The evaluation of high school biology textbooks

Abstract

In the not too distant past, education was solely for the privileged few. Pupils cause to the classroom carrying books they had found at home so they and the teacher would have books to use. The problem of textbook selection did not exist, for each pupil was given an assignment in the particular book he possessed. In the following period the teacher listened to the individual recitations. Thus, practically all instruction was on an individual basis. In the period following the Civil War, free public education came into its own, bringing with it increased enrollment, definite courses of study, and improved teaching procedures. Obviously, the need for uniform textbooks in each grade and in each subject arose. As our educational system developed, the textbook began to play an increasingly important part in the teaching program. According to Crombie(5), it is the textbook that in thousands of classrooms determines the content of course as well as the teaching procedures. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the selection and purchase of textbooks is a problem of major importance in a successful educational program. In view, then, of the importance of the textbook in our scheme of education, it is apparent that one of the most effective ways for improving the content and method of instruction is to place better text books in the hands of teachers and pupils. To do tils, not only must the preparation of textbooks of superior quality be encouraged, but also, procedures which will tend to insure the proper selection of textbooks in our schools.