A Profile of High School Biology Textbooks Using Scientific Literacy Recommendations

Abstract

W HILE textbooks are not the exclusive driving force in science curriculum and instruction, it is clear that they play a major role in shaping science teaching today. According to a recent report (Weiss et al. 1989), 90% of secondary science teachers use a textbook. Blystone (1989) estimates that textbooks are used for 75% of classroom and 90% for homework. This corresponds with earlier research demonstrating that textbooks are used by 90% of all science teachers 90% of the time (Stake & Easley 1978). In fact, Brandwein (1981) contends that specific science terms presented in textbooks serve as the driving force in science teaching. While reporting on the status of biology education in the United States, Hurd, Bybee, Kahle and Yager (1980) mentioned that the goals of biology teachers are usually those of the textbook they use. Furthermore, Bybee (1989) wrote, Any consideration of reforming high school biology must examine the role of the textbook in instruction (p. 169). Defining the desired states of biology education is the first step in determining the impact of textbooks. Several key reform groups in science education drafted reports outlining their views of the future of science education. Two major reform movements recently emerged: Project 2061, coordinated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Rutherford & Ahlgren 1990), and the National Science Education Standards coordinated by the National Research Council (1993). While each group is approaching reform in slightly different ways, both agree on some basic fundamentals: