Primary School Textbooks Research Articles

파시즘 시대 이탈리아의 초등학교 역사 교과서와 1차 세계 대전 서술

Mussolini's regime, which aimed to cultivate 'new' Italians to fascistize Italy, had the goal to establish the Fascist interpretation of history as the nation's official historiography through public education. From the early years in power, it therefore tried to control history education at schools and introduced the state's examination and approval of textbooks. However, despite the Central Commission of the Textbook Examination's hard work for years and the frequent change of the examination criteria, most of the textbooks produced under the system failed to satisfy the Fascist regime. What the schoolbooks made the regime particularly disappointed was their view and narrative on the First World War. Thus Mussolini's government finally monopolized the production of textbooks for primary schools all over Italy from 1930 for more direct and concrete teaching of the Fascist view of history. This essay is a study to examine this Fascist state textbook: first, it looks into the regime's ultimate motivation to abandon the textbook exam and approval system and to decide the monopolization, and then it demonstrates what interpretation of history the Fascist regime taught Italian children by comparing and analyzing (how different and why) the narratives on World War I between the 1920s' schoolbooks and the Fascist state textbook, Libro unico di stato.

Elderly Characters In Primary School Textbooks Analysing In Terms Of Features And Content

İlköğretim süreci bir çocuğun hayata dair öğrenebileceği bütün değer ve olguların bilişsel temelinin oluştuğu bir dönemi ifade eder. İlköğretim öğrencilerinin bu dönemde takip ettikleri kitaplarda yer alan resimlerin, o resimlere ait metinlerden önce resmin temsil ettiği gruba yönelik algı ve tutumlarını etkilemektedir. Bu araştırmanın temel amacı; Türkiye’de ilköğretim ders kitaplarında yer alan yaşlı bireylerin temsil ve tasvirlerinin ilköğretim öğrencilerinin zihinlerinde oluşturduğu yaşlı algısını incelemek ve bu algıyı yaşlılık terminolojisi açısından değerlendirebilmektir.
 Bu çalışma kapsamında 1-8 sınıflar Türkçe ders kitabı, 1-3 sınıflar Hayat Bilgisi ders kitabı, 4-7 Sosyal Bilgiler ders kitabı, 4-8 Din Kültürü ve Ahlak Bilgisi ders kitabı olmak üzere toplam 18 ders kitabı analiz edilmiştir. Veri toplama yöntemi olarak doküman analizi yöntemi kullanılmış, Dünya genelinde olduğu üzere Türkiye’de de toplum içerisinde her geçen gün sayıları artan yaşlı bireylerin ders kitaplarında genellikle saç, sakal ve bıyıkları beyazlaşmış, yüzünde buruşma ve kırışıklıkların olduğu sevecen ve sağlıklı bir görünüme sahip olarak tasvir edildiği anlaşılmıştır. Ders kitapları içeriğinde yer alan yaşlı bireyler genellikle, büyükanne-büyükbaba rolünde büyüğe saygı, yalnızlık, bilgelik ve muhtaçlık karakterleri ile resmedilmişlerdir. Çalışmanın sonuç kısmında eğitim müfredatlarında yer alan yaşlı algısının saçlarına aklar düşmüş, hayatın bir kenarına çekilmiş evinde terlikleriyle oturarak çocuklarının ve torunlarının ziyaretlerini bekleyen pasif bireyler olarak değil, hayatın her aşamasında daha aktif rol alan bireyler olarak temsil edilmesi gerektiği konusunda önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Perceptions of Saudi EFL Teachers on the Adequacy of Textbooks

This study evaluated elementary school EFL textbooks (We Can Series) from the perspectives of male and female teachers in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative approach was used, with data collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire, adopted from Alharbi (2017), consisted of 49 items arranged into five textbook evaluation criteria: layout and design, textbook objectives, language methods and activities, language skills, and general evaluation. The questionnaire was administered online using Google Forms to 51 primary school teachers. The results of the study revealed that the primary-stage textbooks are efficient in terms of layout and design. The objectives are stated and highlighted in each section, all language skills are included, there are an appropriate number of activities and exercises, and there are instructions beside each part of the content. However, the study also found that the book's objectives, exercises, skills, and teaching methods are inappropriate for learners' needs at these levels; the number of lessons allocated each week is insufficient for the book's content; there is no logical progression between topics; and supplemental materials such as test models are not available. Additionally, there was a lack of cohesion and sequencing between textbooks in the "We Can Series." In light of these results, the researcher suggested some recommendations for addressing the drawbacks of the EFL primary school textbooks. These recommendations include: revising the objectives and exercises to better align with learners' needs; increasing the number of lessons allocated each week; providing a logical progression between topics; and developing supplemental materials such as test models. The study concludes that the We Can Series has the potential to be an effective EFL textbook series, but that some revisions are necessary to address the identified drawbacks. The recommendations made by the researcher should be considered by the publishers of the We Can Series in order to improve the textbooks and make them more suitable for use in Saudi Arabian elementary schools.

İlkokul ve Ortaokul Matematik Ders Kitaplarının Kök Değerler Açısından İncelenmesi

This study was conducted to examine mathematics textbooks in terms of the root values in the curriculum. For this purpose, 8 mathematics textbooks taught in primary and secondary schools in the 2022-2023 academic year were examined regarding root values. Document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The identified textbooks were subjected to first-read by the researchers, and the expressions thought to contain value statements were identified. The study observed that the number of root values in elementary school mathematics textbooks decreased as the grade level increased. In primary school textbooks, the value of responsibility is the most common, and the value of honesty is the least common. In middle school mathematics textbooks, root values decrease as the grade level increases (except sixth grade). While responsibility and benevolence are the most common values in middle school textbooks, respect is the least common. According to these results, it is recommended that primary and secondary school mathematics textbooks should include a greater number and variety of value statements and that textbooks should be prepared with an equal distribution of these values according to grade levels and values.

THE PROBLEM OF NON-DISCRIMINATORY EDUCATIONAL SPACE IN THE FUTURE TEACHERS TRAINING SYSTEM

The article is devoted to the content of theoretical and practical training of future teachers on the problem of non-discriminatory educational space within the author’s course “Non-discriminatory educational space”. The content of the theoretical training of future teachers on the specified problem should reflect the content of the lexical-semantic groups of the non-discriminatory educational space, which include the following: legislative imperative regarding human rights, child rights, national minorities rights, gender equality, non-discrimination in education, education of children with special educational needs and inclusive education, anti-discrimination examination of textbooks, etc.; scientific, educational, methodical, visual materials that investigate, highlight and shape the opinion of society on the concepts of gender identity, ethnic origin and citizenship, migration, multiculturalism, social affiliation, place of residence, family composition, religious and political beliefs, etc.; concepts of tolerance and anti-bullying, etc.; concepts of critical, inclusive, feminist, gender pedagogy, etc.; non-discriminatory language in education: gender-sensitive, non-sexist and non-androcentric, feminitives, etc. Theoretical training involves the formation of awareness of the phenomena of non-discrimination and anti-discrimination in education, the normative and legal basis of non-discrimination in education, the scientific and methodological basis of the strategy of non-discrimination in education, gender attitudes and gender competence of the pedagogical community, linguistic sexism and gender-sensitive/non-discriminatory language, theoretical and methodological principles of gender and anti-discrimination examination of textbooks. Practical training of future teachers on the problem of non-discriminatory educational space involves forming in them the skills of anti-discrimination examination of the textbooks for primary school and creation educational content on the basis of non-discrimination.
 Keywords: professional teacher training; non-discriminatory educational space; non-discriminatory approach in education; creation of non-discriminatory educational content; thesaurus of non-discriminatory education; non-discriminatory teaching; educational and methodological content on the basis of non-discrimination; diversification of educational programs.

Construction of Acceptable Citizenship Through Primary School Textbooks in Iran

This article aims to shed light on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s conception of citizenship that emerged from the 1979 Revolution by analyzing primary school textbooks. Those are 14 books of common courses: Persian, Teaching the Qur’an, Heaven’s Gifts: Islamic Education and Training and Social Studies. At the end of this analysis, it was revealed that the conception of citizenship, which creates the ideal society of the Iranian state consisting of acceptable citizens, is fed by the idea of the ummah and based on both sectarian and ethnic identities in accordance with the Shiite-Muslim and Shiite-Iranian elements of the state.

FEATURES OF DESIGNING AND PUBLISHING TEXTBOOKS FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL IN CHINA AND INNOVATIONS IN THIS SPHERE

The article presents the results obtained during scientific internships in the People’s Republic of China. The author analyses the materials obtained during acquaintance with educational institutions of Jiangxi province, conversations with Chinese teachers, meetings with colleagues from Jiangxi Normal University.

Il pallone assente. Calcio, giochi nei libri di lettura per la scuola elementare tra il 1945 e il 1970

The paper examines how between 1945 and the first half of the 1970s, football and, more generally, sport was mentioned in textbooks for primary school. For a long time this aspect was either completely ignored or served to admonish and show what the risks of playing in the street are: from colds, to peelings to not infrequently tragic and lethal outcomes. Outdoor games are viewed with pedagogical suspicion and even the simple route between home and school is fraught with danger if one does not behave correctly. Then slowly, around the mid-1960s, textbooks saw timid signs of renewal but prejudices, cautions and rules to conform to did not cease.

Indigenous heritage as an educational resource in primary education

ABSTRACT This paper is the result of an inter-university educational innovation project developed between the University of La Laguna (Spain) and the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico). Students from both institutions, studying at the equivalent level to become future primary education teachers, analysed the way in which primary school textbooks approach the topic of heritage in the Canary Islands and in Mexico. Flipped classrooms and project-based learning were the main teaching methodologies, culminating in a final assignment: a written report by students. The results enable us to re-evaluate the knowledge transmitted through textbooks in the light of this history, and their facilitation in teaching and learning processes, with attention to their epistemological biases. Several topics were highlighted as core concerns in the use of textbooks for teaching heritage: the need to question the role of the textbook in the teaching process, and the importance of Indigenous heritage when teaching and holistic concept of heritage. In outlining the inter-university teaching project, the article also shows how the analysis of textbooks in both contexts, and their subsequent comparison, has made possible a reformulation of how students of education in the Canary Islands and Mexico are taught to teach history.

WAYS OF IMPROVING THE CONTENT OF MODERN UKRAINIAN LITERATURE TEXTBOOKS CONSIDERING CONSTRUCTIVE HISTORICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

The article is devoted to finding effective ways to improve the content of modern textbooks on Ukrainian literature. The need to introduce the experience of teaching Ukrainian literature of previous historical periods, which provided for the widespread use in the educational process of the concept of the hero as an example to follow, a means of forming patriotism, moral and ethical values of the Ukrainian nation. The general didactic and specific requirements to the modern textbook on the Ukrainian literature are investigated, the most necessary conditions for creation of new textbooks are defined (high-content art texts making the real spiritual heritage of national culture, aesthetic and moral and ethical weight, because the emotional perception of the artistic image has a significant impact on the reader). The peculiarities of interpretation of images of heroes of folklore and literary works in critical and didactic articles of modern textbooks for primary school, as well as the task of external independent evaluation of Ukrainian literature in recent years to fill educational material that promotes patriotic and heroic virtues. It is established that the modern education system should promote the national ideology aimed at serving society, the formation of a citizen-democrat, humanist and patriot (one of the means of such activities is a textbook on Ukrainian literature). It is proved that the challenges of time determine the need to create textbooks on Ukrainian literature, which would: contribute to the formation of a thorough system of knowledge in student youth; presented different points of view on the evaluation of works of art and images of heroes; demonstrated the personal beliefs of literary heroes; contained brief historical references to certain events from works of art; popularized the passionary type of the hero as the embodiment of the best features of the national character of the individual.

The Implications of Cognitive Linguistics for English Vocabulary Teaching in Primary and Middle Schools from the Perspective of Basic Category Theory

Vocabulary teaching is an essential element of English teaching in middle schools and occupies a large proportion of the current English textbooks for primary and middle schools in China, but there are many problems with its vocabulary teaching. Basic category theory suggests that the process by which people develop an understanding of vocabulary formation and meaning is based on the perception of basic categories and their related relationships. This theory provides teachers with a new way of thinking about vocabulary teaching. Teaching vocabulary within the framework of basic category theory can help students grasp the scientific principles, philosophical views and cultural connotations embedded in English vocabulary, thus effectively improving their language ability and humanistic literacy.

Global Burden of Hypertension and Strategic Approach to Overcome It

Globally an estimated 1.28 billion people have hypertension, most (two thirds) living in low and middle income countries. It is the leading cause of preventable death and is responsible for 10-20% of all death worldwide. Moreover, untreated hypertension can lead to a number of serious health consequences like stroke, heart disease, renal failure, dementia, vision loss etc. Antihypertensive treatment substantially reduces incidence of stroke (35-40%), myocardial infarction (20-25%) and heart failure (>50%). But hypertension remains undiagnosed in about 46% cases and only about 21% hypertensive individuals have adequately controlled blood pressure. There are several misconceptions regarding hypertension among people that hinders diagnosis or leads to false diagnosis and impair proper management of hypertension. In attempt to reduce burden of hypertension awareness generation is the first necessary step. To create awareness among people several seminar, free blood pressure check-up campaigns etc can be conducted, billboard placement and leaflet distribution can be done in different public gathering sites like bazaar, fairs, mosques, school, college, hospital etc, and necessary knowledge on hypertension can be circulated through primary or secondary school textbooks and printing and electronic media. The next essential step is to provide quality service for hypertensive patients at an affordable cost through dedicated hypertension centers or hypertension corners. These centers should be designed to provide proper training for the stuff and proper education or counseling for patients and to perform necessary research works. Government initiatives to distribute free antihypertensive drugs should be enhanced and non-government aids can be added to it. National policy to control price of antihypertensive medications is also necessary. Finally, regular follow-up is necessary to ensure regular intake of medications, adherence to lifestyle advices, adequate titration of medications and early detection and treatment of any target organ damage. Proper counseling at each visit and reminder through phone calls or mobile SMS can improve follow-up tendency. Bangladesh J Medicine 2023; Vol. 34, No. 2(1) Supplement: 185

Preserving and Promoting Indigenous Languages of Ethnic Minorities in Bangladesh: A Strategic Planning Framework

Bangladesh is a country with multi-ethnic communities. The majority of the population is Bengali-speaking Bengalese. Around fifty indigenous communities are the rest of the population who have other indigenous languages. Because of the narrow scope, any languages in such conditions have a chance of extinction. For a vibrant and harmonious multi-ethnic society, linguistic and cultural diversities require respect and recognition. Besides, these languages possess epistemic values and are considered sources of primitive knowledge. The government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has taken an affirmative initiative to preserve indigenous language and culture. To meet this goal, preservation and promotion of indigenous languages is imperative. By Article 23(A) of its constitution, its education policy of 2010 and its law ‘Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutes Act of 2010’ indigenous language rights are restored. Following the government decision, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board publishes primary school textbooks in five indigenous languages. But these are not enough to keep all the indigenous languages alive. Many more actions are necessary to facilitate the constitutional declaration of indigenous language development like publishing textbooks in more indigenous languages, indigenous language teachers’ training and other initiatives. This paper attempts to fill the gap between initiatives taken by the government and the actual necessity of full-fledged affirmative action as it is necessary as the source of the indigenous knowledge. It primarily depends on the literature, official documents and interviews of the respected stakeholders. The outcome of this study is important for the national integration of the countries like Bangladesh that possess a multi-ethnic, pluralistic society.

Topics about Heritage in Croatian Science Textbooks for the 4th-grade Primary School

The paper analyses the representation and occurrence of topics about heritage in Croatian Science textbooks for the 4th-grade primary school, published by the leading Croatian textbook publishers and approved by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education. The conducted research aimed to determine the representation and appearance of heritage topics in the mentioned textbooks and, based on the results, to provide guidelines for further activities and necessary research to improve the quality of teaching heritage content in the lower grades of primary school. It was established that the greatest attention was paid to tangible cultural heritage, and the least to intangible cultural heritage. It would be good to include more tasks in the textbooks that would encourage the observation of cause-and-effect relationships in the actions of people on natural and cultural heritage and encourage students to reflect on concrete procedures for preserving and protecting the same. Considering teachers' freedom in accessing and teaching certain teaching contents, which the new curriculum of Science and curriculum of cross-curricular topics provide, the question of access and competence of teachers in teaching heritage topics in class is opened.

Qualitative content analysis of school textbooks based on European Gender Equality Index

The main aim of the study was to identify the image of gender equality in Polish primary school textbooks. A thematic analysis of textbook content with elements of constant comparison method was carried out based on the six domains of the Gender Equality Index: work, money, knowledge, time power, and health. A total of 56 textbooks (32 Polish language textbooks and workbooks and 24 mathematics textbooks and workbooks) for primary school grades seven and eight were analysed. The content of the analysed textbooks seems to reflect the findings of the Gender Equality Index (GEI) regarding the Polish social reality and points to large gender polarisation and gender inequalities, in favour of men. The results are discussed based on theories of cultural understanding of gender and gender roles, as well as similar findings from other educational content studies.

“Work hard my child, don’t be a civil servant; become an entrepreneur!” New subjects and entrepreneurship in textbooks from the late Ottoman Empire

ABSTRACT The late Ottoman Empire witnessed many remarkable developments in entrepreneurship, especially at the beginning of the twentieth century. Turkish subjects, who had been mainly seen as oriented towards the civil service, were encouraged to take initiatives in areas such as agriculture, trade, and craft. Besides the effective use of the Ottoman press, education was also applied for this purpose. Curricula and textbooks that should make education functional came into operation. Entrepreneurship was one of the important subjects discussed in various dimensions in primary-school textbooks prepared in line with the renewed curricula after the Revolution in 1908. This study shows that efforts to raise entrepreneurial citizens were not something new in Turkish society. By focusing on four main textbooks taught at the primary education level in the late Ottoman Empire, economic contents have been analysed. Prepared and approved by officials, these textbooks suggested that children should be made aware of the enterprise idea [fikr-i teşebbüs], private enterprise [teşebbüs-i şahsî], the characteristics that the entrepreneurs should have, and acceptable entrepreneurship areas. Within this framework, they were directed to become entrepreneurs.

Concepts and Images of Aging From the Perspective of Psychological Components in the Curriculum of the Primary School of the Iranian Educational System: Qualitative Content Analysis

Objectives The present study aims to analyze the content of primary school textbooks in the Iranian educational system based on the psychological components of the elderly and how these books have reproduced the psychological components of the elderly. Methods & Materials The research method was descriptive-content analysis. The statistical population of the study included primary school textbooks. The statistical sample of the desirable cases purposefully included the content of all primary school textbooks in 2020. Research components included self-acceptance, autonomy, personal growth, communication with others, environment mastery, and consciousness in life, as well as a content analysis unit. Results The results showed that primary school textbooks have addressed the problem of aging from a psychological perspective to some extent, but the texts and images have been at a low level in terms of content and quality of effect in primary school children, which is the period of their personality formation, and has indirectly introduced an elderly person disable and impressible. Therefore, these textbooks do not strongly reproduce the psychological characteristics of the elderly. Their presentation focuses more on the quality of communication with others and neglects other psychological components. Conclusion Iranian primary school curriculum requires a thorough review based on the psychological components of the elderly. Texts, activities, and elderly images are included in the textbook to pay more attention to the area of vitality and life expectancy. This practice creates an attitude and a sense of purposefulness in aging.

Symbolic Nation-building through Images in Post-Yugoslav History Textbooks

Abstract The use of history textbooks in order to instill particular images of the nation and national identity has been widely recognized, with a proliferation of studies focused on the problematic content in textbooks. Yet, history textbooks rely on a range of other media like maps, graphs, illustrated timelines, and photographs, which also play an important role in visually signposting the nation. While some of these images serve primarily as a form of representation aligned with the text itself, other aspects of visual content distinctly and autonomously construct national identity. In this piece, relying on qualitative visual analysis, we point to the function played by images in symbolically constructing the nation in contemporary primary school textbooks in five post-Yugoslav republics, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the new primary and middle school curriculum of Ethiopia

This study investigated the inclusion of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the Amhara Region’s new primary and middle school textbooks in a trial. For this purpose, book reviews of the three purposely selected primary and middle school textbooks were made. Besides, data were collected from 372 teachers and interviews were also made with 28 sample teachers. The collected data were analyzed quantitatively using number counts, percentage, mean and standard deviation, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed using descriptions and text narrations. Findings revealed that although there are encouraging attempts to include IK in the textbooks, still the inclusion of IK in the new textbooks is not significant. In the Grade 5 Environmental Science textbook, only a few lessons involve twenty-eight out of one hundred fifty activities that indicate IK. Similarly, in Grade 6 Environmental Science, it is only eleven out of one hundred-six activities, and in Grade 7 Social Study, thirteen out of sixty-six activities enable learners to share IK systems. Besides, in the Grade 7 General Science, about 79% of activities in the lessons were not directly inviting learners to link them with their IK. The findings of the three sample textbooks revealed that the majority of contents that included exercises, project works, and graphic representations demonstrate a low level of context-based IK incorporation. Accordingly, despite some progress being made, the newly designed textbooks still require more improvements in including more context-based and IK-focused activities in the lessons and the proper integration of IK with 21st-century skills.

Obraz Ukrainy i Ukraińców we współczesnych polskich podręcznikach historii dla szkół podstawowych

The image of Ukraine and the Ukrainians in contemporary Polish history textbooks for primary schools The article is aimed at presenting the image of Ukraine and the Ukrainians in contemporary history textbooks for primary schools in Poland (after the 2017 reform of the education system). The author points to the presence in these textbooks of contents dealing with the subject in question, and examines the narrative of the textbooks with regard to analysis of history, presentation of shared Polish-Ukrainian elements of the past, debatable problems, presentation of common historical heroes, language and rhetoric used, and finally the auxiliary teaching materials present in the textbooks (additional reading, illustrations, maps, diagrams etc.). The analysis covers four series of textbooks prepared solely for the education market in Poland and one (“Europe. Our History”) which is a result of the collaboration between the Joined Polish-German Textbook Commission of Historians and Geographers, Centre for Historical Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin, and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Braunschweig. The analysis has made it possible to draw conclusions concerning e.g. positive assessment of the degree of saturation of the textbooks with content relating to Ukraine and the Ukrainians, correctly applied explanatory narrative and presence of various elements of the textbooks’ auxiliary teaching materials, useful in the implementation of the contents discussed. The author has also noted some shortcomings, including the still dominant narrative describing Poland’s political history (especially its military dimension) and too few positive narratives devoted to Ukraine and the Ukrainians. In addition, the author points to the clearly different nature and specificity of textbooks from the “Europe. Our History” series.