Textbook publishers are under attack for producing books that are superficial in content and oversimplified or confusing in language. They respond that their products are the inevitable result of applying the many textbook selection formulas to book production. Efforts by educators to improve textbooks are currently being organized. (PGD)

Author asks: Who is properly responsible for the direction of education, the makers of instructional materials or those who work with the materials in the classroom? (SP)

Some educational materials produced by industry are among the best available. (DS)

According to analysis of the readability of textbooks used in 12 "common body of knowledge" courses in business administration, the higher the readability level, the lower the grade averages, fewer As, and the higher the number of withdrawals from the course. Although readability may not be the only influence, it is an important…

Given the results of experience and research, it is no longer possible to treat school textbooks as something incidental or accessory to the educational process. In the last few years, funding agencies have gradually but systematically initiated reflection on textbooks. It is now accepted that pupil access to school textbooks is one criterion for…

Textbooks may indicate the quantity and quality of subject content in a secondary school curriculum. They tend to conform to state departments of education and large local school districts' curriculum guides and to be the dominant instructional medium in high school courses. Examinations of widely-used textbooks may indicate the strengths and…

The most frequently chosen textbooks for introductory sociology courses are analyzed. The study reveals that sociology texts change through incrementation rather than through innovative thinking or by rational decisions as to the best way to present sociology to students. Sociology students are not considered in textbook selection; rather,…

Texts in educational psychology have been criticized because they allegedly fail to define the subject matter domain of the field, because they are written for instructors rather than students, and because no consistent theoretical position is taken. The fact that different texts stress different sets of data does not mean they fail to define the…

The author suggests that quality selection of textbooks at the local level is more likely to occur when: (1) administrators involve teachers, subject-matter specialists, and others in the selection process; (2) these individuals comprise a committee which makes a regular, continuing study of textbooks; (3) they consider using materials recently…

Describes the process of preparing an innovative textbook on English history. The textbook stresses richness of England's history and society in addition to politics and foreign affairs. For journal availability, see so 506 696. (DB)

A textbook author should be sure that his or her philosophy is respected by the publisher. Materials should be published in a form and according to quality standards which meet the author's approval. Textbooks that are part of a core program or series will require the collaboration of other writers. (SW)

Presents the views of three secondary-level teachers regarding the use of textbooks in geography instruction. (JDH)

Many things are wrong with college level economics textbooks. For example, they are too ahistorical, too particularist, or unsystematically eclectic. The requirements of a good college economics textbook are examined. (RM)