Observes that U.S. history textbooks include vast numbers of illustrations, but that authors and publishers seldom integrate the pictures with the historical narrative. Advises images be incorporated into lessons to examine the events illustrated, why the picture was created, how it was received, and what it meant to contemporaries. (DSK)

Examines the content of introductory psychology books by performing a content analysis on texts from the 1970s and 1990s to determine whether the books incorporated recent historical scholarship in discussions of Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener. Finds that some texts still misrepresent the relation between Wundt and Titchener. (CMK)

Provides comments by Nobel laureate Paul A. Samuelson, Harold W. McGraw Jr., William D. Nordhaus, Orley Ashenfelter, Robert M. Solow, and Stanley Fischer on Samuelson's introductory textbook "Economics," as presented at the 1998 American Economic Association meetings in Chicago (Illinois). (CMK)

Reviews three works that each examine a specific area of metahistory: (1) "World Historians and their Goals" by Paul Costello; (2) "The Structure of Big History" by Fred Spier; and (3) "The Myth of Continents" by Martin Lewis and Karen Wigen. (CMK)

Addresses how poverty information is packaged as the intersection of class, race, and gender and how this depiction has changed from the 1980s to the early 1990s using a sample of 45 introductory sociology textbooks. Discusses the implications of and strategies for overcoming the conventional topic-chapter format of textbooks. (CMK)

Examines the extent to which sociology texts accurately present U.S. affirmative action policy using a sample of introductory texts published from 1994 and 1997. Analyzes whether the material confronts or contributes to myths about affirmative action policy. Offers practical suggestions to strengthen the presentation of affirmative action within…

A two-stage study was designed to offer a comprehensive analysis of current basic public speaking textbooks. The first stage involved a comprehensive classification, enumeration, and comparison of the substance of six textbooks identified by publishers as leading competitors on the public speaking market. Results from the first stage formed the…

A study examined the relation between formula ratings and student perception of both readability and interest in developmental reading/study skills and intermediate composition texts. Subjects, 200 composition students and 96 study skills students, responded to the statements "this text was easy to read" and "the text chapters were…

The task of choosing the right text(s) for an undergraduate music theory program is difficult, at best. Sixty-seven U.S. institutions of higher learning offering graduate degrees in music theory were surveyed to determine what undergraduate textbooks were used, how long they have been used, and how satisfied the schools were with the texts. The…

Two teachers gathered psychology definitions from 1,000 college students enrolled in introductory psychology classes on the first and last days of class during two successive fall terms at the University of Tennessee. A word analysis of first-day definitions suggested three major themes: behavior, mind/brain, and environment. These terms showed…

Criticizes the lack of innovation and solid substance in most composition texts and freshman handbooks for college English. Also criticizes bidialectalism as an elitist concept. (RM)

Deals with "area study" aspects of the teaching of English in schools and colleges. Using as an example the British monarchy, it is shown how "area study" elements are handled in schoolbooks in use today. Suggestions relating to the subject are also offered. (IFS/WGA)

A writing instructor, who informally surveyed 11 current essay anthologies to determine why such anthologies discourage students from reading and writing, suggests problems relating to three aspects of physical design. First, many anthologies alienate composition students by their distinctive textbook-styled covers. These covers do not suggest…

The failure of history textbooks to teach about ordinary people and events is examined, and what teachers can do to overcome this shortcoming of texts is discussed. History texts emphasize political history, wars, battles, and chronicles of great persons and events of the past. Scant attention is paid to the lives of ordinary men and women. This…

In a "College English" article, B. M. Kroll describes the educational and philosophical foundations of three perspectives on the teaching of writing: interventionism, maturationism, and interactionism. These three developmental perspectives offer a useful way of reviewing, evaluating, and classifying textbooks written for basic writers.…