The portrayal of the Middle East in school textbooks has been reported to be inaccurate and negative as late as the mid 1990's. Numerous major studies conducted by various researchers and organizations indicate that school textbooks written between the 1970's and 1990's contributed to existing stereotypes of the Middle East held by many Americans.…

Gender bias in textbooks (GBIT) is a low-profile education issue, given the 72,000,000 children who still have no access to schooling, but this article argues that GBIT is: (1) an important, (2) near-universal, (3) remarkably uniform, (4) quite persistent but (5) virtually invisible obstacle on the road to gender equality in education--an obstacle…

I examine how science curricula are complicit in maintaining the dominance of knowledge production by major powers, particularly the USA, through their efforts to tell the "truth" about certain topics, and whether resistant counter-discourses are being mounted, especially in "peripheral" states such as Canada, Australia, and…

The Second World War stands as the most devastating and destructive global conflict in human history. More than 60 nations representing 1.7 billion people or three quarters of the world's population were consumed by its horror. Not surprisingly, therefore, World War II stands as a landmark episode in history education throughout the world and its…

Holds that schools and textbooks utilized in communist block countries serve to indoctrinate students as to the virtues of the system under which they live and bias them against other systems. Cites several examples of anti-United States propaganda in Soviet texts. (GC)

Examines the representation of South Africa in geography and history textbooks currently being used in American schools. Asserts that these books are flawed with misleading, inaccurate, and racist texts and illustration. Offers recommendations for revising the view American students are given of South Africa. (KH)

Asserts that decisions regarding textbook content China are political and determined by the central government. Reports on a study of 15 elementary and secondary geography textbooks published between 1948 and 1991. Finds that the image of the United States portrayed in these books has changed dramatically. (CFR)

Essays that consider the way that women are portrayed in foreign language textbooks are presented. The selected essays were submitted to a competition sponsored by the Federation Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes, which requested that language teachers assess such concerns as: (1) whether women were described in a stereotyped way;…