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This paper suggests a three-step approach for motivating and enabling eighth graders to authentically attempt to comprehend assigned passages from their U.S. history textbooks. The steps are the following: (1) attempt to activate prior knowledge and interest in textual readings by using relevant materials and varied literary sources to motivate students' interest and involvement in trying to carefully read and comprehend their history textbooks; (2) present textual organizing strategies designed specifically to promote comprehension of specific sections of history textbooks and suggest instruction in formulating questions and charts that alert students to the text's main ideas and central concepts as a means of assisting students with overcoming unique reading comprehension difficulties that are posed by history textbooks; and (3) advocate teacher-facilitated class discussion and small group work as a means of monitoring and verifying students' comprehension of main ideas and concepts from their history textbooks. Articles cited from professional journals provide evidence that the teaching approaches advocated may motivate and enable students to comprehend their history textbooks. (BT)

This study analyzes the treatment of Asian Americans in a group of selected high school U.S. history textbooks published between 1994 and 1996. Using a content analysis technique, nine of the textbooks most widely used in Hawaii were evaluated in terms of Asian groups represented, events and personalities identified, and multicultural concepts reflected. Textual references to Asian Americans ranged from .56% to 2.1%, while visual references ranged from 1.1% to 3%. The Japanese and Chinese were the most frequently mentioned groups in eight of the nine texts, accounting for 60% to 85% of the references. Asian Americans were depicted as passive rather than active agents in all the texts. And while every text cited how industrious Asian Americans have successfully assimilated into the mainstream culture (the model minority culture), none singled out their recent efforts to organize for greater visibility and voice through such groups as the Asian American Political Alliance and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans. Findings revealed variations among textbooks in the thoroughness and specificity of their treatment of Asian Americans. The paper suggests textbook improvements concerning coverage of the Filipino, Korean, and Asian Indian American groups; in-depth analyses of historical events and contemporary issues relating to all Asian Americans; and primary accounts that represent the insider's perspective. Contains a list of history textbooks examined, 35 references, and 7 tables of data. (BT)

This study investigates how teachers and students assess the textbooks they use in history courses at the high school level in Turkey. The study included 61 high schools in 23 provinces representing the 7 geographic regions of Turkey. Through a survey questionnaire, teachers and students were asked their perceptions of the textbooks. Then a sub-sample of the teachers and students were interviewed to collect more in-depth data on their assessment of the textbooks. The results indicated that the textbooks assist teachers in instructional planning and in preparing examinations. However, the books were found to be ineffective to some degree in terms of physical aspects, content presentation and organization, language, teaching and learning aids, and impact on students. The textbooks focus mostly on transmission of knowledge. The texts were found to be ineffective in leading students to read the information with an interest, to develop an understanding of the content area, to develop thinking skills, and to foster positive attitudes toward the subject. Includes two tables of data and 14 references. (BT)

A study followed up and elaborated upon the college textbook section of Glenn S. Pate's (1987) study of "The Holocaust in American Textbooks." After surveying elementary, high school, and some college textbooks to determine both the extent and the nature of their Holocaust coverage, Pate concluded that across the educational spectrum most U.S. textbooks were "woefully inadequate." Combining the quantitative and qualitative instruments of the earlier study to examine the representation of the Holocaust in current college survey texts in social science and history, the present study found that the average college student could complete a variety of "survey" courses in history and social science without seriously confronting the Holocaust. Appendixes list the textbooks examined (sociology, political science, U.S. history, and world history) and provide an analysis of the survey questionnaire. (Contains 4 tables of data and 50 references.) (Author/BT)

This paper examines the treatment of American Indians in six high school U.S. history textbooks, published 1990-95 and used in several geographically diverse private schools and one public school in New York. The study aimed to determine whether all sides of the stories that make up U.S. history were presented, to clarify what specific areas are in need of improvement, and to suggest supplementary resources to compensate for textbook shortcomings. Chapter 1 considers the visibility of American Indians in history textbooks and finds that American Indians are left out of texts and illustrations, coverage of pre-Columbian America is disproportionately short, the lack of coverage of 20th-century American Indians perpetuates the "vanishing American" myth, and no primary source pertaining directly to Native Americans is in any of the textbooks. Chapter 2 discusses the lack of American Indian perspectives in the textbooks, noting that White historians dismiss Native oral sources as unreliable but use White oral sources, and that not only are Native primary sources absent, but different views of the issues are not presented. Chapter 3 finds that European perspectives regarding Native American history fall into classifications such as the hierarchy of civilizations, savages, generic or acquiescent Indians, manifest destiny of Euro-American colonists, barrier to progress, and the minimal effects of colonization. Chapter 4 presents a sample supplementary high school curriculum designed to address the shortcomings of traditional classroom material with respect to American Indian issues. Chapter 5 lists useful resources. Contains a 34-item bibliography. (TD)

Controlling "literacy processes" was a concern of members of the dominant culture during the Progressive Era (about 1890-1917). Educators wanted to set students on the "right" course before formal schooling was over. Four history textbooks from the era share a general sense of what is required for public literacy, but they present multiple public literacies, not a singular, uniform idea. The most important thing these historians shared was their devotion to progress, on the one hand, and conflict, on the other, all of which they expressed using the rhetoric of the American jeremiad. The first thing students needed to know to be publicly literate, according to the history textbooks, is what kind of shape the nation was in relation to the achievement of the "promise" of America. For historians Samuel Foreman, and James Alton James and Albert Hart Sanford, students did not need to get actively involved in maintaining the promise, because the forces of providence (with their able assistants, members of the dominant culture) could maintain it. The rhetoric of the "steady" jeremiad in these textbooks is understated, because the textbooks are quite functional--students need to stay the course, and the course is progress. For other historians, such as David Muzzey, and Charles and Mary Beard, the fiery rhetoric of an "active" jeremiad was designed to inculcate a sense of public literacy that required active participation in the movement of the nation toward the achievement of progress. (NKA)

This paper examines ways for students to learn the importance of history. It provides teachers with ideas and thoughts about different approaches to teaching history. The study examined how students viewed historical time, made historical judgments, and what students saw as historically important. An ethnically diverse, urban class of 22 eighth graders studied the exploration and British Colonization of North America for 7 weeks. Six students were interviewed before and after the study unit to assess prior and subsequent knowledge of U.S. colonial history. After the unit ended, most of the students consistently had difficulties reconstructing what they learned in the unit. Results are discussed in terms of 3 points: (1) the importance of prior knowledge and historical sense-making; (2) the need for more powerful themes on which to build an understanding of the period than chronological structure alone; and (3) the potential to increase students' meaning-making experiences by offering them significant reasons for learning history and connecting historical study to their personal lives. Concluding the paper is a 27-item bibliography, a 2-page appendix of pre- and post-unit protocol questions, and a table of unit objectives. (JAG)

In order to broaden student understanding of past and contemporary situations, the world history survey course needs to consider religion as a vehicle through which history moves. The course proposal includes prehistory and paleolithic times to contemporary Islamic culture. The course is thematic and comparative in orientation, but moves through historical time in a conceptual rather than chronological manner. The six major units use religion as the main organizing principle. The first semester of the course examines historical developments from precivilization to the classical era. Unit 1 uses a case study to examine precivilization. In the second unit, students explore the relationship of religion to the environment with a focus on the ancient riverine civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Unit 3 investigates the ancient classical era where religion affected every aspect of life. The second semester explores religious reformations and the impact on civilizations. Unit 4 examines the ancient civilization of India and the Hindu religion. Unit 5 moves geographically along the trade route from the Indian to Chinese civilization. The last unit focuses on the birth, development and diffusion of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A 30-item bibliography, and references to 18 world history books and 7 articles provide supplementary reading and textbook information. (CK)

This document surveys the changes in the content of history textbooks in Romania from the end of World War II to 1991. Post war Romanian education is examined through the education laws of 1948, 1958, and 1975, and at the syllabi and textbooks used. The textbooks are relevant for such an analysis because they represent the main material support of didactic information. The study examined 15 editions of middle and high school texts published from 1957 to 1991. History teaching followed the same stages as the entire social and political life of the country. The specifics of history teaching depended on the degree of implication of the political factor in the elaboration of objectives, adequate content for attaining the objectives, and the methodological framework. The first stage of the post war education system in Romania began with the Education Law of 1948 through which Stalinist viewpoints on society and history emerged. By the mid 1960s Romanian history texts no longer placed the Soviet Union in a key role. During this period topics after World War II were grouped as: (1) the capitalist states; (2) "popular democracies," the socialist or communist countries; (3) national liberation movements in colonial countries; (4) the international communist and working class movement; and (5) science and culture. The 1991 textbooks reflect the elimination of value judgments from the titles, groupings of problems facing human society as a whole, and the growing recognition of the importance of individuals. (DK)

This report examines the portrayal of the Second Amendment of the Constitution (the right to keep and bear arms) in U.S. history and U.S. government textbooks. The document contends that not only were there numerous errors and misrepresentations of facts, but also there were many omissions of various events throughout history. Further research showed that the history of the second amendment virtually was omitted from the texts. The guiding questions of the research included: (1) How accurately and comprehensively do senior high school U.S. history and U.S. government textbooks portray the Second Amendment and the circumstances of its adoption?; (2) When the Second Amendment is included, how much emphasis is given to it compared to other amendments?; and (3) How thoroughly and accurately do the textbooks portray the courts' interpretation of the Second Amendment? Content analysis was conducted for 24 senior high school U.S. history and 8 U.S. government textbooks for all events relating to the Second Amendment. fourteen areas of historical events, legislation, and judicial decisions were examined to determine the accuracy of the coverage of the topic. The study concludes that the textbooks omit important historical and judicial precedents that would give students an accurate portrayal of the evolution of the Second Amendment and subsequent judicial opinions, without which the amendment seems to have sprung from an intellectual vacuum. Contains 30 references. (EH)

Despite a long-standing commitment to citizenship education throughout the United States, relatively few researchers have examined what civic learnings are acquired from particular topics in the curriculum such as the Revolutionary era. Researchers have largely neglected the substance of classroom life, the specific curricular context and subject matter being studied. This paper presents the results of a study that explored the relationships between civic learning and learning about the Revolutionary era. Specifically, the study considered the reactions to an elementary-level textbook chapter on the deterioration of Anglo-American relations prior to the Revolution by: a professor of history, a professor of social studies education, an elementary school teacher, a junior high social studies teacher, and two bright sixth graders. Four major topics relevant to civic education emerged for the readers' responses: (1) political values, (2) the lessons of history, (3) fair-mindedness and balance, and (4) learning history. The topics are examined in detail and the following recommendations are made: strategies such as class discussions should be more frequently employed than recitation; researchers need to examine much more closely what children now learn, and take these perspectives into account when they make suggestions for improvements in curriculum design and for more effective teaching practices; and more attention should be paid to civic learning in particular topics in the curriculum. A 38-item reference list is included, as are appendices containing the protocol for study of the text and a list of the major topics and ideas emerging from the study with related tables. (DB)

Reviews a sample of award-winning and honor books from both the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Council for the Social Studies. Suggests that by using primary source documents, students are allowed not just to read about the past, but to see how the past is constructed as history through such sources. (SG)

An Australian researcher exploring the underlying assumptions held by non-Aboriginal educators involved in Aboriginal education reexamined his first childhood history book, "Australia from the Beginning" (Pownall, 1980). Although a liberal and sympathetic treatment, the book reflected non-Aboriginal assumptions about assimilation as "success" and the necessity of non-Aboriginal intervention in Aboriginal lives, assumptions that the researcher still held in his first teaching position. (SV)

History and government textbooks provide basic sources of information about the United Nations' (UN's) role in international relations, its programs and activities throughout the world, what it stands for, and what it does. The UN embodies a vision of international cooperation that transcends domestic politics and acts as a worldwide foundation of order and human welfare. The American Textbook Council examined the content of 17 of the most widely adopted U.S. history and government textbooks used in junior high and high schools. Five questions were asked about each textbook: (1) What are the essential issues that textbooks should cover? (2) How do the textbooks stack up? (3) What do they include? (4) What do they omit? and (5) What thematic approach do they take, if any, to cover the subject? Variations in the books reviewed are considerable, with coverage of the UN and UN-related subject matter ranging from nonexistent and substandard to sound and even adroit. This publication contains ten sections: (1) "Foreword"; (2) "Preface"; (3) "Executive Summary"; (4) "Introduction"; (5) "Questions and Design"; (6) "Why are Textbooks Significant?"; (7) "Why Is the United Nations and Important Topic?"; (8) Scope of United Nations-related Content"; (9) "What the Textbooks Tell Us"; and (10) "Conclusions and Recommendations." Includes a bibliography of textbooks reviewed. (Contains 38 notes.) (BT)

Analyzes 10 widely used secondary history textbooks for references to Christianity and the Religious Right in contemporary American history (after 1945). Discusses the relationship of private faith and public behavior, President Jimmy Carter's faith and motivations, the Religious Right and politics, television evangelism, and textbooks' inadequate explanations of religious influences. Offers suggestions to publishers and teachers. (Contains 28 references.) (SV)

Using a cross-section of European secondary school history textbooks, a study examined general developments in the presentation of history over the last decades. Three to 5 textbooks from 13 European countries were examined. Until the mid-1960s textbooks were primarily concerned with the history of the particular state or nation, but over the last 20 years, textbooks have dwelt more on general issues. Findings present an overview of how certain aspects of European history are covered. Some of the topics are taken from the darker side of Europe's past and include occupation policy, the Holocaust, genocide, and war. Other topics deal with textbook market structures, the space allotted to regional, national, European, and world history. The importance of textbook layouts is examined. Tasks assigned to students are reviewed to see whether they develop key skills of critical investigation or encourage students to digest pre-structured knowledge. Relevant to European integration is the issue of what Europe and the European dimension mean to young people; what key concepts are in the circles of pan-European decision makers that are sometimes undefined; and underlying assumptions in history textbooks. If the multi-perspective nature of Europe is to be grasped, then it must encompass more than a sum of European institutions. A definition and discussion of Europe should be brought to the forefront. Ways and means to help young people perceive Europe as having a meaningful and positive role in their daily lives are recommended. Includes notes, four tables, and textbook illustrations. Appended are sample contents pages, a list of textbooks analyzed, and project information. (BT)

A study explored the way various levels of narrative voice in historical texts influence high school students as they carry out a common historical problem-solving task. Participants, 30 students in a suburban Seattle (Washington) high school, wrote a historical essay after reading an introductory text excerpt and six historical documents. Half of the students began the task by reading an excerpt from a popular high school world history textbook with an anonymous author writing in the third person and revealing little about personal opinions, perspectives, or information about historical epistemology. The other half began by reading a text that had the same primary historical information but featured a visible author who wrote in the first person and revealing beliefs, perspectives and information regarding historical epistemology. A pretest gauged students' prior knowledge of Caesar and his assassination, and six were selected to think-aloud through the entire task. All participants used a packet of historical documents examining Caesar's murder. The introductory text that framed the task was different for each group, while the problem-solving task was identical. For the majority of those in the anonymous author group, it appears the discourse schema brought to bear on this task was a straightforward "school writing" mode of communication. Essays produced by the visible author group were about 25% longer than those of the other group. In summing up think-aloud statements, it became clear that participants in the visible author group were far more likely to establish relationships with text authors, hold mental conversations with and about them, and give more thought to the primary historical information embedded in those texts. Appended are text excerpts, historical documents, and scoring rubrics. (Contains 9 tables and a 51-item bibliography.) (BT)

Provides a review and analysis of research targeting the rift separating history written for adults and historical texts aimed at K-12 students. Emphasizes the role of personal agency in historical writing and discusses the relative silence of authorial voices within the discourse of history textbooks. (Contains 120 references.) (Author/SLD)

The major problem in history education at the precollegiate level is that the history that is typically taught is based on an impoverished idea--or model--that history is recollected facts. There is an enormous discrepancy between "school history" as represented in textbooks and its use in classrooms, and "academic history" as represented in the work of historians and philosophers of history. The two key features that distinguish academic from school history are inquiry and interpretation. Both of these features point to history as a sense-making activity, mediated by the constructive use of language, rather than as the assimilation of recollected facts. An examination of several high school history textbooks show that they do not embody the idea of history as interpretation; rather than telling just one story, they fail to tell any story at all. Precollegiate history needs to be reconceptualized as an active process of inquiry and interpretation. It should imply a content that brings students into contact with concrete historical realities, problems, and models through consideration of both documentary and secondary source materials. One table is included, as is a 22-item list of references. (RS)

This book, published by the Council on Interracial Books for Children, presents a content analysis instrument for assessing the portrayal of women and third world peoples in U.S. History textbooks. Thirteen textbooks published since 1970 and one which was published in 1967 are examined for their treatment of six groups: women, African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos, Native Americans and Puerto Ricans. Each section of the book begins with a short introductory essay and is followed by criteria for evaluating the information provided by the textbooks. A passage from a sample textbook comments on what is right, wrong, or missing from that excerpt, and one or more references to added sources of information is provided. A checklist for use in evaluating any textbook for racist and sexist information is included along with a bibliography, classified by minority group. (Author/AM)

Native Americans know that they have a complex social, political, and economic heritage, and they have been concerned that social studies textbooks describe the history, traditions, and values of Indian tribes much too simplistically and generally. To address the need for Indian heritage to be presented without bias, use of stereotypes, or perpetuation of myths, the Commission on Indian Services established a working committee representing Indian communities to conduct an intensive review of 29 grade 4-12 United States history textbooks scheduled for possible adoption by the state of Oregon in 1978. Community committees composed of Title IV staff and concerned parents reviewed 7 or 8 tests using uniform criteria established by the working committee and the State Textbook Commission. The criteria evaluated such aspects as: accuracy of data; Indian history as an integral part of American history; Indian culture as a dynamic process; national and worldwide contributions of Indians; the special social, economic, and political position of the Indian in American history; religious and philosophical contributions; illustrations; overall objectives of the text; presentation of content; style and tone; and learner appropriateness. Six texts were judged acceptable, 3 were acceptable if supplemented, 1 was found not applicable, and 19 were rejected as unacceptable. Specific strengths and/or weaknesses were cited for each text. (NEC)

This interim report, intended to help textbook authors and publishers, describes the results of a project in which American schools critiqued Soviet textbooks and Soviet scholars critiqued American textbooks. Secondary level history and geography texts were the focus of the study. There are five chapters to the report: Background to the Study; American Criticisms of Soviet Textbooks; Soviet Criticisms of American Textbooks; Recommendations for the Revision of American and Soviet Textbooks; and Conclusions and Recommendations. The report's conclusions state that there are a few ways in which books in the two nations can be judged similarly deficient. Both American and Soviet textbooks tend to: glorify the accomplishments of their own nation and to denigrate the contributions of others; feature the least attractive aspects of life in the other nation; emphasize political affairs and devote scant attention to social and cultural life in the other country; and to be written from a Cold War perspective. Recommendations made include the following. When treating a topic involving a dispute between the United States and the USSR, authors should include information about how the issue is interpreted in the other country. Authors should strive to use the most accurate up-to-date information. When discusssing disputes that have arisen over violations of treaties and other agreements, textbook authors should provide the texts of the relevant portions of agreements in the texts so that students can judge for themselves the extent of violations that have occurred. Emotional and pejorative language should be avoided. Respect for the national traditions and customs of the other country should be encouraged. (Author/RM)