Textbooks may indicate the quantity and quality of subject content in a secondary school curriculum. They tend to conform to state departments of education and large local school districts' curriculum guides and to be the dominant instructional medium in high school courses. Examinations of widely-used textbooks may indicate the strengths and…

Article adapted from a talk to the Connecticut Council for Social Studies on May 3, 1968.

This is a report of the Japan/United States Textbook Study Project the goal of which is to improve each nation's textbooks, especially in regard to the treatment of Japan in U.S. textbooks, the treatment of the United States in Japanese textbooks, and the treatment of relations between the two countries in each nation's textbooks. Panelists from…

Major investigations have shown that children care little for social studies as a school subject. Therefore, a closer look was taken at social studies textbooks in order to ascertain if the reading difficulty of the texts was an important cause behind the children's dislike. This study evaluated the reading levels of 41 social studies texts…

The analyses of 31 social studies materials are based on the way the developers have dealt with the intents of the products, the organization of the contents of the products, the methodology for the use of each product, and the means of evaluation of learning that each product provides. (Author)

The standard methods of the social sciences do not provide all the tools necessary to probe into the fundamental questions on the relationship between individuals and their environment. Proposes that social studies teachers try to clarify and examine the hidden assumptions which are part of classroom discussions and social studies textbooks.…

Criticizes eight secondary-level state government textbooks for following a standard format, failing to relate important recent events to governmental processes and institutions, omitting discussion of topics such as campaign finance reform, and ignoring the relationship of academics to state government. (Author/AV)

Reviews practical suggestions for social studies textbook evaluation based on research by the Asia Society Textbook Evaluation Project. Teachers should check prices, reading levels, and overall objectives; identify authors and publication dates; and determine underlying assumptions about other cultures depicted in the books. (AV)

Discusses steps taken to eliminate bias and misrepresentation from history textbooks and examines how descriptions of historical events can be affected. Describes how groups can question textbook material and states that, if the goal of textbook writing is to offend no one, then history will cease to exist in the schools. (GEA)

Using the U.S. experience in Vietnam, this article argues that the U.S. world view is a product of the U.S. educational system. Specifically the article addresses three questions: (1) how the social studies curriculum is organized; (2) how textbooks are written; and (3) how instruction is shaped by these forces. (Author/BSR)

Thirty-seven social studies methods texts were examined to see how concept instruction was covered. Seven provided no guidance for instruction in social science concepts, and most did not provide sufficient information and guidelines, despite the considerable body of knowledge that stresses the importance of this area. (IS)

Two criteria for social studies programs are presented: (1) deal directly with the concept of justice, and (2) provide for the direct practice of citizenship. Four texts are examined for meeting the criteria. Finally, a hypothetical grades 1-12 program is described that meets the criteria. (ND)

The Raygor Readability Estimate, described in this article, is much like the widely used Fry Readability Graph, except that it determines vocabulary difficulty by counting words of six or more letters, rather than by counting syllables. An evaluation found that Raygor was faster and easier to use and more objective than the Fry method. (RM)

Discusses why teachers must help to review and/or select textbooks on a regular basis and how they can participate in this process. A slightly revised edition of the criteria used by the State of Michigan Social Studies Review Steering Committee illustrates critical factors that must be considered in evaluating textbooks. (SR)

Discusses a study of 19 junior and senior high school textbooks used in the Washington D.C. area to introduce students to the Arab World and Islam. Findings indicated that Middle Eastern culture and history were frequently measured by western standards, information was often inaccurate, the Arab-Israeli conflict often portrayed Arabs as being at…