Teachers of all subjects at all levels are constantly searching for helpful new materials, and many corporations and special interest organizations have responded by preparing and distributing free or low-cost materials for "educational" purposes. However, a teacher should preview such materials carefully before using them to determine whether…

The Iowa State Department of Public Instruction has developed an instructional materials selection policy and procedures to help achieve appropriate assignment of selection responsibility and quality selection while guarding against unwarranted censorship of materials. The model emphasized the ongoing nature of media selection, involving…

The two readers used in this study were both editions of the Ginn Basal Reading Series. Illustrations in the older Revised Editions depicted no black characters. The newer 100 Editions introduce black characters in the illustrations. The research tested children's preferences for these basal readers by sex, grade level, achievement levels within…

This annotated bibliography summarizes 11 selected publications concerned with the general topic of textbook content and selection. The selections are intended to give practicing educators easy access to the most significant and useful information on school textbooks that is available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). All…

The subjects were 72 black and 72 white second-grade children, with an equal number of boys and girls in each racial group. Two sets of the same twelve stories from one edition of a basal reader were used, one set featuring illustrations of white characters and the other black characters. Each child was read three story pairs by a white adult and…

To assist educators in defining outstanding resources in children's literature, this study compiled criteria for good books from the writings of twelve selected academicians in the field of children's literature. A further investigation was made to determine if educators considered the same criteria when they selected books for children. In an…

Recommends that historians select textbooks which reflect the economic and natural resource issues shaping the twentieth-century American experience. A review of relevant monographs and textbooks is presented. (Author/DB)

Divides the leading introductory American Government texts into three categories: behavioral, normative, and critique. Reviews potential textbooks in each category. (RT)

Discusses the problem school systems have in selecting textbooks that do not offend special interest groups but still address pertinent, possibly controversial, issues. (JC)

Courses on French civilization and culture should begin with a presentation of essential information, including historical background, role of the state, and the weight and presence of the past. They should move on through public life--politics, commerce, industry, social structures, the media--to the experiences of day-to-day life. (Author/JR)

Argues that only through understanding and improving the textbook adoption process can those interested in improving education influence the quality of textbooks printed and used. Presents some observations about the adoption process, makes recommendations for research, and suggests actions to take while waiting for research findings to come in.…

It has been customary to simplify texts to increase their readability for young readers. Recent studies suggest that it is the predictability of texts that is the key to their readability and that simplification may actually create problems for the reader. (RBW)

A writer on Asian American history and culture and a member of the California Board of Education's committee to evaluate textbooks argues that "publishers must learn to break the ethnocentric mold of their books on all levels...--an effective step against racism in the classroom is the participation of educators, parents and concerned people…

This collection brings together the best minds in education to explore the literacy-science connection and to reduce the lack of understanding between the science and humanities communities. The articles cover a range of topics and perspectives, from quasitheoretical pieces and literature reviews to case studies and evaluations of particular…

In spring 1997, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges mailed a survey on textbook costs and pricing to local academic senate presidents, associated student body presidents, and bookstore managers at every community college in California. Results indicated that there was a lack of faculty and student involvement in bookstore…