An analysis of the treatment of political parties in four history and civics textbooks is presented. Three high school and one junior high texts, all currently in use, were examined to identify any mentioning of a political party. Variables included mention of all or both parties, the degree and locus of conflict mentioned, the context in which…

Secondary-level history textbooks' treatments of United States-Soviet relations can be biased and misleading. Ideological treatments present the relationship as a struggle between good and evil; "real politik" treatments recognize opposing viewpoints but are usually subordinate interpretations. Neither approach discusses U.S.-Soviet…

A content analysis of 24 of the most widely used preservice teacher education textbooks was conducted in the following areas: sexism, sex differences, women's contributions, and total text content accorded to each sex. Findings indicated that these texts are characterized by omission and imbalance. Recommendations are made for future text…

The purpose of this study was to examine problems of evaluating sex bias in textbooks and to analyze the presence of sex bias in high school American history textbooks. Seven editions of "Rise of the American Nation" (Harcourt, Brace & World) were analyzed to determine if the 1982 edition indicated better sex equity than earlier…

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.…

Introduces a cooperative project undertaken by the USSR Ministry of Education and by various educational institutions in the United States to assess what youth in each country learn about the other country from geography and history textbooks. The objective was to minimize misinformation. (DB)

Designed to examine the way that different ethnic groups are presented in South African secondary school history textbooks, this study gives special attention to the extent and nature of ethnic stereotyping in texts and the endorsement of particular social and political attitudes relevant to contemporary South Africa. By using a sociological…

Publishers have responded to calls for more minority characters and females in basal readers, but many of the changes appear superficial. (MKM)

Textbooks play a major role in influencing children's beliefs and attitudes about subjects. Textbook coverage of evolution is analyzed to demonstrate that textbooks could be responsible for implanting in children the distorted perception that science is infallible. (Author/IS)

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)

Analyzes the content of chapters on education in 22 introductory sociology textbooks. Argues that the texts focus on the northern industrialized nations to the exclusion of developing nations' educational issues. Suggests that textbook coverage of northern influence, cultural factors, alternative developing nations' educational models, inadequate…

Examines the negative implications of special interest group influence on the selection of textbook content for public school students. Suggests guidelines for altering the textbook adoption process to reduce the domination of public testimony by interest groups. Argues that limiting students to one view is not conducive to critical thinking and…

The components presented in this document are general and specific recommendations for improving instruction about the Constitution, including revised versions of the seven conference papers. The papers are: "Society's Expectations for School Instruction about the Constitution: An Historical Overview" (R. Freeman Butts); "What Youth…

An analysis of eight current government publications on citizenship for immigrants to the United States and results of a survey investigating immigration education correspondence courses are provided. In the first part, subjective evaluations of eight textbooks, based on seven designated criteria (copyright, readability, subject matter,…

The literary merit of American History textbooks is explored with emphasis on inspiring and motivating students. Expert panelists reviewed books from fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades. They criticized the following elements: (1) size/weight; (2) prose style; (3) coverage; (4) group consciousness; and (5) format/graphics. (VM)