Examines the extent to which social studies textbooks include diverse perspectives on U.S. history through a content analysis of the treatment of slavery in 17 5th-grade texts in Connecticut. Students are receiving a sanitized view of the history of slavery, with only a partial picture of discrimination. (SLD)

Discusses the impact of Marxist geography on course content and textbooks in college geography. Reviews three textbooks. Identifies four persistent problems in the representation of Marxist geography. Suggests a template through which teachers can offer students a more discriminating account of that model. (CFR)

Reports on a study of how seven fifth-grade teachers organized their social studies curriculum following the adoption of a new textbook. Finds that teaching styles were more varied than might be expected given the similarity of materials. Discusses three observed teaching styles. (CFR)

Discusses the schoolbook protest movement, examining common myths and misunderstandings: protesters are primarily concerned with filth, parents have the right to request that books be removed, unilateral action solves problems, protesters play by the rules, public schools preach alien religions, and public schools may not mention the Bible or…

Proposes to return narrative to a more central place in historical writing. Answers critics who complain that history texts do not properly emphasize democracy and citizenship. Suggests using narrative to tell stories students will remember while including a major theme or conclusion. Warns against overuse, wordiness, and sacrifice of human…

Asserts that increasing numbers of history teachers design courses to have students use historical research and processing skills. Reports on a study of 120 middle school students about their perceptions of what historians do. Concludes that the study provided teachers a means of assessing student understanding of historians. (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)

Issues of gender and race are arising more frequently in new, expanded law texts, law school classroom discussion, and legal scholarship. Supporters feel the trend is appropriate, even belated, in an increasingly diverse society. (MSE)

The senior author of a textbook presenting U.S. and Canadian history in a comparative framework criticizes U.S. history textbooks for their interpretations of Native Americans and for their mystifying tendencies. Explains how "Canada: A North American Nation" presents a more detached perspective and offers a second opinion on some of the…

Examines the institutional power of Texas's state textbook selection committee. Studies the relationship between selection of educational content and social and professional interests. Finds that centralized adoption provides citizens and interest groups input, but that technical and pragmatic priorities tend to dominate selection decisions. (NL)

Describes art education in elementary schools in Japan and the content of their art textbooks. Maintains that the challenges of developing skills, making choices, and learning about the artistic heritage that are offered to Japanese children also should be offered to U.S. children. (KM)

Asserts that school textbooks are significant factors in the school curriculum and, therefore, in curriculum reform efforts. Reports on a case study of textbook development for the new subject of education in German secondary schools. Finds that even in a new subject area, textbook content is uncritical and conforms to state-issued guidelines.…

Reports on a review of nine elementary social studies textbooks for their treatment of African-American history and culture. Finds that the West African origins and culture of African Americans is largely ignored. Determines that textbooks present a biased and incomplete picture of slavery in early U.S. history. (CFR)

Secondary school earth-science textbooks in print from 1960 through 1979 were examined to determine how rapidly concepts of plate tectonics were incorporated into those texts during the period when scientists' views about these concepts were evolving most rapidly. Suggests that delays were probably due to an unwillingness to engage in speculation…

The current obsession with standardizing curricula and measuring output may further reduce teacher agency and marginalize segments of our society that are already cheated by the system. Enormous discrepancies exist among public-school facilities, resources, and teachers. Multicultural education will suffer unless legislatures address these…