Many science educators have argued in favour of including socioscientific issues (SSI) in general, and ethical issues in particular, in school science. However, there have been a number of objections to this proposal, and it is widely acknowledged that such teaching places additional demands on science teachers. This study examined the curricula,…

During the Allied occupation of the Axis countries, education and the revision of educational materials were seen as a means of ensuring future peace in Europe. Most scholarly literature on this topic has focused on the German case or has engaged in a German-Japanese comparison, neglecting the country in which the textbook revision process was…

The present paper attempts to reason that social-constructivist spatial theory represents an essential approach for contemporary geography teaching. This approach is essential to show learners how space contributes to the organization of society. By contrast, German geography didactics and teaching practice, which are examined closely here by…

This study examined the role of history education for nation building in Ethiopia, Germany Rwanda, South Africa, Switzerland, and USA using a comparative research method. Student textbooks and syllabi were the main data sources. Document review was the principal data-gathering tool and the data was analysed qualitatively. Findings revealed that…

This article concludes that the logic of linear and inscribed media continues to predominate in schools, despite the advances in the use of digital technology as a pedagogic tool. With respect to both the interactionist-constructivist model of learning as well as the findings of educational theory and educational psychology, it is possible to…

This article draws on memory studies and media studies to explore how memory practices unfold in schools today. It explores history education as a media-saturated cultural site in which particular social orderings and categorizations emerge as commonsensical and others are contested. Describing vignettes from ethnographic fieldwork in German…

Open educational resources are not available "as such". Their provision relies on a technological infrastructure of related services that can be described as an informational ecosystem. A closed informational ecosystem keeps educational resources within its boundary. An open informational ecosystem relies on the concurrence of…

Very little research has been conducted on the contribution of political education to learning progress in Germany. Hence, there is a need for intervention studies measuring performance against the theoretical background of a political competence model. This model comprises three constructs: subject knowledge, motivation and attitudes. According…

This paper explores disciplinary technologies and pupil redisposition through school and teacher focus on school equipment and homework diaries. During our field research in two contrasting secondary schools, we experienced the importance of missing school equipment to teacher and school control. We also concluded that forgotten or missing school…

"What happens to domain knowledge on its way into the school curriculum?" The article explores this question from a systems view of the knowledge transformation process. This process is not only bound to "contextual knowledge" about "social forces" but also to the school's own "educational knowledge"…

Discusses the use of India as a topic for teaching English as a Foreign Language and about developing an awareness of cultural diversity in Germany. Provides a critical analysis of textbooks in Germany that are beginning to offer new approaches. (Author/VWL)

Organisational ecology and world cultural perspectives are used to analyse the struggle of the former East German textbook publisher Volk und Wissen after reunification. We argue that the normative expectations of Western Germany with respect to instructional materials clearly emulate world cultural principles, and so Volk und Wissen's transition…

Provides an examination of the Swiss-German music books in the Luther Whiting Mason-Osbourne McConathy Collection. Based on research undertaken to learn about music education in nineteenth century Switzerland and its influence on U.S. music education. (CMK)

Explains that, with the exception of the "classical" textbook, there are no studies addressing the learning materials and media used by secondary school teachers. Presents results concerning the person- or subject-immanent circumstances under which teachers complement or replace the textbook in both planning and performance. (Author/CMK)

Asserts that school textbooks are significant factors in the school curriculum and, therefore, in curriculum reform efforts. Reports on a case study of textbook development for the new subject of education in German secondary schools. Finds that even in a new subject area, textbook content is uncritical and conforms to state-issued guidelines.…