An analysis of the lexical content of four recently published textbooks for college-level introductory German is presented. The study investigated the extent to which the materials prepare students for the intermediate level, as cited in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' (ACTFL's) proficiency guidelines. The lexical items…

The final report of the project that concentrated on the expository language found in content-area textbooks begins with an overview of the project, including rationale, significance, and goals. These goals were to (1) describe how high school students and their teachers used their textbooks, (2) describe and analyze the nature of expository…

Analyses of elementary and secondary social studies textbooks, supplementary materials, and teacher resource materials, all published in 1983, 1984, and 1985, are presented. The objective is to provide analyses of curriculum materials that will allow K-12 teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, and college methods teachers to select…

Working on the theory that intonation miscues caused by confusion over punctuation and other phrase boundaries will make the apprehension of text more difficult than necessary for young developing readers, a study reviewed the research and literature relevant to the effects of location of punctuation, phrasing, and line breaks in text and on the…

This report evaluates the treatment of Aisa in American elementary and secondary school textbooks. The study was undertaken by the Asia Society. Guided by a detailed questionnaire, 103 scholars, teachers, and others with Asian expertise reviewed 306 books commonly used in the 50 states during 1974-75. This book summarizes the process of…

This second report on American History textbooks used in Michigan schools is divided into three sections: 1) background information of the 1968, ED 032 369 survey; 2) a description of the 1970-71 study; and, 3) conclusions and alternative actions being considered by the State Board of Education. A survey was conducted to determine impact of the…

The contents of this book, about the impact on the values of young people which textbooks and other books designed for them from preschool through twelfth grade have by the way they depict black people in the United States, include the following articles: (1) "Storytellers and gatekeepers," J. Janis and P. Franklin; (2) "Black vs. Negro history:…

Surveys the content of 13 elementary social studies methods texts published between 1981 and 1988. Disregarding quality or length of coverage, Breiter identifies common topics in social studies methods texts as well as social/controversial issues and skills coverage. Suggests how this information might be used in text selection or course renewal…

The authors of a popular secondary school level-speech communication textbook that has frequently been removed from schools or attacked because it discusses values defend their book and assess the effects of censorship. (NKA)

Reports on a study designed to examine selected units of commonly used elementary science texts, using the Project Synthesis goal clusters as a framework for part of the examination. The discussion of the finding focuses on the comparison of the results to recommendations of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). (TW)

Discusses whether the goal of language proficiency is reasonable or even possible given the language textbooks available. Examines the description of the French language in college-level French language textbooks (all of which take a structural approach) to see if they lend themselves to the acquisition of a functional speaking ability. (SED)

EFL teachers need to be careful in their decision on the selection of cultural content for ELT classrooms. To address the issue, this paper investigates the design guidelines to evaluate textbooks as sources of cultural content in the ELT curriculum. The paper is organized in two parts. In the first part, the notion of culture and the important…

Ten science textbooks (4,393 pages) for grades 6 and 7 were examined for their treatment of five top-ranked global problem issues (population growth, war technology, world hunger and food resources, air quality and atmosphere, and water resources). Implications for science education curricula from this content analysis are discussed. (SLD)

Reports on an analysis of history textbooks used in Canadian schools during the 1930s. Presents a set of six criteria used by the evaluators. Concludes that the textbook study is a reminder of the period when the social studies curriculum was the subject of political criticism from the left. (CFR)

Science activities of the 14 science textbooks most commonly used in middle and junior high school were analyzed and coded to determine the level of the thinking skills emphasized in comparison to supplemental guide activities. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant difference in the quantity but not quality of the thinking…