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This analysis aims to examinate, with a comparative method, how the religions of Judaism and Islam are portrayed within three Swedish textbooks from 1979, 1998 and 2015 for use in upper secondary school. The three curriculums for upper secondary school from 1970, 1994 and 2011, will be used as to determined how appropriate the contents are in the textbooks. The three textbooks have all been used at different times and places in the Swedish upper secondary school’s subject of Religionskunskap (Religious education). This paper has three research questions: (1) How does the textbooks depict Judaism and Islam, (2) how are the believers and practitioners displayed in the contents and (3) to what extent does the textbooks correlate to the curriculums. The analysis showed that there are great differences between each textbook and how detailed the depictions are about the religions. Some of the depictions were negative stereotypes which did not fit the guidelines within the responding curriculum. / <p>Uppsats av didaktisk karaktär i Religionshistoria C</p>

This thesis presents a multi-layered study of multilingual classroom discourse, with two teachers, in a primary school in Timor-Leste. The wider context for the study was a major shift in language-in-education policy – to the use of Portuguese and Tetum as media of instruction – on the independence of Timor-Leste in 2002. This is the first study in this context to use linguistic ethnography to investigate the ways in which teachers are navigating the policy shift and to analyse the links between multilingual classroom interaction and wider policy processes and language ideologies. Fieldwork for the study was conducted in 2012. It included classroom observation, note-taking, audio/video-recording of classroom interaction, interviews with teachers and with policymakers. The data analysis presented here centres on talk around Portuguese textbooks, in Tetum and Portuguese. The findings were as follows: (1.) teacher-pupil relationships were discursively co-constructed as strict and asymmetrical; (2.) code-switching practices evoked beliefs associated with hegemonic ideologies about bilingual education; and (3.) teachers mediated textbooks language and content by building bridges between textual knowledge and local knowledge. The study foregrounds teacher agency in language policy processes, but also makes connections with powerful political and academic discourses about language tied to nationhood and culture.

This multidimensional study comprehensively explores the English language textbook situation in Pakistan in five stages utilizing mixed methods approach. Two preliminary stages were small scale – a survey of the English language requirements and interviews of the officials involved in sanctioning and publishing textbooks. The main stages were the critical examination of the English curricula and syllabi, the survey of the views of the textbook users, and the detailed coursebook evaluation. The evaluation criteria checklists and questionnaires employed during these stages were mainly based on the materials development, ‘needs analysis’ and curriculum design literature. The research highlighted shortcomings in the overall educational arena and these weaknesses are assumed to be indirectly responsible for the poor standard of English prevailing in the country. The curriculum and textbook policies were found to be inadequate. Generally the teachers/administrators lacked critical, in-depth and practical understanding of language learning objectives, teaching techniques, syllabus design, and materials. By and large, the coursebooks overwhelmingly relied on controlled and artificial activities to teach English. In conclusion, suggested improvements in the curriculum development process, teachers and textbook writers training programmes and, importantly, the prescribed coursebooks can in the long run aid in facilitating English language acquisition in the Pakistani learners.

The cost of textbooks has continued to increase, and the financial effect on students in higher education is significant. Numerous studies have been done to learn more about student and faculty perceptions toward Open Educational Resources (OER) use. Recent studies confirm that most instructors would use OER in order to alleviate the financial burden placed on students; however, OER adoption rates do not reflect this belief. In my study I sought to better understand what instructors experience when they search for OER. In this phenomenological study, I interviewed faculty who expressed a desire to use OER and to capture their lived experiences of adopting and adapting OER. I would like to better understand what is working well for these faculty and what challenges exist as they seek to find and adopt OER and identify possible solutions that could improve OER adoption rates. I learned that there is a desire to use OER to reduce the financial burden that textbooks impose on students, but that there is very little understanding on where to find quality OER and tools that are needed to adapt it. Future research may focus on ways to improve the process of finding and customizing OER so that it can be an alternative to expensive textbooks.

The aim of this study is to identify the use of metaphor in university-level introductory engineering textbooks. Engineering is an important field of study for foreign students in the United States. In order to determine the linguistic and cultural problems foreign students of this field may have, two introductory engineering textbooks are examined for occurrences of metaphors. Two corpora of 20,000 words each drawn from introductory textbooks used at two four-year, public universities are examined for occurrences of metaphor. A combined semantic and pragmatic test for metaphor is applied to each word used in the corpora to determine if the use is metaphoric. Each word used metaphorically is given a typesto- tokens ratio to determine if it is used only once or many times. The words used metaphorically are grouped according to metaphor themes and source domains for classroom use. The types-to-tokens ratios show that many words in the corpora are used only once. Some words, however, are used many times in both corpora. These words include many of the prepositions and words from particularly prevalent metaphor themes and source domains. The results suggest that some concepts such as process, discipline, and time are metaphorically described in English. Knowledge that concepts are metaphorically described is an important explanatory tool for the teacher of English to speakers of other languages.

Several studies indicate that more than half of all college freshmen are not prepared to read and analyze college-level texts. The problem of college reading becomes more formidable when it comes to community college students, who often enter college with socio-linguistic factors that pose challenges to literacy learning. Historically, interventions have consisted of developmental, or remedial, courses after which students are expected to demonstrate college-level literacy. While extensive studies have been conducted on the efficacy of remedial programs in community colleges, few studies have examined how students navigate texts in courses that presuppose proficiency in reading. This grounded theory study investigated ways in which students in an introductory chemistry course at a community college in New York City navigated texts. It documented and analyzed both the students’ beliefs and decisions in the chemistry classroom and outside-of-school spaces as well as the professor’s perspectives of the students. The findings revealed that the notion of literacy reaches beyond the text (Moje, 1996; Rosenblatt, 1988); literacy and intertextuality necessitate the consideration of disciplinary context, instruction, and a larger sociocultural context of the reader. Because of the constantly evolving nature of literacy in context, the findings highlight a need to rethink literacy instruction in the college classroom.

This thesis describes an analysis of science textbooks, eight years after the implementation of the Years 1-10 Queensland Science Syllabus, which suggested a move towards constructivist teaching in Queensland schools (QSSC 1999). The textbooks have been analysed for evidence of constructivism, and this has led to recommendations for writing better textbooks. This thesis has been written in five chapters. In Chapter 1, a review of literature develops a conceptual framework, which is the basis of this research. Chapter 2 describes the process used to develop its methodology, and Chapter 3 presents the results of this analysis. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the findings of this research and its implications for textbook content and design. In the literature review the themes of constructivism and the nature of science and the use of textbooks by teachers are explored. It suggests that textbooks continue to be central to developing curriculum, that they are used as a reference and as an independent learning tool, rather than as a guide to enacting curriculum. It also shows constructivist teaching closely aligns with authentic science, that it moves school science closer to that practised by scientists, and that it can engender improvements in teaching practice and in student interest. The data from this research has been collected using an analytical grid developed from three successive trials, after the literature review showed no previously developed analytical grid was suitable. In this final version of the grid, Likert scales are used to observe four dimensions of constructivism in textbook activities: coherence (use knowledge and concepts in a range of contexts), student-centredness of inquiries, language used and analysis questions to practice making new knowledge claims. The unit of analysis was ecology chapters of four middle school science textbooks. The research questions asked in this study are as follows: • Is a constructivist approach discernable in the textbooks reviewed in terms of the four dimensions of constructivism identified in the literature review? • What elements of constructivism are readily identifiable, and therefore are easily included in textbooks? • What elements of constructivism are not discernable? The results of this research have been synthesised and show no textbook could be considered constructivist, although one textbook had inquiries that could be considered exemplary. Two of the textbooks had no claim to be constructivist because they lacked inquiries, and this is where students experience the methods of scientists and practise making knowledge claims.   Other conclusions of this research include the following: •All textbooks reviewed were deficient in at least one dimension of constructivism, and those with one inquiry cannot be constructivist; •Activities and contexts made textbooks more coherent; •Technical terms were reduced compared to what has been traditionally covered by textbooks, however technical terms are also essential to scientific literacy and need to be used appropriately; •Most methods of inquiries are prescribed, so they do not allow students to solve problems in their own relevant contexts; even in those textbooks with more inquiries; •There was little evidence of hypothetico-deductive reasoning in inquiries rather data collection and simple analysis were usually suggested. Guidelines for writing better textbooks have become apparent from this research. Coherent textbooks are inherently constructivist because they apply concepts across contexts, and have more inquiries. Inquiries with a rigorous, authentic hypothetico-deductive approach arise naturally when the methods, concepts and language of science are applied in contexts that students are likely to find relevant and interesting, and where real-life problems need to be solved. Adopting these recommendations could lead to textbooks being more centrally positioned in enacting curriculum than now, because they are more likely to be constructivist (and represent the best thinking in the field).

<p>This paper contains an analysis that sets out to investigate how sustainable development is portrayed in textbooks used in gymnasium level civics education. The study covers three textbooks, all in current use. The paper sets out to explore the relationship between the books chapters on economics and those about environmental issues. The sum of these two parts is in the context supposed to make up the books big picture of green sustainable development, i.e. the ecological aspect of sustainable development. An analytical model will be used to categorise and compare the three textbooks.</p><p>The method chosen for this is analysis of ideas by use of ideal types. The approach can be said to be qualitative. To achieve a high degree of inter-subjectivity a fairly extensive review of the ideas behind the construction of these three ideal types has been made. There is a short review of the sustainable development as proposed by the national steering documents, a few notions from the economic debate on sustainable development and a overall orientation on current schools within economics. In the overall picture of the governing documents, we find a good support for green sustainability. The idealtypes constructed out of this brief outline are: Business as usual, Ecological modernisation and Ecological economy.</p><p>The survey found a surprisingly weak link between textbooks and governing documents concerning sustainable development. Two of the books are found to lie close to the Business as usual ideal type, while the third is an example of the Ecological modernisation viewpoint. In all three books there was a neoclassic fundament in the chapters covering economy.</p>

This paper contains an analysis that sets out to investigate how sustainable development is portrayed in textbooks used in gymnasium level civics education. The study covers three textbooks, all in current use. The paper sets out to explore the relationship between the books chapters on economics and those about environmental issues. The sum of these two parts is in the context supposed to make up the books big picture of green sustainable development, i.e. the ecological aspect of sustainable development. An analytical model will be used to categorise and compare the three textbooks. The method chosen for this is analysis of ideas by use of ideal types. The approach can be said to be qualitative. To achieve a high degree of inter-subjectivity a fairly extensive review of the ideas behind the construction of these three ideal types has been made. There is a short review of the sustainable development as proposed by the national steering documents, a few notions from the economic debate on sustainable development and a overall orientation on current schools within economics. In the overall picture of the governing documents, we find a good support for green sustainability. The idealtypes constructed out of this brief outline are: Business as usual, Ecological modernisation and Ecological economy. The survey found a surprisingly weak link between textbooks and governing documents concerning sustainable development. Two of the books are found to lie close to the Business as usual ideal type, while the third is an example of the Ecological modernisation viewpoint. In all three books there was a neoclassic fundament in the chapters covering economy.