Discusses results of the evaluation of limited field trials for the use of telecast in schools in the United Kingdom (UK). Sixteen television sets capable of receiving teletext into schools all over the UK were used in this project. (HM)

Efficacious features claimed by experts who had rewritten texts were evaluated in 3 experiments involving 700 undergraduates and 52 instructional texts about Army job tasks. Some experts evidently had effective knowledge about improving text, but it was primarily procedural. (SLD)

Discussion of students' understanding of illustrations in textbooks focuses on a British study designed to determine whether secondary school pupils could identify cut surfaces of objects in biological illustrations. Implications for theories of perceptual development and the role of illustrations in teaching are discussed, and further research…

Reports on misconceptions held by intermediate grade students concerning chemistry textbook concepts, on the relation of reasoning ability to those misconceptions, and on the extent that textbooks encourage misconceptions. Concludes that the level of understanding displayed for the selected concepts, in combination with the nature of students'…

Contends that social studies textbooks do not reflect recent archaeological research on pre-Columbian Americans. Summarizes recent research results and develops new concepts about Mayan civilization. Examines and rates 12 textbooks currently used in public schools regarding how well they incorporate the new research on Mayan civilization. (DB)

In his assessment of the current state of e-book technology, David Rothman illustrates the value of e-books for educators, accounts for why the technology has not been more widely embraced, and discusses new developments that suggest a better future for e-books. For educators, particularly distance educators, e-books hold great potential to…

This study reviewed six history textbooks widely used in grades 7-12 across the U.S. Using a story-line analysis, the findings of this study suggest: (1) textbooks reinforce negative stereotypes of Latin Americans as lazy, passive, irresponsible, and, somewhat paradoxically, lustful, animalistic and violent; (2) the method of description employed…

This content analysis study explored the impact of recent decades on the appearance, content, content emphasis and textbook features of 1970 edition and the 1992 edition of "Magruder's American Government." This volume has been the leading high school government textbook ever since it was first published in 1917. The study pre-selected…

Various perspectives on the highly complex textbook debate are presented in this book, which includes essays by educators, publishers, policymakers, and scholars. Currently, the advocates of higher academic standards, coherence, and quality occupy the strongest position in the debate. Part 1 looks at textbooks from a historical perspective. The…

Using a sample issue of the "Journal of Communication" as a point of comparison, a study examined the content of 10 introductory textbooks for the field of communication. Results indicated that textbooks scarcely ever acknowledge methodological pluralism, and when they do, they simply cite it as an existing factor in the field of communication and…

The consistency of content areas was assessed for six college health textbooks published between 1980 and 1987. Texts were analyzed to determine coverage of ten selected content areas: (1) motor vehicle accidents; (2) teenage pregnancy; (3) suicide and homicide; (4) alcohol and drug misuse; (5) smoking; (6) nutrition; (7) exercise and fitness; (8)…

To provide a consistent framework for evaluating competing reading methods and materials, an assessment instrument was devised to help over 100 inservice educators evaluate the middle grade components of five nationally used basal reader programs: the Holt Basic Reading System; the Open Court Correlated Language Arts Program, the Ginn Reading 360…

Since current research and theory question many of the traditional methods and techniques of teaching vocabulary, a study was made to determine the content of 55 college vocabulary texts and the extent to which the content was consistent with empirical evidence. The study investigated the techniques used to teach word knowledge and whether they…

A study was conducted to determine how well-balanced and accurately the largest ethnic minority groups are portrayed in major contemporary basal reader series. The amount of ethnic minority content by group and by basal series was investigated, as were the qualitative aspects of that content: the locale of the story, the socioeconomic class…

This paper explains a research study that examined the contents of social studies textbooks in grades one to four in order to determine the concepts that the books presented. The purposes of the study were to determine: (1) if concepts from all of the social studies areas are represented in primary textbooks; (2) if fundamental social studies…