In the past, science textbooks have been the target of criticism of science educators in studies of sex bias in the past. The purpose of this study was to examine the illustrations in the biology textbooks most commonly used in high schools in the United States. Seven textbooks were examined for their representation of women in illustrations of…

Those interested in textbook research, theory, and practice need to identify the independent or context variables that influence the making of a textbook--the intervening variables that come into play as textbooks are conceived, developed, and designed--and to show how these impact on the textbook, or dependent variable. To begin, critics and…

A study compared the sex roles depicted in the 1963 Scott Foresman basal series with those of the 1978 series to determine if changes had occurred. A total of 172 stories from 16 readers were analyzed using the Checklist for Evaluating Sexism in Reading. Each story was examined for the number of times males and females were portrayed as main…

The guide describes how committee hearings can be used in an educational as well as a political context. A committee hearing approach can be used in education (1) when a committee suited to carry out the evaluation task already exists; (2) when a written report is likely to be ignored or to have minimal effect; (3) when the decision-maker or…

This study sought to determine the cognitive levels of questioning of end-of-chapter test items accompanying selected fifth-grade science textbooks. The extent to which test items emphasized high level questioning and significant differences among texts in the distribution of knowledge and above-knowledge-level test items were also investigated.…

Writing textbooks are changing to reflect the curricular shift from an emphasis on product to an emphasis on process. The product approach focused mainly on surface features and used an instructional strategy of testing writing rather than teaching it. The process approach focuses on what effective writers do as they move through the stages of…

In 1980, a study was conducted to determine the current status of word processing (WP) in Illinois in order to suggest ways to improve curricula in Illinois postsecondary schools. The study involved: (1) soliciting and evaluating WP textbooks and course materials from 9 textbook publishers; (2) requesting information from 14 WP manufacturers and…

A study assessed the training effectiveness of instructional materials designed in accordance with three format models for (1) recalling facts about equipment, (2) applying rules and regulations, and (3) classifying objects and signals. Three types of self-paced instructional materials were compared: learning aids, programmed instruction, and…

One component of an evaluation research model for system-wide selection of curriculum materials is reported: implementation of an evaluation design for obtaining data that permits professional and lay persons to base curriculum materials decisions on a "best fit" principle. The design includes teacher characteristics, learning environment…

This volume is the first of a series of annotated bibliographies describing the library holdings of the Bilingual Education Service Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois. In addition to providing a representative sampling of available materials, this bibliography could be useful in the preliminary selection of instructional and resource tools.…

This paper suggests that some of the U.S. history textbooks selected and analyzed by Frances Fitzgerald in her research on the political socialization function of U.S. history ("America Revised," 1979) were never widely used in schools and that the results of her study are, therefore, unrepresentative. The paper also presents a…

The papers in this publication will help elementary and secondary educators integrate economic concepts and tools into consumer education courses. Responses to the papers are also included. There are eight chapters. Chapter one describes the project that is the subject of this publication and that resulted in the national seminar. The goal of the…

Methodology and findings are reported for a study of the materials and instructional components of the Reading and Writing Laboratories at Ohlone College conducted by a team of five external evaluators. The report's first section details: (1) the goals of both labs, as articulated by the college; (2) specific objectives of the study; i.e., to…

A study was conducted to validate the welding curriculum materials developed and published by the Oklahoma State Department of Vocational and Technical Education. Twelve instructors collected achievement data (unit tests, assignment sheets, and evaluation forms) concerning the performance of 280 students on a total of 46 instructional units. Item…

A selection of seven articles on teaching reading to high school students is presented in this report. The topics discussed are: (1) a structured approach to reading expository prose, (2) the effectiveness of sustained silent reading, (3) readability variations in secondary remedial high interest books, (4) the effects of previewing difficult…