In an effort to better understand the intents of those policies that prescribe state-level textbook adoption, a study collected and analyzed data from (1) the textbook adoption statutes of each of the 22 "state adoption" states, (2) documents and policy manuals produced by the state departments of education of each of these 22 states,…

A questionnaire was devised and mailed to 84 township school districts in New Jersey to determine how often each adopted new basal reading series, the extent of teacher involvement in the selection process, and whether a detailed questionnaire was used as a basis for evaluation of different basals. A Likert scale was used to grade responses.…

The instructional materials listed in this document were reviewed by a California Legal Compliance Committee using the social content requirements of the Educational Code concerning the depiction of males and females, ethnic groups, older persons, disabled persons, and others to ensure that the materials were responsive to social concerns.…

Organization and financing have enabled the religious right to bring their textbook censorship campaign into the U.S. federal court system. Denouncing secular humanism, these groups have initiated steps to obtain federal funding for private religious schools. Over the last 100 years public school textbooks have been revised to reflect various…

A checklist of criteria for evaluating textbooks in occupational education is presented, providing a rapid and effective way for instructors to assess occupational textbooks. The checklist encourages occupational education instructors and administrators to look at the qualities of textbooks that go beyond the subject content and readability levels…

Textbooks play a greater role in students' learning than is usually recognized, and teachers should examine textbook materials more carefully to assess their value for different learners with different cognitive styles. A new, more student-centered model of teaching and learning, the Annehurst Curriculum Classification System (ACCS), focuses on…

Readability formulas can be useful tools in accomplishing their primary purpose--to give very general estimates of difficulty. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of misunderstanding regarding their use, which has resulted in misuse and abuse. The formulas were designed to be applied post hoc to existing materials. They were not intended to…

Curriculum materials taken for granted in thousands of school districts throughout the United States are being banned from the public schools of Kanawha County, West Virginia, on grounds that these materials are "filthy" and "blasphemous." (Author)

This statement, prepared by the National Council of Teachers of English, addresses the increasing problem of censorship in the public schools in the form of pressure to restrict or deny students access to certain books or periodicals deemed objectionable by individuals or groups on moral, political, religious, ethnic, racial, or philosophical…

This selection catalog includes broad classifications of the materials adopted for statewide use in California, and descriptions of their chief characteristics and approaches. It is not intended to be considered a substitute for careful examination of these materials, but can only help limit the number of materials school district personnel will…

It is noted that current methods of textbook selection are characterized by subjective judgments and faddish trends. It is felt that rarely in the process of selection are research findings that are available or principles of educational psychology seriously considered. A systematic selection process of entire series of textbooks, based on the…

Discourse analysis, a field that reflects an interest in language as text and social interaction, is discussed. Discourse analysis deals with the way language varies from one communicative situation to another; textological analysis deals with the internal organization of such discourse in terms of grammar and vocabulary. Assumptions in…

Serving as the basis for the first administrative complaint alleging sex discrimination in textbooks to be filed under federal law, the findings presented in this report are based on an analysis, made by parents and citizens in a midwestern city, of 12 texts in the elementary reading program of a major publisher. Generally, the findings are stated…

The survey step in the SQ3R study reading strategy consists of scanning the reading material and its organizational features to establish the nature/magnitude of the reading task and to formulate guidelines for accomplishing that task. When the chapters of six history textbooks were examined for the presence, absence, and number of organizational…