Most students do not enter college-level history classes knowing much about the history of slavery and race relations. As James Loewen pointed out in his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," most K-12 history textbooks and classes avoid controversy and therefore steer clear of discussions of slavery and its impact on American history. However, a…

Discussed are the origins, objectives, activities, and achievements of a project which developed a book of lessons to teach high school students about the U.S. Constitution. A textbook study and an educational conference revealed the need to develop supplementary curriculum materials to strengthen textbook treatments of the Constitution. The book…

As a part of a doctoral thesis considering the history of teaching physical and chemical change, 641 chemistry/science textbooks have currently been examined. These books are from many different countries and date from the eighteenth century to the present time. The books have described a wide variety of experiments to illustrate the difference…

Uses brief excerpts from Chinese and US history textbooks to compare the different representations of historical themes. The themes represented are British colonialism in North America, Native Americans, Chinese immigration, post-Civil War reconstruction, Spanish American War, Versailles (post-World War I), the Great Depression, and Hiroshima.…

Examines text and photographs in 28 introductory textbooks published between 1990 and 1992 for coverage of diversity issues (minority group members and gay and lesbian lifestyles). Although the quantity and quality of diversity coverage has improved, the content and images in 1990s textbooks has varied substantially. Includes statistical tables.…

Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Middle Eastern history textbooks appropriate for college instruction. Reviews the textbooks in terms of coverage, how current is the information, and style and content. Provides a wealth of background information. (MJP)

The Kanawha County textbook controversy of 1974 sparked profound changes in the American political landscape and American education. The roots of this controversy go back to the 1960's, when drug use, women's liberation, violence, and sex education convinced conservatives that America was in moral decline. Parents in Kanawha County fingered school…

The results of an APEID (Asia and the Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development) workshop on producing textbooks and other teaching and learning materials, especially in reading, for the first level of education are provided in this book. An initial overview presents the objectives and the organization of the workshop. The second…

Papers in this report were presented at a conference on text characteristics, convened as part of the Learning from Text Project. The foreword describes the University of California and California State University Joint Projects Steering Committee project to determine the relationship between ability to learn from text and academic achievement,…

Analyzes evaluative comments made about the presidents in 40 U.S. government textbooks published over the last 7 years. These comments present an overwhelmingly negative and unrealistic picture of the presidency. Maintains that textbooks overrate the president's autonomous power and undervalue their positive contributions. (MJP)

Observes that, although textbook reform in occupied Japan originally supported democratic principles of openness and competition, it later became a mechanism for anticommunist censorship. Maintains that interpretations of Japan's military conduct remain highly politicized and controversial. (MJP)

Examines US history as portrayed in Communist Chinese geography, economics, and history texts. Surprisingly little propaganda is found in the geography texts. History and economics, however, contain consistent Marxist interpretations. Briefly describes the background and educational exchange that led to this study. (MJP)

Critiques six current history textbooks concerning their representation of African history. Identifies strengths and weaknesses in the texts and establishes criteria of judgement. Includes the use of primary sources, consideration of African perspectives, and a balanced portrait of contemporary problems. (MJP)

Designed for curriculum directors, teachers, and others as they conduct inservice education activities which focus on helping those who have primary responsibility for selecting and evaluating instructional materials, this volume presents selected sections from Volume I of the "1982-83 Michigan Social Studies Textbook Study." In this study, ten…

Designed for use by technical and vocational education teachers, this monograph describes techniques for combining writing across the curriculum strategies with reading and study skills approaches. The teaching and classroom techniques presented were developed as part of the Writing and Reading in the Technologies (WRIT) project undertaken by a…