With the change of social environment, rapid progress of information technology and the change of learning value, broadband network has become the largest information communication and most influential medium in modern time. Network instruction and digital learning also rapidly involve in the field of traditional teaching and learning. For the traditional publishers of elementary and high school textbooks, how to acquire pioneering advantages again in new wave of competition becomes the subject explored by this research. This research mainly uses methods such as questionnaire survey, in-depth interview and secondary data analysis to examine the developmental process, current situation of website, future trend of on-line learning websites operated by publishers of elementary and high school textbooks at present and the elementary and high school teachers¡¦ views and suggestions toward on-line learning websites of the publishers of textbooks. The research finding reveals that the developmental process of on-line learning websites of textbook publishers at present is affected by the policies of government which also directly influences the publishers¡¦ directions to participate in website development & research and operation. As to the requirements of content on websites, developing multimedia materials which are more interesting and comply with teaching is the direction the publishers should work for. With regard to future developmental trend, virtual and realistic integrations are the prospective developmental directions for most of the companies. The websites not only provide teaching resources but also function as the media for publishers¡¦ multiple uses such as marketing, advertisement and service. The teachers¡¦ satisfaction of website utilization also affects the willingness of selecting the textbooks. The above research findings can provide the direction of designing learning websites for the textbook publishers and function as the base for the policy planning of educational administration and the reference when the teachers use the websites.

The Criteria and Relative Suggestions of Elementary School Teachers in Selecting Chinese Textbooks Abstract The purpose of the research is to analyze teachers¡¦ opinions about the criteria and their suggestions for selecting the Chinese textbook. In order to achieve the research goal, the researcher¡A based on documentary analysis ¡A makes self-written materials about ¡§survey of teachers on criteria and suggestion of selecting the Chinese textbook in the elementary school.¡¨ The population of this survey was elementary school teachers in Kaohsiung area. 563 teachers were stratifiedly sampled from 48 elementary schools were the samples by using Stratified Sampling. Among Them 403 returning surveys were effecitve. The data analysis was conducted through the Descriptive statistics, T-test,and One-Way ANOVA. 1. According to the teachers¡¦ opinions on criteria of selecting the Chinese textbook,the order of importance is Teaching-Related Attributes, Physical-Related Attributes, Publication-Related Attributes, Outside-Related Attributes, and Context-Related Attributes of textbook. 2. In the Context-Related Attributes, teachers stressed on the correction of the content, and the capability of approaching the grade 1-9 curriculum competence indicators. 3. In Teaching-Related Attributes, teachers focused on the attraction of students' motivation and the instructional strategies of conforming the grade 1-9 curriculum competence indicators in the selecting book. 4. In Physical-Related Attributes, teachers emphasized the most on the size of typeface basing on the suitability of reading. 5. In Publication-Related Attributes, teachers emphasized the most on the continuance of the research which the publisher could make in linguistic field. 6. In Outside-Related Attributes, teachers stressed the most on the experience of using Chinese textbook and the educational philosophy in the textbook. 7. Female teachers paid more attention to Teaching-Related Attributes and Context-Related Attributes than the male teachers. 8. The teachers in large-scale schools paid more attention to Publication-Related Attributes of textbook than the teachers in other schools. 9. The elementary school teachers in remote districts paid more attention to all attributes of textbook than the teachers in cities and towns. 10. 62.8% of the elementary school teachers agreed that teachers are the major population who could make the choice of textbooks to use. 11. 97.9% of the elementary school teachers thought that teachers should be the faculties who could select textbooks to use, but they lacked consistency of thoughts that parents of the students also need to select textbooks. 12. Only a few elementary school teachers expressed that there were continual evaluations of textbook proceeding in their schools. Based upon the above conclusions, this research provides suggestions to and reference material for teachers, schools, publishers, educational administration and future research. Keywords: textbook. criteria of selecting the Chinese textbook. the suggestion of selecting the Chinese textbook

This study explores how technology teachers evaluate, select and use commercially prepared textbooks, comparing practices in well-resourced and medium-resourced schools in South Africa. The study is led by two research questions, firstly how technology teachers evaluate and select textbooks and secondly how technology teachers use textbooks in their classrooms. This is a comparative case study, involving nine schools, sampled for convenience. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observation. Two conceptual frameworks were used to interpret data. Evaluation and selection of textbooks were explored in terms of ‘textbook register’, while the use of textbooks was explored in terms of ‘didactical transposition’. From the literature, I extracted seven categories on textbook evaluation. These were content, connections, language, format, activities, context, and teaching strategies. I merged these categories with the two conceptual frameworks to design instruments and analyze data. Results showed that teachers in both contexts regarded the requirements of the curriculum as crucial in textbook selecting. They also regarded suitable activities as very important, and preferred that textbooks clearly present the technological steps. In well-resourced schools, teachers also preferred support in the form of teachers’ guides. There was a clear difference in the ways teachers from the two contexts used textbooks in the classroom. In medium-resourced schools, the relevant section from the textbook was read to class while in wellresourced schools, teachers compiled additional notes, indicating that they set a higher standard for their learners. However, in both contexts teachers explained difficult concepts and used discussions to involve learners in making connections and to reduce the language level used in textbooks. In medium-resourced schools, teachers also allowed learners to code-switch to their mother-tongue language. In terms of activities, teachers in both contexts used textbook activities without adaption but also developed additional activities. In terms of contextualising, teachers discussed or explained content information by relating it with real-life experiences, but didn’t attempt to contextualise textbook activities. Regarding teaching strategies, they mostly used their own preferred strategies instead of that proposed by the textbook. In particular, teachers in well-resourced schools preferred that learners do activities individually, indicating that they valued traditional teaching methods. In this study, the teachers in medium-resourced schools did not question the authority of the textbook. In well-resourced schools, the teachers set a higher standard than the textbook, but at the same time required support in the form of teacher’s guides. This suggests that teachers in both contexts were unsure about what exactly is required by the curriculum in terms of content and pedagogy, and that they did not know how to adapt activities offered in textbooks to suit their context. It is recommended that teachers be assisted by specialists to align textbook evaluation, selection and use with curriculum expectations. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

MCom / Department of Business Management / Textbooks in the school context have a crucial role to play in order to achieve educational objectives as well as in directing teaching approaches (Doll, 1996). Curriculum change creates a demand for new textbooks (Taylor & Richards, 2014). The market for publishing and retailing of textbooks has many unique features, including the demand and supply aspect which is influenced by public procurement, and the existence of profit-driven textbook publishers and retailers. The phenomenon of curriculum change represents another distinctive characteristic of the market, which acts as a disruptor to the economics with significant implications for roleplayers in the market. These effects may be positive or negative, as insufficient information exists on the impacts of this feature of the market, especially in the South African context. In this study, textbooks publishers and retailers are the focus as it is their business obligation to supply textbooks to the Department of Education. The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the perceptions of selected textbook publishers and retailers on the impact of curriculum change on the performance of their businesses. The study identified proper communication and lack of intensive training as gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that textbook publishers and retailers succeed well in their businesses despite curriculum change. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted using purposive sample of 30 key respondents, that is, ten respondents from textbook publishers, ten respondents from textbook retailers and another ten from the Department of Education. The study employed the hermeneutic approach to analyse the empirical qualitative data generated from the research study. The analysis of the study was focused on the challenges that textbook publishers and retailers face due to curriculum change as well as their strategic response to curriculum change. The study found that textbook publishers and retailers’ perceptions on the impact of curriculum change on their business is both negative and positive and that the industry appreciates curriculum change as a stimulus of economic activity despite the challenges experienced. Recommendations for textbook publishers and retailers to cope with curriculum change are given.

The second chapter examines the impact of information about school quality on student enrollment. I use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of a school choice program in California that provides families with signals of low school quality. I find that signals of low quality decrease school enrollment by 14.3% relative to enrollment in the previous year and 23.6% over two years. Despite the large changes in enrollment, student demographics are not affected. Additionally, the effects of school-quality signals are largest when families have alternative school choices that are nearby. I also find some evidence that student achievement in elementary schools declines, although I cannot separately identify the degree to which this is caused by changes in student composition. The third chapter examines the effect of textbook funding on student performance. Evidence on the effects of school resources on student achievement is mixed, but quasi-experimental methods suggest that interventions like class size reductions improve student achievement. This is the first study to consider the effect of textbook funding on student achievement by using a quasi-experimental setting in the U.S. I focus on a large class action lawsuit in California that provided a one-time payment of $96.90 per student for textbooks if schools fell below a threshold of academic performance in the previous year. Exploiting this variation with a regression discontinuity design, I find that textbook funding has significant positive effects on student achievement. The low cost of textbooks relative to class size reduction implies that these effects have a very high benefit-per-dollar.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Ottawa, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-137). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ38757.pdf.

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The aim of this essay is to study how the Sami are presented in four textbooks about religion and history that are used in the schools of the majority culture of Sweden today and one book of ideas asto how a textbook could look like from a Sami's perspective. Its aim is not only to study how the Sami are presented but also to discuss how students who read these books could interpret what it means to be a Sami and what their culture is about. It is also meant to discuss how the Sami identitycould be formed. In order to be able to discuss this the essay uses three different kinds of theories about identity and culture. The analysis showed that there is little information about Sami culture, identity, religion and historypresented in the four textbooks used in schools of the majority culture and that these books seem to want students to think that the Sami are troublemakers but are and should be assimilated into the majority culture.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-266). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 114 p. : col. ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-86).