Examined the treatment of Social Security, civil rights, political power, and population trends in 19 secondary schools' United States history and government textbooks. Found that only Social Security was given adequate treatment. Concluded that the coverage of aging issues in secondary textbooks was generally weak and insufficient. (Author/NB)

Examines six recent basal series and compares them to books used in older studies to find evidence of improvement in the portrayal of female characters. (JC)

Experts who had been suggesting criteria for "considerate text"--text that facilitates understanding, learning, and remembering--were challenged to write an ideal textbook. The chapter--"Americans Develop Plans for Government"--that they wrote in response to the challenge is presented here. The rationale and strategy they used…

Analyzed three fifth-grade textbook series and the teachers' editions for the distribution of artistic forms of representation and the social studies content with which those representations were associated. Found that visual art was the primary representational form and was used as evidence for students to perceive and respond to when studying…

Because instruction in library search strategies is often neglected in social work education, about 75 major social work and social science textbooks were reviewed and divided into 3 groups by the amount of coverage of library research skills. Strengths and weaknesses along with suggestions for a model orientation to library use are provided. (EAM)

Discusses the debate over world history survey courses. Examines eight world history textbooks. Compares the treatment of the following topics: Hammurabi's Code, Buddhism, the fall of the Bastille, and the Korean War. Also reviews goals, use of maps, visuals, and skills involving analysis of primary and secondary sources. (RW)

Examines 11 elementary science texts in terms of conceptual structure and reasoning demands using concept maps. Reports that (1) the conceptual structures vary widely across texts; (2) most of the structures are well defined; and (3) the reasoning demands are above the developmental capabilities of most of primary-level children. (Author/YP)

Analyzes construction and use of analogies in social science texts and compares results to an earlier analysis of physical science texts. Results indicate that categories in the classification system for analogy construction were consistent across disciplines, although differences were revealed regarding how analogies are used in instructional…

Reviews "Teaching and Learning in History," calling it more appropriate for people interested in history as a discipline rather than school history imbedded within social studies. The volume provides more for readers examining cognitive science-based novice-expert studies than readers interested in guidelines for history teaching and…

Critiques nine major curriculum texts. Argues the field has failed to produce important research. Looks at citation ratios in curriculum research journals versus other scholarly journals. Explores the impact and influence between curriculum texts and their intended audience. Includes suggestions for a curriculum program from the…

Argues that children could leave 12 years of school thinking that the Holocaust is the chief contribution of Jewish people to world history. Shows through a survey of reading anthologies for grades K-12 that Bible stories are largely left out, as is fiction about the modern Jewish culture. Offers a critical explanation for this state of things.…

Environmental education has increasingly become part of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum worldwide. This article analyses 26 EFL textbooks used in Japan, to discover what kind of environmental education they offer, and what this says about intercultural communication in the teaching/learning process. The results show how…

In 2002 a paper entitled "Writing Church-sponsored Religious Education Textbooks" by Engebretson was published in the "British Journal of Religious Education". This paper reported on and analysed some aspects of the development, by the Catholic Archdiocese in Melbourne, Victoria, of a series of religious education textbooks to…

A study examined the role of science texts in classrooms and sought to determine how cognition, attitude/motivation, and socioeconomics affect conceptual change learning from texts in those classrooms. Subjects were students in three high-school science classes, one at each level of instruction: general, regular, and advanced. The classrooms were…

Bringing social studies textbooks to life has been a growing concern of educators. The use of general interest books, or trade books, can be a helpful means of supplementing the traditional textbook. This document is a study designed to identify trade books to supplement the main themes, goals, and topics of Communities and Resources, Silver…