining, sequencing, etc., but only one recent article, "Ten Recommendations from Research…

This report examines the portrayal of the Second Amendment of the Constitution (the right to keep and bear arms) in U.S. history and U.S. government textbooks. The document contends that not only were there numerous errors and misrepresentations of facts, but also there were many omissions of various events throughout history. Further research…

Pointing out that censorship is undermining the goals of education and plaguing all areas of the curriculum, this collection of essays considers many areas in which students' right to read is being infringed. The collection offers thought-provoking perspectives on the methods used by protesters to remove books and materials from classrooms and…

This comprehensive, annotated resource list is designed to assist in selecting resources authorized by the Alberta (Canada) Education Department for the elementary health classroom (Grades 1-6). Within each grade and topic, annotated entries for basic learning resources are listed, followed by support learning resources and authorized teaching…

Guidelines are presented for evaluating instructional materials with regard to racist, sexist, cultural, religious, economic, and other bias. Schools play a significant role in promoting or negating societal points of view. Although no attempt is made to prepare an exhaustive list of indicators of bias, examples are given of bias through…

This geography textbook assessment is a tool and a guide for teachers and curriculum administrators who are responsible for adopting classroom geography materials. The assessment's goal is to help teachers identify the geography textbooks that are most compatible with the content goals of the geography education reform movement as stated in "The…

This paper attempts to outline the textual canon of the foundations of education in U.S. teacher education programs. Background research for the project included a review of selected texts and samples of course syllabi. Analysis of the contents and prefaces of the two volumes of "Reading in the Foundations of Education" (published in…

This study investigated the effect of the development of mastery learning on the curriculum of preservice teacher education programs and the content of inservice professional development programs. Nine educational psychology textbooks, published since 1990, and three other texts used as supplementary textbooks were analyzed. The study found that…

This paper discusses the importance of teaching about the place of religion in U.S. development and calls attention to the inadequate treatment of religion in history textbooks used in public secondary schools. Knowledge about various religious traditions is necessary to citizenship, and since it is not taught by parents or religious institutions,…

Three problems concerning the use of history texts in secondary schools can be underscored. The first is philosophical, the intended use of the history text. The philosophical underpinnings of history texts are a matter of some contention today. History and social studies texts were, for many years, viewed as a means of socializing new citizens…

This study was conducted to identify bioethical topics of possible interest for a high school science curriculum, focusing on advantages and disadvantages of bioethical education and emphasizing the procedure to incorporate bioethics instruction into the secondary school science curriculum. Researched material is presented as an annotated…

This analysis exemplifies Texas as 1 of 22 "adoption states" that select textbooks according to systematic state criteria and interprets this approach in relation to textbook reform efforts. Survey data of state committee members' ranking of criteria during the initial selection phase revealed that the top three criteria were…