tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/textbooks-9950/articlesTextbooks – The Conversation2023-07-03T11:52:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2085762023-07-03T11:52:41Z2023-07-03T11:52:41ZHow new state laws and book ban movements have made the teaching of US history contentious – 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534449/original/file-20230627-33290-9o7a5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C22%2C7304%2C4880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Certain state laws are banning the instruction of critical race theory.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-typing-on-their-personal-tablets-royalty-free-image/494616066?phrase=high+school+classroom&adppopup=true">FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Of all the subjects taught in America’s public schools, few have become as contentious as U.S. history. At least <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/22525983/map-critical-race-theory-legislation-teaching-racism">37 states have adopted</a> new measures that limit how America’s undeniable <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/books/review/a-history-of-race-and-racism-in-america-in-24-chapters.html">history of racism</a> – from chattel slavery to Jim Crow – can be discussed in public school classrooms.</p>
<p>Educators in certain states face laws that restrict classroom discussions about racism. Florida’s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/florida-moves-to-restrict-what-schools-can-teach-about-systemic-racism">Stop Woke Act</a> for example, limits what educators can say about racism in K-12 schools. </p>
<p>For insight on the restrictive laws and what educators can do, The Conversation compiled a roundup of archival stories from several scholars that explain their origin and intent, as well as how they could potentially affect everyday instruction in America’s schools. </p>
<h2>1. The value of learning about systemic racism</h2>
<p>History educators <a href="https://www.studythepast.org">Jeffrey L. Littlejohn</a> and <a href="https://www.shsu.edu/academics/history/faculty/jeffrey-l-littlejohn-phd">Zachary Montz</a> described how <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/15/abbott-critical-race-theory-law/">restrictions on teaching about systemic racism</a> in Texas public schools prevent students from learning vital historical lessons. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/juneteenth-jim-crow-and-how-the-fight-of-one-black-texas-family-to-make-freedom-real-offers-lessons-for-texas-lawmakers-trying-to-erase-history-from-the-classroom-207678">The scholars referenced</a> <a href="https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/10">Joshua Houston</a>, an enslaved servant from Texas who became the county’s first Black county commissioner, and his son <a href="https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/2">Samuel Walker</a>, who notably founded a school which served as one of the first county training schools for African Americans in Texas.</p>
<p>“Americans cannot appreciate the accomplishments of Joshua and Samuel Walker Houston without examining the vicious realities of Jim Crow society,” Littlejohn and Montz wrote. “The lesson of their lives, and of the Juneteenth holiday, is that freedom is a precious thing that requires constant work to make real.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juneteenth-jim-crow-and-how-the-fight-of-one-black-texas-family-to-make-freedom-real-offers-lessons-for-texas-lawmakers-trying-to-erase-history-from-the-classroom-207678">Juneteenth, Jim Crow and how the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="View of a classroom, with the educator teaching while standing next to a map of the world." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534367/original/file-20230627-29-w2lrsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some educators across the U.S. worry about the backlash from teaching about racial discrimination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-of-teenage-girls-and-boys-learning-in-royalty-free-image/1345022793?phrase=classrooms&adppopup=true">Maskot via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. The importance of historical knowledge</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/boaz-dvir">Boaz Dvir</a>, an assistant professor of journalism at Penn State and grandson of Holocaust survivors, is concerned that many educators <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-an-educator-and-grandson-of-holocaust-survivors-and-i-see-public-schools-failing-to-give-students-the-historical-knowledge-they-need-to-keep-our-democracy-strong-203868">are shying away</a> from examining racism and genocide in the classroom due to new and proposed state laws that restrict conversations on crimes against humanity.</p>
<p>Consequently, Dvir wrote that <a href="https://www.claimscon.org/millennial-study/">an alarming 63% of American millennials and Generation Z</a> lacked basic knowledge about the murder of <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/holocaust">six million Jews</a> during the Holocaust. </p>
<p>According to Dvir without vital lessons on such crimes against humanity and the factors that give rise to them, students “may not have the knowledge and insight they need to sustain and thrive in a 21st-century democracy.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/im-an-educator-and-grandson-of-holocaust-survivors-and-i-see-public-schools-failing-to-give-students-the-historical-knowledge-they-need-to-keep-our-democracy-strong-203868">I'm an educator and grandson of Holocaust survivors, and I see public schools failing to give students the historical knowledge they need to keep our democracy strong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Critical race theory’s impact on AP courses</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=3J0bLuMAAAAJ">Suneal Kolluri</a>, a researcher who studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318787268">Advanced Placement courses</a> – which provide students an opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school – raises another <a href="https://theconversation.com/advanced-placement-courses-could-clash-with-laws-that-target-critical-race-theory-186018">set of concerns</a> regarding AP history and other history courses. </p>
<p>In 2022, two Oklahoma school districts got <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/two-okla-districts-get-downgraded-accreditations-for-violating-states-anti-crt-law/2022/0">downgraded accreditation</a> for violating the state’s anti-critical race theory law – a field of intellectual inquiry that looks into how race has been embedded into the legal system. Kolluri described his concern that AP courses could face similar penalties in states with restrictions on conversations on race.</p>
<p>“At a time when mostly Republican-led state legislatures have passed a rash of laws to restrict how public schoolteachers can educate students about America’s racist past, I worry that AP courses like U.S History and U.S. Government and Politics could be in jeopardy,” Kolluri wrote. “The danger is posed by those who support the various new state laws against the teaching of divisive topics and critical race theory.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/advanced-placement-courses-could-clash-with-laws-that-target-critical-race-theory-186018">Advanced Placement courses could clash with laws that target critical race theory</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Student reads textbook in library." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534893/original/file-20230629-17-fpapcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows book banners often target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-reading-a-book-in-library-royalty-free-image/951226090?phrase=textbooks+library&adppopup=true">kundoy/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. The ongoing battle over book bans</h2>
<p>Book bans in the 1980s focused on <a href="https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-the-great-secular-humanism-debate-reveals-a-truth-about-public-schooling/1985/10">secular humanism</a>, because it argued that there can be fulfillment without a belief in God. But of late, book bans have focused largely on critical race theory. </p>
<p><a href="https://fredlpincus.com">Fred L. Pincus</a>, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland examined how the book ban movement in the 1980s relates to the one occurring today. He wrote that both book ban movements objected to the critical teaching about race and racism. </p>
<p>Pincus <a href="https://theconversation.com/battles-over-book-bans-reflect-conflicts-from-the-1980s-177888">also wrote</a> that right-wing critics have claimed that critical race theory is designed to cause white students to feel guilty. As of June 2023, a total of 214 local, state and federal government entities across the U.S. have introduced <a href="https://crtforward.law.ucla.edu">699 anti-critical race theory bills</a> and other measures.</p>
<p>“Of course, some white students – and other students, too, for that matter – will feel uncomfortable upon learning not only about the history of American racism but also its present manifestations,” Pincus wrote. “Reality is sometimes uncomfortable.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/battles-over-book-bans-reflect-conflicts-from-the-1980s-177888">Battles over book bans reflect conflicts from the 1980s</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. How to teach about racism within the new laws</h2>
<p><a href="https://uncpress.org/author/1338-w-fitzhugh-brundage/">W. Fitzhugh Brundage</a>, a professor of history at University of North Carolina, examined the ways teachers could stay true to American history without breaking any of the new laws. </p>
<p>For example, he suggested <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachers-can-stay-true-to-history-without-breaking-new-laws-that-restrict-what-they-can-teach-about-racism-205452">ways to mention slavery</a> within the context of lessons about other topics, such as the free market before the Civil War and how it relied on violence and forced labor.</p>
<p>“Given the current political climate in the U.S., there is no reason to assume more laws that govern what can be taught in public schools will not be passed,” Brundage wrote. “But based on how the laws are being written, there are still plenty of ways for teachers to tackle difficult subjects, such as racism in American society.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachers-can-stay-true-to-history-without-breaking-new-laws-that-restrict-what-they-can-teach-about-racism-205452">How teachers can stay true to history without breaking new laws that restrict what they can teach about racism</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Scholars examine how state laws that restrict lessons on race could affect students and educators.Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Education Editor, The ConversationJusneel Mahal, Freelance editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2009732023-04-11T12:06:23Z2023-04-11T12:06:23Z4 ways that AI can help students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516118/original/file-20230317-24-w9w2no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5599%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">AI creates potential for more personalized learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/aspirations-to-be-an-astronaut-royalty-free-image/476898328?adppopup=true">Marilyn Nieves via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As artificial intelligence systems play a bigger role in everyday life, they’re changing the world of education, too.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-isnt-close-to-becoming-sentient-the-real-danger-lies-in-how-easily-were-prone-to-anthropomorphize-it-200525">OpenAI’s ChatGPT</a>, <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/">Microsoft’s Bing</a> and <a href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/">Google’s Bard</a> all come with both risks and opportunities.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QMTW9n4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">literacy educator and researcher</a>, and here are four ways I believe these kinds of systems can be used to help students learn.</p>
<h2>1. Differentiated instruction</h2>
<p>Teachers are taught to identify the learning goals of all students in a class and adapt instruction for the specific needs of individual students. But with 20 or more students in a classroom, fully customized lessons aren’t always realistic. Everyone learns differently.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19907">An AI system can observe</a> how a student proceeds through an assigned task, how much time they take and whether they are successful. If the student is struggling, the system can offer help; if the student is succeeding, the system can present more difficult tasks to keep the activity challenging.</p>
<p>This type of <a href="https://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/10/adaptive-learning-systems-surviving-the-storm">real-time feedback</a> is often difficult for an educator or school to do for a single student, let alone an entire class or campus. <a href="https://slejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40561-019-0089-y">AI adaptive learning tools</a> have been shown to quickly and dynamically make changes to the learning environment, content, and tasks to help individuals learn more and quickly improve. </p>
<p>For instance, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376226">taught a system how to solve a math problem</a>. The system can <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/may/intelligent-tutors.html">follow instructions from a human supervisor</a> to understand mathematical rules and adapt its approach to problems it has never seen before. The system can also identify areas where it had to make multiple attempts before arriving at the correct answer, flag those for teachers as places human students may get confused, and highlight methods the system used to more efficiently arrive at the right answer.</p>
<h2>2. Intelligent textbooks</h2>
<p>Researchers at Stanford have been developing and testing a prototype of what’s called an “intelligent textbook,” titled “<a href="http://web.stanford.edu/%7Evinayc/intelligent-life/">Inquire</a>.” It is an iPad app that monitors students’ focus and attention while they read by paying attention to how students interact with the app. The interactive text includes definitions of key words accessible by touch or click and allows students to highlight and annotate while reading.</p>
<p>The textbook can also suggest questions about the content and areas for future inquiry that are customized for each individual. It can change the reading level of the text and also include supplemental photos, videos and materials to help students understand what they’re studying.</p>
<h2>3. Improved assessment</h2>
<p>Educational assessment focuses on how an educator knows whether a student is learning what is being taught. Traditional assessments – essays, multiple-choice tests, short-answer questions – are <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/series/future-of-testing-in-education/">little changed from a century ago</a>. Artificial intelligence has the potential to change that by identifying patterns in learning that may not be apparent to individual teachers or administrators. </p>
<p>For instance, the language-learning company <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/tacl_a_00310">Duolingo uses AI and machine learning</a> to create and score tests of English proficiency for universities, companies and government agencies. The tests start with a series of standard questions, but based on how the student does with those, the system will select harder or easier questions to more quickly identify a student’s exact abilities and weaknesses. </p>
<p>Another assessment project, <a href="https://reacheveryreader.gse.harvard.edu/">Reach Every Reader</a>, staffed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, MIT and Florida State University, creates educational games for parents to play with their children while teaching them to read. Some of the games have adults and children role-play as characters based on real-life scenarios.</p>
<p>These games can help parents and teachers efficiently determine whether children are reading at their appropriate grade level and <a href="https://www.aecf.org/resources/double-jeopardy">get them on track</a> if they are not.</p>
<h2>4. Personalized learning</h2>
<p><a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1015153">Personalized learning</a> occurs when the students’ interests and goals guide learning. The teacher is more of a facilitator, while the what, why and how of learning are mostly dictated by the student. <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9069875">Artificial intelligence systems can provide individualized instruction</a> tailored to each student’s individual interests.</p>
<p><a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3676951">AI adaptive learning systems</a> can quickly identify when a student is struggling and then provide more or different support to help them succeed. As the student shows that they have mastered the content or skill, the AI tool provides more difficult tasks and materials to <a href="https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-021-00292-9">further challenge the learner</a>.</p>
<p>Chatbots have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mlwa.2020.100006">used to respond to typed or spoken input</a>. Many individuals interact with a chatbot when they ask Alexa or Siri a question. In education, chatbots with artificial intelligence systems can guide students with personalized, just-in-time feedback or assistance. These chatbots can answer questions about course content or structure. This helps students keep track of their own learning while <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cae.22326">keeping them motivated and engaged</a>. </p>
<p>Much like an automated playlist of musical or video recommendations, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00292-9">an AI-powered recommender system</a> can generate tailored assessment questions, detect misunderstandings and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MSP.2021.3055032">suggest new areas for a learner to explore</a>. These AI technologies have the potential to help learners today and in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>W. Ian O'Byrne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar explains how artificial intelligence systems can revolutionize the way students learn.W. Ian O'Byrne, Associate Professor of Literacy Education, College of CharlestonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1531122021-01-25T13:30:10Z2021-01-25T13:30:10ZHow history textbooks will deal with the US Capitol attack<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379874/original/file-20210121-19-1djw89h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2986%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rioters clash with police as they try to enter the Capitol building. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rioters-clash-with-police-trying-to-enter-capitol-building-news-photo/1230465266?adppopup=true">Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol represented an event unlike any other in American history. But how will it be portrayed in history textbooks used in America’s K-12 schools and colleges? Here, three scholars of American history weigh in.</em></p>
<h2>How soon can we expect this attack to be included in history textbooks?</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A photo of a woman wearing a teal shirt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380050/original/file-20210121-15-fo2e5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wendy L. Wall, professor of 20th-century American history at Binghamton University.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.binghamton.edu/history/faculty/profile.html?id=wwall">Binghamton University</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Wendy L. Wall, professor of 20th-century American history at Binghamton University</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="https://dailyprogress.com/news/national/media-captures-unprecedented-storming-of-u-s-capitol/article_8ad9015a-bac9-50f0-b3ee-fa5372d713e9.html">unprecedented nature</a> of this attack, combined with the widespread sense that it marks a historical turning point, ensures that it will appear in textbooks as soon as publishing turnaround times allow. </p>
<p>In recent years, the college textbook market has <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/digital-textbooks-radical-transformation/">increasingly turned to digital formats</a>. That means changes will likely be made in months rather than years, at least at the college level.</p>
<p>Publishers generally revise print textbooks every few years. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks appeared in texts published in 2003, although textbook writers were still trying to understand the full ramifications of 9/11 at the time. As the historian <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sXkhkTYAAAAJ&hl=en">Philip Jenkins</a> noted in his preface to one of those 2003 books, “it is much too early to tell what all the consequences of the terrorist attacks will be.”</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A photo of a man in a black shirt wearing glasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379877/original/file-20210121-13-1k3qmfv.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christian K. Anderson, associate professor of educational leadership and policies at the University of South Carolina.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/education/faculty-staff/anderson_christian.php">University of South Carolina</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Christian K. Anderson, associate professor of educational leadership and policies at the University of South Carolina</strong></p>
<p>Often the distance of time and space is needed to evaluate the historical significance of an event. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol – and the subsequent swift <a href="https://theconversation.com/at-impeachment-hearing-lawmakers-will-deliberate-over-a-deadly-weapon-used-in-the-attack-on-capitol-hill-president-trumps-words-153074">second impeachment</a> of President Donald Trump for his role in inciting mob violence.</p>
<p>A fear immediately arose that this sort of thing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/state-capitols-protests-trump.html">will only continue around the country</a>. That, to me, is all the more reason that having some historical understanding of current events is crucial for <a href="https://www.scholastic.com/content/corp-home/capitol-statement.html">people of all ages</a>.</p>
<p>Consider what happened after <a href="https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_Sumner.htm">Sen. Charles Sumner</a> of Massachusetts, the ardent abolitionist, was <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm">nearly beaten to death</a> on the Senate floor in 1856 by Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina. Brooks beat Sumner because he was insulted by Sumner’s attacks on slavery.</p>
<p>Brooks walked out of the Senate chamber without immediate repercussions. He was later censured by the House but then reelected by South Carolinians, many of whom had sent him canes to replace the one he had broken while beating Sumner. </p>
<p>Historian <a href="http://www.stephenpuleo.com/about-steve/">Stephen Puleo</a> argues that this incident is one of several that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15807860-the-caning">led to the Civil War</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man waves the Confederate flag in the US Capitol." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380064/original/file-20210121-17-cwxvxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man carries a Confederate flag during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporter-of-us-president-donald-trump-carries-a-news-photo/1230455296?adppopup=true">saul loeb/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, a portrait of Sumner can be seen in the photo of one of the rioters who was parading through the Capitol with a Confederate flag during the attack. In the same image is a portrait of <a href="https://theconversation.com/authorities-are-yanking-the-legacy-of-slaveholder-john-c-calhoun-from-public-sphere-but-his-bigotry-remains-embedded-in-american-society-140917">John C. Calhoun</a>. A devout slavery proponent, Calhoun represented South Carolina in the Senate and served as vice president in the early 19th century.</p>
<p>To me, that a Confederate flag could enter the Capitol – particularly when the Confederacy itself never invaded Washington, D.C., much less the Capitol – stands as a stark sign of how the attack is part of a much larger thread of history.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A photo of a woman wearing glasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379879/original/file-20210121-13-jng9n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Daisy Martin, director of the History & Civics Project at UC Santa Cruz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://scale.stanford.edu/about/staff/daisy-martin">UC Santa Cruz</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Daisy Martin, director of the History & Civics Project at the University of California, Santa Cruz</strong></p>
<p>For K-12 education, the timing of including this attack on the Capitol in history textbooks is likely more affected by textbook companies’ revision schedules and states or school districts’ textbook adoption schedules than considerations about how much time must pass after an event to get the narrative right. This attack is a part of U.S. history now. It could be included in textbooks by the fall of 2021, if publishers can respond that quickly. The attack was not a complete anomaly, and it can be described as both a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/opinions/capitol-riot-confederacy-reconstruction-birth-of-a-nation-merritt-barnes/index.html">continuation of and a change from the past</a>, even while its long-term impacts are still unfolding. This event was seen worldwide. Its significance and drama likely will interest students, potentially propelling them into deeper questions about democracy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/symbols-of-white-supremacy-flew-proudly-at-the-capitol-riot-5-essential-reads-153055">white supremacy</a> and the American past. </p>
<h2>How will the attack itself be portrayed?</h2>
<p><strong>Wall:</strong> Dutch historian Pieter Geyl once called history “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/493146?seq=1">an argument without end</a>.” While history is based on facts, scholars are constantly reinterpreting and arguing over the past as they uncover new evidence and develop new methodologies. Contemporary politics and social and cultural trends also reshape what historians view as important. For decades after World War II, most scholars believed that liberalism had triumphed in the U.S. Historians saw modern conservatism as irrational and irrelevant, and paid it <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/right/">scant attention</a> in scholarly accounts or textbooks. That changed after the <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Reaganland/Rick-Perlstein/9781476793054">conservative political resurgence</a> ushered in by the presidency of Ronald Reagan.</p>
<p>Textbooks once focused almost exclusively on the militancy of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25622477.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Aeede2bdc4a34a5a6e3b9949195ff455a">Black Power</a>, a political and social movement of the 1960s and 1970s that advocated racial pride, economic empowerment and self-determination for people of African descent. Today many college textbooks <a href="http://www.americanyawp.com/text/27-the-sixties/#VII_Beyond_Civil_Rights">also discuss</a> the educational, food and medical programs that groups like the Black Panthers set up in African American communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People line up to get food at a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380253/original/file-20210122-15-1ity79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Black Panthers distribute food to people in New Haven, Connecticut.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-black-panther-party-stand-behind-tables-and-news-photo/85211692?adppopup=true">David Fenton/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>New sources, new approaches and changing sensibilities will shape textbook accounts of this attack as well. Moreover, authors and publishers will make different decisions when they decide how much space to devote to the attack, what photos they will use to illustrate it and how to assign blame and contextualize it.</p>
<p>Was this attack the culmination of the four years of the Trump presidency or of the direction the Republican Party has taken over the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/07/historians-and-political-scientists-react-wednesdays-siege-capitol">last four decades</a>? Does it reflect a deeply <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2021/01/historians-on-the-unprecedented-chaos-in-congress/#close">American strain of white supremacy</a> or the rise of virulent populism and <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74199/ousted-autocratic-e%20presidents-and-their-backers-in-the-legislative-branch/">authoritarianism</a> around the globe? Is it the result of how <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/capitol-attack-will-go-down-in-history-as-social-medias-911-eu-commissioner/705802">social media is influencing democracy</a>? Textbook authors might emphasize one or more of these themes and questions – or others, including some we can’t yet foresee.</p>
<p><strong>Anderson:</strong> Surely, all of these terms being mentioned – riot, insurrection, attack, sedition, treason – will be used. A good approach for a text might be to list each of these terms along with others, such as “protest,” with definitions. As an exercise or discussion question section, readers could be given examples of each of these from history and asked to determine how they would define the events that took place on Jan. 6, 2021. Alternatively, they could be asked to evaluate those events against each of these terms. In the end, it is likely that most students would conclude that there is a lot of overlap among these terms and that more than one might apply.</p>
<p>Is there a right or wrong answer? No. History is all about interpretation and reinterpretation. At some point a select few terms may become the most used, but for now professors, teachers, students and others will wrestle with what happened, why it happened and what we call it. The ambiguity is part of process.</p>
<p><strong>Martin:</strong> Textbooks should not carry the history curriculum on their own. A textbook can be a reference in the classroom, but it is also a source that, just like any other source, is worthy of interrogation. The content included in textbooks regarding the insurrection at the Capitol should therefore be the start of a conversation, rather than the end of it. History requires consulting multiple sources and identifying, critiquing and constructing evidence-based narratives. Engaging students in doing this work in the classroom, rather than just memorizing a particular narrative, is a better representation of the historical discipline and allows students to learn history.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Wall has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and has been paid for work done for various textbook publishers. She is a member of the Tioga County Democratic Committee in Tioga County, New York.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian K. Anderson receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daisy Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The whole world saw the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. How will the textbooks read by America’s students describe what took place?Wendy Wall, Associate Professor of 20th Century American History, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkChristian K. Anderson, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of South CarolinaDaisy Martin, Director of The History & Civics Project, University of California, Santa CruzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1468982020-09-30T12:26:56Z2020-09-30T12:26:56ZMaking the most of K-12 digital textbooks and online educational tools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360626/original/file-20200929-16-1d1a2bw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4776%2C2158&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Millions of U.S. students are engaged in remote learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/goolsby-elementary-school-third-grader-ava-dweck-and-fourth-news-photo/1268617984">Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether children are currently going to school in person, learning remotely or doing a mix of both, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/">digital tools and texts</a> are becoming much more commonplace for K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>I’m a professor who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=cBsh7i4AAAAJ">researches the use of technology in education</a>. I’m also the father of three children between the ages of 4 and 9 who are all learning from home. You might think it would be easy for me to get used to this new normal. Sadly, that’s not true.</p>
<p>Despite all my technical know-how, even I struggle to manage the large variety of digital tools and apps that my children use for schoolwork, let alone the numerous websites, accounts and passwords from their classes that my family has to keep track of. </p>
<h2>Beneficial but complex</h2>
<p>The transition from relying mainly on <a href="https://theconversation.com/textbooks-in-the-digital-world-78299">physical textbooks printed on paper to digital educational content</a>, tools, apps and other resources was was already underway long before the pandemic. K-12 teachers use everything from online videos to interactive websites and from games and apps to digital textbooks that meet state standards.</p>
<p>I believe digital educational resources have a lot going for them. In contrast with the static text in physical books, digital resources involve dynamic content such as audio, video and animations. They may also have components like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12314">games and simulations</a> that let kids interact with technology or each other.</p>
<p>Some are equipped with adaptive and smart features that automatically tailor the instruction according to individual students’ mastery levels. For example, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3027385.3027451">intelligent tutors</a>” use complex algorithms and artificial intelligence to mimic human tutors and provide students with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2020.1747757">personalized learning</a> experience. </p>
<p>These apps, texts and tools make it easier to search for key terms, take notes that kids can find and use later, assess mastery and get creative by making charts and doing other things that are typically harder to do on paper.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A middle school girl wearing blue headphones and a face mask looks at her laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360128/original/file-20200926-20-19oxnk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some Denver K-12 students are remote-learning at public school sites, with staff support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Denver%20Remote%20Learning%20Sites/be32749c52b2425aab6cbd4d389b561e">AP Photo/David Zalubowski</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wise use</h2>
<p>With more students having their own <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2020-09-08/washington-state-schools-provide-devices-for-remote-learning">school-issued tablet or laptop</a> because of the pandemic, digital educational resources are likely to remain indispensable for modern K-12 classrooms even once life gets back to normal.</p>
<p>I consider this to be a good thing in general. At the same time, I have some concerns. One is that educators should not adopt and use these digital resources the same way as they might treat physical textbooks, because they have different characteristics.</p>
<p>Also, they may need to exercise caution in choosing digital tools and texts. Through <a href="https://ehe.osu.edu/news/listing/smoothing-schools-transition-digital-curriculum/">Evaluating Digital Content for Instructional and Teaching Excellence</a>, a state-funded project that helped schools transition to digital curriculum, my research team in <a href="https://dl.ehe.osu.edu/">The Research Laboratory for Digital Learning</a> reviewed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.011">1,200 digital educational resources</a> from established educational publishers. We found that the quality of these digital products varies.</p>
<p>While most had good content and aligned well with academic standards, many weren’t user-friendly enough or properly geared for K-12 use.</p>
<h2>Supporting children who learn online</h2>
<p>No matter how good these digital resources are, they need to be integrated with all other learning activities.</p>
<p>For example, a math class may take advantage of the free videos available through <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>, use <a href="https://zoom.us/">Zoom</a> for group work and collaboration, and use <a href="https://classroom.google.com/">Google classroom</a> for organizing assignments and communicating with peers and teachers.</p>
<p>That means there’s a lot to keep track of. Therefore, kids – until they turn 10 or so, and their parents – need a lot of help getting the hang of all this technology.</p>
<p>I recommend that families help children understand when, what, why and how to use everything. One way to go is to map out the variety of URLs, apps and tools used for specific classes, alongside their child’s usernames, passwords, access codes and group names, as well as schedule details. This will help kids access their digital resources for the right class and at the right time – on their own. </p>
<p>I also suggest that parents monitor their child’s technology usage, taking care during the day to limit distractions that can interfere with learning. When working on digital devices, with entertainment games and YouTube videos only a click or two away, kids can easily veer away from their virtual classrooms. Especially for younger children, whose self-regulation skills are not fully developed, parents and caregivers need to attend to them periodically.</p>
<p>In other words: Just because kids are quietly doing something on their iPad during school hours, it does not necessarily mean they are engaged in schoolwork.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Parental controls can help. There are parental control features on individual devices like <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982">Apple’s Screen Time</a> on iPads. There are also some features on internet routers like the <a href="https://www.netgear.com/landings/circle">Netgear’s Circle - Smart Parental Controls</a> worth exploring. These features can limit what kids can and cannot do on their devices – such as buying stuff without permission.</p>
<p>Even where remote learning and socially distanced socializing are the norm, parents can still aim for a relatively healthy balance, to the degree it’s possible, between screen time and time spent offline. See if you can persuade your children to put away their screens before and after school and during their lunch breaks, whether it’s to exercise, read, cook or play board games.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kui Xie receives funding from Institute for Educational Sciences, Spencer Foundation, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Department of Higher Education, and Ohio Mayfield School District.</span></em></p>Digital educational resources are likely to remain indispensable for modern K-12 classrooms, even after the coronavirus pandemic ends.Kui Xie, Cyphert Distinguished Professor; Professor of Learning Technologies; Director of The Research Laboratory for Digital Learning, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443192020-09-04T11:32:53Z2020-09-04T11:32:53ZStudy shows UK school textbooks teach a highly simplified version of US civil rights movement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354607/original/file-20200825-20-1ojzcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C19%2C1286%2C1381&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his 'I Have a Dream' speech during the March in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Martin_Luther_King_-_March_on_Washington_colorized_photo.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As children return to school in the UK, they will encounter a curriculum that still pays little attention to black British <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jul/13/black-british-history-school-curriculum-england?CMP=share_btn_tw">history or culture</a>. This is despite an urgent <a href="https://www.blacklivesmatter.uk/">Black Lives Matter</a> movement and growing demands for a more honest reckoning with the racial legacies of Britain’s imperial past. </p>
<p>While some cling to the notion that US-style racial tensions are unthinkable <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/george-poet-newsnight-emily-maitlis-black-lives-matter-george-floyd-a9544776.html">in the UK</a>, critics have condemned Britain’s <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/twt/lessons-historical-amnesia">“historical amnesia”</a> and ongoing racial inequalities – highlighting the Windrush scandal, the Grenfell Tower fire and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-may-harm-minority-groups-health-even-if-they-dont-catch-the-virus-143724">BAME communities</a> as evidence. </p>
<p>A March 2020 review into the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874022/6.5577_HO_Windrush_Lessons_Learned_Review_WEB_v2.pdf">Windrush scandal</a>, investigated the mistreatment and deportation of British subjects of Caribbean descent and cited “the public’s and officials’ poor understanding” of Black British history and the end of empire as a relevant factor.</p>
<p>Yet learning about the Windrush generation in school remains an <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-history-is-still-largely-ignored-70-years-after-empire-windrush-reached-britain-98431">optional topic</a> for 11 to 14-year-olds studying history – and has only been on the curriculum since 2013. </p>
<p>In UK schools, students often study Martin Luther King and the African American freedom struggle, but rarely the histories of Britain’s own racial minorities. </p>
<p>As experts in US history, we believe King offers an invaluable entrance point for conversations about race and anti-racist protest. But our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D7E96F4E666C8FFE8609294271E21F04/S0021875820000742a.pdf/he_was_shot_because_america_will_not_give_up_on_racism_martin_luther_king_jr_and_the_african_american_civil_rights_movement_in_british_schools.pdf">new research</a> found a routine over-simplification of his beliefs and tactics that weakens connections between the UK and the US, and contributes to this “historical amnesia.” </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D7E96F4E666C8FFE8609294271E21F04/S0021875820000742a.pdf/he_was_shot_because_america_will_not_give_up_on_racism_martin_luther_king_jr_and_the_african_american_civil_rights_movement_in_british_schools.pdf">latest research</a> with Benjamin Houston and Nick Megoran at Newcastle University, we wanted to find out exactly how the US civil rights movement is being taught in UK schools. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Mural." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353905/original/file-20200820-20-1w4yl3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Mural in Atlanta, Georgia, US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/atlanta-georgia-usa-october-9-2014-222688012">Forty3Zero/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We examined history textbooks and curricula, and found British children study a very simplified version of the US freedom struggle. In UK schools, Martin Luther King is often synonymous with the entire civil rights movement. It’s also a very conservative image of King – the more radical elements of his philosophy and activism are ignored. </p>
<h2>Reductive approach</h2>
<p>You would never know from UK textbooks that by the time of his murder in 1968, King was a self-professed democratic socialist working on a multiracial campaign to address <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/poor-peoples-campaign">economic injustice</a> – speaking openly about the triple evils of racism, poverty and war to international audiences, including in the UK. </p>
<p>These oversights are problematic in their own right. But they also obscure important aspects of British history by ignoring the relationship between the African American freedom struggle and campaigns for racial justice in the UK. </p>
<p>Instead, UK children learn a simplistic “feel good” tale of how, back in the bad old days, the heroic Martin Luther King defeated a brand of racism and discrimination “over there”.</p>
<h2>UK connections</h2>
<p>Textbooks fail to consider the British anti-racist groups that consulted with King during his December 1964 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/02/martin-luther-king-in-london-1964-reflections-on-a-landmark-visit">visit to London</a>. Or how they frequently adopted the rhetoric, tactics and symbolism of their US counterparts, such as in the 1963 <a href="https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-heroes/the-bristol-bus-boycott-of-1963/">Bristol Bus Boycott</a>. </p>
<p>Nor do they examine how <a href="https://hatfulofhistory.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/the-uk-home-office-and-american-nazis-the-deportation-of-george-lincoln-rockwell/">racist organisations</a> in the UK <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/118/1/76/46516">borrowed heavily</a> from the Ku Klux Klan and White Citizens Councils of America. Or how the campaign for Catholic rights in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/118/1/76/46516">Northern Ireland</a> was profoundly influenced by the African American freedom struggle. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/smEqnnklfYs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Martin Luther King certainly understood those links. On his <a href="https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-13-november-1967-martin-luther-king-interview-1967-online">final visit</a> to the UK in 1967, he noted connections with the US and apartheid South Africa. His comments influenced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/nov/16/research.highereducation">press</a> and <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1967-11-15/debates/51b1846a-f76e-48ee-b7b6-909dd185df22/(ActsContinuedTillEndOfDecember1968)?highlight=martin%20luther%20king#contribution-b0d66272-5895-41e1-b4c6-87e7e6f51e4c">parliamentary</a> debates regarding immigration policy and minority rights. </p>
<p>By neglecting these connections, textbooks offer little support for teachers hoping to explore civil rights in Britain.</p>
<h2>A more diverse history</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/martin-luther-king-in-the-uk-complete-resource-pack-for-work-unit-and-assemblies-over-ks2-3-and-4-11710703">Free</a> <a href="https://hotcus.org.uk/diversity-and-inclusion/black-history-month-assembly-materials/">resources</a> are increasingly <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/civil-rights-in-america/">available</a>. And many schools want to teach a <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/review-curriculum-reflect-uks-black-history0">diverse history</a> that is more explicitly connected to the experiences and needs of students in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/may/26/secret-teacher-history-bias-school-fear-student-future">21st century</a>. But teachers need <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/projects-and-publications/education/runnymede-tide-project-teaching-migration-report.html">training and support</a> to teach these topics effectively and sensitively. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.theblackcurriculum.com/">The Black Curriculum</a>, a UK initiative that provides educational materials on Black British history, hopes to change the curriculum for students aged 8 to 16. Over 350,000 people have signed petitions and circulated an <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c4325439d5abb9b27980cd4/t/5ee7c1757c55e954e621cfd6/1592246647016/Letter+to+Gavin+Williamson+from+TBC-4.pdf">open letter</a> to secretary of state for education, Gavin Williamson. But the <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/government-opposed-diverse-curriculum">government claims</a> the curriculum is already broad and diverse. </p>
<h2>Global links</h2>
<p>The problem is not that there is too much US history in UK schools, but that these topics are rarely presented alongside equivalent and often interconnected struggles in the UK. </p>
<p>The history of the US civil rights movement should never be a surrogate for teaching the histories of Britain’s own racial minorities, but it offers an untapped resource for starting those conversations. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1271147161938464773"}"></div></p>
<p>Teaching Martin Luther King and the US civil rights movement offers a valuable entrance point for conversations about race, racism, and anti-racism in both the US and the UK. </p>
<p>It presents an opportunity to explore past and present campaigns for racial and social justice. And it can equip UK students to appreciate links between global histories and those of their own communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Hunt received funding from Freedom City 2017 to conduct the research cited in this article. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As British journalist and author, Reni Eddo-Lodge, writes, the US civil rights movement too often becomes “the story of the struggle against racism”.Brian Ward, Professor in American Studies, Northumbria University, NewcastleMegan Hunt, Teaching Fellow in American History, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1326762020-03-19T10:24:18Z2020-03-19T10:24:18ZResearch finds gender bias in textbooks of Indonesia and other Muslim majority countries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321069/original/file-20200317-60910-47v1gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The school enrolment rate between Indonesian boys and girls is virtually equal, but gender bias persists in school textbooks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Indonesia does well compared to other Muslim countries in <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-equity-in-schools-in-muslim-countries-it-can-be-done-32271">getting girls into schools</a>. Female enrolment in primary and secondary education is <a href="http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/indonesia">around 90% and 80% respectively</a>, while the proportions of boys and girls in school are <a href="https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indonesia/ratio-of-girls-to-boys-in-primary-and-secondary-education">virtually equal</a>.</p>
<p>Yet Indonesia was ranked 85 out of 153 countries in the <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf">World Economic Forum’s 2020 Gender Gap Index</a>.</p>
<p>The country’s women lag behind men in terms of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00074918.2018.1530727?src=recsys&journalCode=cbie20">labour force participation</a>. The rate of child marriage is <a href="https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/indonesia/">one of the highest</a> in South-East Asia, and a third of Indonesian women have reportedly faced <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-women-rights/one-third-of-indonesian-women-suffer-abuse-prompting-u-n-calls-for-action-idUSKBN17E1YF">sexual or physical violence</a>. </p>
<p>Why does Indonesia perform poorly in women’s development in spite of the boom in female schooling?</p>
<p>One reason could be that the country’s education system – while accessible for all – employs teaching curriculum and learning materials that fail in challenging traditional roles and changing social attitudes towards women.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190807">Our recently published paper in the journal PLOS ONE</a> has found such gender bias is evident in Indonesian textbooks.</p>
<p>The research is part of our gender analyses of textbooks in four Muslim majority countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.</p>
<p>Although the Indonesian textbook has represented gender equality better than its South Asian counterparts, especially Pakistan and Bangladesh, our analysis shows plenty of room for improvement in how female characters are depicted. </p>
<h2>Women are present, but depicted with bias</h2>
<p>Across these countries, we exclusively focus on government-approved English textbooks used in secondary schools. </p>
<p>For Indonesia, the analysis looks at the contents of the Grade 9 textbook, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/7822742/Kelas09-English-in-Focus-Artono-Masduki-Sukirman"><em>English in Focus</em></a>.</p>
<p>We examine gender stereotypes using two broad frameworks – female inclusion and the quality of their representation – using a total of 21 indicators associated with the book’s texts and pictures.</p>
<p>Across the indicators, we find the Indonesian textbook is relatively gender equal. </p>
<p>The proportion of female characters in the Indonesian texts (40.5%) is fairly equal, contrasting with only 24.4% in Pakistani textbooks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321264/original/file-20200318-37378-u3ev4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart: The Conversation Indonesia. Source:</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190807#sec004">Asadullah & Islam, 2018</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the picture content category, Indonesian textbooks also have more female characters (58.0%) than in the other three countries. The Malaysian and Bangladeshi textbooks have a low share of 35.2%.</p>
<p>However, the qualitative indicators used in the study reveal that, despite having an equal presence, female characters are still poorly depicted.</p>
<p>A high presence of male characters is evident in a range of indicators from “Nouns” to “Professional Occupations” in the Indonesian textbook.</p>
<p>The book also overemphasises marital identity through the more frequent use of “Mrs” in addressing women, indicating evidence of linguistic sexism.</p>
<p>In contrast, most female characters in both Malaysian and Bangladeshi textbooks are referred as “Miss”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321078/original/file-20200317-60901-1q72fkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jobs such as ‘firefighter’ or ‘king’ dominate male occupations, while roles such as ‘singer’ or ‘dancer’ are more common for women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regarding occupational roles, the depictions of males were much more diverse and include jobs that traditionally portray power and masculinity – such as a king or a firefighter. These jobs were mentioned at least four times in the textbook.</p>
<p>Occupations attached to the female characters are those that have long been considered female-dominated and traditionally lower in prestige and income.</p>
<p>The two most mentioned professions for women are singer and dancer, with each mentioned up to three times. </p>
<p>Overall, across the four countries, we find females are characterised in household roles four times more than their male counterparts. The number was the highest in Pakistan, where all domestic roles depicted (100%) were assigned to women.</p>
<p>Even in Indonesian and Malaysian textbooks, which feature a more balanced presence of females, we found evidence that these domestic roles were dominated by women with 63% and 85%, respectively.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321263/original/file-20200318-37378-9641qs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart: The Conversation Indonesia. Source:</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190807#sec004">Asadullah & Islam, 2018</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does this mean for education in Indonesia?</h2>
<p>Our study adds to the <a href="http://repository.usd.ac.id/6790/1/2666_Gender%2BRoles%2Band%2BRepresentations%2Bof%2BIndonesian%2BSchool%2BEtextbook_Ouda_Tleia5.pdf">growing evidence base</a> on gender bias in Indonesian textbooks.</p>
<p>In a previous study using a 12th-grade English textbook, <a href="http://119.252.161.254/e-journal/index.php/jpbi/article/view/1100">the authors</a> identified 1,098 (77%) male characters in comparison to only 321 (23%) female characters. </p>
<p>Another study of visual images used in eight English e-textbooks for grades 10, 11 and 12 confirm the problem is systemic – some professions like doctors, politicians and soldiers were represented by men only.</p>
<p>These portrayals of outside occupations and paid work as “male-only” devalues women’s work and hinders existing efforts and campaigns to boost the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-indonesias-wealth-isnt-translating-into-jobs-for-women-132770">stagnant female participation rate</a> in Indonesia’s labour force.</p>
<p>Improving access to secondary education will not be enough to empower Indonesian girls if school textbooks continue to misrepresent girls and women in traditional roles.</p>
<p>In this regard, one positive development is the <a href="https://www.twib.news/indonesian-mighty-girls-books-challenge-stereotypes/"><em>Mighty Girls</em> book collection</a> for which hundreds of Indonesian women are serving as “reading ambassadors” to introduce strong female characters to school-going girls in Indonesia.</p>
<p>A free online library for children, <a href="https://asiafoundation.org/what-we-do/books-for-asia/lets-read/">Let’s Read</a>, provided by the nonprofit organisation, The Asia Foundation, is available for all girls regardless of their school enrolment status. More initiatives such as these are needed.</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/03/08/fight-for-gender-equality-starts-at-home.html">parents must play their part as well</a> to eliminate gender inequality from Indonesian society. Practising gender equality at home is equally important.</p>
<p>Reforming textbooks alone may not change mindsets if parents themselves support gender stereotypes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>M Niaz Asadullah is affiliated with the Global Labor Organization (GLO) and Initiative on Education, Gender and Growth in Asia (Integgra). </span></em></p>Indonesian textbooks represent gender equality better than their South Asian counterparts, but our analysis shows portrayals of women are still biased.M Niaz Asadullah, Professor of Development Economics, University of MalayaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1228452019-12-07T17:22:31Z2019-12-07T17:22:31ZNicolas Bourbaki: The greatest mathematician who never was<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305022/original/file-20191203-67017-b4wfus.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bourbaki Congress of 1938.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bourbaki_congress1938.png">Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>By many measures, Nicolas Bourbaki ranks among the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. </p>
<p>Largely unknown today, Bourbaki is likely the last mathematician to master nearly all aspects of the field. A consummate collaborator, he made fundamental contributions to important mathematical fields such as set theory and functional analysis. He also revolutionized mathematics by emphasizing rigor in place of conjecture. </p>
<p>There’s just one problem: Nicolas Bourbaki never existed.</p>
<h2>Never existed?</h2>
<p>While it is now widely accepted that there never was a Nicolas Bourbaki, there is evidence to the contrary. </p>
<p>For example, there are <a href="http://www.neverendingbooks.org/when-was-the-bourbaki-wedding">wedding announcements</a> for his daughter Betty, a baptismal certificate in his name and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03028596">an impressive family lineage</a> extending back to an ancestor Napoleon raised as his own son.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305024/original/file-20191203-67028-1g5a38v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cover of the first volume in Bourbaki’s textbook.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bourbaki,_Theorie_des_ensembles_maitrier.jpg">Maitrier/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/mathematical-apocrypha">Even the professional mathematics community</a> was misled for a time. When Ralph Boas, an editor of the journal Mathematical Reviews, wrote that Bourbaki was a pseudonym, he was promptly refuted by none other than Bourbaki himself. Bourbaki countered with a letter stating that B.O.A.S. actually just was an acronym of the last names of the editors of the Reviews. </p>
<p>These cases of confused identity were not all fun and games. For example, <a href="https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/912">it is alleged</a> that, while visiting Finland at the outset of World War II, French mathematician André Weil was investigated for spying. The authorities found suspicious papers in his possession: a fake identity, a set of business cards and even invitations from the Russian Academy of Science – all in Bourbaki’s name. Supposedly, Weil was freed only after an officer recognized him as a preeminent mathematician. </p>
<h2>Who was Bourbaki?</h2>
<p>If Bourbaki never existed, who – or what – was he?</p>
<p>The name <a href="http://www.mcs.csueastbay.edu/%7Emalek/Mathlinks/Bourbaki.html">Nicolas Bourbaki</a> first appeared in a place rocked by turmoil at a volatile time in history: Paris in 1934.</p>
<p>World War I had wiped out a generation of French intellectuals. As a result, the standard university-level calculus textbook had been written more than two and half decades before and was out of date.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ams.org/notices/199803/borel.pdf">Newly minted professors André Weil and Henri Cartan</a> wanted a rigorous method to teach Stokes’ theorem, a key result of calculus. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025255">After realizing that others had similar concerns</a>, Weil organized a meeting. It took place December 10, 1934 at a Parisian café called Capoulade.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305690/original/file-20191206-90588-1ffppop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cafe Capoulade in 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-247-0775-09,_Deutsche_Soldaten_in_einem_Pariser_Stra%C3%9Fencaf%C3%A9.jpg">Langhaus, German Federal Archive/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The nine mathematicians in attendance <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IieQDwAAQBAJ&ppis=_e&dq=%22to+define+for+25+years+the+syllabus+for+the+certificate+in+differential+and+integral+calculus+by+writing,+collectively,+a+treatise+on+analysis,%E2%80%9D&source=gbs_navlinks_s">agreed to write a textbook</a> “to define for 25 years the syllabus for the certificate in differential and integral calculus by writing, collectively, a treatise on analysis,” which they hoped to complete in just six months. </p>
<p>As a joke, they named themselves after an <a href="https://www.bourbakipanorama.ch/en/museum/history/">old French general</a> who had been duped in the Franco-Prussian war.</p>
<p>As they proceeded, their original goal of elucidating Stokes’ theorem expanded to laying out the foundations of all mathematics. Eventually, they began to hold regular Bourbaki “conferences” three times a year to discuss new chapters for the treatise. </p>
<p>Individual members were encouraged to engage with all aspects of the effort, to ensure that the treatise would be accessible to nonspecialists. <a href="https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/upload_library/22/Ford/Dieudonne(2).pdf">According to one of the founders</a>, spectators invariably came away with the impression that they were witnessing “a gathering of madmen.” They could not imagine how people, shouting – “sometimes three or four at the same time” – could ever come up with something “intelligent.”</p>
<p>Top mathematicians from across Europe, intrigued by the group’s work and style, joined to augment the group’s ranks. Over time, the name Bourbaki became a collective pseudonym for dozens of influential mathematicians spanning generations, including Weil, Dieudonne, Schwartz, Borel, Grothendieck and many others. </p>
<p>Since then, the group which has added new members over time, has proved to have a profound impact on mathematics, certainly rivaling any of its individual contributors.</p>
<h2>Profound impact</h2>
<p>Mathematicians have made a plethora of important contributions under Bourbaki’s name. </p>
<p>To name a few, the group introduced the null set symbol; the ubiquitous terms injective, surjective, bijective; and generalizations of many important theorems, including the Bourbaki-Witt theorem, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0315-0860(78)90136-2">Jacobson-Bourbaki</a> theorem and the Bourbaki-Banach-Alaoglu theorem. </p>
<p>Their text, “Elements of Mathematics,” has swelled to more than 6,000 pages. It provides a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-017-9763-5">solid foundation for the whole body of modern mathematics</a>,” according to mathematician Barbara Pieronkiewicz.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305589/original/file-20191206-90574-9zerab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Henri Poincaré Institute, where Bourbaki seminars are regularly held.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Institut_Henri-Poincar%C3%A9.jpg">Antoine Taveneaux/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bourbaki’s influence is still alive and well. Now in “his” 80th year of research, in 2016 “he” published the 11th volume of the “Elements of Mathematics.” The Bourbaki group, with its ever-changing cast of members, still holds <a href="http://www.bourbaki.ens.fr/seminaires/2020/index.html#seminaire">regular seminars</a> at the University of Paris.</p>
<p>Partly thanks to the breadth and significance of “his” mathematical contributions, and also because – ageless, unchanging and operating in multiple places at once – “he” seems to defy the very laws of physics, Bourbaki’s mathematical prowess will likely never be equaled.</p>
<p>[ <em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Gunderman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Largely unknown today, Bourbaki was the last mathematician to master nearly all aspects of the field. There’s just one problem: Bourbaki never existed.David Gunderman, Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1231202019-09-19T11:23:16Z2019-09-19T11:23:16ZTextbook merger could create more problems than just higher prices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292986/original/file-20190918-187980-14pvsp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Textbook prices could rise higher if a planned textbook company merger goes through.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multiethnic-university-students-studying-together-young-1050611531?src=31-NtGu0tnNo6zAa3eGg7g-5-88">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education – two of the largest textbook publishers in the U.S. – announced <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/05/02/cengage-and-mcgraw-hill-merge">plans to merge</a> next year, fears have arisen that <a href="https://sparcopen.org/news/2019/sparc-urges-department-of-justice-to-block-merger-between-cengage-and-mcgraw-hill/">lack of competition</a> in America’s textbook industry will lead to higher textbook prices for students.</p>
<p>Indeed, Cengage and McGraw-Hill <a href="https://sparcopen.org/news/2019/sparc-urges-department-of-justice-to-block-merger-between-cengage-and-mcgraw-hill/">currently control</a> about 24% and 21% of the textbook market, respectively, while Pearson – the other giant in America’s textbook industry - controls about 40%. If the merger goes through, that means just two companies would control over 80% of U.S. textbook sales, placing control over future price hikes in even fewer hands.</p>
<p>This is particularly troublesome when you consider the fact that since 2000, textbook prices have already <a href="http://www.in2013dollars.com/Educational-books-and-supplies/price-inflation">risen 146%</a> - far above the rate of inflation.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/words-onscreen-9780199315765?cc=us&lang=en&">scholar</a> who studies how students read and learn using <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0736585316305378">print versus digital texts</a>, I see other potential issues with the proposed textbook company merger that could harm students in more ways than just forcing them to pay more for their course readings.</p>
<h2>Lessening of choices</h2>
<p>The first issue concerns choice – both for students and faculty.</p>
<p>Thanks to the growth of e-books and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/11/07/new-data-online-enrollments-grow-and-share-overall-enrollment">online courses</a>, traditional print books are already being <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/textbook-colleges-cheap-publisher-pearson-ebook-resell-1449860">increasingly replaced</a> by <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/12/switch-digital-first-products-publishers-are-signing-fewer-textbook-authors">digital materials</a>.</p>
<p>Consequently, as publishers move to phase out print, students aren’t just getting their course materials from the college bookstore. For instance, several of the largest publishers, including Cengage and McGraw-Hill, have created an <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/07/inclusive-access-takes-model-college-textbook-sales">“inclusive access”</a> model. In this model, students are charged a course fee by the college or university they attend, and their school then pays the publisher in return for digital materials.</p>
<p>In 2017, Cengage created <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/05/cengage-announces-unlimited-digital-subscription">Cengage Unlimited</a>, offering students digital access to any of its books for less than US$200 a year. While on the one hand this might seem like a convenience, it basically locks faculty into books published only by Cengage – which precludes faculty selecting other books.</p>
<p>An even more dramatic change is the new <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/16/pearson-goes-all-digital-first-strategy-textbooks">“digital first”</a> policy that Pearson announced in July. Under this digital first policy, Pearson will largely focus on creating and updating digital materials going forward. Consequently, there will be fewer new editions of print textbooks, and when they do appear, their prices will be <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/16/pearson-goes-all-digital-first-strategy-textbooks">relatively high</a>.</p>
<p>With digital, students don’t actually buy books but <a href="https://digitalpublishing101.com/digital-publishing-101/module-1-rights-permissions/rights-to-use-ebooks/">license them</a>, meaning they never own them, just as you don’t own any digital software. That means students can’t shop for a lower-priced copy of a digital book, and they can’t sell the digital book at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>Understandably, publishers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cengage-m-a-mcgrawhill/u-s-college-education-could-be-pricier-with-textbook-merger-idUSKCN1UO135">dislike</a> the used book market, since they profit only from <a href="https://libguides.ala.org/copyright/firstsale">first sale of new books</a>. </p>
<p>If the merger goes through, selling back used textbooks will be less common – and to the detriment of student choice. With print, if students purchase a textbook, they may choose to sell it when the course ends. They also might buy a used copy initially, saving them money. These options disappear in a digital environment.</p>
<h2>Impact on learning</h2>
<p>But there is a second critical issue with shifting from print to digital. And that is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/25/skim-reading-new-normal-maryanne-wolf">whether students learn better</a> using print or digital textbooks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292983/original/file-20190918-187962-1vxlx95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students say they generally prefer to study print texts over digital.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/top-view-male-female-university-students-150587615?src=7rzskFK6HsoSze9PO-6k4Q-1-35">sirtravelalot /Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In two international studies of university students – including one <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0736585316305378">I conducted</a> and another led by <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0197444">Diane Mizrachi</a> – students overwhelmingly said they learn better with print. My colleagues and I got the same response for a study we did with middle and high school students in Norway. In all three studies, students complained they become distracted when reading digitally.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X18300101">analysis</a> of several studies on the topic concluded that overall, students performed better in answering questions about a reading passage if they read it in print, not digitally. However, these findings sometimes depend on the kind of questions asked or the amount of time students spend doing the reading.</p>
<p>Researchers Patricia Alexander and Lauren Singer Trakhman have shown that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-enduring-power-of-print-for-learning-in-a-digital-world-84352">students do equally well with print and digital</a> when questions ask about the main idea in a passage. However, if students are asked for more detailed key points, students do better in print. Ironically, if you ask those same students about the medium on which they think they had higher scores, they say digital – even though the opposite is true.</p>
<p>Time also matters. For instance, researchers in Israel <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Metacognitive-regulation-of-text-learning%3A-on-on-Ackerman-Goldsmith/62e986d7ea1b6921d7455a702b082208ef517bdb">found</a> that if people get a set amount of time to read, they score comparably in print and digital. However, if students can choose how much time to take, they tend to read faster and do worse on the comprehension exam.</p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>There might be little that can be done about the continuing shift from print to digital in the textbook industry. But students can be encouraged to study more strategically in a digital environment. Some ideas include employing traditional reading strategies such as identifying <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214001149">keywords</a>, summarizing and note-taking. Researchers are also <a href="https://tiltfactor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2016-tiltfactor-chi-digital-nondigital.pdf">experimenting</a> with having students do exercises to encourage making inferences about the text, rather than reading only for surface information.</p>
<p>As the educational reading landscape becomes overwhelmingly digital, I believe it will become more important to find proven strategies to help students become more aware of the best ways to read and study online – especially as regular printed textbooks gradually begin to disappear.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123120/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi S. Baron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A proposed merger between two of America’s largest textbook companies could lead to problems that go well beyond price hikes, a scholar on textbooks and digital learning warns.Naomi S. Baron, Professor of Linguistics Emerita, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136862019-04-03T08:56:39Z2019-04-03T08:56:39ZStudy shows how school textbooks in Germany and England present Europe in entirely different ways<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265827/original/file-20190326-36279-15tj4a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to views about Europe, it’s well known that Germany and England differ sharply. <a href="https://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/15/post-brexit-europeans-more-favorable-toward-eu/">Research</a> after the Brexit vote shows that 68% of Germans are in favour of the European Union and only 11% would support withdrawal. Compare this with 54% of UK respondents who are favourable to the EU.</p>
<p>Similarly, during the 2017 general election campaign in Germany, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/united-states-of-europe-germans-french-most-in-favor-poll/">nearly one third of Germans</a> backed politician Martin Schulz’s idea for a “United States of Europe” by 2025. The corresponding figure for Britain was just 10%. And it seems these differences might run as deep as the way children are taught about Europe in school – as the findings of our <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/education/research/cresj/news/2019/research-education-eu/">latest research</a> indicate. </p>
<p>We analysed the treatment of the European Union in a sample of social studies and politics textbooks from both Germany and England. And we found that the way Europe is depicted in some English and German textbooks for secondary schools differs considerably. In English books there is less coverage of Europe and a more critical approach compared with the German textbooks. </p>
<p>In the English textbooks, Europe was seen almost exclusively in political terms – with strong emphasis on the EU being a controversial issue. In one book for example, although there are references to the <a href="https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf">European Convention on Human Rights </a> along with the European court and a brief mention of the European Economic Area, most of the limited space given to Europe is about the European Union – and about “different viewpoints on EU membership”. </p>
<p>In the German books there was a very different approach: Europe is seen more expansively and positively with an integrated approach to politics and identity. The German textbooks also had references to Europe being “our historical, cultural and intellectual home”, a “community of values”, and, a place where “enemies became friends”.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>We looked at four English textbooks and nine German textbooks and compared the way Europe was covered. Overall we found that the textbooks from Germany deal with Europe in much greater detail and with more of a positive angle than those published in England. </p>
<p>We found that Europe not only receives more prominence in German textbooks but is covered with more breadth. Both sets of textbooks place a major focus on the political system of the EU but German books also include economic and cultural dimensions. And a number of German textbooks had separate chapters or sections on the political system of the EU and Europe as a cultural entity. Unlike the English books, some German materials also presented clear anticipated loyalties to Europe. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265828/original/file-20190326-36260-1v8arth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schoolchildren across Europe are taught different things about the EU.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The project was informed by previous research, particularly, work undertaken by one of the project team which involved interviewing 2,000 young people <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/8/3/70/htm">across 29 European countries</a>. The project aimed to find out how young people in Europe construct their political identities – which we found often transcend traditional boundaries of state and nation. </p>
<p>But we found that although both the English textbooks and German textbooks largely reflect the prevailing political climate in each country, they don’t necessarily reflect the views of young people. Young people in Germany and England <a href="https://dbk.gesis.org/dbksearch/gdesc2.asp?no=0008">share rather similar views</a> <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9783319908748">about Europe</a>. They are committed to certain values (which are seen as both general and European) and although young people are not just accepting of European identity and European loyalty without questions, there is, among both groups – but particularly the Germans – a sense of being European. This is not reflected in English textbooks. </p>
<h2>Young voices</h2>
<p>The range of activities in the German books is also far wider than those provided in the English books. Whereas the German books build on a sense of European identity by providing opportunities for varied student interaction including more work than the English books on advocacy, representation and informed and responsible action.</p>
<p>By contrast, the English books use brief individual reading exercises to consider the pros and cons of European membership. One book for example provides a list of “benefits and costs of EU membership” and then asks students to “design slides or charts to summarise the benefits and costs of EU membership”. The English texts also encouraged students to visit the websites of UK political parties for news on their position on EU membership.</p>
<p>This echos the political context in England, where the debate about Europe is not one concerned with dynamic engagement but one associated with an equally balanced weighing up of pros and cons of membership. And in this way, we found that the nature of the educational activities that are available to teachers and students in our sample of textbooks tends to reflect national narratives. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265834/original/file-20190326-36270-3i6vt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many young people have taken part in anti-Brexit marches up and down the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Education in both countries is principally a matter of socialising young people into an established national narrative. This may seem to be easier to justify in Germany where there is a stronger alignment between the views of young people and (according to our textbook analysis) the content of learning resources. But in both countries there are issues about the extent to which schools are the mirror of society and essentially engaged with promoting established views. </p>
<p>It seems then that in both countries, the most contentious issue of the 21st-century – the European Union – is simply being presented as a reflection of the existing national narrative for future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Ross is a member of the Labour Party. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beatrice Szczepek Reed, Eleanor Brown, Geraldine Bengsch, and Ian Davies do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>School textbooks from Germany deal with Europe in much greater detail and with more of a positive angle than those published in England.Ian Davies, Professor in the Department of Education, University of YorkAlistair Ross, Emeritus Professor in the Institute for Policy Studies in Education, London Metropolitan UniversityBeatrice Szczepek Reed, Professor of Language Education, King's College LondonEleanor Brown, Lecturer in the Department of Education, University of YorkGeraldine Bengsch, German Tutor, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1053332018-10-22T10:40:02Z2018-10-22T10:40:02ZHow have textbooks portrayed climate change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241498/original/file-20181019-105767-4qus92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some science textbooks give a skewed view of the causes of climate change, new research finds.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/open-hardback-textbook-stacked-on-table-776181049?src=RsumEw5pFM9UAzxMdr3TDg-1-0">pong-photo9/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Back in 2007, the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">world’s foremost body charged with assessing climate change</a> stated with “<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm">very high confidence</a>” that humans were a primary driver of climate change.</p>
<p>But you may not get the message that humans are responsible for climate change if you peered into some of the most popular high school curriculum materials that were produced in the following years. </p>
<p>Many school materials back then did not communicate the <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/">scientific consensus</a> that human activity was a major driver of climate change. That was one of the major findings of our line-by-line <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sce.21338">analysis</a> of five science textbooks, four social studies textbooks and eight sets of supplemental curricular materials produced in the five years after the 2007 report. These 17 resources – all designed for high school classrooms – were selected based on their widespread use so that we could best understand the climate change-related content seen by the greatest number of U.S. students. </p>
<p>The three of us are researchers of education interested in how to prepare youth for well-informed civic participation. Casey Meehan came up with the idea to analyze how curricular materials deal with climate change, considering this a major civic issue. After doing this as part of his dissertation at the University of Wisconsin, Brett Levy and Lauren Collet-Gildard helped him to expand his analyses. </p>
<p>We published our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sce.21338">findings</a> in Science Education earlier this year. The main takeaway is that many American curricular materials communicate a skewed or incomplete view of the seriousness, scope and cause of global climate change. In addition, these resources present a small range of options for addressing the problem.</p>
<p>We examined how each resource portrayed three major dimensions of climate change: causes, impacts and potential responses.</p>
<h2>Causes</h2>
<p>Nine resources in our study did reflect the scientific consensus that human activity is a major driver of climate change, but we found that another six – including several science textbooks – were hesitant, communicating uncertainty about the conclusions expressed in the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/main.html">2007 landmark report</a> by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.</p>
<p>For instance, one earth science textbook published in 2010 says that “researchers are trying to determine if the [temperature] increase is a natural variation or the result of human activities.” Similarly, one geography textbook published in 2012 states that scientists “do not all agree on the nature of global warming and its effects.”</p>
<p>“Some claim that a natural cycle, not human activity, is causing rising temperatures,” this particular textbook states. “Others claim that the evidence for global warming is inconclusive.”</p>
<p>Such messages suggest that humans may not be responsible for climate change – and that global warming itself could be a myth. These ideas were common in some of the curricula we examined. Two sets of supplemental materials directly challenge the idea that human activities cause climate change, with one calling this notion “far from settled.”</p>
<p>These curricula helped shape the views of young Americans who are now in their 20s. Perhaps more importantly, there’s a good chance many of these materials are still in use now, given that some schoolteachers have access only to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/reader-center/us-public-schools-conditions.html">aging textbooks</a>. </p>
<h2>Impacts</h2>
<p>Beyond the fact that some publishers hedged when it came to the cause of global climate change, we also found that they provided limited content about the impacts of climate change. Twelve of 17 curricular resources made little mention of extreme weather events, such as droughts and hurricanes.</p>
<p>Only two of the resources we examined had more than five sentences about the growing challenge of access to fresh drinking water. About half ignored the issue altogether. And when materials did explore the impacts of climate change, they often portrayed these problems as quite distant – for example, affecting Alaska and northern Canada but not the mainland U.S. </p>
<p>Although many of the most severe impacts of climate change have been outside the mainland U.S., in our view it’s important for young people to recognize the current shifts closer to home - such as more frequent floods. Some materials in our study elaborated on how such impacts could affect us, but many provided only vague information about these topics. </p>
<h2>Potential responses</h2>
<p>The last thing we found is that the materials in our study focused almost entirely on mitigation strategies, such as energy conservation. This is significant because the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other leading scientific organizations agree that addressing global warming and its impacts will also require adaptation – and perhaps geoengineering.</p>
<p>Since <a href="https://www.epa.gov/arc-x/strategies-climate-change-adaptation">adaptation strategies</a>, such as modifying land use and developing drought-resistant crops, will be helpful for coping with the impacts described above, we believe school materials should explore these ideas. </p>
<p>However, many materials focused only on individual responses – such as turning off lights and driving less – instead of collective or policy responses. Social studies materials more frequently highlighted the need for government action, but we are concerned about how much exposure students get to policy solutions when they are in science class.</p>
<p>As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other leading scientists have made clear, society needs to take <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf">substantial action</a> to prevent the worst consequences of climate change.</p>
<p>It’s true that some states are working to improve climate change education and to convey the seriousness of the issue to young people. For instance, as part of a major climate science initiative in Washington state, approximately US$1 million is being awarded through competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations to work with school districts “to <a href="http://www.k12.wa.us/Science/pubdocs/NGSSClimSciEDGrantCBO2018RFP.PDF">build student understanding and problem solving</a> around local environmental challenges.” And researchers at Indiana University are training teachers in the “<a href="https://news.iu.edu/stories/2018/07/iub/02-indiana-teachers-get-a-hands-on-look-at-evironmental-change-at-summer-science-institute.html">science of climate change</a> and its predicted impact on the state.” </p>
<p>It will take these kinds of efforts and more to prepare young people for future challenges. There’s still time, but schools should make sure that curricular materials communicate what scientists have been saying for well over a decade now – that is, humans are responsible for climate change, the impacts will be serious, and we need to respond wisely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Collet-Gildard works for Arlington Central School district in LaGrangeville, NY and is a doctoral candidate at the University at Albany, SUNY. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Levy and Casey Meehan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some popular high school textbooks have used hesitant language to describe human contributions to climate change, our study shows.Brett Levy, Assistant professor of educational theory and practice, University at Albany, State University of New YorkCasey Meehan, Sustainability Coordinator, Western Technical CollegeLauren Collet-Gildard, Graduate Student and Social Studies Educator, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/999312018-08-23T10:44:29Z2018-08-23T10:44:29ZDespite predictions of their demise, college textbooks aren’t going away<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232917/original/file-20180821-149481-1aimt7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While textbooks have been said to be on their way, they are still a mainstay in higher education.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-glasses-white-shirt-books-1157703268?src=hvRgARjhb8lUk_A-jbISeg-2-75">SayHope/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The textbook has been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-death-of-textbooks/387055/">declared dead</a> many times over. Progressive educator John Dewey decried the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yKz8Yte55TwC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=%22text-book+fetich%22&source=bl&ots=P9mFDIHk7I&sig=FZKL6dQXprghxa0uQvn-EArjbOo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj365Gzu4HdAhVC5IMKHXzlCL0Q6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22text-book%20fetich%22&f=false">“text-book fetish”</a> back in the 1890s. Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan wished out loud for textbooks to become <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/02/education-chief-duncan-wants-textbooks-to-become-obsolete.html">obsolete</a>. Articles on the demise of textbooks regularly appear with each new school year. They describe these books as only so much content, as an indifferent information dump, as dead tree versions of information that would be better presented interactively, via multiple media.</p>
<p>This article is different. As the author of book titled “<a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/textbook-and-lecture">The Textbook and the Lecture</a>,” I’ve compiled a list of five reasons why I believe textbooks are here to stay:</p>
<h2>1. Textbooks make money</h2>
<p>Textbooks represent an <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/185042/us-publishing-revenue-from-textbooks-since-2005/">US$11 billion dollar industry</a>, up from $8 billion in 2014. Textbook publisher Pearson <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/1177/book-market/">is the largest publisher</a> – of any kind – in the world.</p>
<p>It costs about $1 million to create a new textbook. A freshman or sophomore textbook will have dozens of contributors, from subject-matter experts through graphic and layout artists to expert reviewers and classroom testers. Textbook publishers connect professors, instructors and students in ways that alternatives, such as Open E-Textbooks and Open Educational Resources, simply do not. This connection happens not only by means of collaborative development, review and testing, but also at conferences where faculty regularly decide on their textbooks and curricula for the coming year.</p>
<p>It is true that textbook publishers have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/64889f6c-fa79-11e6-9516-2d969e0d3b65">recently reported losses</a>, largely due to <a href="https://www.leadwinds.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-college-textbook-trends/">students renting or buying used print textbooks</a>. But this can be chalked up to the exorbitant cost of their books - which has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/freshman-year/college-textbook-prices-have-risen-812-percent-1978-n399926">increased over 1,000 percent since 1977</a>. A reshuffling of the textbook industry may well be in order. But this does not mean the end of the textbook itself.</p>
<h2>2. Textbooks are active and interactive</h2>
<p>While they may not be as dynamic as an iPad, textbooks are not passive or inert. For example, over the centuries, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/240/dialogue_in_textbooks.pdf?1534968439"> they have simulated dialogue in a number of ways.</a> From 1800 to the present day, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/15208695/The_Past_and_Likely_Future_of_an_Educational_Form_A_Textbook_Case">textbooks have done this by posing questions for students to answer inductively</a>. That means students are asked to use their individual experience to come up with answers to general questions. Today’s psychology texts, for example, ask: “How much of your personality do you think you inherited?” while ones in physics say: “How can you predict where the ball you tossed will land?” </p>
<p>Experts observe that “<a href="https://www.slideshare.net/nfriesen/open-textbooks-educational-content-knowledge">textbooks come in layers, something like an onion</a>.” For the active learner, engaging with a textbook can be an interactive experience: Readers proceed at their own pace. They “customize” their books by engaging with different layers and linkages. Highlighting, Post-It notes, dog-ears and other techniques allow for <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/120765/naomi-barons-words-onscreen-fate-reading-digital-world">further customization that students value in print books over digital forms of books</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233172/original/file-20180822-149478-1roz2zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Engaging with a textbook can be an interactive experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-female-african-american-librarian-making-1136048960?src=nfB2mSW3AF8lrLvMF7ugxQ-3-60">GaudiLab/www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Shift happens</h2>
<p>Thomas Kuhn, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/19/thomas-kuhn-structure-scientific-revolutions">who coined the phrase “paradigm shift</a>,” saw textbooks as indispensable for <a href="http://thehangedman.com/teaching-files/hps/kuhn-function-dogma.pdf">establishing scientific paradigms</a>. Textbooks do this, he said, by getting students to work through problems that lie at the foundation of a scientific discipline. Textbooks “exhibit, from the very start, concrete problem-solutions that the profession has come to accept as paradigms, and they then ask the student, either with a pencil and paper or in the laboratory, to solve (these) for himself.” Paradigms, the models or archetypes that serve as a foundation for a discipline, might eventually shift, but it is textbooks that establish the paradigms in the first place.</p>
<p>Kuhn went so far as to say that “scientific education remains a relatively dogmatic initiation into a pre-established problem-solving tradition that the student is neither invited nor equipped to evaluate.” I’ve talked about this with both theorists and practitioners in science education. The theorists - all professors - insist that students should be given time to explore and “<a href="https://www.evl.uic.edu/moher/523/ChinnMalhotra2002.pdf">authentically re-discover</a>” Kuhn’s paradigms for themselves. But instructors in undergraduate science courses point to time and teaching limits. They see textbooks’ tightly integrated and meticulously organized labs and problem-questions as indispensible. They’re generally glad to have the textbook help them connect students with the breadth of their discipline and its underlying paradigms. Kuhn was not entirely wrong, it seems, when he talked of science education as a “relatively dogmatic initiation.”</p>
<h2>4. Concrete examples</h2>
<p>Textbooks use the “<a href="https://www.academia.edu/37158455/The_Art_of_the_Example_What_makes_Content_Educational">art of the example</a>” to illuminate, illustrate and make things more concrete. Today’s diagrams, simulations, narratives and cases work like inductive questions from 1800: They connect the concrete and specific with things that are much more abstract and difficult to grasp. An image of a hydrogen atom exemplifies the structure of all atoms. A business case stands for a range of entrepreneurial possibilities. Asking “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” leads to examples from adult work life. This is a secret behind all good educational content. And textbooks often work with the art of the example in a way that is itself exemplary.</p>
<h2>5. Education is resistant to change</h2>
<p>Like oil and water, educational practice and the latest technologies don’t easily mix. This has been called education’s “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11217-017-9584-1">technology deficit”</a>. When technologies are actually adopted – like smart boards or laptops - they fit in with the larger patterns of the classroom, rather than “disrupting” them. The reason for this is that education, unlike, say, pop music or gas-guzzling cars, isn’t just another “industry” ripe for disruption. It doesn’t produce commodities for consumers, but is about sustaining equilibrium between diverse stakeholders: students, employers, accreditation bodies, the larger community and others.</p>
<p>As I show in <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/textbook-and-lecture">my recent book</a>, higher education is expected to reproduce and revise very complex subjects, many of which have been developing for hundreds of years. This activity is thus done in ways that themselves stay remarkably stable. The lecture hall, the textbook, even the dissertation and the oral defense have been in place for centuries - almost a millennium. For this reason, I’d say it’d be better to understand how textbooks have enabled knowledge to be transmitted and developed over time, rather than yet again declaring them dead or obsolete.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248894/original/file-20181204-133095-1p2xxs2.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Norm Friesen is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/textbook-and-lecture">The Textbook and the Lecture</a></p>
<footer>Johns Hopkins University Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99931/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johns Hopkins University Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>Although textbooks are often said to be on their way out, their usefulness in the transmission of knowledge suggest textbooks won’t be obsolete anytime soon, the author of a book on textbooks argues.Norm Friesen, Professor, Boise State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/976692018-08-23T10:43:40Z2018-08-23T10:43:40ZCould college textbooks soon get cheaper?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232518/original/file-20180817-165952-nyau1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Just as the printing press made books more affordable, technology could do the same thing for college textbooks today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-book-dragon-statue-on-wooden-1109975882?src=ZY-DFwH2WIuQamHZ0BdRSQ-1-41">ju_see/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How much money do students spend on college textbooks? The answer is: <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-estimated-undergraduate-budgets-2017-18">too much</a>.</p>
<p>Since 1982, the price of new textbooks has tripled even after taking inflation into account. Since 2006, it has <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/college-tuition-and-fees-increase-63-percent-since-january-2006.htm">outstripped the rate of increase for college tuition</a>. In contrast, the price of recreational books, a rough indicator of the cost of book production, has over roughly the same period fallen by almost 40 percent.</p>
<p>If this market seems unsustainable, it is. It might not be the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-death-of-textbooks/387055/">“Death of Textbooks</a>.” Nevertheless, four things suggest that the textbook market is in the middle of a major shift.</p>
<h2>1. Technological changes</h2>
<p>In many ways technology has caused the current price spike. On the most basic level, it has allowed the major textbook publishers, who <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1182423?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">monopolize</a> textbook production, to churn out new editions at ever faster rates. This means that used copies become obsolete more quickly as instructors demand the most current edition. Textbooks also increasingly come with instructors’ manuals, lecture slides, online computer-graded problem sets, banks of ready-made test questions, and companion websites that come <a href="https://studentpirgs.org/sites/student/files/reports/Access%20Denied%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf">bundled as one product</a>. For busy faculty, such features are appealing as they cut down on time dedicated to course prep. And just to be sure that students cannot collectively buy or resell their course materials, publishers guard them with access codes that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-senack/the-new-face-of-the-textb_b_12123370.html">prohibit sharing</a>. </p>
<p>Yet even as technology locks students to specific textbook editions, it has also cleared space for resistance. In classes where faculty shun bundles or remain flexible, students can rent books or snag online PDFs of earlier versions from sites like <a href="https://m.4shared.com/">4shared.com</a>. For non-bundled texts, students often purchase a single textbook - hard copy or electronic – to share. This is an illegal yet common practice.</p>
<p>Professors bypass standard publishing restrictions by putting free materials on course websites. Some dance at the edge of copyright law to create customized readers. Others write their own electronic <a href="https://studentpirgs.org/sites/student/files/reports/The%20Billion%20Dollar%20Solution.pdf">open-source textbooks</a>. Faculty also draw on large archives like <a href="https://www.jstor.org/">JSTOR</a> and <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/">Project Muse</a>, which make academic articles available to college communities.</p>
<h2>2. Globalization</h2>
<p>Textbook publishers have taken advantage of global markets to increase their sales. But again, this push for globalization also complicates sales. The latest edition of <a href="https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/economics-samuelson-nordhaus/M0073511293.html">“Economics,”</a> by Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus, lists for US$219.88 from publisher McGraw-Hill and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Economics-Paul-Samuelson/dp/0073511293/">$205.87 from Amazon</a>. Yet this book is priced differently outside of the United States. A copy may be had for <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Economics-Paul-Samuelson/dp/0070700710">425 rupees ($6.09) in India</a>. In order to compete in large lower-income foreign markets such as China and India, publishers price differently for different markets, producing <a href="https://www.alibris.com/help/international-edition-textbooks">international editions</a> with identical content at lower prices. </p>
<p>Anyone who hopes to sell the same product at different prices can’t play this game for long. Resourceful students often locate these foreign editions. Similarly, we know firsthand of teachers who ignore the “Not for use in the U.S.” stamp on the title page of an otherwise standard English-language version. Global markets have also helped the sales in the legal used edition market. On Amazon.com buyers can find many listings from U.K. booksellers who can use the <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/2549/pound-dollar-exchange-rate-historical-chart">weakening pound</a> to undercut U.S. used book dealers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233177/original/file-20180822-149466-13kv6wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Due to forces of technology and globalization, prices for college textbooks could start to come down.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-african-american-female-student-group-544680310?src=DIiY3tSV8_YQUlCB_w3hUg-1-4">Daniel M. Ernst/www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. History</h2>
<p>History shows what is happening now has happened before. When European colleges and universities started in the 12th century, medieval students, like students today, needed texts for their courses. But most students could not afford to buy books – or more accurately, manuscripts, books written by hand that took weeks (<a href="http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/did-parchment-smell-your-manuscript-questions-answered/">if not years</a>) to produce. In the 1380s, a copy of <a href="http://www.textmanuscripts.com/medieval/gratian-decretum-bartolomeo-brescia-60574">Gratian’s “Decretum</a>,” a standard legal textbook, might have cost around <a href="http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?dscnt=1&doc=IAMS040-002106542&displayMode=full&dstmp=1534600505232&_ga=2.79802391.1659516656.1534550416-618648165.1534550416&vid=IAMS_VU2&ct=display&tabs=detailsTab&fromLogin=true">six and a half pounds</a> – <a href="https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/">somewhere between $10,000 to $100,000 today</a>. Manuscripts were so expensive that students and faculty used them for <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-student-loans-goes-back-to-the-middle-ages-56326">collateral for loans</a>.</p>
<p>Recognizing their students’ difficulty paying for books, schools built libraries and chained manuscripts to tables or shelves, or locked them in chests for use on the spot. By the mid-13th century, as student populations grew, universities also supported “stationarii,” or in English “stationers.” By law <a href="https://archive.org/details/bookstheirmakers01putnuoft">stationers had to keep authorized copies of works</a> used for university courses. Students and instructors could then hire official scribes to copy the parts of these works they needed for a class. Called <a href="http://penpiano.wikidot.com/pecia">the “pecia” system</a>, this practice predominated in the 14th and 15th centuries. At the University of Paris, university officials set pecia rates to protect students from being overcharged.</p>
<p>The college textbook market changed in the 15th century with the invention of the printing press. Print did not initially impact book prices. But by the early 16th century, <a href="https://archive.org/details/bookstheirmakers01putnuoft">prices began to drop</a> as technological improvements enabled lower-cost mass production. Libraries unchained their books and private collections grew.</p>
<p>The shift to printing reshaped the English book market in particular. Although English printers like <a href="https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/william-caxton-and-the-introduction-of-printing-to-england">William Caxton</a> created a market for luxury books and, eventually, for less expensive volumes, continental printers dominated the academic market. Printers in the Netherlands and Germany had more success at inexpensive large-scale production, and they soon drove Oxford- and Cambridge-based printers <a href="https://archive.org/details/bookstheirmakers01putnuoft">out of business</a>.</p>
<p>In sum, technology has frequently changed the textbook market, which was in flux from the moment of its inception.</p>
<h2>4. University and public alternatives</h2>
<p>Change is also coming from universities themselves, which maintain libraries, support thousands of journal subscriptions, and have increasingly encouraged faculty to write and use <a href="https://www.core-econ.org/">open-source textbooks</a>.</p>
<p>In the medium run, universities could go even farther by using their buying power to hold down prices, like their early university counterparts. More daringly, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research has proposed <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/textbook_2005_09.pdf">public-domain textbooks with public financing</a> that would enhance consumer sovereignty and academic freedom.</p>
<p>In the short term, students are finding alternatives such as re-importation and collective ownership. And tomorrow’s students, like their medieval predecessors, just might enjoy more regulated and lower textbook prices than this current generation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An English and economics professor explain why America’s college textbook industry might undergo radical change that makes books more affordable, similar to what happened in medieval times.Jenny Adams, Associate Professor of English, UMass AmherstMichael Ash, Professor of Economics & Public Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/978692018-06-07T14:00:35Z2018-06-07T14:00:35ZThe way history is taught in South Africa is ahistorical – and that’s a problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221961/original/file-20180606-137322-ed7ior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">History textbooks suggest that in 1994 when formal apartheid and racial exclusion ended, so did prejudice and racism.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">United Nations Photo/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>History may soon be a compulsory school subject until Grade 12 in South Africa. A task team established by the country’s minister of basic education made this bold recommendation in <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/Report%20of%20the%20History%20Ministerial%20Task%20Team%20for%20the%20Department%20of%20Basic%20Education%20Final.pdf?ver=2018-05-31-091407-737">a report</a> released in early June.</p>
<p>The task team credits history education with three grand tasks. The first is developing critical thinking skills, particularly those relating to “evidence” and the unique concepts necessary to becoming an academic historian. The second is to <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2018/06/04/motshekga-history-will-help-pupils-deal-with-social-issues-identity">develop identity</a>, with a focus on pan-Africanism and nation building. The third is about social cohesion: the ability to transcend racial, class and ethnic barriers by recognising the problem of prejudice and the issues facing a multi-cultural society. </p>
<p>If history is taught correctly, the report argues, school-leavers should become capable of dealing with educational, social and political problems.</p>
<p>The task team isn’t unique in its position. It draws on decades of post-conflict literature which <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kclZ2dyodEwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=History+Education+and+Post-Conflict+Reconciliation,+Karina+Korostelina+and+Simone+L%C3%A4ssig,+2014&ots=UKAeUYHAns&sig=zq1H7-9vy1bZGa-fY_eQCOmkLZU#v=onepage&q=History%20Education%20and%20Post-Conflict%20Reconciliation%2C%20Karina%20Korostelina%20and%20Simone%20L%C3%A4ssig%2C%202014&f=false">has argued</a> that history education is important for memory and identity formation. Since history education equals social cohesion, the logic follows that more history education will equal more social cohesion. </p>
<p>The problem is that history education as it’s currently delivered may not achieve the desired outcomes. My <a href="http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/directory/natasha-robinson/">ongoing</a> fieldwork involves observing four racially diverse Grade 9 history classes in Cape Town, with learners who represent a range of social and economic statuses. The observations are taking place over the course of the academic year, interspersed by longitudinal interviews with the teachers and learners. </p>
<p>The findings suggest that even when students are knowledgeable about historical events, they struggle to explain how these events shape contemporary society. </p>
<p>History education needs a more explicit focus on historical consciousness if students are to become capable of dealing with South Africa’s social problems. This focus would help students to construct a relationship <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DlJZYdcAAAAJ&hl=en#d=gs_md_cita-d&p=&u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3DDlJZYdcAAAAJ%26citation_for_view%3DDlJZYdcAAAAJ%3Au5HHmVD_uO8C%26tzom%3D-120">between past events and present-day reality</a> so they can understand why we are the way we are.</p>
<h2>Textbook tales</h2>
<p>Developing historical consciousness would require a shift from what’s currently happening. Take for instance the contents of the Platinum Social Science Learner’s Book, which is prescribed for Grade 9 history pupils in South Africa.</p>
<p>The history discussed in this textbook touches upon a number of important subjects including human rights, racism and legal discrimination. It explores some of the turning points in the history of apartheid: the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/sharpeville-massacre-21-march-1960">Sharpeville massacre</a>, the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/langa-march-30-march-1960">Langa march</a>, the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/june-16-soweto-youth-uprising">Soweto uprising</a>, and the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/nelson-mandela-freed">release of Nelson Mandela</a>. </p>
<p>The chapters emphasise the causes and consequences of historical moments. Students are taught to understand not only the apartheid regime’s human rights abuses, but also the nature of the resistance to that regime – which after a long struggle led to democracy in South Africa. However, the textbook’s lessons on apartheid end with the “historic” election of 1994. </p>
<p>That election is undoubtedly an achievement worth celebrating. But the implication in the textbook is that when apartheid ended in 1994, so did the poverty, racism, discrimination and violence that were aspects of the apartheid regime. There is absolutely no discussion of the lasting impacts of apartheid, or any link between South Africa’s current problems and its recent past. </p>
<p>This means is that it is often left up to individual teachers to make those links between the past and the present. Unsurprisingly, the teachers that I observe construct an historical consciousness in very diverse ways even though they are all teaching the same set of historically accurate events. </p>
<p>For example, one teacher explained to his racially homogeneous class that their lack of diversity was a direct result of apartheid. Another compared the fascist approaches of Nazi Germany to that of the apartheid state and placed them both firmly in the past. </p>
<p>This is not a judgement on the historical consciousness these teachers present. But it’s worth interrogating the diverse contemporary meanings that are being created around historical events when historical consciousness is absent from the curriculum.</p>
<h2>Students’ views</h2>
<p>Even more interesting were the responses of the pupils, who are all around 14 years old, as they explained how they saw the relationship between past and present. </p>
<p>A number of students had a good understanding of apartheid events. But the only way they could explain the country’s <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/530481521735906534/Overcoming-Poverty-and-Inequality-in-South-Africa-An-Assessment-of-Drivers-Constraints-and-Opportunities">continued racialised wealth discrepancy</a> was to state that black South Africans were lazy. Many did not draw upon structural or historical explanations when interpreting their own social reality. </p>
<p>One Xhosa-speaking black student who lives in a shack argued that apartheid had no lasting effects – because the white family whose home his mother cleans often speak to him kindly. Most of the students that I interviewed believed that the colonisation of South Africa was ultimately a positive thing because now we have “clothes, food and technology”. None of the students of any race believed that white people had any historic responsibility to address past wrongs.</p>
<p>These students were neither stupid nor ill-informed. So how should we make sense of their responses? Perhaps this is what social cohesion looks like in 2018. For the most part they were not angry about the past, because they don’t see the past as having a particular impact on their present lives. The past is a lesson to learn from, not something which stands in their way.</p>
<p>The question, though, is whether they are capable of dealing with educational, social and political problems if they view these problems as ahistorical. And if we discover that they can’t, then maybe we need to include some historical consciousness in the South African history curriculum before we make more of it compulsory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Robinson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK).</span></em></p>History needs to focus on historical consciousness if students are to become capable of dealing with South Africa’s social problems.Natasha Robinson, PhD Candidate and research consultant, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/943782018-05-15T10:26:19Z2018-05-15T10:26:19ZMaria Agnesi, the greatest female mathematician you’ve never heard of<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218462/original/file-20180510-34038-s8x19d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Agnesi was the first woman to write a mathematics textbook.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AlexeyMaltsev/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The outmoded gender stereotype that women lack mathematical ability suffered a major blow in 2014, when <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2017/07/15/maryam-mirzakhani-stanford-mathematician-and-fields-medal-winner-dies/">Maryam Mirzakhani</a> became the first woman to receive the Fields Medal, math’s most prestigious award.</p>
<p>An equally important blow was struck by an Italian mathematician <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/world-maria-gaetana-agnesi-mathematician-god">Maria Gaetana Agnesi</a> in the 18th century. Agnesi was the first woman to write a mathematics textbook and to be appointed to a university chair in math, yet her life was marked by paradox.</p>
<p>Though brilliant, rich and famous, she eventually opted for a life of poverty and service to the poor. Her remarkable story serves as a source for mathematical inspiration even today.</p>
<h2>Early years</h2>
<p>Born May 16, 1718 in Milan, Agnesi was the eldest of her wealthy silk merchant father’s 21 children. By age 5 she could speak French, and by 11 she was known to Milanese society as the “seven-tongued orator” for her mastery of modern and classical languages. In part to give Agensi the best education possible, her father invited leading intellectuals of the day to the family’s home, where his daughter’s gifts shone.</p>
<p>When Agnesi was 9, she recited from memory a <a href="http://chicago.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7208/chicago/9780226010564.001.0001/upso-9780226010540-chapter-6">Latin oration</a>, likely composed by one of her tutors. The oration decried the widespread prejudice against educating women in the arts and sciences, which had been grounded in the view that a life of managing a household would require no such learning. Agnesi presented a clear and convincing argument that women should be free to pursue any kind of knowledge available to men. </p>
<p>Agnesi eventually became tired of displaying her intellect and expressed a desire to enter a convent. When her father’s second wife died, however, she assumed responsibility for his household and the education of her many younger siblings. </p>
<p>Through this role, she recognized that teachers and students needed a comprehensive mathematics textbook to introduce Italian students to the many recent Enlightenment-era mathematical discoveries. </p>
<h2>Agnesi’s textbook</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218459/original/file-20180510-184630-1b2owug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of Maria Agnesi by an unknown artist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Agnesi found a special appeal in mathematics. Most knowledge derived from experience, she believed, is fallible and open to dispute. From mathematics, however, come truths that are wholly certain, the contemplation of which brings particularly great joy. In <a href="http://users.metu.edu.tr/e128415/project/maria.htm">writing her textbook</a>, she was not only teaching a useful skill, but opening to her students the door to such contemplation.</p>
<p>Published in two volumes in 1748, Agnesi’s work was entitled the “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=o54AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false">Basic Principles of Analysis</a>.” It was composed not in Latin, as was the custom for great mathematicians such as Newton and Euler, but Italian vernacular, to make it more accessible to students.</p>
<p>Hers represented one of the first textbooks in the relatively new field of calculus. It helped to shape the education of mathematics students for several generations that followed. Beyond Italy, <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Agnesi,_Maria_Gaetana">contemporary scholars</a> in Paris and Cambridge translated the textbook for use in their university classrooms. </p>
<p>Agnesi’s textbook was praised in 1749 by the <a href="http://home.adelphi.edu/%7Ebradley/HOMSIGMAA/agnesi.pdf">French Academy</a>: “It took much skill and sagacity to reduce to almost uniform methods discoveries scattered among the works of many mathematicians very different from each other. Order, clarity, and precision reign in all parts of this work. … We regard it as the most complete and best made treatise.”</p>
<p>In offering similarly fine words of praise, another contemporary mathematician, <a href="http://web.calstatela.edu/sgray/Agnesi/Nun/Nun.html">Jean-Etienne Montucla</a>, also revealed some of the mathematical sexism that persists down to the present day. He wrote: “We cannot but behold with the greatest astonishment how a person of a sex that seems so little fitted to tread the thorny paths of these abstract sciences penetrates so deeply as she has done into all the branches of algebra.”</p>
<p>Agnesi dedicated the “Basic Principles” to Empress <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/what-made-austrias-maria-theresa-a-one-of-a-kind-ruler/a-37935974">Maria Theresa of Austria</a>, who acknowledged the favor with a letter of thanks and a diamond-bearing box and ring. Pope Benedict XIV praised the work and predicted that it would enhance the reputation of the Italians. He also appointed her to the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna, though she never traveled there to accept it.</p>
<h2>A life of service</h2>
<p>A passionate advocate for the education of women and the poor, Agnesi believed that the natural sciences and math should play an important role in an educational curriculum. As a person of deep religious faith, however, she also believed that scientific and mathematical studies must be viewed in the larger context of God’s plan for creation.</p>
<p>When Maria’s father died in 1752, she was free to answer a religious calling and devote herself to her other great passion: service to the poor, sick and homeless. She began by founding a small hospital in her home. She eventually gave away her wealth, including the gifts she had received from the empress. When she died at age 80, she was buried in a <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/world-maria-gaetana-agnesi-mathematician-god">pauper’s grave</a>. </p>
<p>To this day, some mathematicians express surprise at Maria’s apparent turn from learning and mathematics to a religious vocation. To her, however, it made perfect sense. In her view, human beings are capable of both knowing and loving, and while it is important for the mind to marvel at many truths, it’s ultimately even more important for the heart to be moved by love.</p>
<p>“Man always acts to achieve goals; the goal of the Christian is the glory of God,” she <a href="http://www.vofoundation.org/faith-and-science/maria-gaetana-agnesi-mathematics-making-catholic-enlightenment/">wrote</a>. “I hope my studies have brought glory to God, as there were useful to others, and derived from obedience, because that was my father’s will. Now I have found better ways and means to serve God, and to be useful to others.”</p>
<p>Though few remember Agnesi today, her pioneering role in the history of mathematics serves as an inspiring story of triumph over gender stereotypes. She helped to blaze a trail for women in math and science for generations to follow. Agnesi excelled at math, but she also loved it, perceiving in its mastery an opportunity to serve both her fellow human beings and a higher order.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>May 16 marks the 300th anniversary of the first woman to write a mathematics textbook.Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana UniversityDavid Gunderman, Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/939212018-03-26T10:48:29Z2018-03-26T10:48:29ZNew federal program tackles spiraling costs of college textbooks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211802/original/file-20180324-54872-4bxn5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new $5 million federal program will bring free digital textbooks to students.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-african-american-female-student-group-544680310">Daniel M. Ernst/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>College students will keep more money in their pockets thanks to a new US$5 million <a href="http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20180319/DIV%20H%20LABORHHS%20SOM%20FY18%20OMNI.OCR.pdf">pilot program</a> approved as part of the $1.3 trillion appropriations bill <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/03/23/trump-threatens-to-veto-omnibus-bill-because-it-does-not-address-daca-recipients/?utm_term=.c7fec08f06e9">that President Donald J. Trump signed</a> on March 23.</p>
<p>The new grant program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, will support the creation or improved use of open textbooks for use at any college and university. <a href="http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/model/appendixA.html">Open textbooks</a> are made freely available online by their authors. They can also be changed and combined by instructors who use them in their classes.</p>
<p>The goal of the program is to save students money and potentially transform education. It’s difficult to say how much individual students will save, or how many individual students will save money, because the cost of textbooks vary so much from one discipline to another. Nor is it known how many faculty will participate. But, collectively, based on <a href="https://www.affordablelearninggeorgia.org/about/reports">earlier efforts by state governments</a>, the effort could save students $50 million annually.</p>
<p>As the head of the library at a major U.S. public research university and as a proponent of using technology to improve research and education, I believe this program represents an important step forward to help students financially and academically. Federal endorsement of open textbooks is symbolically important. It also represents a big shot in the arm for the Open Educational Materials movement. However, a one-time grant of $5 million isn’t enough. </p>
<h2>The consequences of unaffordable textbooks</h2>
<p>Over the years, as the cost of higher education has continued to rise, college textbooks have become unaffordable for many students. According to the U.S. Student Public Interest Research Group, since 2006, the cost of a college textbook has <a href="https://studentpirgs.org/reports/sp/covering-cost">risen by 73 percent</a> – over four times the rate of inflation. The federal government’s estimate of the cost increase is even higher: <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/college-tuition-and-fees-increase-63-percent-since-january-2006.htm">88 percent</a>. According to the College Board, students at public four-year universities <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-estimated-undergraduate-budgets-2017-18">spend an average of $1,250 on textbooks</a>, and individual textbooks can cost <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/the-new-era-of-the-400-college-textbook-which-is-part-of-the-unsustainable-higher-education-bubble/">up to $400</a>.</p>
<p>One survey found that 65 percent of students <a href="https://studentpirgs.org/reports/sp/covering-cost">skipped buying a textbook</a> at some point because of cost. A 2017 survey found that 50 percent of students say their decision to put off or skip buying course materials <a href="https://get.vitalsource.com/hubfs/Content/2017%20Wakefield/All%20Wakefield%20Infographics.pdf?hsCtaTracking=ce4cd055-e3fa-419d-8a66-0f38fb7274af%7Ceb83f7fb-9b3a-4eb5-a227-b714bb56a50c">had a negative impact</a> on their grades.</p>
<p>Open textbooks represent an emerging solution to the textbook cost problem. Open textbooks usually have similar content to traditional textbooks but are published online under an open copyright license, so that they can be freely used by students, teachers and the public.</p>
<p>Instead of recovering the cost of writing and publishing a textbook through sales to students, that cost is covered up front from different sources, such as this new pilot program. For that reason, no purchase of the book is necessary – anyone can read it for free. Open textbooks are mainly written by dedicated professors who are concerned about the high cost of textbooks to their students or intrigued with the promise that online ebooks have to improve learning. They write the books for free and publish them in freely available <a href="https://www.oercommons.org/">online platforms</a>.</p>
<h2>The benefits of open textbooks</h2>
<p>Teachers can also freely combine and adapt open textbooks to fit the particular needs of their course without complex and expensive negotiations with publishers. That’s very important to teachers who want the highest quality and most appropriate materials for their class, particularly when they can’t find the perfect off-the-shelf textbook.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/03/29/what-is-oer-5-questions-about-open-oer.html">Open Educational Resources</a> movement isn’t new. Rather, it’s been slowly growing over the past 20 years.</p>
<p>MIT’s <a href="https://ocw.mit.edu/">Open CourseWare Project</a> started in 2001. Programs such as <a href="https://openstax.org/">OpenStax CNX</a> and California State University’s <a href="https://als.csuprojects.org/">Affordable Learning Solutions</a> initiative have made steady progress as well.</p>
<p>Foundations such as the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2009/12/Emerging-Technologies-Ready-to-Reshape-Community-Colleges">Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</a>, the <a href="https://www.hewlett.org/strategy/open-educational-resources/">William and Flora Hewlett Foundation</a> and others have long supported these efforts. (The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a strategic partner of The Conversation US and provides funding for The Conversation internationally.)</p>
<p>Advocacy organizations such as the <a href="https://studentpirgs.org/campaigns/sp/make-textbooks-affordable">U.S. Public Interest Research Group</a> and <a href="https://sparcopen.org/open-education/">SPARC</a> – the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition – have raised awareness with faculty, authors, students, politicians and the public. And it’s not limited to higher education. The movement is gaining support in K-12 education as well, with initiatives like <a href="https://www.curriki.org/">Curriki</a>.</p>
<h2>The role of college libraries</h2>
<p>College and university libraries also help. More specifically, they provide support, advocacy, financial subsidy and technical infrastructure on campuses. They may also <a href="https://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/12/opinion/steven-bell/bookstore-or-college-store-building-a-relationship-from-the-bell-tower/#_">partner with college bookstores</a> and innovative publishers to promote open textbooks alternatives. </p>
<p>For example, university libraries make open textbooks available and market them through course websites and campus bookstores, alongside other course materials that students can buy. Librarians at my university consult with faculty to evaluate course materials and promote open textbooks that are the same quality as books that cost hundreds of dollars. Several libraries in the <a href="http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/scholarly-communication/publishing/affordable/etextbooks%23etextbooks">University of California system</a> provide technology to make open textbooks available online and promote them to students. </p>
<p>Beyond saving students money, open textbooks and other open educational materials provide opportunities for technical innovation and better educational experiences. For instance, instructors might mix and match sections of different textbooks, or change the textbook slightly to fit local needs. The pilot program’s choice of a permissive, nonexclusive copyright license, which requires only credit to the textbook authors, is significant in this regard.</p>
<p>Open licenses like <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY</a> are the gold standard in terms of providing clarity on what instructors are allowed to do with these textbooks. These Creative Commons licenses eliminate restrictions on reuse and changes. </p>
<p>Open textbooks also make it easier to introduce dynamic context into the book. For example, instructors may add visualizations of data being discussed or embed interactive problem sets in each section. This ability to adapt an open textbook quickly for rapidly evolving or new academic subjects, like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/metagenomics">metagenomics</a> or data science, makes open textbooks attractive to digital-savvy faculty at institutions like mine.</p>
<h2>Toward greater use of open textbooks</h2>
<p>As one example, at UC Davis, a project to revolutionize chemistry textbooks and make them free to students contributed to <a href="https://libretexts.org/#about">LibreTexts</a>, an innovative online platform that makes expensive and rapidly changing open educational materials available in more dynamic and engaging ways.</p>
<p>Through the new pilot program approved by the Trump administration, the Department of Education will run a competitive grant program to support projects at colleges and universities that create new open textbooks or expand the use of existing ones, like those created under the earlier initiatives described above. But details about how the program will work are not yet available.</p>
<p>For large-scale adoption of open textbooks to succeed, a critical mass of high-quality open textbooks must be available. That is not yet the case. Further, instructors across higher education must <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9">recognize their value</a> and adopt them for their classes.</p>
<p>Government stimulus funds like the $5 million pilot program provide strong motivation for creating open textbooks and validating their use. But permanently solving the problem of ensuring access to affordable, high-quality textbooks will require greater recognition that the high cost of textbooks hurts students, both academically and financially. For that reason, stronger legislation, such as the proposed <a href="https://sparcopen.org/our-work/2017-act-bill/">Affordable College Textbook Act</a>, will be needed to make open textbooks the norm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacKenzie Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While a new $5 million program could help college students save money on textbooks each year, a more permanent solution is needed to the problem of pricey textbooks that students often don’t buy.MacKenzie Smith, University Librarian and Vice Provost for Digital Scholarship, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/912512018-02-11T08:16:45Z2018-02-11T08:16:45ZHow corrupt local officials kill decent education in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205033/original/file-20180206-14064-6j14fw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Better local governance can make classrooms happier and more productive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/16080079069/in/photolist-quWBhz-8zsRZd-dYRuT7-bSQLse-dM69jk-dvm6hA-a3Dqz6-pZ4djj-8ZabG7-dYKMEv-hxgLmL-dScMXR-F7ZXGW-dYKMHR-65xNyr-4kJvcX-dYRuS1-dYRuSf-bYhYzu-37Pu4a-37PtGa-BUcjBK-CZfFyc-Ci8Jxd-asxZce-8q4U6A-i7d4i2-gbZuAN-bnGNHk-6P4LKw-aAGbmf-aADbm6-W31VEB-pQBnmt-7fii9v-gSpzw6-oJQoiS-VrR8fj-bPQxSR-bAWva9-bcbs6p-dUrWWB-dUxyBu-6NZfwr-W31VJz-dUxxKd-pvyEMx-9ebpzf-5sf9oL-cYTm3q">United Nations Photo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s no disputing that many African countries’ education systems are in trouble. Despite <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml">significant investment and some improvements</a> linked to the push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, children in large parts of Africa are <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4244Chapter%205%20Measuring%20progress2.pdf">simply not</a> being well taught or learning what is needed as they progress through the school system.</p>
<p>A lot of the discussion around this problem centres on resources: people argue that teachers must be trained better. More money must be spent. This is, of course, correct. </p>
<p>And governance is sometimes discussed, though mostly only as it relates to central governments and their responsibilities. But the quality of local governance matters, too. Local governments – those at a regional, provincial level, district or village level – are closer to communities. They are more likely to understand particular populations’ needs. At a practical level, they are often in charge of providing or distributing goods and services. In education this would mean textbooks, furniture and repairs to classrooms.</p>
<p>This suggests that local governance can have a real effect – positive or negative – on the quality of learning resources in a community and, by association, on how children perform?</p>
<p>I set out to explore this effect by using a series of surveys conducted by Afrobarometer in 33 African countries. This is an independent and non-partisan research network which conducts nationally representative surveys in Africa measuring public attitudes on economic, political and social matters. More than 50,000 citizens have been interviewed in the selected surveys I used for this study. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/WPS_No_278_Education_resources_and_the_quality_of_local_governance_in_Africa__.pdf">My study</a> showed a strong link between the quality of local governance and the quality of the educational resources in Africa’s public schools. </p>
<p>In fact, I found that corrupt behaviour by local government councillors increased the likelihood that schools would lack textbooks, have poor facilities and overcrowded classrooms, have poor quality of teaching, and would record high levels of teacher absenteeism. This finding stands no matter how much money a particular country’s central government had invested in education. </p>
<p>If Africa is serious about improving its schooling systems (and meeting the Sustainable Development Goal related to education), it must tackle corruption among local councillors.</p>
<h2>What the data shows</h2>
<p>My research was based on survey data Afrobarometer collected between 2005 and 2013. Some of the questions related to education; others to people’s perceptions of their local government councillors’ performance and ability.</p>
<p>Among the questions about education, interviewees were asked whether they had encountered the following challenges in their local public schools: expensive school fees; lack of textbooks or other learning supplies; poor teaching; teacher absenteeism; overcrowded classrooms; and facilities that were in poor condition.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205042/original/file-20180206-14064-3nyf4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Afrobarometer Round 5 (2011 - 2013)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For almost each of the items listed, more than 50% of the respondents had encountered the challenge in the question. </p>
<p>Most interviewees complained particularly about a lack of textbooks and teaching materials; poor teaching quality and teacher absenteeism. These are all key determinants of what students can achieve by the end of an academic year.</p>
<h2>A crisis of corruption</h2>
<p>Corruption, like low-quality education, is a real problem across Africa. In its <a href="http://s.mo.ibrahim.foundation/u/2017/11/21165610/2017-IIAG-Report.pdf?_ga=2.253668937.1942901850.1517602704-502629705.1517602704">2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance</a>, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation warned that the level of corruption on the continent had risen between 2007 and 2016.</p>
<p>This is borne out by what interviewees told Afrobarometer in the surveys I studied. More than 80% of those surveyed on the subject said that at least some of their local government councillors were involved in corrupt activities. Less than 10% of those surveyed believed that their local councillors listened to their communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205044/original/file-20180206-14093-ticrxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Afrobarometer Round 5 (2011 - 2013)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The study shows that a 1% increase in the measure of local government corruption is associated with an increase of about 0.4% to 0.9% in the percentage of people who face poor human or physical school resources in local public schools. This statistical evidence suggests tackling issues in local governance can help education systems in Africa.</p>
<p>And it matters because good local governance can ensure that textbooks and learning materials are available and that they reach the students at public schools. The behaviours and attitudes of local government councillor’s may affect the way public sector employees, like teachers, are hired and treated. </p>
<p>The performance of teachers in public schools depends on many factors, and their degree of accountability depends also on the degree of accountability and responsiveness of those in charge of the management of the schools that include local government councillors.</p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>Improving the quality of education systems will have huge benefits for Africa’s present and future generations. Part of this improvement must involve tackling people’s negative perceptions about their local councillors, whether those relate to corruption, effectiveness or responsiveness. </p>
<p>Central governance remains important. It should be coupled with careful plans and actions to fix local governance, make councillors more accountable and ensure they’re providing the services schools need to thrive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maty Konte does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Local governance can have a real effect - positive or negative - on the quality of schooling.Maty Konte, Research Economist, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883612017-12-07T23:22:11Z2017-12-07T23:22:11ZBooks: Six comforting children’s stories for the holiday chaos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250580/original/file-20181213-178552-6v5vdr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyond fuzzy sweaters and warmth, feeling cozy at home gets a boost with great child-centric books. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>I’m a children’s literature professor who specializes in the connections between young people’s rights and their reading materials. So as you can imagine, few things bring me greater joy in December than my university students describing how much they’ve learned about the potential of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-choose-picture-books-that-will-empower-not-damage-a-child-82112">child-centered children’s literature to empower child readers</a>.</p>
<p>Few things, that is, except my own toddler proclaiming, “cooooooozy!” in the early dusk of a cold December afternoon, after we’ve finished a particularly satisfying book. Cozy is her highest literary praise. </p>
<p>Heading into the anticipation of more leisurely reading time over the holidays, I want more of that particular joy. I’m guessing you do, too.</p>
<h2>The right to ‘hygge’</h2>
<p>The thing is, many books that directly address children’s rights are decidedly not cozy. They expose or explore rights violations that range from finger wagging to horrifying. </p>
<p>But I don’t believe we leave behind a commitment to rights when we “indulge” in happy stories that imbue us with feelings of coziness. Indeed, they may be just as rights-supporting as their more sobering, politically charged counterparts.</p>
<p><a href="http://hyggehouse.com/hygge">“Hygge”</a> — the Danish concept of coziness — certainly isn’t a universal human right. But this special winter feeling of security, connection and comfort could be considered the highest expression of human rights — especially for children. </p>
<p>Beyond steaming cocoa, fuzzy sweaters and crackling fires, feeling cozy at home indicates a state of exceptional well-being that can only be achieved when children’s rights to <a href="https://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30177.html">protection, provision and participation</a> are being met.</p>
<p>Stories that create a feeling of “hygge” aren’t just perfect holiday reading; they may also provide inspiration — a vision of how life could or should be, for those whose rights aren’t currently being met. </p>
<p>Cozy stories are therefore perfect for both perfect and imperfect families alike, especially if your holidays bring more chaos than leisure. You can let the books create the calm.</p>
<p>Here are a few of my favourite wintery read-aloud stories for summoning “hygge” through the holidays.</p>
<h2>Picture books:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="http://firstsecondbooks.com/books/new-book-julias-house-for-lost-creatures/">Julia’s House for Lost Creatures</a></em></h2>
<p>Written and illustrated by Ben Hatke. (2014, First Second.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Tea and toast!” crows my toddler when she picks up this whimsical book. Or when we return home after a blustery walk. Or when she feels generally in need of comfort. </p>
<p>Julia has become our touchstone for expressing domestic bliss, which can be truncated to the shorthand: “Tea and toast!” </p>
<p>Julia achieves this enviable state by filling her house with waifs and strays, then corralling their boisterous energy into creating a happy home where everybody contributes something valuable based on their skills and strengths. This book is satisfying on every level.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/sleep-tight-farm.html">Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Eugenie Doyle. Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. (2016, Chronicle Books.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Find out what happens to bees, strawberries and chickens in the winter. This charming description of tucking in a small farm for its hibernation contains all the comfort of a bedtime book. After all, the family is putting the farm to bed! </p>
<p>The illustrations — right down to the end pages — heighten the coziness, which culminates in “clinking lights” and “down quilts of snow.” This story seems to tap into an ancient seasonal rhythm, which imbues it with the feeling that all’s right with the world.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2>Early Chapter Book:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/moominlandmidwinter/tovejansson/9780312625412/">Moominland Midwinter</a></em></h2>
<p>Written and illustrated by Tove Jansson. Translated by Thomas Warburton. (2010, Square Fish.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A familiar classic, this early chapter book is a celebration of the adventures and introspection winter brings. It loses nothing upon reading. And re-reading. </p>
<p>This story provides the most impressive literary interpretation I’ve ever read of what one reviewer insightfully dubs “haunting quietness.” I still remember the varied epiphanies Jannson’s masterpiece brought about during my own childhood readings. </p>
<p>So walk along with Moomintroll as he explores life’s more existential questions in the moonlit snowy woods. Oh yes, and there’s also jam.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2>Middle Grade Fiction:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Wolf-Wilder/Katherine-Rundell/9781481419437">The Wolf Wilder</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Katherine Rundell. (2016, Simon and Schuster.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whenever you feel like hanging out in the snowy Russian woods with a pack of wolves and a girl whose sass, smarts and spirit can hardly be contained in her wee frame, just pick up this rollicking old-fashioned adventure with a twist. </p>
<p>You may not feel particularly cozy while Feo is battling a nefarious branch of the Russian army in order to rescue her mother. </p>
<p>But her winter adventures with her wolves and newfound gang of plucky comrades culminate in a happy ending that’s as warming as steamed vanilla milk.</p>
<p><br><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/hilary-mckay/dolphin-luck.htm">Dolphin Luck</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Hilary McKay. Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. (1999, Margaret K. McElderry.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The winter holidays don’t always bring bliss, not even during a rare snowfall on the Yorkshire coast. </p>
<p>For the Robinson children, Christmas won’t bring the sort of “something special” or “something nice” that they’re hoping for, so they are reduced to wishing for “some luck” instead. </p>
<p>Enter a railway journey gone awry, the search for a mysterious Viking sword, and resulting hilarious hijinks. </p>
<p>While things get worse before they get better, the ending is happy enough to melt even the Grinch’s heart.</p>
<p><br><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/539263/bonaventure-adventures#9780143198505">The Bonaventure Adventures</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Rachelle Delaney. (2017, Puffin Canada.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198207/original/file-20171207-11318-jso78y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hogwarts meets Cirque du Soleil. Join Seb Konstantinov as he journeys to Montréal to save his family’s circus by enrolling as a student at the Bonaventure Circus School. </p>
<p>Along the way discovers his own special powers, which he’s surprised to learn are strong enough to keep a big top up. Teamed up with his newfound buddies, his adventures become shenanigans before everything works out. </p>
<p>There’s never a dull moment, but there’s time enough to bask in the magic of ice sculptures, sledding and chocolat chaud. This is an updated old-fashioned adventure with all the charm of a classic old Montréal winter.
</p><p></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Superle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stories that create connection, comfort and security aren’t just perfect holiday reading. They also provide inspiration - a vision of how life should be.Michelle Superle, Assistant Professor, University of The Fraser ValleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782992017-06-26T01:08:06Z2017-06-26T01:08:06ZTextbooks in the digital world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174777/original/file-20170620-32381-3yaofb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ella Russell, a second grade student at Jamestown Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, works on an e-book during class.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For decades, textbooks were seen as the foundation for instruction in American schools. These discipline-specific tomes were a fundamental part of the educational infrastructure, assigned to students for each subject and carried in heavy backpacks every day – from home to school and back again.</p>
<p>The experience of students is much different today.</p>
<p>As a scholar of learning technologies and a director for outreach and engagement at Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology, we’ve seen how technological advances and an increase in digital curriculum materials have hastened the move away from textbooks.</p>
<p>Does all of this technology spell the end of traditional textbooks? And if so, is that actually a good thing for students and teachers?</p>
<h2>Standards and the decline of textbooks</h2>
<p>In 1983, President Ronald Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education released “<a href="https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html">A Nation at Risk</a>,” which put a spotlight on school quality and accountability for student achievement. By the mid-1990s, the academic standards movement had picked up steam, spurred by “Goals 2000,” the <a href="https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED359637">Educate America Act of 1994</a>. In response, states and local communities drafted guidelines to indicate what students should know at each grade level.</p>
<p>With these guidelines, educators and policymakers began to question teachers’ reliance on textbooks. Education organizations examined textbooks not only for their accuracy and quality, but for their <a href="http://www.project2061.org/publications/textbook/hsbio/report/analysis.htm">alignment to academic standards</a>. Where once student success was marked by the end-of-chapter test for whatever textbook each school happened to use, success was now measured by how well students met standardized grade-level learning objectives. Different textbooks might produce different levels of knowledge and understanding from students, but the new standards were common across an entire state.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174781/original/file-20170620-26746-1e5d8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A science textbook used in Hardin County schools in 2012 still listed Pluto as a full-fledged planet – six years after it was reclassified as a dwarf planet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Increased access to digital content</h2>
<p>With the rise of the internet and the proliferation of online content, teachers have found new sources to support student learning.</p>
<p>Recent studies report that <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010040">student-computer ratios</a> in most U.S. schools have reached 5:1 (five students per computer), with almost all teachers having access to at least one computer in their classroom. <a href="https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/half_of_k-12_students_to_have_access_to_1-to-1_computing_by_2015-16_1/">One-to-one laptop programs</a>, which provide every student with a computing device, have spread across multiple states.</p>
<p>To support these initiatives, schools have access to a wealth of free and premium content designed specifically for a K-12 curriculum. Most textbook publishing companies have launched digital platforms; in fact, several have <a href="http://investors.mheducation.com/home/default.aspx">transformed their core identities</a> from traditional textbook publishers to learning science companies or digital education companies.</p>
<p>Much of this digitized content has blurred the definition of a “book.” Digital lessons can present information through dynamic, interactive features like simulations and videos. Digital textbooks can also provide support features that just aren’t possible in a print textbook: students can highlight text, search for content, change the font size or use text-to-speech audio.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/221616328" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Discovery Education is one of the biggest players in K-12 digital textbooks.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teachers are also looking outside the world of K-12 education to support their lessons. Content freely available on the internet (including digital collections by the <a href="http://library.si.edu/exhibitions/online">Smithsonian</a>, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/">Library of Congress</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/dln">NASA</a>) has created new opportunities for teaching and learning. Teachers can make classes more dynamic, more accurate and more customizable to meet the <a href="https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf">personalized learning needs of individual students</a>.</p>
<h2>Challenges in the digital world</h2>
<p>But it’s not all good news. Schools are also confronting new challenges brought on by digital content.</p>
<p>Textbooks are relatively easy to use. The same is not necessarily true for digital resources, which might require technological expertise – on the part of the teacher or an in-school specialist – to implement well. Moreover, teachers’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.02.001">beliefs about technology integration</a> are still barriers for adopting digital content in classrooms.</p>
<p>There’s also a question of cost. Well-equipped schools are eagerly “going digital,” often <a href="http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/misc/DigitalContentTrendsReport.pdf">reallocating their textbook budgets</a> to purchase these materials. However, a lot of schools struggle to cover the costs of making the transition. Similarly, some schools, specifically those in rural communities, find it difficult to access wireless or high-speed internet services needed for digital learning: In 2016, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2016/07/18/rural-and-urban-america-divided-by-broadband-access/">39 percent of rural areas</a> lacked broadband internet.</p>
<h2>How to choose digital content</h2>
<p>Infrastructure and technological know-how aren’t the only obstacles. Digital education resources also vary in quality, and selecting the right content can be a major challenge for schools.</p>
<p>That means that a teacher’s ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.05.006">evaluate and select digital content</a> becomes an important requirement for digital learning. Teachers need to be able to find the right resources for their lessons – and make sure they’re high quality, aligned to standards and compatible with existing tools. Without these skills, teachers <a href="http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/misc/DigitalContentTrendsReport.pdf">struggle to integrate technology and digital content</a> with their own teaching methods.</p>
<p>Most teachers rarely get the opportunity to learn how to evaluate, select and integrate digital resources into their classrooms. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-017-9519-0">Professional development programs</a> and resources from <a href="http://www.setda.org/priorities/digital-content/">educational support</a> <a href="https://www.inacol.org/resources/">organizations</a> can help teachers make the transition to digital content.</p>
<p>While these resources exist, not enough teachers are able to take advantage of them. Our research indicated that the majority of teachers rate themselves low when asked to indicate their knowledge and skill in digital content evaluation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174775/original/file-20170620-32390-awxuah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eighth grader Aklya Thomas and teacher Faren Fransworth use a digital textbook during a math class at Burney Harris Lyons Middle School in Athens, Georgia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/John Bazemore</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Embracing digital</h2>
<p>So, do we still need textbooks? Yes. But the composition as well as the role of textbooks is changing. They’re becoming more digitized, more open, more affordable, more dynamic and interactive, and more frequently updated.</p>
<p>Schools are buying <a href="http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/misc/DigitalContentTrendsReport.pdf">fewer textbooks</a> and are more often using them only as classroom or library reference materials or to teach special topics. Many school districts are shifting funds from their textbook budgets to purchase devices and digital content, but are making changes incrementally and replacing books with digital content based on their 3- to 5-year curriculum adoption schedules.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the proliferation of technology tools and resources has transformed the learning landscape. The shift from print to digital has given students and teachers access to content that exceeds the quantity and quality of a traditional textbook. With these advances come more engaging and exciting ways for students (and teachers) to learn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78299/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kui Xie receives funding from Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Higher Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Luthy receives funding from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Ohio Department of Education, and the US Department of Education. </span></em></p>Textbooks were once a major piece of educational infrastructure. But as digital content expands, a new kind of ‘textbook’ is improving the quality of K-12 instruction.Kui Xie, Cyphert Distinguished Professor of Learning Technologies; Director of The Research Laboratory for Digital Learning, The Ohio State UniversityNicole Luthy, Director of Outreach and Engagement in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/777862017-06-19T19:58:51Z2017-06-19T19:58:51ZFree textbooks for first-year university students could help improve retention rates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173747/original/file-20170614-21372-e7mdxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Textbooks can be costly. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite 20 years of focus on improving university retention rates, we are still losing one in five of our first-year students.</p>
<p>And the release of a <a href="http://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/AttritionReport_Jun17.pdf">new report by TEQSA</a> again reminds us of the challenges of retention.</p>
<p>The report highlights that, on average, universities have a 20% attrition rate. This builds on an article by <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/third-of-university-students-failing-to-complete-course/news-story/0c70435cf7690878811d957a51523a5b">The Australian</a> earlier this year which showed that one in three university students failed to complete the course they began within six years of enrolling. </p>
<h2>First year challenges</h2>
<p>The challenges that first-year university students face in their journey are many: from adjusting to new expectations and environments, lack of university support in assisting with this transition, managing different work-life balance issues, being overwhelmed, and of course, costs. </p>
<p>Many of these issues are particularly significant for first-in-family students who often lack role models or social capital to adjust to expectations and unexpected challenges they confront.</p>
<p>This is not a unique Australian challenge, and is confronting higher education institutes <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/rise-uk-university-dropout-rate-disappointing">worldwide</a>.</p>
<h2>Free textbooks a possible solution?</h2>
<p>One solution that has been tried, implemented and is <a href="http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/Getting-It-Done.aspx">proving successful</a> is the introduction of free textbooks for first year students under the umbrella of “inclusive access”.</p>
<p>It is an important strategy because textbooks are both a powerful pedagogical tool that can keep students engaged and can be prohibitive to students as well as being <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-say-textbooks-are-too-expensive-could-an-open-access-model-be-the-answer-51477">highly costs prohibitive</a>. </p>
<p>This is a strategy that <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/01/31/textbook-publishers-contemplate-inclusive-access-business-model-future?goal=0_1fcbc04421-0f5839dc04-197424405&mc_cid=0f5839dc04&mc_eid=9342abb58f">started in the US</a> and <a href="http://www.mdx.ac.uk/news/2015/08/middlesex-becomes-first-to-offer-free-e-books-to-all-students-for-every-module">spread to the UK</a>. Now my own institution, Western Sydney University, <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/future_students_home/free_digital_textbooks_2017">has implemented</a> it too.</p>
<p>The inclusive access textbook strategy takes a number of forms. </p>
<p>In some instances, this involves the university producing specific materials for students which they access for free or <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-say-textbooks-are-too-expensive-could-an-open-access-model-be-the-answer-51477">open source</a>.</p>
<p>In others, such as the US, institutions have partnered with publishers and universities to <a href="https://hub.wiley.com/community/exchanges/educate/blog/2017/01/12/how-inclusive-access-purchasing-programs-can-lower-the-cost-of-higher-education-and-more">pilot</a> an inclusive access purchasing model, in which the cost of digital textbooks is included in a student’s course fee. </p>
<h2>But why textbooks?</h2>
<p>Success at university is a combination of pedagogical and social factors, which include support networks and university transition strategies. </p>
<p>Student performance and retention is enhanced by access to high-quality resources that they can afford.</p>
<p>Textbooks are a powerful pedagogical tool that can <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002433/243321E.pdf">improve engagement</a>. In my own teaching experience, a well-written and relevant textbook allows students to better understand the broader subject narrative. That is, it is not about learning individual topics such as gender, class, race and technology. Rather, it allows the student to see the story of arc of the complex and intersectional factors that shape our societies. </p>
<p>It is this understanding of the broader subject area that means students can contextualise their own experiences and learn to apply the knowledge critically.</p>
<p>It is a tool I have used successfully. For example, when introducing a textbook - which students paid for at the time - I saw <a href="https://www.oup.com.au/books/higher-education/social-sciences-and-humanities/9780190300661-sociologic-ebook">retention rates improve</a>. We went from a drop-out rate of 22% to less than 2%, and in the feedback forms students repeatedly quoted the textbook that I introduced (and I should note, authored).</p>
<p>While there is little evidence of a direct link between access to a textbook and improving retention rates, high education consultants Academica <a href="http://www.academica.ca/top-ten/%E2%80%9Ctextbook-zero%E2%80%9D-initiatives-improve-retention-rates-need-senior-support-succeed">did report</a> that free textbooks improved retention by up to 10% (though provided little detail). </p>
<p>Regardless, textbooks play a vital role in engaging students and improving the quality of education - which is likely to improve their chances of completion. </p>
<p>This has been progressively emphasised in <a href="http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4365986">research that dates back to the 1990s</a>. The work is consistent in both low-income nations as well as <a href="http://bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/paper/textbooks_in_teaching_and_learning-2/">wealthy countries</a>. It is also important <a href="http://math.nie.edu.sg/ame/matheduc/tme/tmeV16_2/02.pdf">across disciplines</a>. </p>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>As we continue to expand access to universities, such inclusive strategies have never been more important – and the TEQSA report highlights we still have a long way to go. </p>
<p>In the US, the emerging evidence is that this is proving effective, both in popularity and success. </p>
<p>Indiana University, for example, saw inclusive-access model started as a pilot in 2009. By the 2015-16 academic year, more than 40,000 students got at least one textbook through what the university calls its <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/01/31/textbook-publishers-contemplate-inclusive-access-business-model-future?goal=0_1fcbc04421-0f5839dc04-197424405&mc_cid=0f5839dc04&mc_eid=9342abb58f">eText initiative</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, Australia National University <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-say-textbooks-are-too-expensive-could-an-open-access-model-be-the-answer-51477">has found</a> that Open Access textbooks are resulting in better educational outcomes and “a greater set of capabilities to start their careers with as they are more likely to complete their degrees”.</p>
<p>The implication is clear: to improve the attrition rates that remain all too high, we need to use the emerging technology to promote proven pedagogical methods. The availability of free textbooks is one such strategy that is starting to show results.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Arvanitakis received funding from the Australian Research Council and the former Office of Learning and Teaching. He is a board member of the Australian Public Education Foundation, a member of the Australian Research Council: Excellence in Research for Australia 2015 Evaluation Committee, Australian Awards of of University Teaching: Awards Committee, a member of the panel of experts for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), on the committee of the Australian Human Rights Education Council, the Chair of Diversity Arts Australia, a Academic Fellow of the Australian India Institute and a Research Fellow at The Centre for Policy Development. He is currently overseeing a funded project by the Australian Indian Education Committee and Youth Action. James has authored two textbooks with Oxford University Press.</span></em></p>A number of universities around the world are providing free textbooks to first year university students as a way to increase retention rates.James Arvanitakis, Professor in Cultural and Social Analysis, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/771102017-05-11T16:24:55Z2017-05-11T16:24:55ZWhen it comes to school science, language can determine success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167688/original/file-20170503-21630-h1ip54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The resources kids have at school and home influence their performance in science.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pupils who have access to physical educational resources, such as books and computers at home, tend to perform better in science than those who don’t. This has been proved by a great deal of <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2011/downloads/T11_IR_S_Chapter4.pdf">international research</a>.</p>
<p>It’s true in South Africa, too, but <a href="http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/1292/685">our research</a> has found that less tangible factors also play a role in pupils’ science achievement. These factors include parental education levels, parental involvement in homework – and, crucially, home language. </p>
<p>Language is a factor that makes the South African context unique and has a noteworthy role in pupils’ science achievements. The language of teaching and learning is often different from the language spoken in a pupil’s home. Only <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/2929/TIMSSHighlights2012Dec7final.pdf">26%</a> of pupils who participated in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) spoke the language of the test at home. For our research, we studied data from 11 969 Grade 9 pupils – who were, on average, 16 years old – who participated in TIMSS in 2011. </p>
<p>Successive apartheid governments used <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2295225">language policy</a> as a tool to create socio-economic and educational division. This history means that language as a home resource can’t be overlooked when it comes to understanding pupils’ performance in science at school. Our results proved just how important language is: the language most often spoken in a pupil’s home was the single most important predictor.</p>
<p>In developing countries such as South Africa, science, technology and innovation have become forces that drive economic growth and competitiveness and have the potential for improving the quality of life. The number of skilled people (such as scientists, engineers and other technically skilled personnel) in a country is associated with its economic growth and ability to compete in the global economy.</p>
<p>The development of these skilled people begins at the school level. So it’s cause for concern that the 2011 TIMSS found the average science achievement of Grade 9 South African students to be well below the international centre point of 500 points. Tackling language policy can, we believe, improve pupils’ performance in this important subject.</p>
<h2>Findings</h2>
<p>Historically, the state provided educational resources in an unbalanced way. Schools designated for white pupils were well resourced, while those for black learners were under-resourced. Today, these imbalances <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/sza/wpaper/wpapers165.html">persist</a>. There are <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-south-africa-can-disrupt-its-deeply-rooted-educational-inequality-48531">vast differences</a> in physical resources at poor and affluent schools.</p>
<p>The school resources we included in our study were the condition of the school building; the use of workbooks or worksheets as the basis of instruction and class size. We also explored the capacity of the school to provide instruction based on the availability of resources such as textbooks, science equipment and computer software.</p>
<p>For home resources, we asked the pupils to report on how often the language of the test was spoken in the home, the number of books at home, the number of home assets, parental education levels, and parental involvement in school homework.</p>
<p>Language emerged strongly as a success factor. Pupils who used the language most frequently spoken at home in the TIMSS test scored 62 points higher, on average, than those who seldom spoke the language of the test. </p>
<p>The number of home assets present in a pupil’s home had the second strongest positive association with science achievement. It was found that for each additional asset (such as a fridge, television, computer etc.) in a pupil’s home, they scored an average of 11 points higher in science than their peers. </p>
<p>The third most important predictor of science achievement was the condition of the school building. Pupils who attended schools with minor problems with the building performed 24 points higher, on average, than those who attended schools that reported moderate to serious problems with the buildings.</p>
<p>So what does this all mean?</p>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>Language development is <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010027793900584">recognised</a> as crucial for all other learning to take place. Our findings suggest that the language of instruction (and of testing) has not been mastered by the time pupils are in Grade 9. This is unsurprising. Most of the learners who were tested using TIMSS were, in essence, learning science through a foreign language. </p>
<p>This means that pupils are likely to be at a disadvantage because their knowledge of the language of instruction is below the expected level for their age and grade. The implication is that education policies must seek both to improve the manner in which the language of instruction is taught to students who don’t speak that language at home, and concurrently, the policies that promote instruction in the home language must be strengthened.</p>
<p>It’s important that we understand the determinants of science achievement for South African pupils. This has far reaching implications for the country’s broader growth and development. This is because successful interventions at school level may contribute to increasing the pool of matriculants who are eligible to study science-related subjects at a tertiary level and who will later join the skilled workforce. </p>
<p>Disregarding these environmental factors may hinder the success of policies designed to improve achievement and further economic growth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The 2011 TIMSS was funded by the Department of Basic Education and conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2011 was funded by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).</span></em></p>Policies must seek to improve the manner in which the language of instruction is taught to learners who don’t speak that language at home.Andrea Juan, Research Specialist- Education and Skills Development, Human Sciences Research CouncilMariette Visser, Senior Research Manager in the Education and Skills Development Research Programme, Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756262017-04-30T20:01:43Z2017-04-30T20:01:43ZFrom bakery to wagashiya: a textbook case of ‘moral education’ in Japan<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164625/original/image-20170410-29399-rnsuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does Japan's moral education system leave any room for students to appreciate diversity and think critically?
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25766289@N00/3898575530/">Ajari/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/democracy-futures">Democracy Futures</a> series, a <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/democracy-futures/">joint global initiative</a> between The Conversation and the <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/">Sydney Democracy Network</a>. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Neighbouring countries monitor changes to Japan’s education system with keen interest. The content of Japanese textbooks, in particular, has a long history of controversy.</p>
<p>In Japan, public schools cannot choose their textbooks freely. Instead, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) oversees a “school textbook authorisation system”, <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/kyoukasho/gaiyou/04060901.htm"><em>Kyoukasho Kentei Seido</em></a>. Publishers must prepare draft textbooks that meet curriculum guidelines – <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2016/08/10/1282846_1.pdf"><em>Gakushuu Shidou Youryou</em></a> – provided by the ministry. </p>
<p>The MEXT and the authorisation committee check and evaluate submitted drafts before any are officially approved. Only then may each public school “choose” from the approved textbooks. </p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/tosho/003/gijiroku/08052214/001.htm">the MEXT</a>, this system:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… guarantees Japanese citizens’ substantive rights to education, maintains and enhances the quality of basic education in Japan and ensures educational neutrality.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, Japan’s authorisation system is frequently the target of formal protests by China and South Korea. Their major concern is that it allows the government to choose only “acceptable” information by obscuring subject matter deemed “inappropriate”. </p>
<p>In 2005, for example, protests erupted over an approved textbook prepared by the <a href="http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/examining_the_japanese_history_textbook_controversies">Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform</a>. The foreign critics argued that the book whitewashed Japan’s wartime record. It referred, only in a footnote, to the 1937-38 <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre">Nanking Massacre</a> as an “incident”, and glossed over the issue of comfort women altogether. </p>
<p>Even today, textbooks’ descriptions of <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/s-korea-speaks-out-against-japan-textbook-on-island-dispute/2709413.html">territorial issues</a> between Japan, China and Korea are a source of many heated disputes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164626/original/image-20170410-29403-gofhjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students in South Korea protest the erasure of Korean comfort women from Japan’s second world war history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joonyoung Kim/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Towards a more ‘deliberative’ learning model</h2>
<p>Recent moves in the official direction of Japanese moral education have shone a new <a href="https://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/cabinet-oks-schools-to-use-banned-imperial-order-as-teaching-materials">spotlight</a> on the failings of this authorisation system. Earlier this year, the government announced a shift from a lecture-based model to deliberation-based moral education during compulsory schooling. </p>
<p>On paper, the goal was laudable. According to <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo3/078/">the MEXT</a>, the change would enable students to cultivate moral judgements anchored in critical thinking and a tolerance of diversity.</p>
<p>In response, eight Japanese publishers submitted 24 drafts to the MEXT. It soon became clear that the evaluation criteria still reflected government-endorsed moral frameworks. </p>
<h2>A bakery becomes ‘inappropriate’ content</h2>
<p>The following example is telling.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>During a walk around his city, a boy has a chat with the staff in a greengrocer and buys bread from a bakery. This experience raises his interest in the city where he lives.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The simple, mundane story was written in accordance with the curriculum guidelines. These require textbooks to cultivate a respect for tradition, along with a love for Japan and local culture. Despite this, the authorisation committee deemed the content “inappropriate”. Why? Because it was set in a bakery.</p>
<p>The bakery originally derives from Europe, so the committee thought it “inappropriate” as a setting for students to “deliberate” on Japanese culture. The publisher replaced the bakery with the much more appropriate <em>wagashiya</em> (a traditional Japanese confectionery store). The textbook was then approved.</p>
<p>The problem with this seemingly minor change is that bakeries are an important and prominent part of Japanese culture today. Hence, identifying a bakery as an “inappropriate” aspect of Japanese culture is problematic in two senses. </p>
<p>On the one hand, it promotes a distorted interpretation of Japanese culture. It also discriminates against specific occupations like bakers by stigmatising them as unworthy of inclusion in the Japanese moral community. This has broader ramifications: quite often it is not just bakers but the concerns of other countries that are excluded from this tightly vetted community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164632/original/image-20170410-29386-1ntw89a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why doesn’t the Japanese government want to acknowledge that Japan has embraced the cronut?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">TFurban/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Three core problems with the system</h2>
<p>In total, the <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/kyoukasho/kentei/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2017/03/24/1383592_001.pdf">authorisation committee</a> offered 244 “instructions” of a similar variety across the 24 submitted drafts to enforce compliance with the curriculum guidelines. These amendments revealed three core issues with Japan’s moral education system.</p>
<p><strong>1) Disregard for the publisher’s autonomy</strong></p>
<p>Even if a publisher decides to use their ingenuity in preparing a textbook, it is safe to say that governmental instruction will work against, and quite often disregard, such efforts. </p>
<p>Publishers are more or less required to follow the will and the plan of the authorisation committee. The eventual result will be a one-size-fits-all textbook containing “appropriate” content.</p>
<p><strong>2) Imposition of the government’s “ideal” moral frameworks</strong></p>
<p>The authorisation system strengthens and prioritises the moral framework set by the government. </p>
<p>Consider this example. The two-parent family is not as common as it once was. Modern family configurations include single mother/father families, parentless families, same-sex-married families, and so forth. </p>
<p>However <a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/youryou/syo/dou.htm">the curriculum guidelines</a> explicitly argue that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… students should respect both father and mother, and both grandmother and grandfather.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In presupposing a single concept of family by ignoring all other sorts, the curriculum justifies a tokenistic approach to moral education. Students are still forced to think and deliberate only within officially sanctioned confines.</p>
<p><strong>3) Pre-empting any critical thinking</strong></p>
<p>Japanese moral education policy and the textbook authorisation system are strange bedfellows in the first place. Despite the government proposing deliberation-based moral education, the authorisation system one-sidedly offers a single “answer” that pre-empts any actual deliberation in the classroom. </p>
<p>Is there really space, then, for the students to appreciate diversity, think critically and challenge taken-for-granted norms and values?</p>
<h2>Nationalistic or deliberative citizens?</h2>
<p>Even in kindergarten the lines between government will and public morality are being blurred. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21717996-embarrassingly-it-has-links-prime-minister-ultranationalist-kindergarten-japan">Tsukamoto kindergarten</a>, for example, pushes pre-war virtues and teaches the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Imperial-Rescript-on-Education">Imperial Rescript on Education</a> – <em>Kyouiku Chokugo</em> – which values self-sacrifice for the emperor. The kindergarten requires pupils to bow in front of images of the imperial family several times a day. </p>
<p>Only recently has this <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/03/19/commentary/japan-commentary/whats-bad-imperial-rescript-education-anyway/#.WQKUllOGPUI">caused controversy</a> when Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and his wife praised this particular school. The “bakery versus wagashiya” case, then, can be seen as yet another instance of government-enforced nationalism being prioritised in the moral education system.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RjWKrqUyXU4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This Osaka kindergarten claims it is not instilling nationalism but rather patriotism in its children.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, while authorities question whether students can learn morality through the story of a bakery, it is perhaps more important to consider what <em>kind</em> of citizens the government aims to cultivate through its moral education system. </p>
<p>The curriculum guidelines encourage, at least on paper, deliberative citizens to think critically and to appreciate diversity. But how can students grow into deliberators if morality is regulated as an extension of government-prescribed nationalism?</p>
<p>If the Japanese government truly wishes to foster deliberation among its young pupils, it must first make the textbook authorisation process more deliberative – as in reflective, inclusive and accountable to citizens.</p>
<p>Students have the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them. As stated in <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx">the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 12)</a>, children should be given opportunities to be heard in decision-making processes. </p>
<p>To this end, there should be public hearings about the contents of authorised textbooks and pathways through which students can express their opinions. This might allow Japanese moral education to become more deliberative and more democratic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kei Nishiyama does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The changes required of a textbook that referred to a bakery – an “inappropriate” form of Japanese culture – illustrate how the system falls short of its goals of deliberative and critical education.Kei Nishiyama, PhD Student, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741752017-03-15T16:04:34Z2017-03-15T16:04:34ZAccessible, engaging textbooks could improve children’s learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160512/original/image-20170313-9408-bb6pp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's not enough for textbooks just to be present in a classroom. They must support learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Global Partnership for Education/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Textbooks are a crucial part of any child’s learning. A large body of research has proved this many times and in many very different contexts. Textbooks are a physical representation of the curriculum in a classroom setting. They are powerful in shaping the minds of children and young people. </p>
<p>UNESCO has recognised this power and <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002433/243321E.pdf">called</a> for every child to have a textbook for every subject. The organisation <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002433/243321E.pdf">argues</a> that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>next to an engaged and prepared teacher, well-designed textbooks in sufficient quantities are the most effective way to improve instruction and learning.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But there’s an elephant in the room when it comes to textbooks in African countries’ classrooms: language.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059316301390">Rwanda</a> is one of many African countries that’s adopted a language instruction policy which sees children learning in local or mother tongue languages for the first three years of primary school. They then transition in upper primary and secondary school into a dominant, so-called “international” language. This might be French or Portuguese. In Rwanda, it has been <a href="http://www.academia.edu/4412081/Language_Policy_in_Rwanda">English</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/14/rwanda-france">since 2008</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-data/view/4927">Evidence</a> from across the continent suggests that at this transition point, many learners have not developed basic literacy and numeracy skills. And, significantly, they have not acquired <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-data/view/4927">anywhere near enough</a> of the language they are about to learn in to be able to engage in learning effectively.</p>
<p>I do not wish to advocate for English medium instruction, and the arguments for mother-tongue based education <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-africa-prove-the-incredible-value-of-mother-tongue-learning-73307">are compelling</a>. But it’s important to consider strategies for supporting learners within existing policy priorities. Using appropriate learning and teaching materials – such as textbooks – could be one such strategy. </p>
<h2>A different approach</h2>
<p>It’s not enough to just hand out textbooks in every classroom. The books need to tick two boxes: learners must be able to read them and teachers must feel enabled to teach with them. </p>
<p>Existing textbooks tend not to take these concerns into consideration. The language is too difficult and the sentence structures too complex. The paragraphs too long and there are no glossaries to define unfamiliar words. And while textbooks are widely available to those in the basic education system, they are rarely used systematically. Teachers <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059316301390">cite</a> the books’ inaccessibility as one of the main reasons for not using them.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050068.2016.1185258?journalCode=cced20">recent initiative</a> in Rwanda has sought to address this through the development of “language supportive” textbooks for primary 4 learners who are around 11 years old. These were specifically designed in collaboration with local publishers, editors and writers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XUqS_WSwEv0?wmode=transparent&start=126" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Language supportive textbooks have been shown to make a difference in some Rwandan classrooms.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are two key elements to a “language supportive” textbook. </p>
<p>Firstly, they are written at a language level which is appropriate for the learner. As can be seen in Figure 1, the new concept is introduced in as simple English as possible. The sentence structure and paragraph length are also shortened and made as simple as possible. The key word (here, “soil”) is also repeated numerous times so that the learner becomes accustomed to this word.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160500/original/image-20170313-19259-13arebx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Bristol and the British Council</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Secondly, they include features – activities, visuals, clear signposting and vocabulary support – that enable learners to practice and develop their language proficiency while learning the key elements of the curriculum. </p>
<p>The books are full of relevant activities that encourage learners to regularly practice their listening, speaking, reading and writing of English in every lesson. This enables language development. </p>
<p>Crucially, all of these activities are made accessible to learners – and teachers – by offering support in the learners’ first language. In this case, the language used was Kinyarwanda, which is the first language for the vast majority of Rwandan people. However, it’s important to note that initially many teachers were hesitant about incorporating Kinyarwanda into their classroom practice because of the government’s English-only policy. </p>
<h2>Improved test scores</h2>
<p>The initiative was introduced with 1075 students at eight schools across four Rwandan districts. The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050068.2016.1185258?journalCode=cced20">evidence</a> from our initiative suggests that learners in classrooms where these books were systematically used learnt more across the curriculum. </p>
<p>When these learners sat tests before using the books, they scored similar results to those in other comparable schools. After using the materials for four months, their test scores were <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050068.2016.1185258?journalCode=cced20">significantly higher</a>. Crucially, both learners and teachers pointed out how important it was that the books sanctioned the use of Kinyarwanda. The classrooms became bilingual spaces and this increased teachers’ and learners’ confidence and competence.</p>
<p>All of this supports the importance of textbooks as effective learning and teaching materials in the classroom and shows that they can help all learners. But authorities mustn’t assume that textbooks are being used or that the existing books are empowering teachers and learners. </p>
<p>Textbooks can matter – but it’s only when consideration is made for the ways they can help all learners that we can say that they can contribute to quality education for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lizzi O. Milligan was part of a team that received funding from The Department of International Development to undertake the research discussed in this article. </span></em></p>Textbooks in sufficient quantities are effective in improving the quality of education but in Africa language poses a problem to how pupils interact with the material they are taught.Lizzi O. Milligan, Lecturer in International Education, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/608232016-08-29T08:16:17Z2016-08-29T08:16:17ZTeachers have a crucial role to play in building social cohesion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134941/original/image-20160822-18728-1d1zqsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trevor Samson/World Bank/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>1994 was a deeply important year for South Africa. It ushered in a democratic society committed to the eradication of racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination. It brought political change that promised the building of a <a href="http://www.southafrica.info:443/pls/cms/cm_show_gallery?p_gid=2363&p_site_id=38">“rainbow nation”</a> committed to the ideas of equity and redress. There have been many accomplishments and significant changes in the past 22 years.</p>
<p>But recent events have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/opinion/the-end-of-the-rainbow-nation-myth.html?_r=0">raised questions</a> about how far the country has really come in building a united non-racial society that embodies unity in diversity. Some have been negative and divisive – <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/penny-sparrow-feels-twitter-wrath">racially offensive</a>, derogatory comments by individuals. Others, like the country’s <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/student-protests-democratic-south-africa">student protest movements</a>, have opened up spaces for debate and got people thinking about issues of <a href="https://theconversation.com/changing-what-universities-teach-is-a-process-not-a-single-event-59327">curriculum change</a> and decolonisation.</p>
<p>Race talk and identification remains a concern within everyday social life. Different groups of people distrust each other deeply and continue to <a href="http://www.ijr.org.za/uploads/IJR_SARB_2015_WEB_002.pdf">closely associate</a> according to previous racial categorisations. The country’s apartheid past still casts a long shadow on its future. </p>
<p>To shake off this shadow, South Africans need a deeper understanding of what social cohesion means and how it can be attained. <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">Research</a> my colleagues and I recently completed also shows how important it is that teachers are provided with support to infuse their work with the principles of social cohesion.</p>
<h2>Education and social cohesion</h2>
<p>The country’s Department of Arts and Culture <a href="http://www.dac.gov.za/sites/default/files/WHAT%20IS%20SOCIAL%20COHESION%20AND%20NATION%20(3).pdf">defines</a> social cohesion as the degree of social integration and inclusion in communities and society at large. It also refers to how much mutual solidarity finds expression among individuals and communities. In the South African context, social cohesion is about social integration, equality and social justice. It requires the promotion of positive relationships, trust, solidarity, inclusion, collectivism and common purpose. </p>
<p>Concerns about social cohesion have manifested in various ways. The government has hosted <a href="http://www.dac.gov.za/social-cohesion">summits</a> on the subject. It’s drafted a social cohesion <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/Social-Cohesion-Strategy-1.pdf">strategy</a> and even appointed <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/nation-building-convention-on-cards-1974890">“advocates”</a> to champion social cohesion.</p>
<p>There’s also been work in the education sector. The department of basic education has launched a <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/Newsroom/MediaRelease/tabid/347/ctl/Details/mid/3963/ItemID/3919/Default.aspx">review of textbooks</a> to identify instances of discrimination and bias. </p>
<p>It’s important that such work happens in the education sphere. Equitable, quality education plays a <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/153/3731/47">crucial role</a> in building a nation. South Africa’s education system is <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FHI360-Equity-and-Social-Cohesion-South-Africa-Case-Study-20150521-Final-Submission.pdf">anything but equitable</a>. Research shows that in 2013, 87% of white learners and 73% of Indian learners were attending the country’s most well resourced public schools. Only 6% of black African learners were enrolled in these schools.</p>
<p>The drive to understand how an equitable education system and social cohesion go hand and hand is what prompted <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">our research</a>. It was conducted by the Centre for International Teacher Education at South Africa’s Cape Peninsula University of Technology, in collaboration with the University of Sussex in the UK. It’s part of a larger <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cie/projects/current/peacebuilding%20&%20http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/">multi-country</a> study and explored how teachers are given the space to become agents of peace and social cohesion. </p>
<p>We <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">argue</a> that social cohesion should be understood in relation to achieving durable social justice, eliminating all forms of inequities and disadvantage. We discovered that teachers need far more professional development, policy direction and support to ensure that social cohesion is realised in classroom teaching and learning.</p>
<h2>A mass of policies</h2>
<p>Many policies since 1994 have been designed to empower teachers and improve their skills. But the area of social cohesion and teachers’ critical role in its promotion hasn’t received enough attention. As with so many other areas of education, impressive policy goals have not been translated into reality. Their realisation has been undermined by, among other things, poor intergovernmental coordination and collaboration, and lack of implementation clarity and support. </p>
<p>Coordination is especially complicated in the education sphere. Contrary to what’s outlined in the <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/SAConstitution-web-eng.pdf">Constitution</a>, national and provincial education departments often take up different responsibilities in quite different ways. Various provinces and individual schools often interpret policy goals quite differently. This has been seen, for instance, in how different provinces implemented their <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/FINAL%20REPORT%20NCS%20IMPLEMENTATION%20TASK%20TEAM%20OCT%202009.pdf?ver=2010-07-09-114507-383">curriculum overhaul</a> in 2009. </p>
<p>Such different interpretations have important implications for the changes that the policy in question aims to bring about. </p>
<h2>Curriculum changes</h2>
<p>Another issue that’s important for building social cohesion is the curriculum itself and the textbooks used. Curriculum reform has been an important area of change since 1994. The right curriculum can help to lay the foundations for a democratic, open and united society. </p>
<p>Our research <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">found</a> significant omissions in the existing national curriculum when it comes to issues of equity and social cohesion. One important example is in Life Orientation. Social cohesion – discussions about living together with people from different cultures, for instance – forms part of this subject. But the curriculum is so overcrowded there’s no real space for such discussions to happen in a meaningful, ongoing fashion.</p>
<p>There’s also a real danger that with so many demands in the national education agenda issues like social cohesion are often devalued or not readily promoted. Schools tend to focus on “priority” subjects like Science and Mathematics. They often ask why they should “waste time” with issues like social cohesion</p>
<p>Actually, issues of social cohesion need to be integrated effectively across the curriculum. This can happen by, for instance, ensuring that African texts and authors are positively represented in textbooks. It could also take the form of removing discriminatory bias – such as an example from a textbook that <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2016/07/27/Grade-10-text-book-outrage">appeared to blame</a> rape survivors for their ordeal.</p>
<h2>The importance of high quality teacher education</h2>
<p>High quality initial and continuing teacher professional development matters, too. Different universities with different cultural histories often rub up against students’ diverse racial, class and gendered identities. They also strongly shape how student teachers think about the contexts they are set to enter. There isn’t a consistent approach across South Africa’s universities to how trainee teachers learn about social cohesion. </p>
<p>Those who educate teachers need to both support and challenge student teachers. They need to both provide content knowledge and stimulate them to seek knowledge, while exposing students to diverse ways of teaching and to different social contexts. Those that educate teachers must pay better attention to how student teachers are empowered with a variety of teaching approaches and tools that will allow them to engage productively with learners and promote social cohesion.</p>
<h2>Agents of social cohesion</h2>
<p>Overall, the research <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">revealed</a> that promoting social cohesion through education requires context specific, proactive strategies that address South Africa’s historic and structural drivers of inequality. </p>
<p>More specifically, it requires the political will to support teachers so they can acquire the knowledge, skills and disposition to become agents of peace and social cohesion. Teachers and schools can only do so much, though. As long as the schooling system’s outcomes continue to be <a href="http://learningforpeace.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/South-Africa-Country-Report-Summary-Apr16.pdf">bifurcated</a> and unequal and societal inequality widens, social cohesion may remain elusive. Peace will be tenuous and conflict will continue to loom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The ‘Engaging teachers in peacebuilding in postconflict contexts: evaluating education interventions in Rwanda and South Africa’ research project is led by Professor Yusuf Sayed and funded through ESRC-DFID Pathway to Poverty Alleviation Programme. This research investigates the role of teachers in peacebuilding in the post-conflict contexts of Rwanda and South Africa. I gratefully acknowledge the support of our funder, research partners and our institutions. The views expressed in this article are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of funders or their partners. </span></em></p>Teachers in South Africa need far more high quality professional development, policy direction and support to take social cohesion from concept to classroomYusuf Sayed, South African Research Chair in Teacher Education; Director of Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) & Professor of International Education and Development Policy (University of Sussex, UK), Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/601522016-06-22T10:03:17Z2016-06-22T10:03:17ZWhat summertime means for black children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127588/original/image-20160621-12995-c6qikt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What struggles do black families face over the summer?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/black+parent/search.html?page=3&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=165821084">Mother child image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The arrival of summer generates excitement. But it could also bring challenges for both parents and educators. Many students experience a loss in math learning during the summer months known commonly as <a href="http://psychandneuro.duke.edu/uploads/media_items/summer-learning-loss.original.pdf">“summer slide.”</a> </p>
<p>Students from middle-class families may not be as affected as they have access to more resources to make up for the learning loss. However, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KiA4EI77HBYC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=making+summer+count&ots=720lw8ofPG&sig=fRRw_VgsQ7P0HzBPbBB_YW20vTA#v=onepage&q=making%20summer%20count&f=false">those from lower-income backgrounds</a> could experience significant losses, particularly in math and reading. </p>
<p>Researchers point to the summer slide as a contributing factor in the persistent academic achievement gap between students from lower-income backgrounds and their middle-class peers. </p>
<p>But, does race also conflate with class, when it comes to summer slide? What does summertime mean for black children and the parents and caregivers who care for them?</p>
<p>We are education researchers who are black and parents to two black children – one in elementary school and another in preschool. If the U.S. imagination constructs summer as a time for swimming, free play, baseball and lazy days on the beach, it has never played out this way in our home. </p>
<p>We feel the weight of summer – both for its limitations and its possibilities. To us, the summer is less a time to focus solely on fun and more of what we call the “summer soar.” </p>
<h2>Summer goals for black parents</h2>
<p>The term “summer soar” is not taken from research or policy studies. We use it to reflect the triple burden that some parents of color – in our case, black parents – could endure during the summer months. </p>
<p>For these parents, summertime provides time to accomplish three goals: (1) reinforce what was learned in the previous year, (2) get a head start on the upcoming year and, most importantly, (3) supplement valuable yet missing curriculum knowledge generally not offered in traditional schools that reflects students’ racial and cultural identities. </p>
<p>Let’s look at what we mean by missing curriculum knowledge.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127583/original/image-20160621-13039-jw2xj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Summer is a time to fill in the curriculum gaps for black kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=ippiw2i9j7kx0iir3&searchterm=black%20children&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=299368478">Black family image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We offer an example of this in a <a href="http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-82-number-3/herarticle/a-critical-race-theory-textual-analysis-of-race-an">study</a> we conducted with a researcher at Sacramento State College, <a href="http://www.csus.edu/coe/faculty/profiles/vasquez-heilig-julian.html">Julian Vasquez-Heilig</a>. The study examined how culture and race were addressed in the most recently adopted 11th grade U.S. history Texas state standards. </p>
<p>Findings highlighted that topics in the social studies standards did not fully address the contributions of people of color in the U.S. In the case of black people, much of the focus centered only on cultural contributions and not on the other ways black people contributed to the U.S. narrative. </p>
<p>Added to this was the tendency to give partial attention to the legacy of racism. This history of U.S. racism was not discussed as foundational to the development and maintenance of the country. </p>
<h2>Black students’ mis-education</h2>
<p>This is not unique to Texas nor found in the area of social studies alone. Education researchers have long acknowledged how official K-12 school <a href="http://store.tcpress.com/0807750786.shtml">curriculum</a> and approaches to <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470408154.html">teaching</a> fail to affirm black students’ cultural identities. They also reinforce the belief that black people have not made any contributions to the U.S. society.</p>
<p>As far back as the turn of the 20th century, notable scholars including <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924">W.E.B. Du Bois</a>, <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/carter-g-woodson-9536515">Carter G. Woodson</a> and <a href="http://www.blackpast.org/aah/cooper-anna-julia-haywood-1858-1964">Anna Julia Cooper</a> addressed the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Black-Intellectual-Thought-in-Education-The-Missing-Traditions-of-Anna/Grant-Brown-Brown/p/book/9780415641913">problems and limitations of schooling for African-Americans</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, black students run the risk of experiencing what historian Carter G. Woodson called <a href="https://devontekwatson.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/miseducation-text.pdf">“mis-education.”</a> Mis-education is a process where school knowledge helps to foster a sense of contempt or disregard for one’s own histories and experiences, regardless of the level of education attained. </p>
<p>So, for us as parents and educators, the “summer soar” is not just about further developing our son’s academics. It is also about fostering a consciousness to help ward off the subtle effects of mis-education – a concern shared by many black families. </p>
<h2>Why it is uniquely burdensome</h2>
<p>We recognize that black parents are not the only ones worried about their children’s academic achievement and social development. Families, in general, are critical about the overreliance on <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XGyTAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=parents+standardized+testing&ots=dEgOgFvTwN&sig=Lli_pE2FYfma8eO2gMCaL6IgE2E#v=onepage&q=parents%20standardized%20testing&f=false">standardized testing</a> that makes school less a place for <a href="http://www.soe.vt.edu/elementaryed/files/faculty/Mary_Alice_Barksdale/BarksdaleThomasHST.pdf">meaningful engagement</a>. </p>
<p>Yet what makes the “summer slide” and as a consequence the “summer soar” experience of black parents uniquely burdensome is the context in which it occurs. </p>
<p>Along with the curriculum and teaching problems black children encounter in schools around race and culture, there is a legacy of positioning <a href="https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=16182">black males</a> and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/13613324.2012.725039#.V03Wd2bgVSE">black children</a> in troubling, dehumanizing ways. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127589/original/image-20160621-13036-10838vy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black male children are portrayed in some troubling ways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=MhHeWtbbP1qea1Ltb6hq5w&searchterm=black%20child&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=352073783">Boy image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, scholars note that black children, specifically black boys, are often viewed as mature and <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/16797/bad_boys">“adult-like.”</a> Their behaviors and experiences are not seen as part of the normal arc of childhood development. Scholars find that in this “adultification” process, black children are not given the allowance of <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2014-06238-001/">childhood innocence</a>. </p>
<p>These “deficit-oriented” perspectives are found not only in academic literature, but also in public policy, popular media and everyday conversations. A contemporary reflection of this is found in the call for the popular <a href="http://blacklivesmatter.com/">#BlackLivesMatter</a> movement. </p>
<h2>Being black in the summer</h2>
<p>To be clear: We don’t feel we are approaching the “summer slide” or our “summer soar” from a place of unfounded anxiety or as parents too focused on their child’s education. </p>
<p>Black people have been and continue to be dealt with in schools and society in deeply problematic ways. Just consider the growing number of black families that are choosing to homeschool their children. </p>
<p>In a study that examined the perspectives of 74 African-American homeschoolers in the U.S., researchers <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ama-mazama-158500">Ama Mazama</a> and Garvey Lundy found that the second most important reason that <a href="http://jbs.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/content/early/2012/08/23/0021934712457042.abstract">black parents chose to homeschool</a>, right behind concerns with quality of education, was to <a href="https://theconversation.com/struggling-with-racial-biases-black-families-homeschool-kids-38694">protect against the racism</a> found in traditional school settings.</p>
<p>Being black in the summer (or anytime really) is not easy. The challenge black families face is navigating an educational context that requires excelling in mainstream school settings, while buffering against the very same education systems that deny one’s humanity. </p>
<p>This summer, like all summers for us, is filled with ambitious goals. We want to help our rising second grader memorize multiplication facts, advance his reading level and improve his writing. But we also want to introduce him to poetry and literature by black authors, teach him about ancient African civilizations and expose him to the concepts of fairness and justice as key to the black struggle in the U.S. </p>
<p>Our task is not easy. But it is our reality – one that we share with countless others – that goes unrecognized in the popular discussions around “summer slide” and the idyllic dream of a lazy summer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Summer is not an idyllic time for all. Two researchers who are black and are parents to two black children describe why they feel the weight of the summer.Keffrelyn Brown, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in Education, The University of Texas at AustinAnthony L. Brown, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/557122016-03-16T04:32:07Z2016-03-16T04:32:07ZIs it piracy? How students access academic resources<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113693/original/image-20160303-9481-14nqe1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many students don't consider downloading textbooks to be piracy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Academic textbooks are <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2014-10-03-students-hurt-by-pricey-textbooks">expensive</a> and the cost of textbooks globally has continued <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/the-new-era-of-the-400-college-textbook-which-is-part-of-the-unsustainable-higher-education-bubble/">to rise</a> alarmingly even as other educational resources have become relatively cheaper. For students, <a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/What_is_OER%3F">open educational resources</a> should make more sense – certainly financially. </p>
<p>But, globally, the uptake of such resources <a href="http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/33478/1/PA_2014ECEL%20CopenhagueDinamarca%28Scopus%29.pdf">is low</a>. There are not nearly enough relevant local open-source textbooks in countries like South Africa, where I work at a university. Where they do exist, academics and students barely know about them.</p>
<p>So how do students access the resources they need? We investigated this as part of a larger research project across six countries: Argentina, Brazil, India, Poland, South Africa and the US. How do students access resources like books? Do they consider copyright and what do they think about it? Do they pirate learning materials? How do they make sense of what they do? </p>
<p>This study concentrated on students at one of South Africa’s top research-intensive universities. We compiled a survey that was answered by 1,001 students and conducted six focus groups with students across three professional disciplines. These disciplines were chosen because students were likely to be prescribed textbooks. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Here are a few key findings from the survey:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>students are accessing learning resources in both print and digital forms – it’s not a case of “either/or”;</p></li>
<li><p>they are accessing these resources both legally and illegally without necessarily knowing the difference. Many gave contradictory answers when asked what percentage of their resources were downloaded legally and illegally; and</p></li>
<li><p>notably, only a fifth of students said that all their resources were legally obtained. The comment “we all pirate” was made several times.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It also emerged that accessing learning resources through a variety of sites requires a certain measure of expertise. Students admire their peers who know where to ferret out such resources, and such knowledge is unevenly spread. In this sense the notion of a homogenous student body whose members are all natural <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/04/business/digital-native-prensky/">“digital natives”</a> is challenged. </p>
<h2>Principled pragmatism</h2>
<p>Another interesting part of the study was what it revealed about students’ attitudes to their own practices and actions. Many made a joke of their piracy or distanced themselves in an amused fashion by shifting responsibility to others or to the technology itself. For instance, some joked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s Google’s fault.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They also displayed a matter-of-fact pragmatism. For many, it is a matter of principle, with one saying: “Is it unethical to want to be educated or is it unethical to charge so much [for textbooks]?” </p>
<p>Others believe that they are doing the right thing: “… even though in my head I know it’s wrong, it’s just a technical thing. Substantively speaking, it’s the right thing to do,” one explained. Another said: “I am not worried about the consequences of illegal downloading. [I’m] worried about graduating.”</p>
<p>The respondents also made a distinction between downloading textbooks and other media forms, particularly music and books. They consider the educational aspect central and feel the pursuit of education justifies their actions. As one said: “It’s about access to education: it is huge! It’s the future of our country.”</p>
<p>An important distinction was also made between plagiarism and copyright. Plagiarism was considered unethical and risky, while copyright appeared to be less of an issue. Said one student: “Copyright – it does not even seem like an issue any more … I copy everything … But it almost seems like it isn’t copyrighted, it almost seems like it’s free for everyone.”</p>
<p>There was also a glimmer of an alternative perspective. Some students acknowledged the <a href="https://www.oercommons.org/">existence</a> and value of open, free content, but did not know where to access it. They also said more of it is needed.</p>
<h2>A grey zone</h2>
<p>These quotes are just a taster. The students’ voices are articulate on matters of principle, plagiarism, piracy and access to textbooks and other academic resources. They raise critical issues for new models of publishing, for digital literacies and for open scholarship.</p>
<p>Through the literature review and the findings of this study, it is clear that there is a grey zone in the access of learning and academic resources that is now simply part of normal life in a new communication and information order.</p>
<p><em>The full paper, “Student Practices in Copyright Culture: Accessing Learning Resources” is in press in Learning Media and Technology and is now online <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2016.1160928">here</a>. The manuscript is <a href="https://goo.gl/9BhkNF">also available</a>. This article was adapted from <a href="http://lauraczerniewicz.co.za/">a post</a> on the author’s personal blog.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55712/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Czerniewicz receives funding from the National Research Foundation and the International Development Research Centre</span></em></p>When it comes to accessing online learning materials, university students don’t think much about whether their downloads might amount to piracy or copyright infringement.Laura Czerniewicz, Associate Professor, Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.