Contents of 800 elementary, middle, and high school textbooks published from 1919 to 1991 were analyzed with regard to their levels of difficulty. Following World War II, there was a major decline in schoolbook difficulty which may have led to the subsequent decline in SAT-verbal scores. (MAK)

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) compared mathematics and science scores across 41 countries. American students performed well in science and mathematics in the fourth grade but fell behind their international peers by the eighth grade. Concludes that differences are due to unfocused curriculum, a static conception of…

This paper has a two-fold aim: first, to report on some findings as to the ways in which textbook authors construe their argument in the introductory chapters to linguistics textbooks; second, to discuss some concerns which are central to descriptions of academic prose and register variation in the light of what the data under study provide us…

Textbooks play a central role in the US education system. High school level World Geography textbooks are an important tool in the campaign to reform geography education in the United States, particularly through the introduction of the National Geography Standards. The status of the Standards in US schools is appraised. Five factors (authority,…

Rereading the history of basic writing can serve as a context for and a springboard to a reading of selected contemporary basic writing textbooks. For critical scrutiny, articles by Joseph Harris and David Bartholomae offer retellings of the history of basic writing, retellings that challenge the more "heroic" tellings that have become…

This book presents an overview of the treatment of the Holocaust in the textbooks used in the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and the United States. Selection of these three countries was based on historical, political, and state administration criteria. All three countries are democratic but vary in terms of history, heritage, and…

The altering of the presentation of Japan's imperialist adventures in Japanese high school history textbooks reflects a continuing dispute between Japan and her Asian neighbors, as well as between a politically conservative bureaucracy in the Ministry of Education and a historical profession heavily influenced by "progressives" who write…

This paper discusses the inclusion of race, both as a construct and as an issue, in the introductory level of the college social science curriculum. First, a review of the literature concerning the general higher education curriculum indicates that a general education should prepare students for citizenship. Next, the paper presents evidence that…

This paper analyses elementary school Chinese language textbooks for teaching reading and writing in primary grades in the People's Republic of China. The paper begins by examining the characteristics of the Chinese written language, particularly how the reforms of written Chinese in China since the 1950s have affected instructional materials.…

The purpose of this study was to determine if first-, second-, and third-grade science textbooks integrate strategies to enhance literacy development in their texts, thereby reflecting an integrated language-arts perspective. Five sets of popular first-, second-, and third-grade science textbooks with 1990 and 1991 copyright dates were analyzed.…

In an attempt to determine the nature and extent of the changes which are occurring in physical geography textbooks at the introductory college level, a number of American texts published between 1960 and 1983 were subjected to a detailed analysis. Books were divided into an early group (publication dates: 1960-70) and late group (publication…

A study investigated the depiction of older characters in basal reader series from 1975 to 1983. A checklist was used to collect data concerning the treatment of older people in the stories and pictures of the following series: (1) Macmillan and Company (1975), (2) Allyn and Bacon (1978), (3) Scott Foresman (1978), Ginn and Company (1982), and (5)…

Forty-eight textbooks in educational psychology published after 1950 were located for review. Half the books were published before 1975 and half following 1975. The purpose of the study was to describe changes in coverage and treatment of individual differences and special populations since the passage of Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All…

A study was designed to determine if the classifications and definitions of context clues suggested in ten reading methods textbooks were used in three basal reading series. The method textbook analyses provided 27 different context clues. The analysis of the basal reading series--D. C. Heath (1983), Ginn (1984), and Scott, Foresman (1983)--showed…

This study investigated the relationships between the mathematical problem-solving performance of fourth-grade children, their attitudes toward problem solving, their teachers' attitudes, and related sex and program-type differences. Three instruments were used to gather data. Data were gathered for the first part of the study from 30 classes in…