Language is central to education, being the core medium of instruction. Researchers and practitioners have long used manual methods to analyze instructional language like classroom discourse and instructional texts, with the goal of facilitating student-centered instruction. In this dissertation, I offer three studies demonstrating how natural…

Purpose: An increasing amount of students' and teachers' work in the classroom involves digital technologies such as tablets and laptop computers. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the possibilities and challenges related to teachers' use of digital textbooks and, through this work, the conditions for technology-enhanced learning…

Teacher professional development (TPD) plays a vital role in enhancing student achievement and the education quality improvement at general education schools. Vietnam is carrying out the general education reforms including the curriculum, teaching methodology and textbook replacement. In order to make those reforms succeed, a lot of things have…

Educators often wonder exactly how the textbooks that end up in students' hands were approved. In this article, the author explores one significant stage in the process in California, the nation's largest textbook market. The Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), an advisory board to the California Department of Education's (CDE) State Board of…

This study explores texts used in four 7th-11th grade teachers' history/social studies lessons and these teachers' perspectives about the texts. Specifically, data from interview and observation field notes were analyzed to determine (a) the number, types, and modes of texts teachers used in their lessons and (b) teachers' perspectives on the…

Well-informed decisions on curricular materials can be an efficient way to boost student achievement. Prior studies have employed experimental and quasi-experimental designs to investigate the effects of textbooks on mathematics achievement. This is the first study to consider textbook effects in social studies education. Within the context of a…

Using a mixed-methods approach, this article reports survey findings regarding the factors secondary English-language-arts teachers in the United States reported as influential to their text selection and examines how those factors varied by years of teaching experience. Teachers' department was the most cited influence regardless of years'…

It is thoroughly agreed that English language textbooks stand amongst the foremost components in any language classrooms worldwide, being referred to as valid, beneficial and labor-saving tools to fulfill an extensive range of needs. An ELT textbook is not merely a set of sheets of paper fastened together to hinge at one side, but is the beating…

E-textbooks are gaining momentum in the education systems and are used for teaching and learning. Teachers are often reluctant to accept and use these technologies in the classroom, despite the numerous advantages thereof. In environments where the use of e-textbooks are mandatory, such reluctance often manifests as using the software in a…

There is increasing momentum behind the idea that curriculum materials, including textbooks, represent a powerful lever for education reform. As funders are lining up and state leaders are increasing their policy attention on curriculum materials, this report discusses the very real challenges of this effort. The report draws on my experience over…

Home education, in particular Confucian home education, has been increasing steadily in China over the past decades. However, research relating to home-schooling families has largely been ignored. In particular, the literature grounded in empirical study and focusing on the development of Confucian home education is negligible in the educational…

Data analytics is an integral part of planning and decision making in business. Priorities have shifted to hiring skilled employees to support a company's analytics requirements. The authors discuss the background of big data and data analytics, demand for trained professionals, and information on the development of a data analytics curriculum.…

It is generally known that textbook is the first and the most vital tool for teachers to proceed with successful English language teaching activities. Hence, it is indispensable for all language teachers to evaluate books critically and choose a suitable textbook. This article aimed to explore the different features of two famous college English…

With the rising interest in the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in language teaching, evaluating the ICC attributes in EFL textbooks is becoming a great concern. This study aimed to find out the evaluation criteria for the ICC attributes in EFL textbooks generated from the literature and from EFL experts, and then construct an…

During the rapidly changing political atmosphere of the 1910s, the practice of sanctioning scholastic knowledge began to be implemented in the yearly selection of textbooks due to political contingencies. The study shows the procedures of approval and disapproval practised by the Grand Council of Education and the Copyright and Translation Office…