RACIAL MINORITIES IN U.S. HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: A CASE FOR A MORE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TEXTBOOK EVALUATION

A few decades ago, textbook adoption proceedings were relatively dull affairs. Present at these meetings were political, business, and labor interest group representatives who were primarily concerned with the treatment their constituencies received in textbooks, especially social studies texts. Expressing common concerns, board members and traditional interest group representatives only occasionally debated what ought to be included in social studies texts. The dealings rarely bordered on the sensational and, in most cases, resulted in minimal discussion and acceptance of texts recommended for adoption by a board9s textbook committee.