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Elementary science textbooks: Their contents, text characteristics, and comprehensibility
Author(s) -
Meyer Linda A.,
Crummey Lorraine,
Greer Eunice A.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660250603
Subject(s) - vocabulary , mathematics education , content analysis , psychology , content (measure theory) , science education , vocabulary development , quality (philosophy) , teaching method , linguistics , mathematics , sociology , social science , mathematical analysis , philosophy , epistemology
The purpose of this article is to present findings from a systematic analysis of elementary‐school science textbooks. Comparisons of content domains and vocabulary are presented for the Merrill (1982) and Silver‐Burdett (1985) science programs, grades 1–5 as well as the fourth‐grade Holt (1980) and fifth‐grade McGraw‐Hill (1974) texts. Analyses of how each publisher presents information, types of questions, and various text characteristics reveal striking differences between programs. Systematic comparisons of content domains between programs also reveal few instances of “inconsiderate” texts. The textbooks analyzed were selected because they are used in the three school districts participating in our longitudinal study. Results are discussed in light of the differences found between programs regarding textbook content and opportunity to learn, the greater amounts of text and activities within each program, and teachers' probable uses of textbooks, the long‐term results of students' exposure to various textbooks, and the need for careful examination of materials in order to determine their quality.