Presents a review of recent studies on the influence of interest on textbook comprehension. States that most studies indicate that interest plays a significant part in text learning. Identifies objections to this, especially regarding deficits in conceptualizing and measuring interest. Educational implications for the construction of textbooks are…

Investigates whether readability is a key criterion for college and university professors in selecting textbooks. Finds that many selected textbooks are at too high a level for the students. Suggests that students have a difficult time learning when the text is even slightly above their level. (PRA)

Describes and analyzes the composition textbooks, or first books of compositions, all written between 1838 and 1855, which were all markedly different from the best-known writing texts of the period. Provides a broader account of how writing was taught in the mid-nineteenth century in America. (HB)

Discusses the writing of textbooks by professors and considers whether or to what extent it should be regarded as a scholarly activity. Analyzes textbooks as registers of professional identity, how composition is comparable to other disciplines, and how the writers value the experience of the classroom. (HB)

Analyzes the ethical perspectives of four technical communication textbooks. Argues that the textbooks engage in moralism and in ethics-related activities that deduce moral judgments. Suggests that at least two of the textbooks introduce ideas that are either inconsistent with traditional ethical theories or are subject to previous objections. (RS)

Defines textbook genre as the manner of presentation of material and implied relationship between the author and reader. Describes a method of objectively dividing textbooks into moves separated by shifts in emphasis, and gives a genre analysis of an exemplar textbook to demonstrate how the technique might be useful in evaluating textbooks for…

Updates a study of the coverage of entrepreneurship contained in principles of economics textbooks originally carried out in the mid-1980s. Analyzes coverage of the same topics in 14 popular introductory texts. Concludes that entrepreneurship still has not worked its way into economics-principles texts. (DSK)

Extends Wayne Weiten, Rosanna E. Guadagno, and Cynthia A. Beck's (1996) research on the value of pedagogical aids in introductory psychology textbooks. Examined full-length introductory texts published between 1995 and 1997 to determine the prevalence of aids, and asked students to rate 15 aids on familiarity, likelihood of use, and value.…

Presents evidence from a large sample of reading test scores for the validity of cloze-based assessments of reading comprehension for the discourse typically encountered in introductory college economics textbooks. Notes that results provide strong evidence that appropriately designed cloze tests permit valid assessments of reading comprehension…

Addresses the evolution of the most authoritative and widely used textbook in world literature courses in the United States, "The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces." Questions if the "Norton Anthology" has provided educators who are committed to the teaching of world literature from non-Eurocentric perspectives with a…

Neal Frey reads textbooks for a living, a job he finds singularly fulfilling. For more than two decades, he had labored on behalf of Educational Research Analysts, a conservative Christian textbook-reviewing organization in Longview, Texas, founded by the famously outspoken husband-and-wife team of Mel Gabler and Norma Gabler. Since the early…

Building upon past studies of curriculum textbooks in the US, this paper presents an analytical framework that classifies curriculum texts according to their representation of reconceptualized curriculum scholarship. It uses four indicators of the representation of curriculum scholarship in the analyses of eight curriculum texts published in the…

Our study focused on two topics, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and their control using condoms. For this, we analysed and compared 42 school textbooks from 16 countries on the general topic "Human Reproduction and Sex Education" using a specific grid designed by the BIOHEAD-Citizen project. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome…

This study brings in a comparative approach regarding pictures involved in secondary school (14-17 ages) textbooks taught in Turkey. In this respect, following the classification of pictures (line drawings and photographs) included in secondary school education geography textbooks, evaluation of the photographs in books in question in terms of…

To prevent a paper from being discarded and ensure that it addresses the right audience, it must have a proper title that satisfies certain requirements. Writing the titles to scientific articles is therefore a challenging exercise that demands the use of various skills. Still, although the research paper is one of the most thoroughly studied…