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)

Argues that the greatest barrier to science education is overcoming students' naive conceptions of science. Recommends helping students to maintain a sense of dissatisfaction with their archaic notions of the nature of science, essentially a philosophical sense of the difficulty of the problems involved. (SM)

Discusses the application of critical thinking skills to teaching about the Columbus quincentenary. Suggests having students explore multiple perspectives on the event and examine coverage in textbooks and other books. Urges teachers to assess critically their own teaching practices and whether they foster racial justice. (WYN)

Metadiscourse, or an author's presence in a text, and its benefits for improving textbooks and children's learning and attitudes are explored in this paper. Through a historical review, the paper reveals that using the interpersonal voice and the author's commentary are legitimate rhetorical devices. Interviews with prominent contemporary…

Criticizes topical readers on the English language now being used in freshman composition classes both for implying that language constrains more than aids thinking and for providing poor writing samples for the student to analyze and emulate. Discusses the influence of general semantics on these readers and the reliance on the parodic perspective…

Reports on an examination of 14 American history texts for their content on the Southern Civil Rights Movement prior to the mid-1960s. Cites elitism, factual inaccuracy, and superficiality as common failings in many of these works. (Author/GC)

Discusses various factors which affect sexual identity in boys and girls: orientation of curriculum and classroom activities; presence of competitive sports; and sex-role stereotypes in textbooks. Also discusses how societal changes, such as employment and educational attainment of women and decreased family size, are affecting former sex roles.…

The main appeal of corporation-produced consumer education materials is their "free or inexpensive" aspect. But the very low price of these items may have a high cost in the form of their biased perspectives. Teachers must exercise continued care in selecting and using consumer education materials. (Author/SJL)

Sex-role stereotyping in Canadian textbooks is discussed and curriculum changes as a solution to the problem are suggested. (JMF)

Surveys U.S. history texts to determine the coverage given to eastern European immigrants. Reports that Poland is most extensively covered and that the amount of coverage of other eastern European peoples increases with Polish coverage. Suggests a correlation between the frequency an ethnic group is cited and the size of its population in the…

Argues that declarative writing about science that presents historical or biographical information incorrectly is not acceptable. (WRM)

The culture of the southern United States is examined in the context of its effects on race relations and how it is portrayed in curriculum. Many of the southern racial tragedies of the past are still unresolved and this is reflected in schools as they teach about the South. Since schools are dependent on published materials to teach classes, and…

United States-based publishing firms dominate the Canadian learning materials market; their business and editorial practices suppress Canadian viewpoints and undermine Canadian publishers. Provincial and federal measures intended to strengthen domestic publishing have been adequate only in central Canada. As information technology advances,…

This article argues that (1) basal reading instruction (BRI) is a pervasive context within which school reading is defined; (2) the language and uses of BRI marginalize some students; and (3) children's understanding of BRI depends on how the use and meaning of basal readers marginalizes the children. (IAH)

This article analyzes how science classes carry ideological elements and how that has ethical and deontological consequences with respect to science teaching. Provided are some examples of ideologizing, presenting a worldview, biased contents, and biased image of science. (YP)