The accuracy of 210 college undergraduates' judgments of the relative learnability of original (Army training manuals) and rewritten (war or cultural histories) versions of 20 pairs of texts of known difficulty was studied. Students were 95 percent accurate in their judgments of learnability. Implications for college textbook selection are…

Review of gender messages in education foundation textbooks evaluated explicit content and implicit messages. Most of the texts covertly subscribed to the notion of a dichotomous nature of gender roles, proclaiming a cultural consensus on how educators should treat persons fitting the roles and disregarding action toward gender equity. (SM)

Described are the comprehension monitoring abilities of science students when reading science textbooks. The incorrect use of schemata and the limiting influence of metacognitive abilities on the improvement of meaningful learning is discussed. (KR)

Discusses the contributions in each chapter of the book, highlighting the textbook analyses for each arithmetic topic presented. (MDH)

Reports on a study of 38 social problems textbooks and their treatment of issues related to poverty. Points out that most of the books ignore poverty's historical background and the impact of the 1980s on poverty. Includes questions used for analyses and a list of the reviewed textbooks. (CFR)

A study involving 81 eighth-graders found that those who used a conceptually organized (C-O) history textbook which presented content more conceptually and also provided multiple means to assist student's learning of history information, did significantly better on multiple choice questions than did students using a topically organized textbook.…

Presents a review of English textbooks developed for secondary learners of English as a Second Language. The survey was prepared by a group of seven Estonian teachers and a British English language teaching consultant. (Author/JL)

Examines how nine world history texts treat the Harappan (Indus) civilization and the Aryans in ancient India. Analyzes the pioneering scholars of Indian studies, exploring the development of ideas about ancient Indian history. Discusses the ideas of recent scholars about the Aryan invasion theory, the Indus civilization, and the Vedas. (CMK)

Reveals the inadequacies of current methodological texts in relation to their treatment of science. Provides background information on three methodological eras in science and describes a current, more accepted, concept of science. Offers suggestions on how to improve methodological instruction and includes references. (CMK)

Argues for a system of quality control that discovers errors and communicates them to textbook users (students and teachers), and a system that keeps the worst textbooks off the market. (WRM)

The main goal of most physics textbooks is to develop declarative and procedural knowledge. Exercises provide pupils with opportunities to apply this knowledge. However, when confronted with more complicated exercises many pupils experience difficulties in solving them. A computer program about the subject of forces was developed containing hints…

This article examines discourses of cultural knowledge and ideology in Chinese language textbooks currently used for primary school students nationwide in China. Within the framework of critical curriculum theory and using critical discourse analysis, this article critically investigates how discourses of cultural knowledge are constructed and…

Exercises and problems about functions found in 24 middle-school textbooks from 15 countries were analysed using an adaptation of Balacheff's theory of conceptions and Biehler's notion of the prototypical domain of application of concepts in order to describe the practices associated with the notion of function. The analysis yielded five different…

School plays an important role in the formation of children's positive attitudes towards the environment. Mathematics textbooks also play an important role in environmental education, because environmental problems have two distinct features: the quality and the quantity of environmental resources. It is well known that as students go higher in…

The paper explores changes in technology that have implications for the teaching and learning of school mathematics. To this end, it examines aspects of interactive mathematical textbooks; specifically it analyzes functions authors may intend to be carried out by embedded interactive diagrams. The paper analyzes theoretical as well as practical…