Summarizes findings of a recent Norwegian study of the contents of civics textbooks approved for use in grades seven, eight, and nine in schools throughout Norway. Findings indicated that only one of the nine textbooks analyzed recommended that its readers take a critical view of the civic education-related contents. (Author/DB)

Based on premise that knowledge of other peoples and places is no longer a luxury but rather a pragmatic life tool, article focuses on the image of Japan in textbooks used in social studies classes throughout the United States. Suggests that U.S. textbooks get high marks on factual information but score low in context, analysis, and perspective.…

Reviews "People in a World of Change" (elementary series); "The Midwest: Regional Backgrounds" (intermediate kit); "Idea and Action in World Cultures" (junior high text); "Psychology and Human Experience" (high school text); "Hands On! Remedial Activities in American History" (spirit masters/secondary); and "Manual for Multicultural and Ethnic…

Examines 10 hardback college-level writing handbooks published in 1985 and 1986 by 9 major publishers. Finds that word processing has assumed a place in college writing but that authors and publishers have not found a substantial place for word processing in composition instruction. (RS)

Reconsiders the place of Peter Berger's "Invitation to Sociology," in teaching undergraduate sociology courses. Traces the success and intellectual impact of the work. Describes the image of sociology it presents. Reviews its treatment of human freedom as a sociological issue. Examines its world vision and evaluates its usefulness in…

Presents a critical history of a particular composition handbook: the "Harbrace College Handbook." Argues that such handbooks serve two important institutional purposes: articulating what is deemed important subject matter for composition classrooms (handbooks write the discipline); and shaping teacher and student subjectivities…

Surveys introductory business and economics statistics textbooks and finds that they differ over the best way to explain one-tailed hypothesis tests: the simple null-hypothesis approach or the composite null-hypothesis approach. Argues that the composite null-hypothesis approach contains methodological shortcomings that make it more difficult for…

Examines the ways journalism textbooks instruct journalism students to approach disability-related stories and sources, presumably within a wider context of overall sensitivity to diversity issues. Finds that news reporting textbooks fare poorly when assessed against basic disability/diversity reporting guidelines. (SG)

This article reports the findings of a study that analyzed the teacher editions of primary-grade science and social studies textbooks for comprehension strategy instruction. After observing several science and social studies classes in the primary grades, it became clear to the authors that strategy instruction was missing in many of the lessons.…

Since the 1998 landmark case that validated the patenting of business methods as intellectual property, a plethora of patents has emerged. Patents for marketing-related processes have been particularly abundant, especially when new marketing processes are tied to a technology component. A review of the marketing literature and textbooks shows an…

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…

This evaluation was designed to compare student achievement scores of students enrolled in Saxon Algebra 1/2 classrooms (intervention group) with students enrolled in Scott-Foresman Mathematics classrooms (comparison group). Crawford and Raia conducted three analyses, but this study report focuses on the strongest analysis of the three and…

Although all of us must teach against the text at times, I find myself doing this most often when teaching about qualitative methods in the context of a general introductory methods course. Myths about the nature and practice of qualitative research are both embedded in the folklore of mainstream sociology and supported by the textbooks that we…

This paper examines visual and affective factors involved in the reading of foreign language texts. It draws on the results of a pilot study among students of post-compulsory school stage studying French in England. Through a detailed analysis of students' reactions to texts, it demonstrates that the use of "authentic" documents under…

The methods for authoring and distributing course content are undergoing substantial changes due to advancement in computer technology. Paper has been the traditional method to author and distribute course content. Paper enables students to personalize content through highlighting and note taking but does not enable the incorporation of multimedia…