Discusses and compares surveys made in 1965 and again in 1971 of the fourth, fifth and sixth grade textbooks of six publishers: the publishers chosen were those most frequently mentioned when a random sample of Minnesota school districts was asked to name the basic social studies textbook(s) being used at the time. (Author/JM)

Because many textbooks contain sparse headings or no headings at all, the effectiveness of having students generate their own headings while studying material from an introductory biology text was investigated. General psychology students (N=51) were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) Headings Generation, given instructions on creating a…

Presented is a Department of Defense Office of Dependents Schools approved list of basic texts and instructional materials in mathematics. Texts and materials were provided by publishers for a review process during the 1977-78 school year by formal review committees. These worldwide committees were composed of students, parents, community…

A study was conducted to determine the precise content of elementary school spelling instruction. Spelling textbooks for grades one through six from seven major commercial publishers were selected on the basis of their use in elementary classrooms and were subjected to a critical, computer-assisted analysis in order to identify and classify the…

This paper addresses the question of whether introductory students are learning the essential concepts of sociology. A study of 18 introductory sociology textbooks, dated from 1973 through 1977, indicates that these basic concepts are not clearly and intelligibly presented. Although over 1500 concepts were included in 18 glossaries, only one…

The seventh-grade and eighth-grade program of "Reading Basics Plus" consists of an integrated set of texts, workbooks, and teacher's guidebooks. By a process of small group trials, students' and teachers' reactions to the proposed content of this program were obtained in order to provide editors and contributors with useful information about…

The subjects for this study were 81 freshman students who were taking courses in the social sciences at Herbert H. Lehman College in New York. A Nelson Denny Reading Test showed their average reading grade level to be 10.4 Twenty-three books in the social science areas were selected for appraisal, using such procedures as the application of a…

The direction of the facilitative effect of questions inserted at intervals in prose material is examined in terms of: 1) the testual distance of the questions from the material to which it refers; and 2) the relationship between the information tested by the inserted questions and that tested by the criterion test items. Results with 140…

Teacher attitudes toward reading and their knowledge of techniques to improve students' reading skills were assessed in a questionnaire survey of faculty members at Tennessee State University. Results from the 72 valid responses (out of 175 questionnaires distributed) indicated that college teachers need, and would like, more information about the…

To see how the literature studies in English classrooms may indirectly present career education, the author analyzed six eighth grade literature anthologies currently used in the public schools. She found much unintended career education, positive in the case of attitudes toward work but found to be damaging in showing racial and sexual…

Demonstrates how composition textbook advertisements suggest, project, and perhaps even create an audience. Proposes four different audience-related elements of the ad-object: context, genre, borrowings, and reflexivity. (MS)

Finds that only 70% of sociology textbook paragraphs contain material important for understanding major textbook concepts, that substantive material is not evenly distributed among chapters in the same book, and suggests students be made aware of this as a reinforcement for the importance of selective reading. (MS)

Discusses the social studies writings of Peter Parley and the elements that made them popular to nineteenth-century students. States that educators should examine these textbooks to find the elements that made the social studies interesting and informative instead of dull and boring, as they are perceived to be today. (GEA)

Reviews conditions in the United States supporting the need for the treatment of terrorism in social studies textbooks and reports the results of a survey of 19 high school government and history textbooks. Concludes that only two books offered students any help in defining or understanding terrorism. (JDH)

Argues that a critical area in the advancement of literacy is the production of textbooks that reflect recent insights on language and discourse. Examines procedures by which textbooks are reviewed and produced and suggests guidelines for the establishment of rational criteria for textbook production. (FL)