Contends that social studies textbooks remain a basic source of information for students and they ascribe to texts the values of objectivity and truth. Concludes that, in spite of improvements in recent years, six major concerns about gender-related issues remain. (CFR)

The nature and quality of chapter-end tests accompanying social studies and science textbooks used in elementary school and middle school grades were studied through reviews by 3 judges of 91 tests. Identified shortcomings lead to the recommendation that these tests not be used intact in classroom assessment. (SLD)

Describes a two-year urban school-university collaboration on improving writing instruction for fifth graders. The project, named Rethink/Rewrite, focuses on students reexamining information from their social studies textbooks after studying alternative materials about the same historical periods by African Americans and native peoples. (MMU)

Explores the "translation-recognition" task, using two experiments, one for adult Dutch learners of English and the second for people from the same population. Results suggest that translation recognition and translation production respond to the same manipulations, except when cognates and noncognates are focused on separately. (23…

Observes that up-to-date history textbooks present a view of Calvin Coolidge that is nearly indistinguishable from those of decades ago; despite strong contradictory evidence, Coolidge is portrayed as extremely reactionary and unenergetic. Argues that he was actually progressive and dedicated to his work until the death of his son in 1924. (DSK)

The activity uses drawings typically found in textbooks, engaging students in physical and mental activities such as drawing, painting and figure completion--as well as finding missing words and answering guiding questions. The activity deals with three topics: the structure of DNA, DNA replication and protein synthesis. In this study we…

This article reports research analyzing cultural representations of minorities in Hungarian elementary school textbooks currently used throughout the country. A convenient sample representing more than 75% of first and fourth grade reading books was collected from three academic and public libraries in Hungary. Using content analysis techniques,…

Analysis of the contents of textbooks is a meaningful way to examine individuals, groups and institutions, as they reflect social values, attention and interests of a society. Education as an institution reflects a society's social ideology, and examination of the sociocultural components of schools can reveal the cultural paradigm upon which a…

Most students do not enter college-level history classes knowing much about the history of slavery and race relations. As James Loewen pointed out in his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," most K-12 history textbooks and classes avoid controversy and therefore steer clear of discussions of slavery and its impact on American history. However, a…

The present study tried to find out whether Saudi history textbooks for grades 4-12 contain global themes, in which grade levels global themes are introduced, the percentage of global themes, local history themes and Islamic history themes, and which global history themes are taught. A checklist of global history themes was developed. Those are:…

For the past 15 years, economist Ronald Ferguson has investigated the myriad factors that combine to create racial disparities in academic performance. Beginning with his analysis of the impact of test scores in predicting racial wage gaps, Ferguson has explored how rates of progress in narrowing gaps have varied over the recent decades, the roles…

Textbooks that have been and are being used by students in education and psychology to learn about statistical testing are reviewed. Twenty-eight textbooks published prior to 1950 were reviewed. These textbooks were found to focus on descriptive methods, to concentrate on educational testing, and to present limited formal statistical formulation.…

As part of a 3-year study to identify emerging issues and trends in technology for special education, this paper addresses the role of textbooks in today's education as well as the criticisms leveled at textbooks over the last 10 years. The paper also considers the rise of technology in schools and the presistent issue of improving the…

Discussed are the origins, objectives, activities, and achievements of a project which developed a book of lessons to teach high school students about the U.S. Constitution. A textbook study and an educational conference revealed the need to develop supplementary curriculum materials to strengthen textbook treatments of the Constitution. The book…

This paper discusses the role of the culture in secondary mathematics education. A historical and philosophical look at the relationship between the real world and mathematics and mathematics education is developed. The U.S. secondary mathematics curriculum is explored both historically and philosophically to try to ascertain its changing…