Three summaries of research projects concerning teacher professional development are described. The first summary describes an inservice education survey to determine important topics for professional development. The second study examines teachers' particular needs with respect to professional development. The third study discusses sexism in…

Because a content analysis of 24 leading teacher education texts revealed little attention to sexism, the Non-Sexist Teacher Education Program (NSTEP) developed six units on sexism in education and field tested them at 27 schools of education. Results are discussed. (Part of a theme issue on women.) (SJL)

Reviews the problem of certain logical and conceptual shortcomings in textbook presentations of the energy concepts in introductory physics. Discusses concepts and principles related to thermodynamics and echanics. Provides many formulas and diagrams. (YP)

Considers topics about cell function often misunderstood, misrepresented, or omitted from biology textbooks: enzyme catalyzed reactions; RNA as a catalyst; protein levels in cells; amino acids; organic acids; glucose and fructose; gluconeogenesis; fatty acids and ketone bodies; diffusion; and transport across membranes. (Contains 25 references.)…

A study evaluated 10 textbooks related to working with families of students with disabilities that may be used in special-education teacher-preparation programs. Results indicate variability among the textbooks regarding the representation of culturally diverse populations and fluctuation in cultural-diversity content across textbooks. (Author/CR)

This article describes the construction of instruments for evaluating statistics texts that are grounded in the statistical education and text evaluation literatures. Student, instructor, and expert evaluator instruments were piloted with 36 graduate students and 5 faculty members. Results suggest the usefulness of the developed instruments. (SLD)

Beliefs about texts and textbooks is an active area of inquiry in social psychology but the results of these studies are largely unknown in the fields of English education and composition. For most students knowledge and beliefs function very similarly. What a student knows he or she inevitably believes; and what he or she believes means a…

Using a sample issue of the "Journal of Communication" as a point of comparison, a study examined the content of 10 introductory textbooks for the field of communication. Results indicated that textbooks scarcely ever acknowledge methodological pluralism, and when they do, they simply cite it as an existing factor in the field of communication and…

The consistency of content areas was assessed for six college health textbooks published between 1980 and 1987. Texts were analyzed to determine coverage of ten selected content areas: (1) motor vehicle accidents; (2) teenage pregnancy; (3) suicide and homicide; (4) alcohol and drug misuse; (5) smoking; (6) nutrition; (7) exercise and fitness; (8)…

Five commonly used educational psychology textbooks were reviewed in terms of the accuracy and comprehensiveness of their coverage of three controversial topics: Piagetian theory; self-fulfilling prophecy; and learning styles. Although textbook coverages were accurate as written, they often failed to convey the degree of controversy that exists…

Since current research and theory question many of the traditional methods and techniques of teaching vocabulary, a study was made to determine the content of 55 college vocabulary texts and the extent to which the content was consistent with empirical evidence. The study investigated the techniques used to teach word knowledge and whether they…

Most college curricula in business German are oriented to third- and fourth-year German students. Development of a course in introductory business German designed for the second year of language instruction required careful selection of materials and activities. Texts were selected for their comprehensibility for students with no business…

This document focuses on the difficulties associated with offering college students an introductory course in human services. The need for an introductory course to provide a survey of the field, to offer students a chance for self-exploration, and to lay the groundwork for career choice and an understanding of the vast array of human services is…

A STUDY OF THE NATURE AND UTILITY OF TYPES OF ESSAY ANTHOLOGIES DESIGNED FOR FRESHMAN COMPOSITION COURSES WAS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE (1) WHAT ARE THE RATIONALES, ORGANIZATION, CONTENT, AND INSTRUCTIONAL APPARATUS OF THE MOST WIDELY ADOPTED READERS, (2) HAVE THE RATIONALES FOR THEIR USE VARIED SINCE SUCH TEXTS APPEARED, AND (3) IS THE…

Since history textbooks omit and/or emphasize certain data, students are left with a false sense of history. Although the "hard data" presented in history texts is generally regarded as reliable, the selection and organization of that data is inherently manipulative because other data has been excluded. Because authors do not begin with a…