Alternative Textbooks Research Articles

Open Educational Resources and Educational Outcomes at a Community College

Open educational resources (OERs) are an alternative textbook to publisher materials used by colleges and universities. While OERs likely reduce the cost of college for students, research is mixed on the impact of these textbooks on student success in college. The present study utilizes preference score matching (PSM) methodology to compare OER and publisher textbook use to student pass and withdrawal rates from 9 high-enrollment courses taught at the Community College of Baltimore County from fall 2016 through spring 2021. We examined all enrollments in a subclass-match PSM model, and found a significant improvement of 0.153 on the final course grade received by the student, and a significant increase of about 4% for students that received an ABC in courses using the OER, along with a significant decrease of 2.6% in the rate that students withdrew from OER courses. We also examined Pell students in a subclass-match PSM model, and found a significant improvement of 0.331 on the final course grade received by the Pell student, and a significant increase of about 9% for students that received an ABC in courses using the OER, along with a significant decrease of 4.8% in the rate that Pell students withdrew from OER courses.

MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENT OF MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL (THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY)

The article analyzes the motivational component of mathematics textbooks for students of grades 2–4 at the beginning of the 21st century, the author of which is the well-known Ukrainian researcher and methodologist M. Bohdanovych. It is significant that these textbooks were used as alternative textbooks by most primary school teachers in Ukraine during the specified period. The analysis was carried out according to our elaborated methodology for studying the motivational component of textbooks designed for younger schoolchildren, which includes the following components: emotionality of the content of the educational material; ways of its didactic organization; textbook design. Ways to implement the motivational function of mathematics textbooks at the beginning of the 21st century for primary school have been described. It was done according to the first component which is the most productive and gives a general idea of the motivational component of the textbook. In particular, mathematics textbooks of the beginning of the 21st century were analyzed according to the criterion of “selection of information taking into account students’ cognitive interests”, which is detailed in the corresponding indicators. In the process of analysis, the positive characteristics of these educational books were established (the presence of characters in the plots of mathematical problems, things and activities that are valuable and close to children’s sensory experience, interesting tasks and mathematical problems with fairy-tale plots, etc.). Also, the shortcomings were indicated. These include insufficient number of the previously mentioned tasks, elements of humor, historical information, “curiosity” sections, etc.). On the basis of the obtained results, scientific and methodological recommendations were formulated regarding the strengthening of the motivational component of textbooks designed for younger schoolchildren.
 The specified recommendations offer specific instructions on improving the content of the mathematical problems plots to strengthen their motivational orientation, in particular on increasing the number of characters that are attractive to children, objects that children often use in everyday life and which are valueable for them, and types of personally meaningful activities, performed by the protagonists of the tasks, as well as mathematical problems with original and fairy-tale plots; approximate examples of mathematical problems with a natural plot and information on interesting statistics and agriculture are given. It is also proposed to include material in the “curiosity” rubrics in mathematics textbooks, the author provides the tips on the effective use of other means of motivational influence: elements of humor, historical information, prominent people’s quotes, information on comparative linguistics and etymology, local history material, folk traditions and customs, written and oral folklore. The expediency of using the mentioned recommendations in the process of creating modern mathematics textbooks and books on other educational subjects is substantiated..

Evaluating How Rural and Urban English School Teachers Accommodating International Textbooks to Malaysian Context

This qualitative research study explored the effectiveness of the English Language Textbook, Pulse 2 on the students’ motivation and accommodation to the learning needs based on Gardner’s Motivation Theory. 6 selected participants from rural and urban schools were involved and interviewed purposely. Research findings indicated that English school teachers and students were having difficulties to use the textbook due to requirement of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) for teachers and students, having loaded Western content and context in the syllabus, and insufficient technology provided in urban and rural schools impending smooth teaching and learning. This research is significant to the Malaysian Ministry of Education to find an alternative textbook to fulfil the gaps in developing motivation to learn English language among Malaysian students. The research findings also recommend that Pulse 2 textbook should be modified according to students’ need and interest to suit Malaysian's contexts.

Crowdsourcing the (Un)Textbook: Rethinking and Future Thinking the Role of the Textbook in Open Pedagogy

In this paper, we adopt a critical lens to investigate educators' understanding of both traditional and alternative textbooks and examine how open pedagogy may call for a rethinking of textbooks and how they are used in a pedagogical setting. Within the context of open pedagogy, including open textbooks, we conducted workshops that involved faculty, instructional designers, educational developers, and academic administrators during three conferences in 2019: OER19 Conference held in Galway, Ireland; the Cascadia Open Education Summit held in Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Educational Technology Users Group held in Kamloops, British Columbia. Based on data collected during these three interactive workshops, combined with personal reflections from the project instigators, we discuss emerging issues and tensions in the use of textbooks as pedagogical agents/artefacts in teaching and learning, and their relation to open pedagogy. Specifically, we consider what aspects of the use and design of textbook may be rethought in the context of open pedagogy as increasingly ubiquitous access to knowledge and open licensing of content and data become more widely available. This is achieved by prompting educators to describe the best and worst features of the traditional textbook format and reflect on what they might imagine as a potential future for the textbook as a resource to support open pedagogy.

Open Educational Resources in Business Law: Notes from the Field

Open educational resources (OERs) are an alternative textbook to publisher materials used by colleges and universities. OER materials have a cost advantage for students; many are published as free or cost-reduced textbooks for students. The authors developed and piloted an OER textbook for Business Law I in the Management program of the School of Business, Technology and Law. Over 800 Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) students enroll in this course each academic year. The authors evaluated the cost savings for students compared to traditional publisher materials, and also examined student success rates in OER courses compared to traditional publisher courses. The authors’ assessment is that OER materials can save students substantial costs to attend college, and though there is some difference in student success between OER and traditional publisher courses, this variation is likely explained by other independent variables such as the course teaching modality. The process for receiving funding, developing OER-based materials on a publicly available and no-cost website, and distributing the materials to students is also discussed.

Bridging Disciplines with a New and Interactive Online Course: Drug & Nutrient Interactions

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this project was to design, develop and implement an online two-credit course, Drug & Nutrient Interactions, as an elective for a new online Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Methods Drug & Nutrient Interactions was designed to meet the needs of select student cohorts: undergraduate Pharmacology minors, graduate students enrolled in the Masters in Nutritional Sciences program, and online graduate certificate students. Faculty within the Dept. of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences and the Division of Clinical Nutrition were consulted to identify curricular gaps and to avoid redundancy across programs. Instructional designers were consulted to identify evidence-based best practices in online course design and teaching. Results Content of the Drug and Nutrient Interactions course is structured within four thematic modules: 1. Introduction to Pharmacology and Food & Drug Interactions, 2. Exploring Drug-Nutrient Interactions, 3. Genes, Bugs & Time, and 4. Current and Future Directions in Nutrition & Pharmacology. Each module is three to four weeks in duration, to span a 14-week semester. Each week, students’ tasks include reading, watching, writing, and reviewing content related to the student learning objectives. Methods to promote student engagement with the content recur week-to-week, to ensure consistency for students’ experience. An eBook was written by the instructors to provide a current and interdisciplinary review of the intersections of nutritional sciences and pharmacology in the course. In lieu of proctored online exams, module-level assignments assess students’ achievement of learning outcomes. Drug & Nutrient Interactions launched in fall 2019 with nine students enrolling and completing the course. Course analytics track student engagement by logging page views and participation. Increasing students’ page views and participation align with due dates for module assignments. Therefore - in spring 2020, deadlines were shifted to a weekly timeline to foster consistent engagement. Conclusions Instructors should explore various methods to foster student-content, student-student and student-instructor engagement in an online learning environment. Funding Sources This course project was funded by a UK Online award & an Alternative Textbook grant.

Bridging the Gap: Rural Librarians’ Journey to Understanding Students’ Role in OER Outreach

Literature detailing how small, rural academic institutions have implemented initiatives for Open Educational Resources (OER) is limited; most articles focus on university systems, state schools, and R1 research institutions. Our outreach—conducted over the past year at rural Adams State University—initially targeted faculty. However, after encountering silence from this group, we sought to explore the largely uncharted possibility of engaging students as advocates. While our continuing efforts will certainly seek to promote faculty awareness and address barriers to adoption, we have come to understand two things: that faculty engagement is not enough and that student advocacy can play a great role. The librarians’ first goal in our nascent OER initiative is to educate and empower the student body, and by doing so, help bridge the gap between librarian advocates and faculty adopters. Our initial outreach effort to measure student awareness and interest had two aspects: in-person and online. The first step was to talk to students face-to-face about textbooks and associated costs, while informing them of the existence of OER and alternative textbook sources. The second step was to engage students online via a survey. This helped us gain insight into their perspectives regarding the problems they face due to textbook prices. Going forward, we plan to create a two-pronged outreach method: some continuing education of faculty, but more emphasis on students. Our goal is to equip students with the knowledge to advocate for OER to faculty, administration, peers, and even family. Final takeaways from this project include the need to involve students in outreach efforts and to encourage them to participate in future OER planning and projects. No single group can solve the problem of outrageous textbook costs; it is only by faculty, librarians, and students working together that Adams State University will join the nationwide OER movement, not just as participants, but as contributors.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE LEARNING OF AN UNKNOWN ADDEND IN THE NEW BULGARIAN MATHEMATICS FOR THE SECOND GRADE

In the last few years, educational reform has taken place in Bulgaria. It also affects the training in mathematics in the elementary classes. A new Law on Pre-school and School Education36 was adopted in 2015, which initiated the reform. Subsequently, the curricula for individual subjects for all grades and educational degrees were established and officially approved by order of the Minister of Education and Science. From the 2017/2018 school year a new curriculum in Mathematics for the second grade37 is in force. One of the elements of the curriculum in this program is the study of the rules for finding unknown addend and finding an unknown multiplier. At the initial stage of primary education study six subjects for finding unknown components are learned: addend and multiplier in the second grade, minuend and divisible in third grade and subtrahend and divider in the fourth grade. With some conditionality, it can be assumed that these elements of the curriculum are preparing for the study of equations in the algebra course in the following grades. In the Bulgarian pedagogical practice, tasks for an unknown component have never been taught in algebraic ways, on an algebraic basis. In the initial grades these tasks and the related rules are always clarified on an arithmetical basis – based on the dependencies that exist between the components and the results in the pairs arithmetic operations: addition and subtraction, on the one hand, and multiplication and division, on the other. Knowledge of the relationship between pairs of arithmetic actions Bulgarian pupils receive yet in the first grade. Then they assimilate the ability to do a check on the action of subtraction using the action addition. Later, in the second grade, as soon as the two new arithmetic actions were taken – multiplication and division, the students assimilated the ability to test the division by multiplication. Moreover, the action division itself in the Bulgarian school is introduced as the opposite of the action multiplication. On the basis of the new curriculum in Bulgaria, a total of nine mathematics training sets were created, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as by the teachers and distributed in the school network. As far as they are based on a unified curriculum, it cannot be said they are alternative textbooks. These textbooks are variants. In their development, the authors’ teams have applied a variety of methodological approaches to elucidate the new learning content in the lessons of new knowledge. The purpose of the study in this publication is a comparative analysis of the methodological methods of introducing an unknown addend into the nine new mathematics textbooks for the second grade in the lessons of new knowledge. For theory and practice, there is an interest in the advantages and disadvantages of applied approaches in developing and clarifying this component of the curriculum.

The Idea of “Inequality” in Alternative Textbooks for Primary School

The formation of primary school children involves a multitude of aspects that are based (by examples and by counterexamples) not only on the activities carried out in the classroom, but also on the concrete materials used or referred to in the educational instructive approach. In this context, this paper proposes an analysis of the texts presented in the alternative textbooks of Communication in Romanian / Romanian Language and Literature, used in Romania, in primary school. The target analysis criteria essentially converge to the identification of the main coordinates that can be seen in these texts (human typologies, values, gender characteristics, cultural, social characteristics, etc.); these may be prerequisites to explore, at this age, the idea of “inequality” and its implications in the relationship / socialization / communication. Starting with the elements identified in the textbooks, primary teachers may propose / use, on the one hand, certain methods to approach – critically / personalized / adapted and, at the same time, responsible, anchored in everyday life and in contemporary world, and on the other hand, alternatives to literary texts (from Romanian / universal children's literature) and non-literacy (older or newer, distributed through mass-media, social media, etc.).

Challenges and adaptations in implementing an English-medium medical program:a case study in China

BackgroundIncreasingly, non-English speaking countries use English as the medium of instruction (EMI) to teach academic subjects. This study investigated the challenges and adaptation strategies of teachers and students in an EMI medical education program in China.MethodsData were collected on EMI and non-EMI students’ test performances and student and teacher perceptions of the program. Test scores and survey results were analyzed using SPSS. Focus group transcripts and open-ended comments from surveys were examined using thematic coding.ResultsThere were no significant differences in admission and graduation test scores for EMI and non-EMI students. Four challenges with the EMI program were identified: (1) insufficient/inappropriate teaching materials, (2) unsatisfactory teaching, (3) inadequate class interactions, and (4) failure to teach medical humanities. To address these challenges, teachers and students used adaptive strategies, such as the use of alternative textbooks, self-learning skills and Chinese language.ConclusionsEMI programs are difficult to initiate, requiring faculty development and institutional support, and student self and peer group learning strategies to be successful. The adaptive strategies employed by both students and teachers offer insights into how other EMI programs might strengthen their implementation.

Institution initiatives and support related to faculty development of open educational resources and alternative textbooks

ABSTRACT Evidence exists that American institutions of higher education are well-entrenched in the consideration of mechanisms for supporting the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) and alternative textbooks. Literature reveals that developing and implementing OER is a significant undertaking in terms of time and human resources. This study deploys content analysis of a sample of United States regionally based higher education institutional websites to determine the current state of institutional support mechanisms to implementers just embarking on the OER journey. Findings reveal that institutions have made strides in the development of faculty mini-grants and stipends with guidelines, proposal checklists, and weighting mechanisms to inform decision making. However, due to widespread language across the stratified sample emphasising award pool and individual limits, it is clear that OER funding is still seeking wider support as a permanent funded resource. Sponsorship of institutional OER initiatives seems split between institutional library functions and teaching and learning centres. Other issues, such as ownership and licensing, are significantly underdeveloped in field implementation or fall in a large continuum of practices. Recommendations of shared responsibility and use of data driven initiatives are provided that may improve institutional support of faculty OER adoption, adaption and creation.

Helping Keep the Costs of Textbooks for Students Down: Two Approaches

ABSTRACTLibrarians at East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro received a 2-year grant to support a combined alternative textbook project. This project engages in a two-pronged approach to reduce students’ textbook costs and increase their academic engagement. One strategy is to award departmental faculty mini-grants to use materials that would have no cost to their students, including OER or library resources. The second strategy is to identify required texts that the library already owns or can purchase as unlimited-user e-books. Benefits to students include reduced costs and an increased opportunity for engagement and academic success.

NEW PERSPECTIVES IN LEARNING ROMANIAN LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS AND SECTIONS TAUGHT IN HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE

Since September 2017, the new curricula for the 5th grade are valid (Annex 2 of OMEN no. 3393/28.02.2017), based on the framework plan approved by OMEN 3590/05.04.2016. For Romanian language and literature subject, there are two curricula: Romanian language and literature, 5th to 8th grades, and Romanian language and literature for schools and sections taught in Hungarian language, allowing pupils to use alternative textbooks. The secondary school curriculum, as well as alternative textbooks in order to study Romanian language and literature in schools and sections taught in Hungarian language continue the ones for primary school. This article highlights the importance of studying the Romanian language as the official and day-by-day communication language, by the students having a different mother tongue, and the opportunity which is offered to these students by the textboooks, through applying the communicative-functional model and through the pragmatic perspective of language study.

Evaluation of Iranian Second-Grade High School English Textbook from Teachers’ Perspectives

Among the various tools in educational contexts to affect L2 learners' language proficiency, textbooks play a crucial role (Garinger, 2001) not least because of their inherent property to cater to the learners' specific needs. The aim of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of Iranian High schools “English Textbook 2” from teachers’ perspectives. For this purpose, 80 male and female experienced English language teachers were randomly selected from different high schools in Dezful, Iran. They were chosen based on the availability sampling method. The evaluation of the textbook was conducted quantitatively through a 5-point Likert scale checklist which was proposed by Litz (2005). The textbook evaluation scheme contained 19 items which relied upon four main criteria namely a) layout and design, b) subject and content, c) activities, and d) skills (see Appendix). The results indicated that from the teachers' perspective there was an incongruity between the presumed educational purposes and the teachers and learners' needs. It is believed that the results of the study could provide intriguing hints for the curriculum designers and materials developers to think of adapting the available materials or adopting an alternative textbook which contains an organized layout, useful and real-life subjects and contents, covers relevant skills and activities, and corresponds to teachers’ and learners' emerging needs.

Teaching Economics: The Wea Textbook Commentaries Project

There is currently a lot of controversy about the nature of economics teaching around the world. Criticisms focus on a perceived overemphasis on a narrowly defined economics. These concerns are being widely voiced by academics and students alike. This presentation briefly outlines some of the factors leading to the increasing dominance of this mainstream approach. These include the nature of teaching and assessment resources that are provided by key textbooks, the standardization of courses and degree structures, and the impact of research assessment exercises. The presentation then indicates some of the concerns that have been voiced about this development, such as the political messages implicit in this framing and the disregard for important economic phenomena including instability and adjustments over time. Attempts to bring about change include the development of alternative textbooks. These can be useful, but several such books have been written over the past 20 years to little effect. In this context, the World Economics Association’s Textbook Commentaries Project seeks to provide a platform for independent, inclusive, participatory enrichment of courses. The project is outlined and reasons given as to why this might be a means of increasing the influence of alternative and critical material. Ways in which the audience can contribute to the project and use its resources are also described.

``A Mathematical Look at Politics” by E. Arthur Robinson, Jr., Daniel H. Ullman

The 460-page book “A Mathematical Look at Politics” (E. Arthur Robinson, Jr. and Daniel H. Ull- man. A mathematical look at politics. CRC Press–Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4398-1983-8) written by Arthur Robinson and Daniel Ullman [1] consists of four chapters (the descriptions of the chapters are given in parenthesis): I --- Voting (the two candidate case, social choice functions, criteria for social choice, which methods are good?, Arrow’s theorem, variations on a theme), II --- Apportionment (Hamilton’s Method, Divisor Methods, Criteria and Impossibility, the Method of Balinski and Young, Choosing a Divisor Method, History of Apportionment in the United States), III --- Conflict (Strategies and Outcomes, Chance and Expectation, Solving Zero-Sum Games, Conflict, Nash Equilibria, the Prisoner’s Dilemma) and chapter IV --- the Electoral College (Weighted Voting and Privileges). At the end of each chapter there are problems and exercises. Finally, solutions to the exercises and problems, bibliography and index are at the end. Recommendations for instructors are also presented at the end of the preface. In the preface, one may find the declaration of the Authors that this book focuses on mathematical reasoning about politics rather than on mathematics: -- Is there a good way to choose winners of elections? -- Is there a good way to apportion congressional seats? -- Is there a good way to make decisions in situations of conflict and uncertainty? The book offers an alternative textbook to the usual mathematics courses for liberal arts students seeking to meet a general education requirement in mathematics or quantitative reasoning. What makes this book mathematical is not numbers or formulas, but rather reasoning. The book requires rather little background in mathematics or political science. Some experience with the American system of government is assumed .

The changes in the content and opportunities of literary education in primary school after the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence

The education reform carried out after Lithuania regained independence in 1990 has been extensively reported on and evaluated in a number of publications. This type of research is important not only in order to understand the history of Lithuanian education, but also to be able to formulate a perspective of education for future generations. Furthermore, having a thorough understanding of the education reform is also crucial for specialists in charge of the change of today‘s education, authors of alternative textbooks and teachers. The present article deals with a narrow yet fundamental field, i.e. literary education and its change in primary education after the education reform. The theoretical works and documents on aspects of cultural and educational policy written by Dr. M. Lukšienė and other authors of the education reform have influenced the new type of literary education in primary education. The results of a comparative analysis of former and integrated curricula and the contents of the fist integrated textbooks as well as aspects such as the depolitisation of education, integration of literary and language education, new criteria for choosing literary works and their analysis have been integrated into the scope of the article.
 The changes in the school of independent Lithuania started with primary education. This may be the reason why Dr. Meilė Lukšienė, one of the authors of the education reform, focused on the implementation of the curriculum of primary education. She guided the authors of the integrated programme of the Lithuanian language (1992) and reviewed and evaluated the textbooks of the Lithuanian language written in the framework of this programme (1992–1996).
 Throughout the Soviet occupation, the teaching of Lithuanian in primary education was subdivided into segments such as coherent speech, reading, writing, grammar etc. The teaching of Lithuanian was also imbued with Soviet ideology, clearly delineated and academic. The introduction of a new segment into the curriculum of Lithuanian as the first language, i.e. ‘Coherent speech’ was supposed to act as a link between the different parts of the curriculum. It is hard to say whether the aims stipulated in the curriculum were actually achieved in the educational process; however, they were clearly not present in the teaching materials used back then: different textbooks of the different parts of the curriculum were written by different authors who were only interested in serving the purposes of their segments of the curriculum. ‘Coherent speech’ was ultimately to take form of an exercise book.
 This type of teaching and learning was criticised by some Lithuanian linguists, writers and pedagogues. Dr. Meilė Lukšienė underscored the importance of the national culture in educating the young generation in the Soviet period. After regaining independence it was crucial to change and depoliticize language education. A new concept of education was introduced by Dr. Meilė Lukšienė and her colleagues. The concept focuses on the child and not on the subject matter. Their input and insights have helped to create new tendencies of language education. The article focuses on the results of a comparative analysis of integrated and former curricula of the Lithuanian language. Furthermore, the fundamental differences between the goals stipulated in the former and integrated curricula are highlighted. The new curriculum consists of the following central points: 1. integration of literary and language education, 2. prioritizing folklore, ethnography, national literature as part of the national culture, 3. the artistic quality of literary works, 4. differentiated education of the learner’s feelings, creativity and thinking capacity.
 The new tendencies were implemented in the integrated textbooks Šaltinėlis and Šaltinis (written by Elena Marcelionienė and Vida Plentaitė). Th textbooks have a clear system consisting of two planes: fist, a framework encompassing introduction to reading, literary and basic cultural skills was set up. Secondly, guidelines for language education based on the different stages of the child‘s development were introduced. The integration of the two planes has made the teaching of Lithuanian more practical: in this way, the child’s speech and language are developed through experience and the comprehension of texts becomes more complete and emotional, which is very important in the child’s education.
 The ongoing education reform focuses on the differentiation and individualization of education. These two features of education, extensively described by Dr. Lukšienė in her concept of national education, are essential in improving the curriculum of Lithuanian in primary education.

Analysis of the Dominant Ideology in an Alternative Textbook of Social Studies: focusing on the Next Generation Highschool Textbook of Economics

Analysis of the Dominant Ideology in an Alternative Textbook of Social Studies: focusing on the Next Generation Highschool Textbook of Economics

The Transition from Keynesian to Monetarist Economics in Australia: Joan Robinson’s 1975 Visit to Australia1

When Joan Robinson visited Monash University in 1975 she was at the height of her fame. She had just brought out a new alternative economics textbook and was strongly tipped, in the International Women’s Year, to win the Nobel Prize in economics. The Cambridge School of Economics, which she represented, was in late bloom but it was the neoclassical school that was proving resurgent and already exhibiting a strong presence at Monash. It would make for theatrics when she arrived there. Although the visit to Australia overall was only for a few months, she gave lectures to first-year students at several universities and made several public presentations. The timing of her visit was poignant, with Australia, like Britain, caught in the throes of stagflation. There was an ongoing reappraisal of macroeconomic policy. Robinson’s visit occurred while Milton Friedman, too, was visiting Australia on a stockbroker-funded lecture tour to push the monetarist explanation of inflation. Drawing on her correspondence with Richard Kahn and some of the lectures and the reaction they provoked, this paper recalls Robinson’s visit and assesses the impact, if any, it had upon Australian economics.

NEOCLASSICAL THEORY AND THE TEACHING OF UNDERGRADUATE MICROECONOMICS

AbstractThis paper explores possible reasons for the long and enduring dominance of neoclassical theory over the undergraduate microeconomics textbook. It proposes that those very attributes of neoclassical microeconomics that raise serious theoretical misgivings constitute the basis for the current hegemony of the standard undergraduate textbook. It further discusses the effects of the standard text on the education of economists in developing countries and conditions of the entrenchment of this text in undergraduate teaching. Finally, it looks at the possibilities of the emergence of alternative textbooks both in the centre and in the periphery of the global academic map.