The fourth conference dedicated itself to the topic "The Treatment of Minorities in Textbooks," intending to give educators, publishers, civil rights leaders, and government officials an unbiased understanding of textbook problems. Participants learned from each other and gained insight into differing points of view, stimulating cooperative team…

This book, published by the Council on Interracial Books for Children, presents a content analysis instrument for assessing the portrayal of women and third world peoples in U.S. History textbooks. Thirteen textbooks published since 1970 and one which was published in 1967 are examined for their treatment of six groups: women, African Americans,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the compatibility of the reading level of students with the required power-mechanics textbooks used by senior industrial arts majors in the California State University and Colleges System. The data for this study were obtained from responses to the Schrammel-Gray High School and College Reading Test…

This study focuses on two tasks: (1) the development of a general procedure for evaluation of social studies textbooks which could be adapted to any locale, which could be used at any grade level, and which might be applied to other subject areas, and (2) to illustrate the suggested procedure at the fifth-grade level. The procedure involves the…

Identifies some specific difficulties which foreign student have traditionally found in studying American Government on the college level. This article enumerates various remedies for these problems, including special textbook selection, lighter reading load, modification of testing procedures, and creation of an international student section in…

Texts available for French courses in the highest grades are listed according to topics, which include: position of women, today's youth, the language of advertising, French colonialism, holidays and tourism, modern city living, criminality, French politics. Hints for the teacher are included. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

It is recommended that undergraduate second language teaching include individualized instruction, cultural education, testing for mastery, and emphasis on communicative competence. Textbook selection is also discussed. (SW)

States that academic freedom is probably better described today as a protected interest rather than a right. Offers a set of policy guidelines for handling censorship efforts. Includes a sample statement of policy on the selection and reconsideration of instructional materials. (JDH)

Notes the problems with obtaining literature texts to teach in basic writing courses and the fact that there is very little information on the subject. Offers a discussion of the texts and other information the author has found and concludes that there may be more support for such literature-based programs in the future. (JC)

Faculty collective bargaining contracts were analyzed at institutions of higher education that had a history of collective bargaining to determine whether contracts negotiated in 1975 significantly differed from those negotiated in 1985 with regard to academic items including employment decisions, teaching load, nonteaching responsibilities,…

Reports on a content analysis of 14 textbooks on endocrinology. Using thyrotoxicosis as the content maker, the study indicated major differences between books with regard to the information provided and the number of words devoted to the subject. Suggests that medical teachers selecting textbooks be aware of such differences. (TW)

Focuses on the development of materials to help textbook adoption committees evaluate the instructional quality of commercially developed basal reading programs. Describes the development of the Adoption Guidelines Booklets. (Author/NH)

Shows that a wide variety of textbook characteristics play a role in influencing teachers' selection process, and that some of these interact with teacher characteristics. (FL)

Discusses findings from a questionnaire survey of 622 biology teachers on: (1) how accurately they can judge readability of instructional materials; (2) what factors they consider when judging readability levels; and (3) if they considered differences in students' reading ability when selecting reading materials for them to use. (JN)

Reports on a survey of Australian English teachers in years 5, 7, 9, and 11 concerning their control over the English syllabus. (HTH)