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Integrating the nature of science (NOS) into textbooks is one of the challenges in science curricula. This case study assessed the issue based on a sample of high school biology textbooks in Mainland China. We quantitatively compared changes in the extent, quality, and distribution of NOS representations between 2004 and 2019 editions. Three main findings emerged: (i) NOS representations have improved in the 2019 editions compared to the 2004 editions, with a 42% increase in frequency and a score growth rate of 70%. (ii) There was an imbalanced distribution of NOS aspects, focusing on 'empirical' and 'tentative' aspects and omitting 'theory-laden', 'myth of 'the scientific method', 'scientific theories', 'scientific laws', and 'social and cultural embeddedness in science aspects. All NOS aspects were heavily weighted towards the genetics theme. (iii) NOS in the 2019 editions is still addressed as it was in the 2004 editions, with unsolved aspects omitted yet again or addressed inadequately. These results constitute direct evidence for future textbook revisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to identify the features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity and learning ability found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China. This study used a qualitative approach and content analysis of the three PEP senior high school English textbooks. China's English Curriculum Standards (CECS), established by the Ministry of Education in 2017, were used to identify the features of English Core Competencies (ECCs). The three English Compulsory textbooks were the subjects for this study. They were used as learning materials in a high school where the study was held. One research question was asked as part of the underpinning: What features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability components were found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China? The findings showed that linguistic competence had the highest frequency of 29%, and vocabulary ranked second at 22%. Whereas cultural awareness, Chinese culture had the highest frequency of 41%, foreign culture ranked second with 34%. Thinking capacity had the highest frequency of 48%, and critical thinking ranked second at 27%. The learning ability inquiry learning had the highest frequency of 45%, and cooperative learning ranked second at 27%. Each component has its features, but they are interrelated and integrated into each other to make up a system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws on data collected from Chinese language textbooks to investigate the ways in which ethnic minority cultures and languages are represented in primary school textbooks in China. Drawing on the methods of thematic and comparative analysis, we specifically analyse how the representation of ethnic minorities in Chinese textbooks has changed across different periods in history. The analysis reveals that the representation of ethnic minority cultures and languages is largely limited to the contributions approach and additive approach to multicultural curriculum development. The findings show a largely selective, traditional, and stereotypical representation of ethnic minority cultures and languages in school textbooks, which focus primarily on cultures from representative ethnic groups. Although an accurate and equitable representation of ethnic minorities is still mostly lacking in Chinese language textbooks, a multicultural approach to ethnic diversity has been gaining ground over the past four decades. Interestingly, increasing interest in a multicultural approach has been accompanied by decreasing tolerance towards ethnic multilingualism in textbooks over the past four decades. Such observable trends towards monolingualism and multiculturalism in the representation of ethnic and linguistic diversity in textbooks echo the continuous changes in national education policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberal studies (LS) textbooks used in Hong Kong public secondary schools have incurred controversy regarding perceived biased contents; however, what appears uncertain are what techniques the textbooks used to incite hostility towards the mainland of China and encourage students to participate in violent acts in Hong Kong. The present study used Michel Foucault's order of discourse theory, particularly the "division and rejection" framework regarding the power of discourse to analyze five popular LS textbooks. The findings reveal that the textbooks depict a division between the fabricated irrational image of the mainland and the rational image of Hong Kong. Specifically, the textbooks paint Chinese patriotism as irrational while encouraging the student readers to reject their Chinese identity. The textbooks also create a division between altruistic and capable civilians and passive, silent ones, with the morality of the former being connected to violence and radicalism. In this way, the textbooks produce a discourse of hostility towards the mainland and the people in the mainland while encouraging violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated science is a ubiquitous school subject that is found in primary and middle-school levels around the world. Being a hybrid subject comprising several science disciplines, it poses many challenges to teachers as they are obliged to teach beyond their disciplinary comfort zones. In addition, this subject is prone to a lack of coherence, which helps people see how a small number of key ideas in a discipline can build upon each other to deepen understanding. Using integrated science textbooks from mainland China since 1990 as a case study, their (i) disciplinary emphasis (i.e. which topics & disciplines were emphasised) and, (ii) coherence of topics were therefore examined. The results showed that physical science topics were heavily and consistently emphasised in these textbooks, which likewise corresponded with the high number of buttress topics found in this discipline. Life science topics were the next most emphasised followed by earth science ones, a trend present since the 1990s in this country. We conclude with implications for improving science teacher training/professional development as well as student scientific literacy from this study of disciplinary emphasis and coherence in integrated science textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study focused on the required Grade 4 reading textbooks published by Mainland China's People's Education Press. Using the construction–integration model (C–I; Kintsch in Psychol Rev 95:163–182, 1988; Discourse Process 39:125–112, 2005) as the theoretical framework, we analyzed the texts and activities in the textbooks on the following domains: (1) genre, (2) top-level structure (TLS), the C–I model activated in a (3) passage comprehension and (4) a word comprehension activity, and (5) whether the activities addressed the TLS to help students integrate prior knowledge under appropriate schemata. Our results suggested that among the 63 texts, only 2 had a comparison text structure. Also, only 20% of the 125 activities addressed a situation model of comprehension. Moreover, only 10 word comprehension activities were included in the textbooks (five promoted word comprehension in a situation model). Lastly, while many texts contained a problem and solution or cause and effect structure, most activities did not help students to identify the correct TLS. Therefore, the textbook design was not aligned with the C–I theory to promote higher-order reading comprehension skills. We suggested that textbook designers should consider a balanced representation of different TLSs, and teachers need to provide other activities that can guide students to comprehend a word and text in a TLS-appropriate situation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of school textbooks on nation-building in China by examining how the Chinese concepts of minzu and Zhonghua Minzu are constructed in elementary language and social studies textbooks. This study draws on the relationships between ideology and school curriculum as its theoretical framework and adopts a combination of content analysis and critical discourse analysis to critically examine content about minzu in these textbooks. The findings of this study reveal the ambiguous meanings of the word minzu in the examined textbooks and the process through which its semantic ambiguity is contributing to the discursive construction of the Zhonghua Minzu ideology, which is important for China to position itself as a unified, multiethnic country. The use of metaphoric languages and strategic rendering of two key narratives, humiliation and civilization in Chinese history, also help to solidify the Zhonghua Minzu identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In order to provide insight into cross-national differences in students’ achievement, this study compares the initial treatment of the concept of function sections of Chinese and US textbooks.The number of lessons, contents, and mathematical problems were analyzed. The results show that the US curricula introduce the concept of function one year earlier than the Chinese curriculum and provide strikingly more problems for students to work on. However, the Chinese curriculum emphasizes developing both concepts and procedures and includes more problems that require explanations, visual representations, and problem solving in worked-out examples that may help students formulate multiple solution methods. This result could indicate that instead of the number of problems and early introduction of the concept, the cognitive demands of textbook problems required for student thinking could be one reason for differences in American and Chinese students’ performances in international comparative studies. Implications of these findings for curriculum developers, teachers, and researchers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of metadiscourse in seventh-grade English textbooks in Japan and China in the context of calls for more learner-friendly textbooks. Four textbooks were selected for metadiscourse analysis to determine what kinds of metadiscourse are used to facilitate or affect learner understanding of propositional content. Focusing on metadiscourse's pedagogical function, Crismore's (1983) metadiscourse typology for textbooks and other relevant elements were taken into account. The findings imply that although both Japan and China are categorized as EFL countries, their English textbooks display different characteristics in terms of metadiscourse usage, reflecting the different ways in which learning materials are designed and developed. In order to interpret these findings, the impacts of national curricula are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how recent history textbooks from the United States, Japan, China, and South Korea present the Korean War. The comparative analysis focuses on four areas: the causes of the Korean War, American involvement in the war, Chinese involvement in the war, and the results of the war. Analysis of the central story lines reveals that some consistent statements exist about certain events in the Korean War, but inconsistencies and conflicting views seem to dominate the history textbooks in these countries. The authors believe that comparing international history textbooks creates a good opportunity for students to see the complexity and controversy of history interpretation. Such a critical comparative approach helps students better understand how people in different countries perceive and interpret historical events. The authors argue that reviewing the similar and conflicting interpretations of the war gives students a unique opportunity to develop their critical-thinking ability and reasoning skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how selected school mathematics textbooks in China, Singapore, and USA at the lower secondary grade level represent problem-solving procedures. The analysis of problem-solving procedures was carried out in two layers – general strategies, which adopted Pólya’s four-stage problem-solving model, and specific strategies, which consisted of 17 different problem-solving heuristics such as ‘acting it out,’ ‘looking for a pattern,’ ‘working backwards,’ etc. Both similarities and differences in the representation of problem-solving procedures in the textbooks across the three countries were revealed and compared. The possible reasons for the similarities and especially for the differences were explored. Suggestions about how to improve the representation of problem-solving in mathematics textbooks were provided at the end of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]