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O rder N um ber 0018710

M id d le sc h o o l so c ia l stu d ies te x tb o o k s in M ichigan : A
d escrip tio n o f cu ltu r a l a n d glob al p ersp ectiv es
Lee, Sharon Ann, Ph.D .
Michigan State University, 1989

C o p y rig h t © 1 9 8 9 b y L e e , S h a ro n A n n . A l l rig h ts re se rve d .

UMI

300 N. Zeeb Rd.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS IN MICHIGAN:
A DESCRIPTION OF CULTURAL A N D GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

By

Sharon Ann Lee

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Teacher Education
1989

ABSTRACT
MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS IN MICHIGAN:
A DESCRIPTION OF CULTURAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
By
Sharon Ann Lee

The
related

purpose

of this study w as to gather and

to the d egree

to which

an alyze

social studies textbooks

data

used

in

grades six and seven in the state of Michigan positively reflect the
cu ltu rally
society.

pluralistic

and

in terd ep en d en t

nature

of

our

global

It was conducted as an extension of a 1988 textbook study

co nd ucted

by

the

M ichigan

D ep a rtm e n t

of

E ducation

entitled

Michigan acKM-Studi.e.SLTex.tbQ.Qk...Study.-.(iaafilL_A_S.tu.dv of Selected
Seventh aQ d-3ixlh_G rade Social Studies Textbooks.
A qualitative

checklist,

adapted

by the

researcher from

Indiana D epartm ent of Education's Indiana In the World:
Activities
and

Pac ke t

trained

by

(1 981 );
M ichigan

narrative

reports

D ep artm ent

of

Teaching

of reviewers
Education

the

selected

S taff,

and

quantitative word-counts of passages devoted to global topics and
discussions of selected areas of the world were used to assess the
overall global perspective and cultural perspective of each
ten textbooks selected for the study.
textbook's

strengths

and

w eakn esses

cultural perpective was developed.

of the

A descriptive profile of each
in

relation

to

global

and

Findings

w ere

as

follows;

(1)

R e v iew e rs

exam inin g

the

textbooks for the purpose of determining the degree to which they
accurately

and

positively

portrayed

various

area s

of

the

world

tended to agree that many of the textbooks try to include too much
inform ation,

leading

to

an

oversim plistic

presentation

of

other

areas of the world and overlooked the diversity present within other
cultures; (2) Countries tended to be discussed from the perspective
of their relationship to the United States exclusively, and (3) Only
two textbooks approached the criteria for presentation

of m aterial

from

topic

a

global

p ers p ec tiv e.

O ve ra ll,

how ever,

no

adequately developed from a global perspective in any text.
the

fourteen

topics w ere

present

in varying

degrees

w as
W hile

in the

ten

textbooks reviewed, what seem s to be lacking is any discussion of
the interrelatedness and interdependence of these topics.

Copyright by
Sharon Ann Lee
1989

This work is dedicated to my loving husband, Douglas Kwai Keng
Lee, a source of support and encouragement to me; to my father and
mother, Frank A. and Mary Louise (Teal) Downes, who have instilled
in me the courage

and determ ination to accomplish

my personal

goals; and to my daughter, Stephanie Kar-leng, who is too young to
read this now, but will som eday hopefully forgive me for all those
forgotten

bedtim e

stories.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express
provided
course

guidance,

my appreciation

support,

and

To

Dr.

Lois

many people who

en co u rag em en t

of my doctoral studies and

dissertation.

to the

Bader,

throughout

during the com pletion
my

advisor,

the

of this

chairperson

and

dissertation director, my heartfelt thanks for her guidance direction
and encouragem ent to me.

Her insights, knowledge and guidance

have contributed substantially to my growth as a professional.

I

look forward to our continued professional and personal association.
I would also like to thank my committee members, Drs. Charles
Blackman, Louis Romano, Eugene Pernell, and Lonnie McIntyre for
their support and concern in my research efforts.

In addition I owe

a sincere debt of gratitude to Dr. John Chapm an of the Michigan
D epartm ent of Education for his knowledge, assistance and advice,
and help in making the reviewers' reports available to me for use in
this study.

His expertise and encouragem ent contributed greatly to

its com pletion.
A sincere thank-you is also extended to Drs. Roger Neim eyer,
B arbara Zynda,

and A n n a-M aria

Ignatovich

for their contributions

and feedback on the developm ent of the checklist.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TA B LES........................................................................................

vii

LIST OF FIG U R E S ...............

viii

Chapter
I.

II.

THE PROBLEM.........................................................................

1

Introduction...............................................................................
Background and Rationale for This S tu d y..................
Purpose of the Study..........................................
Significance of the Study......................................................
Statement of Research Questions....................................
Definitions of Terms used in the Study.......................
Description of Procedures....................................................
Limitations.................................................................................
Summary and Overview.........................................................

1
4
6
6
7
9
10
13
13

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE............................................

15

Global Education: Definitions,
History and Goals.....................................................................
Definitions........................................................................
History..........................................................
Goals................................................................................
Implications of Cultural Pluralism on Social Studies
Curriculum........................................................................
History of Cultural Pluralism ..................................
The Theme of Interdependence................................
A Multicultural Curriculum........................................

iv

15
15
18
22
26
27
30
32

III.

IV.

Relevance of Global Education to Assessment and
Selection of Social Studies Materials................
Summary....................................................................................

34
39

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY.......................

43

Description of the Textbook S u rvey...............................
Procedure........................................................................
Results of the Sixth Grade Survey.......................
Results of the Seventh Grade Survey..................
Procedures in Development of Instruments
Qualitative Analysis: Question 1 . 0 .....................
Qualitative Analysis: Question 2 . 0 ....................
Description of Global Topics.............................
Quantitative A nalyses.................................................
Utilization of Quantitative and Qualitative Data ..
Summary
........................................................................

44
44
44
45
48
48
51
53
56
57
57

DATA A N A LYSIS......................................................................

59

Introduction................................................................................
Degree of Cultural Pluralism ................................................
Qualitative Data..............................................................
Summary of reviewers' comments........................
Quantitative D a ta ...........................................................
Summary of Data Pertaining to Question 1.0..
Degree of Global Perspective...............................................
Qualitative D a ta ...............................................................
Quantitative D a ta ............................................................
Summary of Data Pertaining to Question 2.0...
Descriptive Profile of T e xtb o o ks....................................
Summary
........................................................................

59
61
61
65
69
71
72
73
80
86
87
92

V

V.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................

94

Summary...................................................................................... 94
Major Findings.............................................................................. 95
Degree of Cultural Pluralism .................................................
95
Degree of Global Perspective................................................ 96
Discussion and Implications of the Findings
97
Cultural Pluralism............................................................. 97
Global Perspective........................................................... 99
Projected Outcomes of the S tu d y ...................................... 101
Recommendations for Future S tu d y .................................. 101

APPENDICES...........................................................................................
A.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE................................. 104

B.

SAMPLE OF SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE.................... 106

C.

REVIEW ERS'EVALUATIVE CRITERIA....................... 107

D.

GLOBAL ISSUES CHECKLIST...................................... 111

E.

SUGGESTIONS TO PUBLISHERS............................... 114

F.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH O F RESEARCHER.. 116

BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................... 117

LIST OF TABLES
Table

page

3.1

Breakdown of Publisher Choice by District Size

47

4.1

Summary of Reviewers' Recommendation for
Action..............................................................................................

63

Summary of Textbook Rank-Ordering according to
Passage Length Devoted to Areas of the World .......

71

4.3

Summary of Checklist Responses..........................................

79

4.4

Summary of Textbooks Rank-Ordering According to
Passage Length Devoted to Global T o pics.......................

85

4.2

vi i

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
3.1

page
Percentage of Choice by Publisher.......................................

vii i

46

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Each day people are made aware of the interdependent nature
of our world.

A fam ine

in Ethiopia affects citizens

in Am erica

who raise relief money; a hostage taken in Lebanon may indirectly
affect arm s sales to rebels in Central Am erica, and a little girl
stuck in a well shaft in W est Texas touches the hearts of political
leaders around the world.

Technological advances which m ake it

possible to travel to any country within hours

or talk to anyone in

the world within seconds have made many educators more aw are
than ever of the need for a global perspective of our world.

Human

beings are becoming aw are that they share a common space.
world is becoming a "global village," in the words of

The

McLuhan

(McLuhan & Fiore, 1967), and fellow villagers must all move closer
toward

understanding

if they are to survive.

Recognizing

that

radical social, political, and economic changes are taking place,
the educational systems need to help students both understand the
ram ifications

of those

and

the

acquire

skills

issues
and

related
attitudes

to global
necessary

citizenship in a global ag e (Leestm a, 1978).

interdependence
for

responsible

2

In addition to America's interrelatedness with other nations
of the world,
pluralistic,

attention

must also

m ultiracial and

be focused

on

the culturally

multiethnic nature of the society.

In

the early stages of America's history, a belief in the philosophy of
isolationism, or a concern for the expansion of the nation's borders
and

a

feeling

of aloofness

c h a ra c te riz e d

th e

e n te rin g

U n ite d

th e

U .S .

or superiority over other countries,

attitu d e

S ta te s

(B ec ke r,

w e re

e x p e c te d

them selves into the "American" culture.
are gone, and
with

Im m igrants

to

a s s im ila te

The days of isolationism

the philosophy of assimilation has been replaced

notions of the

1 9 7 3 ).

1 9 7 9 ).

According

pluralistic nature
to

Dickem an

of our society

(1 9 7 3 ),

citizens

(Dickem an,

of the

States are not one big melting-pot of homogenized beings.
come in all sizes, shapes,
cultural

backgrounds.

By

United
Humans

shades of color, and from all types of
respecting

that ethnic diversity for its

unique contribution to our society in education, it is possible to
teach our children that it is not necessary to agree with someone
to respect his or her views.

Since the need to promote pluralism

is an integral part of the global perspective, the developm ent of
em pathy with those of a different culture is encouraged (Joyce &
Nicholson,

1 9 79).

Educators must also m ake sure that textbooks

and other curriculum materials accurately and positively deal with
the

international

culturally

area s

pluralistic

of

nature

our
of

global
our

society,

A m erican

State Board of Education [MSBE], 1987).

as

well

society

as

the

(M ichigan

3
All subject areas experience problems in curriculum planning
and implementation, but global education

has had more than

share of difficulties (Joyce & Nicholson, 1979).
obvious problems
e d u c a tio n .

is the

interpretation,

coming

O ne of the most

lack of a concise definition

A n d erso n

(1 9 6 8 )
to

the

a d d re s s e d
conclusion

th e

that

is

vital

for

school

districts

co n cern ed

for global

p ro b le m

global

could mean whatever educators chose it to mean.
it

its

of

education

For this reason,

with

developin g

a

program of global education to first develop a rationale and agree
on a definition which will guide program
education

developm ent.

Global

need not be a rival to any "basics" in the curriculum.

Cleveland (1980) considers international com petence as one of the
basics,

referring

cooperating."

to

Its

them

as

relevance

"reading,
is

often

feel global educationists are eroding

writing,

counting,

and

questioned by some who

national

interests

(Howard,

1979), a trend some (Bullard,1980; and C om m ager,1975) see as a
return

to

isolationism.

Once a clear rationale and definition of global education has
been agreed upon, another problem may surface -- that of material
selection.

The problem is not really one of not having materials

a v a ila b le ,

but

it

d e a ls

w ith

th e

id e n tific a tio n

of

s u itab le

materials, as opposed to those m arketed as "global" while actually
promoting a narrow,

nationalistic stance

(Torney,

1 9 79).

Morris

(1 979 ) points out that some m aterials may actually work against
the formation of a global perspective in students by promoting an
Am erican-centered view of the world

rather than a global view.

4
Pellow ski

(1 9 7 2 )

a p p ro p ria te
M aterials

w arn s

w hen

that are

th at

"Every

little

ch oo sing

m ate ria ls

derogatory

or

for

inaccurate

bit

helps"

global
when

is

not

ed u catio n .
dealing

with

other cultures can create more harm than not having materials at
all.

The

sch o o l's

u ltim a te

im plem entation of a
our

o b je c tiv e

curriculum

is

th e

d e sig n

which will positively

interdependent and culturally pluralistic society

and

represent
(B ecker &

Anderson, 1969).

Backamund and_Rationale_for_thjs_studv
More than any other factor, textbooks have exerted a direct
influence upon
how

it

19 77).
learn in g

is

what

is

taught

in

social

studies

classes

and

taught (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS],

Since textbooks
e n v iro n m e n t,

are
it

such a dom inant influence on the

is

of

vital

im p o rta n c e

th a t

they

periodically be evaluated in order to closely monitor their content
and identify areas which
B ecause

of

the

high

simply cannot afford

m ay need

cost
to

revision or supplem entation.

of textbooks,

purchase

new

m any

school

or revised

districts

textbooks

as

often as needed to keep up with the trem endous changes taking
place within our society.

The alternative, using a textbook which

contains inaccuracies and biased information, or one which fails
to reflect the multiethnic character of our society
in terrelatedn ess

of

our

world,

could

However, if these areas of weakness
need not be so grim.

indeed

prove

or the global
disasterous.

can be identified, the outlook

Teachers can build a sound curriculum using

5
supplem ental, low-cost texts such as newspapers, current events
m agazines, and library materials.

The focus of the problem then is

identifying the areas of weakness.
Since 1968, ten studies have been carried out in Michigan to
m onitor the

progress

m ade

in the

w ay

textbooks

reflect the

multicultural and multiethnic nature of our society (M S B E ,
The

initial

textb ook

study

revie w

evalu atio n

w as

un dertaken

stan d ard s

procedures.

and

m inorities
scope

of
in

of

the

categories

of

th e

m ade

study

American

social
and

from

studies
im partial

1 9 7 1 -1 9 7 7

in the accuracy of textbook

particularly
w as

fa ir

studies

ac co m p lish m en ts

A m erica,
1978

d e velo p

estab lish

S u b seq u en t

attem pted to chart progress
p re s e n ta tio n

to

1980).

and

c o n trib u tio n s

Black A m ericans.

broadened

to

of
The

include

the

Indian, Handicapped, W om en, Bilingual,

Gifted and Talented, and O ther Areas of the World in the B ias
R e v ie w

P ro ced u res

(M ichigan

D epartm ent of Education

[M DE],

1 9 8 0 ).
The

last

study,

areas of the world

in

conducted
the

in

1982,

categories

included

international

of subjects to exam ine

an attem pt to explore the extent to which textbooks
global

nature

of our society.

Included

in the

in

reflect the

report of these

findings (M SB E, 1984, p.388) was the conclusion that:
References to other peoples and nations of the world
are w eak and frequently present distorted views of
those cultures... peoples of other areas of the world
a re
p o rtra y e d
as
p a s s iv e
ra th e r th an
a c tiv e
participants in history.

6

Ejumes&oObs^lLidy
The overall purpose of the current study is to describe the
degree of global and cultural perspective present in
social studies textbooks.
the

last fifteen

middle school

Publishers have made some progress in

to twenty years

in their attem pts to

elim inate

bias from textbooks, but there is a definite need for a more global
p erspective
believed

in

our

by this

text

m aterials

(K achaturoff,

researcher that the

1 9 8 4 ).

textbooks

It

is

most commonly

used in the state of Michigan will reflect generally what is used
across the nation; furthermore,
these

textbooks

that

an

intensive

evaluation

would be beneficial to educators outside the

state of Michigan who are using the same textbooks.
continuing effort of the Michigan State
com pliance

with

the

Social

Studies

Education

Textbook

As a part of a
Departm ent, in

Act

(1 9 7 6 ),

purpose of this study will be to assess the degree to which
studies

textbooks

middle-school
pluralistic,

of

w id ely

used

throughout

level (grades six and seven)

m ultiracial,

and

m ultiethnic

the

state

one
social

at

the

positively reflect the

nature

of

our

society,

past and present.

A second purpose, based on the Guidelines

G lo b a l. Education

issued by MDE (1977), is to assess the degree to

which

those

m aterials

reflect

the

interdep en den t

For

and

global

is im portant for the following

reasons.

First,

rely

the

nature of our world.

S.igoiiigance-Qiltifi-stu.cly
This

study

teachers tend

to

heavily

on

textbooks

in

planning

of

7
instruction.

It

is th e re fo re

of

vital im po rtance

th a t

those

textbooks reflect a school's curriculum goals in the areas of global
interdependence and cultural pluralism.

Second, this study should

reveal areas of w eaknessess in current texts which
addressed
study

in classroom

should

help

instruction.

educators

Third,

becom e

the

m ore

need to be

results

critical

of this

of

other

curriculum materials used as supplem entary texts.

The

following

questions

will

guide

the

research er

in the

completion of this study:

1.

H ow

do

the

m iddle-school

textbooks currently
reflect
1.1

our

Do

in use

culturally

positively

reflect

studies

society?

so cial
the

social

in the state of Michigan

pluralistic

m id d le-sch o o l

level

studies

culture

of

textb o o ks

North

A frica

and the Middle East?
1 .2

Do

m id d le-sch o o l

social

stu d ies

textb o o ks

positively reflect the culture of Asia?
1.3

Do

m idd le-scho ol

social

stu d ies

textb o o ks

positively reflect the culture of C anada?
1.4

Do

m id d le-sch o o l

so cial

positively reflect the culture
and the Caribbean?

stu d ies
of Latin

textb o o ks
A m erica

8
1.5

Do

m id d le-scho ol

positively

social

reflect

the

stu d ies

culture

of

textb o o ks

S u b -S ah aran

A fric a ?
2.

How do middle-school level social studies textbooks
currently in use

in the state of Michigan positively

reflect the interdependent nature of our world in the
presentation

of the

global

issues

outlined

in

Michigan S tate Board of Education's Essential

the

Goals

And Objectives JEof_SadaL Studies In Michigan (K-121?
2.1

Is the

issue

of world

food

supply

presented

from a global perspective?
2.2

Is the issue of world health presented from a
global

2.3

perspective?

Is the issue of world population presented from
a global perspective?

2.4

Are the issues of war, peace, and arm am ents
presented from a

2.5

Are

environm ental

global
2.6

global perspective?
issues

p resented

from

a

perspective?

Are the issues of race and ethnicity presented
from a global perspective?

2.7

A re

th e

iss u e s

re s p o n s ib ilitie s

of

h u m an

p re s e n te d

rig h ts

from

a

and
g lo b a l

p e rs p ec tiv e?
2.8

Are

religious

p e rs p e c tiv e ?

issues

presented

from

a global

9
2 .9

Are the
tra d e

issues of international

re la tio n s

p re s e n te d

m onetary and

from

a

global

p e rs p e c tiv e ?
2 .1 0

Is

th e

issue

of

lan gu age

fam ily

relationship

presented from a global perspective?
2.11

Are the

issues of arts and culture

presented

from a global perspective?
2 .1 2

Is the issue of energy presented from a global
p e rs p e c tiv e ?

2 .1 3

Is the issue of poverty presented from a global
p e rs p e c tiv e ?

2 .1 4

Is the issue of relations among

nations/states

presented from a global perspective?

Definitions of terms used in the study
For purposes of this study, the following term s are defined
in the context in which they are used in this dissertation:
CULTURE
p a tte rn s ,

-

the

la n g u a g e ,

totality

arts,

of

b eliefs,

socially

transm itted

institutions,

and

behavior
all

other

products of human work and thought characteristic of a community
or population.
CULTURAL
co existe n ce

of

P LU R A LIS M

num erous

- an ideology which supports the

distinct

ethnic,

religious,

or

cultural

groups within a society, seeing a society as a mosaic of diverse
cultural groups and respecting that diversity.

10
G LO B AL

IN T E R D E P E N D E N C E

- a term characterizing the

network of complex relationships which exist between and among
nations,

peoples,

cultures,

species

and

environm ental

system s

sharing planet Earth.
GLOBAL P E R S P E C T IV E - a point of view characterized by an
understanding of the values and priorities of the many cultures of
the world, as well as the basic concepts and principles related to
world

com m unities,

religious

beliefs,

such

as

customs

system s

and

regulating

traditions,

etc.,

law

and

order,

em phasizing

the

interconnections among cultures, species, and the planet Earth.
M ID D L E S C H O O L LEVEL - for the purposes of this study,
middle school level is identified as being grades six and seven.
URBAN S C H O O LS - schools in districts containing 8,8 0 0 or
more students in the total school population.
SU B U R B A N S C H O O LS - schools in districts containing from
2,4 50 to 8,7 9 9 students in the total school population.
R URAL S C H O O LS - schools in districts containing less than
2,4 4 9 students in the total school population.

PasgriDlioaflliM D C ^
This
sam ple
various

study

is descriptive

in the study
in nature.

A stratified

random

of 120 of the 563 school districts in Michigan, reflecting
geographic areas

as well as com m unity types

(urban,

rural, and suburban), was conducted to determ ine the five most
popular

social

studies

textbook

Michigan in grades six and seven.

series

used

in

the

state

of

Experts associated with various

11

Michigan universities and selected by the Michigan Departm ent of
Education for their knowledge and professional expertise
in tern atio n al

a re a s

se lec ted

for

this

study

w e re

in the

train ed

as

reviewers by the Michigan Department of Education to exam ine the
ten selected texts for

portrayal of these particular areas:

North Africa and the Middle East
Asia
Canada
Latin America and the Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
The reviewers used a checklist based on the Michigan State
D ep artm e n t

of

E d u catio n ’s

T e x tb o o k

S tu d y

desig nated

criteria.

(1 9 8 0 )

1 9 7 8 -7 9
to

Each

rate

M ichigan

the

review er

S ocial

textbooks

then

S tud ies

according

prepared

a

to

narrative

sum m ary based on the checklist criteria and a sum m ary of final
re c o m m e n d a tio n s ,

su b m ittin g

recom m endations to the

both

n a rra tiv e

re v ie w s

and

researcher, who compiled a descriptive

summary of the strengths and weaknesses of each textbook.
This researcher, on the basis of knowledge and experience
gained
training

through
in

international teaching

teaching

from

reading and investigation
se lec ted

and

further

a

global

experience,
perspective,

sem inars
and

and

extensive

into the field of global education was

train ed

by

the

M ichigan

Education in

textbook

review procedures.

e x p e rie n c e ,

tra in in g ,

and

e x te n s iv e

D ep artm e n t

of

Using this knowledge,

lite ra tu re

re v ie w ,

the

researcher constructed a checklist based on selected portions of

12

Indiana

In

The

W orld:

Teaching

Activities

P acket (1 9 8 1 ,

pp.

162-168), with the permission of the Indiana State Departm ent of
Public

Instruction,

analysis
issues

(Holsti,
outlined

in

order

1969)
in

to

conduct

to determ ine

a

q u a lita tiv e

co ntent

the extent to which

global

the Essential Goals And .O bjectives For Social

Studies In Michigan. K-12 (M S B E .1987, p .16) w ere addressed. After
subm itting

the

ch ecklist

to

the

head

of

the

S ocial

S tudies

Departm ent at the Michigan D epartm ent of Education for approval
and establishing

interrater reliability

experts in the field of

with three other recognized

Global Education, the

researcher

examined

the ten texts for their overall global perspective on these issues,
and prepared a descriptive report regarding each text.
the researcher perform ed

In addition,

a quantitative analysis consisting of a

word-count of passages in each of the textbooks

related

fourteen global topics

D epartm ent of

Education's

identified

in the

Michigan

to the

G u id e lin fis J o L ^ Io b a L -E d u ia ti^ (1978):

World Food Supply

World Health

World Population

War, Peace and Armaments

International Monetary and

Race and Ethnicity

Trade Relations

Religion

Environment

Arts and Culture

Language

Human Rights and Responsibilities

Energy

Poverty

Relations among Nations/States
Each

text

w as

assig n ed

a

q u a n tita tiv e

word-count of passage devoted to each topic.

va lu e

signifying

the

The researcher will

13
present an in-depth

review comparing the relative strengths and

weaknesses of each text
(1)

using these measures:

narrative reviews by experts in the five international
area s,

(2)

a qualitative content analysis based on the
researcher-designed checklist, and

(3)

a quantitative content analysis based on word-count
of passages

devoted to global topics and the five

areas under study.

Limitations of the study
W hile

it is hoped that this study will be useful

respects, it must
study

represent

be
the

recognized

that

the

findings

in many
of

this

viewpoint of this researcher in regard to the

degree of global perspective presented by each textbook reviewed.
Also, findings will not be generalizable
review ed ,

although

they

may

be

beyond

the ten textbooks

representative

of

those

used

across the nation in a majority of schools.

SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW
In this chapter the background, rationale and purpose of the
study

w e re

p res en ted .

S ig n ifica n c e,

research

questions

definitions of important term s w ere also discussed.
In Chapter II a review of the literature in the following
areas will be discussed :

and

14
1. Global education; its definitions, history, and goals.
2. The implications of the concept of cultural pluralism on
social studies curriculum.
3.

The relevance of global education to the assessment and
selection

of social studies m aterials.

A description of the methodology used in the design of the
study will be given in Chapter III.
The

results

and

analysis

ofdata

will

be

presented

in

Chapter IV.
In

C h a p te r

im plications,

and

V

a

sum m ary

of

reco m m en dation s for

the

study, conclusions,

further

study

will

be

discussed.
A Bibliography and Appendices will com plete the rem ainder
of the dissertation.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The

literature

following areas:
d e fin itio n s ,

for

this

study

encom passed

the

first, global education and a related study of its

history

im plications

review ed

of the

and

g o als

concept

a re

e x p lo re d ;

of cultural

pluralism

second,
on

the

th e

social

studies curriculum are examined; and third, the relevance of global
education

to

the

assessm ent

and

selection

of

social

studies

m aterials is discussed.

Global Education: Definitions. History and Goals

Definitions
W h en

looking

for

the

roots

of

the

global

ed u catio n

m ovem ent, one discovers a multitude of term s which have been
used in the literature in various periods of the movement's history.
Som e of these are:
ethnic studies,

multicultural aw areness,

cultural

world affairs, and

pluralism, cultural

international education.

world citizenship,

parity, global values,
M any definitions for

global education have also been offered, but there does not seem to

16
be

a

consensus

1983).

regarding

any

particular

m eaning

(W yniem ko,

Bragaw and Loew (1985) refer to something called "Global

Perspectivism," defining it as the ability to study, learn and take
another’s viewpoint.
obtained

by:

ethnocentric

(1)
and

They further suggest that this perspective is
pursuing

global

stereotypical

goals,

thinking

reducing

w ithout

egocentric,

detracting

from

national loyalty,

(2) concentrating on cultural universals such as

institutions

com m onalities

and

of all

hum ankind,

and

(3)

using

conceptual them es across the curriculum by taking an "issues" or
"problem -study"

a p p ro a c h .

K niep

(1 9 8 6 b )

sp eaks

of

the

Commission on Global Perspectives in Education's research in the
area of how schools can educate U.S. citizens who are part of a
world

increasingly

and rapid change.
of need

c h aracterized

by

pluralism ,

in terdependence

The commission identified the following areas

critical to the

strengthening

of a

global dimension

in

school programs (p .415):

(1 )

Adoption of ap p rop riate
state leg isla tiv e bodies
boards,

global education policies by
and s ta te and local school

(2 )

Encouragem ent of curriculum developm ent at the
level, including greater teacher involvement,

(3 )

P roviding fo r a d e q u a te te a c h e r ed u catio n
substance and methods of global education,

(4 )

D e v e lo p m e n t of
b rin g in g
g lo b a l
m ainstream , and

in

local

the

in n o vative cu rricu lar stra teg ies for
e d u c a tio n
into
th e
e d u c a tio n a l

17
(5 )

E s ta b lis h m e n t of s c h o o l-u n iv e rs ity and
co m m u n ity
partnerships, and of research and developm ent centers in
support of global studies.

Kniep (1986a) further em phasizes that
in terdep en den t

nature

of

our

programs in global education
characteristics of global

w orld

(p. 439)."

issues and

that they are tr a n s n a tio n a l

lies

. .a focus on the

at

the

core

problem s.

First,

he states

Secondly, these problems

and issues can only be solved through m ultilate ra l

actions.

inherent in each.

Third,

Fourth, these

problems and issues are characterized by their p e r s is te n c e
time.

Last,

they are lin ked

to one another.

discussion with four education movements

Rights

Education,

E ducation.

In

E nvironm ental
a

later

which he believes have
Peace Education,

Education,

article,

over

He then continues his

tried to infuse global issues into the curriculum:
D evelo p m en t

of

He then discusses the

in scope.

there is a degree of c o n f lic t

very

Kniep

and

Hum an

(1 9 8 6 c )

further

identifies five conceptual them es which

he feels should serve as

organizers for a "global " curriculum:

Interdependence,

Culture, Scarcity and Conflict.

Change,

Cleveland (1986, p.416) proposes a

syllogism for us to consider:
In the USA, the people sooner or later make the policies that guide our
actions as a nation.
The people are grown-up schoolchildren.
E rg o , how we act as a nation depends on what schoolchildren come to
know and learn to feel, and therefore how they later act.

He

follow s

his

syllogism

with

a

discussion

of

"feelings" vital for an understanding of world affairs:

seven

basic

18
(1 )

A feel for basic human needs,

(2 )

A feel for the limited usefulness of violence to solve
problem s,

(3 )

A feel for the interrelated global changes taking place
in the world,

(4 )

A

fe e l

fo r

g lo b al

re a d ju s tm e n t to

supply

and

consumption of goods,
(5 )

A feel for the
it is

possible

lessons from
for

history illustrating

peoples

to

resolve

conflicts

cultural

diversity and

that
and

work together,
(6 )

A

fe el

for

pluralism

th e

of

a

world

with

nobody

in

m andatory
ch arge

and

therefore everybody in charge, and
(7 )

A feel for the leadership role the USA must take in
global

affairs.

The Michigan Departm ent of Education in its
G lo b a l

E ducation

lifelong

growth

Guidelines

(1978, p.3), defines global education

in understanding

through

study and

For

as " A

participation

of the world community and the interdependency of its people and
s y s te m s .

.

.

so cial,

cu ltu ral,

ra c ia l,

eco n o m ic,

linguistic,

technological, and ecological."

hdistocy.
Just how did this m ovement begin?
the

beginnings at the

close

of

the

Scanlon (1960) places

ninteenth century with

the

19
w ritings

of

K em eny,

a

H ungarian

author

w ho

proposed

the

formation of an international education organization which would
work

for

improved

addition,

race

relations throughout

the

world.

In

he adds that the C arnegie Endowm ent for International

Peace and the American School Peace League w ere both organized
prior to W orld
justice

W ar

through

National

I to

the

promote the

schools

in

Education Association

interests

America.

passed a

of

international

In fact, in 1912

resolution

the

praising the

School Peace League and recommending the further developm ent
of

international

w orld-m indedness.

World W ar I interrupted these early attempts at developing an
effective

program ,

ed u cato rs

kept

but

the

during

id ea

the

alive.

19 2 0 's

and

P resco tt

1 9 3 0 's

(1 9 3 0 )

a

pushed

few
for

familiarization with the League of Nations and its aims to promote
international understanding

in elem entary and secondary schools.

O ther

the

cham pions

S cience

R esearch

keeping

C ouncil,

m ovem ent alive

the

A m erican

w ere

Council

the
of

Social

Learned

Societies and the American Council on Education (Gum perz, 1970).
Gum perz wrote that various factors in the 1920's and 1930's such
as

a

m ajor

W estern

in ternation al

C ivilizatio n

econom ic

focus

of

crisis,

e a rlie r

a

reaction

cu rricu lar

to

efforts,

the
and

w idespread support by intellectuals for international disarm am ent
and the

League of Nations, combined

in te rn a tio n a l

ed u ca tio n

into

the

in an

effort to introduce

cu rricu lu m .

W orld

W ar

II

interrupted this effort temporarily, but after W orld W ar II and the

20
establishm ent

of the

United

Nations,

stronger

co m m itm ents

to

international education programs began to surface.
B ecker

(1 9 7 9 )

d e s c rib e s

in te r n a t io n a l/in te r c u ltu r a l

education as falling into three periods between the 1950's and the
1970's.

First, he describes the 1950's as a period characterized by

the Cold W ar, the Korean W ar, and McCarthyism .
during this tim e w as on

The emphasis

military and diplom atic

relations.

The

launching of Sputnik by the Soviets in 1957 prompted the National
D efense

Education

lan g u ag e

and

language

institutes

schools. T h e

a re a

1958.

studies
to

th e

Title

in

improve

purpose seem ed

knowledgeable
In

Act of

VI

A m erican
language

such

as

and

the

em p h asis

th e

the

Ford

th e

"in stitution-buildin g"
s tim u late

un iversities

teaching

and

in the

for
for

public

about other countries and fluent in their languages.
19 6 0 's

F o u n d a tio n ,

support

to be developm ent of specialists

shifted

geographic-area studies (Becker, 1979).
fo u n d atio n s

provided

Fo un dation,

to

encourage various

of

th e

and

R o c k e rfe lle r

C o r p o r a tio n

c o lleg es

in te rn a tio n a liza tio n

cu ltu ral

During this tim e, various

C a r n e g ie

g ran ts

to

and

th e

o ffe r e d

u n iv e rs itie s

cu rricu lu m

kinds of international activities

and

to
to

on cam puses

(W agner, 1986), but the country's involvement in the Vietnam W ar
narrowed the international focus so that by the end of the decade
the

internation al

studies

balloon

foundation support had w aned.
proposed

passage

of

an

had

In 1966

International

burst

and

fe d e ra l

and

President Johnson

had

Education

Act to support

21
international education

for students to be able to function

in a

multicultural universe (U .S . Congress, 1966), but the act was never
funded.

Funding for the National D efense Education Act Title VI

was eroded by inflation, and its fellowships fell by two-thirds in
the

decade between 1967 and 1977 (Groennings, 1981).

report
the

Becker's

(1969) to the U.S. Office of Education, commonly known as

Becker/A nderson

education

b e cau se

in te r n a t io n a l

report,
it

is viewed

seem ed

e d u c a tio n

to

as a

call

w h ic h

for

landm ark

a

new

w o u ld

in global

definition

e m p h a s iz e

of
th e

interdependency of our global society.
A m erica then entered the third period, the
shift

in

em phasis

from

international

education

1970's, with a

program s

expansion of world-centered or global studies programs.

to

an

One can

see that at least three views have existed about how international
or global studies should be organized (Becker, 1979).
holds that the

main goal of such a program

b eco m e

interest.

A nother view that is advocated by other supporters of

u n d e rstan d in g
education.

or

g lo b a l

should

be

loyal

should be to help

students

in te rn a tio n a l

intelligent,

O ne view

e d u c a tio n
th e

supporters

holds

c e n tra l

focus

of

the

national

th a t

in te rc u ltu ra l

of

in ternation al

T h e third view, which would appear to be the position

held by the g rea ter majority of writers in recent years (Anderson
& Anderson, 1977; B ecker,1979; and Rem y et al., 1975), argues
that although foreign policy issues and language and area studies
are im portant, a global or world view -- that is, seeing oneself

22
and human beings generally as members of a single species on a
small planet -- is the approach that is needed in today's complex
world.

To

a

d egree,

one

can

find

rem nants

of

these

three

approaches in schools today.

Goals
In

the

1970's,

it is now known,
began

to

be

efforts

in

the

field

of global education, as

appeared more realistic as more concrete goals

set to deal

with

global

interdependence

relationship to the national interest (W a g n e r,1986).
(1 975 )

and

its

Rem y et al.

suggested that program planners list goals and objectives

in international education and give consideration to goals others
have developed.

Collins (1977) spoke to the need for goals in

global education to address affective learning as well as cognitive
learning.

Morris (1979) also stressed the need for affective goals

in global education at the elem entary level.

King, Branson, and

Condon (1976) saw global education goals as a set of competencies
that would enable individuals to participate in the world system
more responsibly.

Becker (1974)

of global education
encom pass
aggression

is to provide a knowledge base that would

iso latio n
and

suggested that one of the goals

and

cooperation.

in teg ratio n ,
He

d iversity

pointed

out

that

and

unity,

instead

of

em phasizing the differences among people, educational m aterials
need to emphasize the many commonalities among human beings.

23
In its Guidelines For G iobaLEducation (M DE, 1978, pp. 6-7),
the

Michigan

D ep artm en t of

Education

global education in a school system.

listed

several goals

for

Such education should help

students:
1.

Acquire a basic knowledge of various aspects of the
w orld

—

ec o n o m ic,

g e o g ra p h ic ,
p o litical,

cu ltu ra l,
histo rical,

racia l,

linguistic,

artis tic,

scien tific,

and religious.
2.

Develop

a personal value and behavior system based

on a global perspective. . . .
3.

Understand problems and potential problems that have
global

im plications.

4.

Explore solutions for global problems.

5.

D evelop

a

practical

w ay

of

life

based

on

global

p ers p ec tiv es.
6.

Plan for alternative futures.

7.

Participate responsibly in an interdependent world.

Along these sam e lines, Anderson and Anderson (1 977 ) included
com petencies in perceiving one's involvement,

making decisions,

making judgem ents, and exercising influence as vital components
of goal statements in

global education programs.

Because there w as a scarcity of data available in the 1970's
on the state of global education in the schools and among students,
the U .S. office of Education's Institute of International Studies set
out to gather data to use toward program improvement.

In 1973,

24
the Educational Testing Service surveyed high school seniors and
found

them

lacking

in

a

basic

kn o w led g e

of

th e

w orld.

In 1974 the U .S . Office of Education, in cooperation with
E d u catio n al

Testing

S ervic es

conducted

surveys

of

fo u rth -,

eighth-, and tw elfth-grade students with generally dism al results
(Pike, Barrows, Mahoney & Jungeblut, 1979).
som e dram atic w eaknessess these students
international
As
Carter

The study revealed
had

in the area of

knowledge.

a result of these

1973

and

19 74

studies,

President

appointed the President's Commission on Foreign Language

and International studies in 1978.

The report of this commission

gave global education high visibility, linking foreign language and
international studies to national security and

business

interests,

and recommending a strengthening of support for these programs.
From the early 1980's until the present, however, prospects
for federal funding of global education programs recom m ended by
the

President's

adm inistration
leg isla tio n
M o jd e h i

Commission
carried

affectin g
(1 9 8 2 )

out

have been dism issed.
extensive

in ternation al

cited

sp ecific

budget

ed u catio n
te n d e n c ie s

The
cuts

(W a g n e r,
of

th e

Reagan
in

all

1 9 8 6 ).
R eagan

administration to treat Third World nations as friends or foes in a
U .S .-S o v iet competition and ignore neutral, nonstrategic countries.
It would appear that if the present trend is not reversed the United
States will be heading backward to the era of the 1950's when the

25
em phasis

in

global

education

w as

on

m ilitary

and

diplom atic

relatio n s.
In 1983 the National Commission
released

its

report,

concern

that the

A

Nation

world

on Educational Excellence

At R isk.

has

T h e report reflects the

changed

American education is falling behind.

dram atically

and

that

However, as Tanner (1984)

points out, while giving lip service to the concept of the world as
a "global village," the
dom inance -

not understanding -

m aze of reports which
possible

report focuses

to

find

military and

economic

by the United States.

have surfaced

m any

on

in the

contradictory

In the

last decade,

prescriptions

for

it is

school

im provem ent.
Although the majority of these reports fail to mention the
need

for

the

persp ective
students

at

im plem entation

in

the

all

of

curriculum ,

levels

seem

knowledge and aw areness.

global
th ere

to

be

education
is

a

lacking

M ichigan

international

(W y n ie m k o ,
schools

in

a

global

concern

that

in ternation al

Studies examining m easures of global

knowledge and aw areness of fourth-, eighth-,
in

real

or

1 9 8 2 );

(D em ps,

and twelfth-graders

e ig h th -g ra d e rs

1983);

A m erican

in

college

o v ersea s
students

(Hill, 1981); and K -12 teachers in an overseas international school
(W ieber, 1982) have produced evidence that there is still much to
be done toward im plem entation of successful programs of global
aw areness.

26

The
obstacles

global
in the

implementation.

ed ucatio n
past,

and

m ovem ent
continues

has

along

fa c e d
a

num erous

difficult

road

to

Som e might charge that the curriculum in schools

is cluttered enough already and that they do not have time in the
day to add to an already full agenda.
an sw e r

to

schooling.

this
He

ch arg e

reinforces

encouraged to substitute
usefulness.

with

a

the

Goodlad (1986) proposes an

discussion of m ajor
notion

that

te a c h e rs

new content for w hat

has

in

should

be

outlived

its

He further em phasizes the need for m aterials which

are relevant in our global age.

The

American high school in recent

years -- 385

1988)

needs

plethora of

studies

on

the

since 1983 (Romano,

has once again focused the nation's attention on school

im provem ent. The

situation

e ra .

esp ecially

E ducators,

is som ewhat parallel to the
those

involved

in

social

Sputnik
studies

education, have expressed concern that social studies in general
and global education in particular are in danger of being forgotten
or overlooked in the w ake of

the commotion

surrounding the lack

of achievem ent in the areas of

math, science, and

reading (W agner,

1 9 8 6 ).

Implications of Cultural Pluralism
on Social Studias_Qumculum
According to the Position .S tatem ent On

G lobal

Education

(C hapm an, Becker, Gilliom & Tucker, 1982, p.37) prepared by the
In te rn a tio n a l

A ctivities

C o m m itte e ,

"The

p u rp o s e

of

global

27
education

is

to

d evelo p

in

youth

the

know ledge,

skills,

and

attitudes needed to live effectively in a world . . . characterized by
e th n ic

d iv e r s it y ,

c u ltu r a l

p lu r a lis m ,

and

in c re a s in g

interdependence."
In order to explore the influence cultural pluralism has had
on the social studies curriculum,
brief

look

at

the

period

of

it is first necessary to take a

history

which

gave

birth

to

this

ideology.

History of Cultural Pluralism
H unter (1 9 7 4 )

states that in the early

1800's

immigration

m ovem ents began to be viewed with concern in the United States
as they w ere judged to be the root of economic, social, religious,
political, and educational problems.

The first census of the United

States, taken in approxim ately 1790, showed that more than half
the population consisted of African, Scotch-lrish, W elsh, Germ an,
Dutch, Swedish, French and other non-English inhabitants (Kopan,
1974).

By 1885, the pattern had shifted from high percentages of

northwestern European immigrants to 75 percent of the immigrant
population coming from southern and eastern

Europe as well as

A sia,

flourished

and

by

19 05

1974).

Two

extended

later to

discrim inatory

practices

(H unter,

laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was
all

im m igrants,

and the

Daw es

Act of 1887,

which m ade it legally possible for Native Americans to move into
society if they agreed to

give up their property and leave the

28
reservation, serve as exam ples of the extrem e discrimination to
which non-English-speaking
P atrick

(1 9 8 6 )

states

m a te ria ls

in

ideologies

when dealing

our society.

our

groups were subjected.

schools

that,
have

with the

The first of these

in

g e n e ra l,

re fle c te d

the

th re e

integration

curriculum
co n ce p tu al

of im migrants

into

is the concept of m o n o l i t h i c

in te g ra tio n , or the one-sided socialization and assimilation to an
Anglo-Saxon ideal that is (or was) presumed to be the
heritage.

This

Anglo-S axon hom ogenization

Am erican

dom inated

at

the

beginning of the 20th Century when immigrants from the "wrong"
parts of Europe began to come to America.

FitzGerald (1979) tells

us that during this time textbooks began to em phasize the English
ancestry of Am ericans and distinguish
"immigrants."
culture,
the

Zang w ill’s
concept.

As the concept of assim ilation

an Am erican

"melting

"oldstock" Americans from

pot"

play,

idea
The

into an Am erican

self-im age, and Am erican

nativism grew,

was

1 9 7 4 ).

developed

(H unter,

Melting Pot (Zangw ill,

1909)

Israel

inspired

this

The melting pot myth em erged from the perception that

these immigrants needed to be forced into the white Anglo-Saxon
Protestant cultural m ainstream
The
ethnocentric

second

co ncept,

pluralism

(Higham , 1971).
according

to

P atrick

is

which places an emphasis on ethnic and

racial diversity which denounces assimilation
"melting pot" idea.

(1 9 8 6 ),

and

notions of the

The primary concerns are with minority group

interests, outweighing national citizenship.

This view surfaced in

29

the 1960's and 70's becoming a popular position among curriculum
reform ers as

an

antidote to bigotry.

that textbooks in the

FitzG erald

(1 979 )

reports

1970's, for exam ple, avoided writing about

"the immigrants" as being distinct from "us Americans."
P atrick's

third

concept

is

p u ra lis tic

in te g ra tio n

which

assum es consensus about core civic values, including respect for
the rights of individuals and ethnic minorities, while at the sam e
tim e supporting majority rule.
m ore

c o m p a tib le

dem ocracy,
to

be

with

declaring

e litis t

ethnocentric

and

He claims that this conception is

education

for

citizen sh ip

the first conception,
unjustly

pluralism , to

monolithic

discrim in ato ry,

be antithetical to

The concept of cultural pluralism

in

and

a

U .S .

integration,

th e

secon d,

m ajoritarianism .

was introduced in 1916

by John Dewey (1916), and further refined by Horace Kallen (1924)
and other leading liberals to describe an ideology which supports
the coexistence of numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural
groups within

a society, seeing

society as a mosaic of diverse

cultural groups and respecting that diversity.

Kallen viewed such

a society as an "orchestration of mankind."

According to Banks

(1 9 7 6 ),

one

difficulty

c le a rly

d e lin e a te

with

th e

this

ex te n t

concept
to

is that

which

a

Kallen

did

n a tio n -s ta te

not
can

experience cultural pluralism and yet exist as a unified society.
He

refers

d escrib e

instead to "ethnic pluralism" and "biculturalism" which
a

participating

so ciety

com posed

of

various

ethnic

groups

fully

in ethnic subsocieties but having allegiances to the

30
nation state and accepting its idealized values.

H e feels these

concepts are more appropriate to contem porary American society.
F itzG erald

(1 9 7 9 )

multicultural

also

society

questions

might

look

the
like,

notion

of

pointing

w h at

to

B eyond The Melting Pot (Moynihan & G lazer, 1963)

the

a

truly

irony

in

that the authors

can discuss the horrors of life for the immigrants only because
some assim ilation

has

occurred,

otherw ise the

text would

have

been accused of "offending group sensibilities" (FitzG erald, 1979,
p.100).
Keely (1986) tells us that the
pluralism;

in fact,

it even

United

encourages

States

now accepts

it officially.

Gifford

and

Gillett (1986) say that close to one-half of the population growth
in the U .S .

is due to immigration, and that within six or seven

generations,

C aucasians will

the population.

no

longer constitute

a

majority

of

All this greatly affects the public school, which

traditionally has been a primary agent of acculturation.

The Theme of Interdependence
W h at
education

seem s

to

enthusiasts

be
and

com m on
those

in

the

proposals

of proponents

education is the them e of "interdependence."

of

of

global

multicultural

There can be no

argument with the fact that the world is indeed a global society of
many diverse cultures.
Im m igration"

issue

in te rd e p e n d e n c e .

Bell and Soley (1986) tell us that the "New
rep res en ts

M ost

a

unique

im m ig ran t

e x a m p le

stu d en ts

h ave

of

global

a

global

31
perspective

and

are

less

culture-bound

than

their

U .S .

peers,

according to Wilson (1986 ).
Kinghorn,

H an vey,

and

Vaughn

(1 9 8 2 )

developed

threading through a global-education curriculum.

The first them e

that children should be taught is the value of diversity.
be achieved

by identifying

alternative

beliefs and

that there many different life styles in existence.
is that of interdependence.
of

finite

a lre a d y

resources
exist

d evelo p m en t
S p ecifically,
transnational

in
of

a

and

the
an

This can

understanding

A second theme

This is accomplished by the perception
identifying

in ternation al

com m unity.

effec tive

person

them es

m ust

The

working
acquire

com m unications.

third

linkages
th em e

relationship
the

Finally,

ability

th ese

with
to

is

the

others.

en g ag e

authors

that

saw

in
the

necessity of understanding world conditions and em erging trends
as a fourth elem ent in a global-education program.
O th er scholars

have

echoed

the

need

for a

multicultural

perspective with an em phasis on interdependence. Tucker (1988)
says that cultural pluralism can be viewed as a positive strength
in the global m arketplace.

Wood (1974) argued that the idea of

interdependence should be included in all courses and argued that
knowledge of this them e is needed at both the affective and the
cognitive

levels

in

o rder

to

develop

a

global

consciousness.

Anderson and Rivlin (1 9 8 0 ) viewed a curriculum that embodies a
global
parts

perspective
of

a

larger

as treating
w h o le

but

individual
a

nations and

curriculum

th at

regions as

highlights

the

32
interconnections

betw een

nations and

am ong world

regions.

It

treats all humankind as the main unit of analysis, not a group, and
e n c o u ra g e s

s tu d e n ts

to

to le ra te

and

a p p re c ia te

cu ltu ral

d iffe re n c e s .

A Multicultural Curriculum
N ava (1988) encourages educators to find more ways to help
young people benefit from and enjoy the rich cultural diversity of
A m erica.

In

ord er

to

accom plish

the

goal

of

instituting

a

curriculum which would encourage cultural pluralism, the Michigan
D epartm ent of Education

issued a policy statem ent dealing with

multicultural education (M D E , 1981, p.4). It states, briefly:
It is the policy of the state Board of education. . . (that) all efforts be
made to acknowledge. . . that we live in a diverse and multicultural
society . . .whose cultures, values, beliefs, and lifestyles are valid and
viable elements of our democratic society.

M orris
bringing

a

and

King

pluralistic

(1 9 6 8 )

developed

p erspective

into

four

the

cornerstones

classroom .

for

They

believed the curriculum must develop a capacity for em pathy, an
aw areness of the national ethnocentric bias which exists among
peoples, the capacity to cope with change, and the capacity to
experience
ta lk e d

of

tra d itio n a lly

multiple
tw o

loyalities

d is tin c t

lo cally

interconnected system.

based

and

identifications.

c u ltu re s
cu ltu re,

in

H arper (1986)

e x is te n c e

and

th e

new

to d ay;

th e

w orldw ide

This system is referred to by Remy, et ai.

(1975), who speak of it as the essence of world change, believing

33
that educators who subscribe to the global-system view in order
to broaden the area of children's loyalty and concern will find that
loyalty to the em erging global system comes about when people
find the institutions of the existing state to be inadequate.
even

th en ,

th e

authors

w arn e d

th at

a

person's

But

em otion al

com m itm ent to the nation-state is so strong that only through a
m assive effort at propagandization can loyalties be shifted to a
new global focus.
To
which

w h at

may

ex ten t

be

pluralism?

do

at w ork

foundational
erode

assim ilationist

attem pts

at

notions

promoting

cultural

Towson (1985) states that the notion of America as a

"melting pot" is so basic to our culture that we often let it shape
our

th eories

influence.

and

research

w ithout

Mildred Dickeman (1973)

even

being

aw a re

of

its

talked about how diversities

are often depicted as being irrelevant or harmful to the ability to
join the m ainstream .
rem arking

that

the

Dickem an quotes Jesse Jackson as once
notion

of the

"great melting

pot"

in society

ignores the half of our society who have not melted in, but have
stuck to the bottom of the pot.
world

citizenship

and the

Reischauer (1973) believed that

acceptance

of ethnic diversity

within

the United States w ere two sides of the same coin, both accenting
the

universality

of

m an.

Until

educators

are

taught

how

to

acknowledge ethnicity as a topic of discussion in the classroom,
and to look at the world through culturally plural glasses, and see

34
society as a m osaic rather than

a melting

pot (Towson,

1985),

there is little hope for global education programs to succeed.

BelevaQ<^jal(aiflhal^dLig^^

Throughout the
encounters

the

education

on

curriculum?"
(W eiss,

question,

the

Klein,

19 80;

"W hat

selection

(M arker,

1978;

S up erka,

literature concerning global education, one

of

1977;
Tye

Keith,

are

the

m aterials

Tucker,

& W right,

1981;

im plications
for the

1 9 7 9 ).
1979;

global

social

studies

N um erous

writers

Morrissett,

M cFarlan d,

of

1984;

and

H aw ke

&

C ortes

&

Fleming, 1986b) offer evidence that textbooks still tend to be the
m ajo r

so u rc e

classrooms.

of

cu rricu lu m

and

le s s o n -p la n n in g

in

most

Cogan and W eber (1 983 ) point out that in spite of

omissions, distortions, m isrepresentations and biases which

have

been pointed out in textbook reviews, textbooks ". . .are likely to
continue as the prim ary instructional tool of the vast majority of
social studies teachers in the U.S.
th erefo re

vital

that

every

textbooks

used

are

accurate,

peoples.

effort

and other nations (p.257)."
is

m ade

to

ensure

free of bias, and

that

It is
the

sensitive to all

It has been said (Kretman & Parker, 1980) that a nation's

greatness cannot rise above the level of its secondary textbooks
because students react positively or negatively to the teaching of
social
(1 9 8 7 )

studies
a g re e s

during

their

with

th e s e

secondary

school

se n tim en ts,

years.

pointing

out

Bullough
th a t

in

35
Am erican

classroom s

both

the

quality

and

quantity

of content

made available to students depends upon how good or bad the
textbooks are.

Cherryholmes (1985) further pursues the idea of

selective curriculum when

he discusses the notion that textbook

authors tell students w hat is important through w h at they choose
to write

in textbooks.

Tw enty years

essentially the sam e thing when
general

supported

the

notion

earlier,

Black

(1 9 6 7 )

said

he pointed out that studies in

th at

textbooks

w orked

to

mold

student's attitudes toward other cultures and areas of the world
through the selection of material concerned with those areas of
the world.

Blankenship (1984) and Crofts (1986) would also add

that is is important to consider not only what is in print, but what
illustrations are represented in texts.

Blankenship refers to their

". . .power to stimulate interest and leave lasting impressions on
the

read er

(p .28 2)."

Crofts

illustrates

this

point with

a

quote

from a teacher in training :

"When I recall my seventh grade social studies unit on Africa, all I
remember is the picture of a little pygmy in the forest (p. 345)"

Textbooks function as our prime source of global education.
Cortes and Fleming (1986a) have spoken out for the infusion of a
global perspective in social studies textbooks.

They feel this is

one of the most pressing issues in textbook reform.

Addressing

this issue, they point out that the perspective problem
major components which need to be exam ined.

has four

First, one must be

36
aw are

of the

natural tendency to

areas through W estern
the views
Third,

look and

neglect

other than

the

of

relationships

United

present

about foreign

eyes. Second, the difficulty of presenting

of persons within foreign

the

w rite

S tates

betw een

must be

diversity

must be recognized.
m ajor world

exam ined.

failure

to

within

foreign areas them selves must be addressed.
M a rk e r

the

areas

(1 9 7 7 )

of perspectives

su pp orted

th e

id ea

of

areas

Finally,

that

may

adding

the
exist

global

perspectives to existing courses instead of adding courses to the
curriculum ,

observing

th at

adding

courses

tends

to

categ orize

them as electives and that the late 70's w ere a time of c u ttin g
back,

not adding on .

courses?

Johnson

and

But what of m aterials for these existing
B en egar

(1983)

com plain

that

global

perspectives have frequently been ignored in curriculum materials,
particularly for students in the middle grades, due to the common
assumption that global education's place is at the upper end of the
curriculum .
that

few

m aterials

In searching

review s
regarding

have

the

been

literature,

conducted

their global

this w riter discovered
on

perspectives

existing

curriculum

(or lack of sam e),

which would tend to support the idea that more attention is needed
in this area.

Tucker (1979) cautioned, however, that education for

a global perspective could not be entered into lightly in a nation
w here historically attitudes toward the rest of the world had been
negative and isolationist, writing that social studies educators, in
the selection of m aterials and course content, must be sensitive

37
to

th ese

realities.

natio nalistic

bias,

Billington
referring

(1 9 6 6 )
to

w arned

five

forms

of

the

which

dangers
it

of

com m only

takes in textbooks (p .5-13):

1.

Bias b y inertia - the failure of textbook writers to
keep abreast of current scholarship

2.

U nconscious falsification - the inability of authors to
divorce them selves from the natural milieu in which
they have been reared

3.

Bias by
om ission - the inappropriate
facts, which can often lead to distortion

4.

Bias in the use o f language derrogatory type
language, or the subtle nuances which often occur,
such as the connotations the term s "rebels" or
"patriots" carry when applied to Am ericans fighting in
the Revolution

5.

Bias b y
cu m u la tiv e im plication - presenting only
one side of a m any-sided story (overlaps with bias
by omission)

selection

of

Finn and Ravitch (1988, p .563) state that American history
is

. .multicultural and pluralistic.

It is the story of many races,

religions, and ethnic groups striving to become one society under
one

governm ent. . ."Kenworthy

ed u ca tio n

program

m ust

(1 967 )

fo ste r

generalizations, or "Big Ideas."

th e

w arned

that a global

disco very

of

Fetsko (1979) concluded

co ncepts,
that the

textbook reform m ovem ent of the 1960's had some influence on
publishers, leading them to include some of these "Big Ideas," but

38
W oodward and Tyson-Bernstein (1986) point out that many social
studies teachers w ere never m ade aware that these materials even
existed,

hence hastening their dem ise. They further

influence conservative watchdog groups
selection

processes.

These

groups

have today
can

crea te

write of the
on textbook
a

tug-o f-w ar

political situation in m any communities over the selection of what
texts will be used in the schools.

They define this struggle as

". . .a struggle between those who want children to know about life
as it is and those who want them to know about life as they think
it should be
s tu d ies

te x ts ,

them selves
own

(p .43)."

H o w e ver,

c la im s

in the

censors
as

at

G raham

(1 9 8 6 ),

th a t

an author-editor of social

te x tb o o k p u b lish ers

middle of this struggle, even
tim es,

English

a

view point

(1 9 8 6 )

points

publishers is not always to uncover

shared
out,

often

find

becoming

their

by

the

Kline

aim

of

(1 9 8 4 ).
textbook

absolute truth, but to reap a

profit in textbook sales.
H aw ke

and

D avis

viewpoint, speaking
publishing

(1 9 8 6 )

present

a

som ew hat

different

not for the big publishers, but for the small

industries, which

see

the controversy over textbooks

through a different set of lenses.

Rather than being defensive over

ch arges

m ajor

student
create

that

textbooks

needs,

th ese

of

the

sm all

com panies

publishers see the

do

not

m eet

opportunity

to

m aterials to fill these specific "gaps" in content, realizing

they may not please the majority.

39
W hile textbooks remain the heart of American social studies
(Gross,

1 9 66),

e d u c a tio n .

few textbooks

In c re a s e d

are

dem and

devoted
for

specifically to global

m a te ria ls

w ith

a

global

perspective will, in tim e, bring about an increase in the quantity
and quality of these materials but in the m eantim e, teachers must
find ways to adapt existing materials for classroom use.
educator has a global perspective he or she can
crea te

their

own

learning

m aterials

from

the

W hen an

help students

local

library

and

community resources.

Newspapers and m agazines may both be

v a lu a b le

to

co n trib u te rs

a

global

c la ss ro o m ,

e s p e c ia lly

if

newspapers and m agazines of an international nature are used.
A potential obstacle to global education though, may appear
with the teacher.

M oyer (1985) points out that teachers tend to

teach as they w ere taught, and few w ere taught from educators
with a global perspective, so one should not be too surprised
there

is som e

resistance

to change.

Collins

(1 9 7 7 )

if

feels the

teacher determ ines the success or failure of a program of global
education.

Shaver, Davis, and

Helbrun (1979)

point

out that the

teacher is the key to what social studies will be for any student.
If advocates

of global

studies

are

serious

ab ou t

im plem enting

programs, they must influence the key change agent, the teacher.

SUMMARY
In

co n clu sio n ,

in

this

revie w

of

th e

lite ra tu re

definitions, history, and goals of the global education

the

m ovem ent

40
w ere explored.
lite ra tu re

It w as

reg ard in g

learned there is little consensus in the

any

one

d e fin itio n ,

but

th e

th e m e

of

in te r d e p e n d e n c e

occurs frequently in various attempts to define a

global education.

The Michigan Department of Education provides a

definition

seem s

which

to

encom pass

vital

elem en ts

of

most

definitions, while focusing on the them e of interdependency.
H is to ric a lly ,

th e

global

ed u catio n

beginnings shortly before W orld W ar
tem porarily stop its growth.

m ovem ent

I, only

had

its

to have that war

After W orld W ar I, supporters kept

the m ovem ent going, but the m ovem ent was again interrupted by
W orld W ar II, resurfacing at the close of the w ar with stronger
com m itm ents to international education programs.
the

em phasis

in

international

diplomatic relations.
1957

encouraged

education

to

studies,

but the

governm ental

encourage

m ovem ent

an

V ietnam

bo th

to

m ilitary

and

The launching of Sputnik by the Soviets in
support for

studies centers in American universities.
seem ed

turned

In the 1950's,

em phasis

an d

and

area

In the 1960's the mood

on geographic

W ar drained

fin a n c ia lly

language

the

and

cultural

international

studies

p h ilo s o p h ic a lly .

The

Becker/Anderson report of 1969 shifted the focus in the 1970's to
a

d e fin itio n

of

in te r n a tio n a l

interdependency of our global society.
Adm inistration
military

and

pushed the
diplom atic

e d u c a tio n

th e

The 1980's and the Reagan

U .S . toward the

relations.

re fle c tin g

1950's

em phasis on

41
G oals which

have been

recom m ended

in global education

seem to address areas of affective attitudes toward oneself as a
participant in a global "family," knowledge of the interrelatedness
of problems deem ed "global" in nature, and the skill of exploration
of

th e

so lu tio n s

to

th o s e

responsible decision-m aking.
apparent from

num erous

pro b lem s,
The

and

particip atio n

in

need for these goals becam e

assessm ents

of global

knowledge

and

attitudes carried out in the 1970's.
The

second

litera tu re

w as

curriculum.
19 0 0 's

as

m ajor

th e

a re a

exam ined

im plications

of

in the

cultural

review

pluralism

of the
on

the

This philosophy seem s to have surfaced in the early
hum anists

began

to

observe

the

unfairness

of the

"melting pot" ideology on cultures who couldn't seem to "melt in"
as well as the early Anglo-European immigrants.

The ideology of

cultural pluralism condones the coexistence of numerous distinct
ethnic,

religious or cultural groups within

allegiance to the nation-state.

a society, but sharing

Since estim ates are that in six or

seven generations C aucasians will no longer represent a majority
of

th e

p o p u latio n

in

A m e ric a ,

it

is

im p e ra tiv e

th at

this

appreciation for pluralism be supported in the schools' curriculum.
C en tra l
education
peoples,

to

th e
is the

th e m e
notion

em ph asizing

"melting pot."

of

cultural

of the

the

pluralism ,

in terdependence

"mosaic"

of

society

as

with

global

of the

world's

rather

then

the

42
The last major area of the review focuses on the relevance
of

global

m aterials.

education

to

N um erous

the

assessm ent

studies

pointed

and

out

selection

of

text

m ajor

role

the

the

textbook continues to play in social studies classroom s.

O ther

studies tell us that what is seen and read about in textbooks has a
m ajor

influence

on

student

attitudes

tow ard

th e

w orld.

In

surveying the literature, numerous reviews of social studies texts
which have been carried out in the area of bias w ere discovered,
but

few ,

if

an y,

d e a lt

with

th e

problem

of

perspective, thus illustrating the need for our study.

o verall

global

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains a description of the methodology used
in the

study.

sam pling

plan

q u a n tita tiv e
review.

The

purpose

and

outline

co n ten t

of this
the

a n a ly s e s

section

procedures
of

the

is to describe
in

qu alitative

textb ooks

s e lec ted

the
and
for

The first section of the chapter contains a description of

the procedures used in determining the ten most frequently used
social studies textbooks at the middle school level, the procedures
used for developm ent of the instruments used in the qualitative
and quantitative analyses of the textbooks are described
second section,

in the

and the final section contains an explanation of

how qualitative and quantitative data collected by the researcher
will be analyzed and utilized in the description of each textbook's
reflectio n

of

the

p lu ralistic

nature

of

our

so ciety

and

the

interdependent and global nature of our world (see A P P E N D IX F,
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH O F THE RESEARCHER).

44
Description of the textbook survey
Procedure
In order to determ ine the ten most frequently used social
studies

texts

sam p le

of

at

120

the
of

m iddle
th e

school

level,

ap p ro xim ately

a

580

stratified
school

random

districts

in

Michigan w as conducted for each grade level, sixth and seventh.
The samples w ere designed to reflect various geographic areas as
well as community types (urban, rural, and suburban).

Each sample

contained twenty urban schools, fifty suburban schools and sixty
rural schools.
to

id entify

Questionnaires containing space for the respondent
th e

title ,

p u b lis h e r

and

co p yrig h t

d a te

of

the

textbook(s) currently in use at either the sixth or seventh grade
level w ere then prepared and mailed to the building principal or
person in charge of social studies curriculum (see Appendix B for
SAM PLE O F S U R V E Y ).

Identical letters were used for each sample,

with the exception of the grade level designated.
tabulated

to

d eterm in e

the

five

textbooks

Responses were

having

the

highest

frequency of occurrence at the sixth grade level as well as the
five at the seventh grade level.

Results of the Sixth Grade.Survey
Of
returned.

th e

120

surveys

sent

out,

99

q u estio n n aires

Responses showed that the textbooks of about fifteen

publishers w ere in use at this level in Michigan.
publishing

w ere

c o m p an ies

m id-1970's, when

have

m erged

or

Som e of these

dissolved

sin ce

school districts bought som e textbooks

the

still in

45
use.

Although copyright dates of in-use textbooks ranged from

19 75

to

1988,

th ree-fo u rth s

the

of

su rvey

the

show ed

districts

that

w e re

so m ew hat

using

textbooks

within at least the last six or seven years.
w ere

the

following

five

m ore

than

published

Selected for review

most frequently used

textbooks

at the

sixth grade level:

Heath_SQgiaLSiLLdte_sj_^Latm ._Am ejica^aiid_jQao3da. D.C. Heath
Latin America and_C a n ad a. Macmillan Publishing Co.

i^tLn_Am M ca„a.D ..(lilanad.a, Scott Foresman and Co.
The W e s te ra ija m is n h iH & L ^

Silver Burdett and

Ginn, Inc.
The World. McGraw Hill Book Company

Results of .the Seventh Grade_Survev
O f the

initial

120

surveys

m ailed out,

98

w ere

returned.

The remaining 22 schools of the original sample w ere approached
by teleph on e
ad d itio n a l
circulated

to obtain

10
at

March of 1988.

the

d istricts
a

S tate

needed

w as
Social

data.

ob tain ed
Studies

Information

through

from

an

q u estio n n aires

D epartm ental

m eeting

in

This brought the total number of responses to 130.

From these 130 responses, a few interesting details em erge: first,
fifty different titles

em erged

different publishers

w ere

in the total tally;

represented

in those

second,
fifty titles;

ninteen
third,

the subject m atter which these texts cover is as varied as one
could possibly imagine, ranging from texts on Michigan's geography
and history, to the geography and history of the United States, to

46
the geography and peoples of both the W estern Hem isphere and the
Eastern Hem isphere; and finally, copyright dates for the texts range
from 1969 to 1988, a span of almost twenty years.
In order to arrive at the five leading

textbooks, all titles and

copyright dates

under one publisher w ere combined into one unit.

M any

com p anies

textbook

editions" which
dates,

may

but contain

have

much

re-issue books
different

of the

periodically

titles than

sam e

textual

as

"new

previous copyright
information.

The

breakdown of percentages by publisher can be seen in Figure 3.1.

□

21 .00 %

m

□

38.00%

; 11 .00 %

10.0 %
10 .0 %

Figure 3.1 Percentage of Choice by Publisher

Silver Burdett
Allyn &Bacon
Scott Foresman
Merrill
Globe
Other

47
As one can see from Figure 3.1, Silver Burdett am assed the
largest percentage of representation; followed by Allyn & Bacon,
Scott,

Foresm an

& C o., Charles Merrill, and

extrem ely close in percentages.
glance that the 38%
th is

p a rtic u la r

publishers.
by

"Other"

is too large a category, consider that

p e rc e n ta g e

re p re s e n ts

fo u rte e n

Information concerning the breakdown

use

more

than

run

Although it might seem at first

district size is found in Table 3.1.

schools

G lobe, which

one

s e p a ra te

of publishers

P lease note that many

textbook

throughout

the

year,

some reporting a separate book for each sem ester, others using a
multiple-text approach.

For this

reason,

the numbers

in

Table

3.1 total more than 130.

T ab le 3.1

Breakdown of Publish er Choice by D i s t r i c t Size

Publisher

Urban

S ilve r Burdett & Ginn

7

13

11

Allyn &. Bacon

4

6

6

Scott, Foresman &. Co.

6

5

4

Charles Merrill

0

7

8

Globe Book Co.

4

4

6

Other

5

25

28

Suburban

Rural

48
By looking at Table 3.1, w e can see that, except for Charles
M errill,

the

districts

rep resen tatio n

rem ains

ev en ly

across

divided

urban,

with

suburban,

S ilver

and

Burdett

rural

being

the

leader in all three categories.
On the basis of survey data,

the following five textbooks

from the seventh grade survey w ere selected for study:
The E a stern ■He misnh ere:

Yeste rdav_and_T_odav. Silver Burdett and

Ginn, Inc.
Exploring a Changing W orld. Globe Book Company, Inc.
Scott Foresman and Co.
World G eography. Allyn and Bacon
World Geography:

People and Places. Merrill Publishing Co.

Procedures in development of instruments:
Qualitative Analysis: Question 1.Q
The first
do
use

the
in

question identified to guide the

m iddle-school

level

the

M ichigan

state

of

social

study was:

How

studies textbooks currently

reflect

our

culturally

in

pluralistic

s o c ie ty ?
In

o rd e r

textbooks

to

to

conduct

d e te rm in e

c u ltu ra lly

p lu ra lis tic

conjunction

with

selection

the

of experts

a

the

exten t

s o c ie ty ,
M ichigan
from

q u a lita tiv e

a re a

th e

to

an alysis

which

universities

the

ten

reflect

our

w o rk e d

in

they

re s e a rc h e r

D ep artm ent

of

of

Education
to take

review of the textbooks identified by this study.

part

in the
in a

49
The

review ers

professionals with

selected

specialized

as

experts

know ledge

in

and

this

study

expertise,

w ere

interest

in the academ ic area of investigation, and com m itm ent to social
studies education.
o u t-re a c h
centers.
report,

Som e of the reviewers w ere professors and/or

a c tiv itie s
Th eir task

using

d irec to rs

at

in te rn a tio n a l

a re a

studies

in this study was to com plete a narrative

criteria developed

by the

Michigan

D epartm ent of

Education for its 1978 Textbook Study (M SB E , 1980), and a final
summary of recomm endations for action.
The Michigan Departm ent of Education, in its 1978 textbook
study,

had

d e v e lo p e d

c rite ria

fo r

ev a lu a tin g

te xtb o o k s

to

determ ine the degree to which they accurately and fairly portrayed
people from other areas of the world (see Appendix C, R E VIE W E R S '
EVA LU ATIVE C R ITE R IA ).

Areas of concern reflected on the scale

in order that the textbook should convey cultural and geographical
diversities

as well

as

human

com m onalities

in a

positive way,

w ere noted as follows:
B iased

and

stereotypical

descriptions

of

people

of other

cultures, including ones relating to sex roles, religious
customs, etc. was avoided.
Eurocentric W estern

Bias

in the

presentation

of history,

was avoided, presenting all phases of the area's history
as

im portant in and

of them selves,

not just as they

relate to the West.
Accuracy in charts, maps, and illustrations was adhered to.

50
V alu e-lad en

negative

descriptions

in term inology

used

to

describe other cultures was avoided.
Fairness in presentation of controversial issues, presenting
diverse viewpoints without bias w as evident.
Positive

presentation

of the

Hum anities,

showing

diversity

and beauty in the cultural context occurred.
R elevance of the commonalities in human experience to the
reader are made.
Areas of concern regarding the textbook's reflection of quality
scholarship were as follows:
The

textbook

should

reflect

co n te m p o ra ry

scholarship ,

including views of scholars from the area under study.
The

facts,

ch arts,

m aps,

and

illu stratio n s

should

be

u p -to -d a te .
G eography should be presented with

reference

to

human

culture and the area’s political and economic concerns.
Political,

social,

and

econom ic

honestly,

describing

p o litic a l,

an d

issues

should

peoples with

e c o n o m ic

be

treated

diversity of social,

in te re s ts ,

r a th e r

th an

homogenous citizens of a nation or area.
Using these items as a guide, each review er w as asked to
co m p lete
n a r r a t iv e

a

sum m ary
s u m m a ry

recom m endations.
te x tb o o k

of

should

r e p o rt

The
be

recom m endations

(1)

of

h is /h e r

recom m endations
used

as

for

is,

action ,
fin d in g s

and

a

and

indicated w h eth er the
(2)

used

with

m inor

modifications, (3) used in ways which would counteract the bias

51

an d /o r

other

deficien cies

in

the

m aterials,

(4)

used

if

the

materials w ere redeveloped, or (5) not used at all.
Since the recom m endations made by the reviewers depend
upon w hether or not the textbooks accurately and positively depict
the

a re a

of

gu id elin es

the

they

w orld
w ere

under

given,

scrutiny,

we

can

as

described

logically

infer

by

the

that

any

textbook receiving a recomm endation of (1) use as is, or (2) use
with

m inor

accep tab le"
Likew ise,

m odifications,
to

could

the

review ers

in

textbooks

receiving

a

be

expected

term s
rating

of
of

do

not use, can

be considered

be

cultural
(3)

counteract the bias and/or deficiencies, (4)
or (5)

to

use

"generally

perspective.
in w ays

to

redevelop materials,

"not acceptable"

by the

re v ie w e rs .
Cultural areas selected for review were:

North Africa and

the Middle East, Asia, C anada, Latin Am erica and the Caribbean,
and

S u b -S a h a r a n

A fric a .

The

n a rr a tiv e

re p o rts

and

recom m endations furnished by the experts in each of these areas
supplied a subjective, but detailed, description of each textbook's
overall

perspective

in

regard

to these

particular cultural

areas.

This information provides one piece of the qualitative analysis of
the ten textbooks.

Qualitative Analysis: Question 2.0
The second question identified
How do

m iddle-school

to guide

in the study

was:

level social studies textbooks currently in

52
us© in the state of Michigan positively reflect the interdependent
nature

of

our

world

in

the

presentation

of the

global

issues

outlined in the Michigan State Board of Education's Essential Goals
And O b ie c liy & s _ R iL ifo £ ia l3 l udM
In order to
w ere

determ ine the extent to which global issues

being addressed,

it w as

necessary to develop a checklist

containing questions corresponding to the global issues identified
in

th e

M ichigan

S ta te

B oard

of

guidelines to guide the analysis.
both

the

In dian a

D e p a rtm e n t

of

D ep artm e n t
E d u c a tio n

E du cation's

social

studies

The checklist was submitted to
of

Education

fo r

sc ru tin y

and

the

a n d /o r

Michigan
criticism .

Representatives from each departm ent approved the checklist (see
Appendix D for GLOBAL IS S U E S C H EC K LIST).
relia b ility

with

the

instrum ent,

the

In order to establish

re s e a rc h e r

rece ive d

the

cooperation of three experts in the field of education, who agreed
to rate one of the textbooks using the instrument.

An interrater

reliability coefficient of .93 was established, using an analysis of
variance.

The researcher then used the checklist to rate each of

the ten textbooks.

A Likert (1967) scale with ratings from "0" (no

extent) to "4" (great extent)
textbook addressed the
global perspective.

identified the extent to which each

issues identified by the researcher from a

An overall score was then obtained for each

text by adding up the degree of positive response on all items.

The

re s e a rc h e r

and

then

used

statis tica l

m easu res

of

variab ility

central tendency to determ ine how the textbooks compared to one
another in degree of global perspective.

53

Description of Global Topics
The

fo llow ing

d e s c rip tio n s

s e rv e d

as

g u id e lin e s

in

determining whether or not a particular passage of text should be
considered "global" in its discussion of the aforem entioned issues:

1.

Arts and Culture:

A discussion of arts and cultures from a

global perspective will focus on the idea that people create
social

environm ents

beliefs,

and

values, traditions,

system s
language,

com prised
custom s,

of

unique

technology,

and institutions as a way of meeting basic human needs, and
shaped

by their

own

physical

environm ents

and

contacts

with other cultures (Kniep, 1986c).

2.

E n e rg y :

A discussion of energy from a global perspective

will focus on worldwide distribution of energy sources, and
the fact that these resources are finite in nature (W ieber,
1 9 8 2 ).

3.

Environment:

A discussion of the environment from a global

perspective will take

into account the delicate

biological systems on Earth.

balance of

An em phasis should be placed

on the threat the deterioration of biological systems around
the world pose to support systems, such as crop and grazing
lands, forests, and fisheries (Shabecoff, 1982).

54

4.

Hum an Rights and Responsibilities:
rights

and

responsibilities

from

A discussion of human

a

global

perspective

will

em phasize the rights of all peoples to live with access to
ad eq u ate nutrition, shelter, clothing, education, and training
for em ploym ent (Vickers, 1978).
and

property,

authoritarian

torture,

In addition, the loss of life

and death

governm ents which

which

may

result under

deny citizens

a voice

in

decision making must be addressed.

5.

International M o n e t a r y _ a m lJ ^ d e ^ e ia lk in s i
international m onetary
p e rs p e c tiv e

will

and

trade

em p h a s ize

the

econom ies of the world's nations.
industrialized

nations

are

often

A discussion of

relations from

a global

in terre late d n ess

of

the

In addition, the fact that
in

com petition

for

finite

resources and the influence this has on the world m arket
should be explored.

6.

Language:

A

discussion

of

lan g u ag e from

a

global

perspective will em phasize language as an aspect of culture.
An

em phasis

should be placed

on the sim ilarities of the

m any language fam ilies on the Earth, and the tremendous
influence these languages have had on our spoken English.

7.

P o v e rty :

A discussion of poverty from a global perspective

will focus of the widening gap between the rich and the poor

on

Earth

which

and the attendant hunger, disease and

accom panies

it;

highlighting

the

injustice

threat it poses

to

global security and the environment (Kniep, 1986a).

R ace and Ethnicitv:
a

global

diversity
the

A discussion of race and ethnicity from

p ersp ective
and

differing

co m m on alities

of

reco g n izes

th e

personal

roots,

hum anity.

V an

va lu e

of

w hile
Til

cultural

em phasizing

(1 9 7 6 ),

in

his

chapter "The Crucial Issues in Secondary Education Today,"
pointed to the problem

of racism

that persists worldwide.

Racial stereotyping and scapegoating must be identified, and
the injustices they lead to exposed.

R e la tio n s
re la tio n s

am o n g
am ong

N a tio n s /S ta te s :
n atio ns

an d

A discussion of the

s ta te s

from

a

global

perspective will em phasize the linkages between peoples of
the Earth, and the im portance of understanding the social,
psychological,

and

historical

settings

that cause

them

to

think and act as they do.

R elig io n :

A discussion of religion from a global perspective

will em ph asize the comm on
m ajor

religions,

underscoring

plays in global affairs.

characteristics
the

im portant

of the world's
role

religion

56
11.

W ar. Peace and Armaments:
arm am ents

from

a global

A discussion of war, peace and

perspective

will

em p h asize

the

need for international agreem ents to settle disputes as an
a lte rn a tiv e

to

w ar,

which

is

view ed

as

an

outm oded

instrument to settle disputes among nations (W ieber, 1982).

12.

World Food_SiJfip_bc_ A discussion of world food supply from a
global

perspective will be centered

on the distribution

of

food throughout our global society, and the responsibility of
nations

which

m aintain

food

surpluses

to

aid

nations

suffering from food shortages.

13.

W orld

H ealth:

A discussion of world health from a global

perspective will point out the accomplishments of the World
H ealth

O rgan ization

as

a

cross-cultural

effort

in

fighting

disease.

14.

W orld

Population:

g lo b a l

p e rs p e c tiv e

e n v iro n m e n ta l

A discussion of world population from a
will

support

focus

on

system s

th e

stre ss

(e n e rg y

put

so u rces ,

on
food

sources, natural resources, etc.) by our globe's overabundant
population.

Quantitatiy-^Anaiyses.
In addition to the qualitative analyses, the researcher also
co nd ucted

a

q u a n tita tiv e

an alysis,

utilizing

a

w o rd -co u n t

of

57
passages

devoted to each cultural area

(North Africa and the

Middle East; Asia; C anada; Latin Am erica and the Caribbean; and
Sub-Saharan Africa), and to each global issue (Arts and Culture;
E nergy;

E n viro n m en t;

International

M onetary

H um an
and

R ights

Trad e

and

Relations;

R es p o n s ib ilitie s ;
Language;

Poverty;

Race and Ethnicity; Relations among Nations/States; Religion; W ar,
Peace and Armaments; World Food Supply;
P opulation).
designation

Each

textb ook

from

1

to

w as

10

(1

World Health; and World

then

assig ned

signifying

the

a

ran k-o rd er

lowest

rank)

for

passage length devoted to each cultural area and to each global
topic.

Utilization of Quantitative aneLQualitative data
Using

the

q u a lita tiv e

sum m ary

recom m endations

checklists

com pleted

by

d a ta

(the

obtained

this

n a rrative

from

research er)

reports

review ers,
and

the

and

and
the

quantitative

analyses of the content of each textbook with respect to the areas
of the world and the global topics, the researcher constructed a
descriptive profile of each of the ten textbooks, focusing on areas
of greatest strength and areas of greatest deficiency.

SUMMARY
This chapter contained an explanation
used in

the study.

of the methodology

A brief description of the sampling technique

utilized to determ ine the ten

most frequently used textbooks at

the middle school level was presented.

In addition, a description

58
of the two pieces of qualitative data and the method of obtaining
quantitative data was included.

Finally, the procedures followed

in

global

determ ining

th e

d e g re e

of

persp ective

strengths and weaknesses of each text w ere explained.

and

overall

Chapter IV

contains an analysis of the data gathered in this investigation.

CHAPTER IV

DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction
The

purpose

of

this

research

project

w as

to

collect,

analyze, and com pare data related to the degree to which social
studies textbooks
state
and

of

used

M ichigan

positively

multiethnic nature

assess

th e

in grades six and seven throughout the

d e g re e

reflect

the

pluralistic,

of our society past and present, and to
to

w hich

th o se

m a te ria ls

interdependent and global nature of our world.
from

a

qu antitative

global topics and

m ultiracial,

analysis

of

re fle c t

the

Data were obtained

passage length

devoted

to the

area s of the world identified by the research

questions; analysis of responses to a qualitative checklist based
on global topics identified in the research questions, and narrative
responses and ratings of the textbooks by area studies centers
experts from the five areas identified in the research questions.
The
pertinent

p ro c ed u re
to

selection

m ost frequently
design

and

used

for
of

collecting
a

and

representative

in grades

m ethodology utilized

an alyzin g
sam ple

six and seven,

the

d a ta

of textbooks

along with the

in collection of quantitative and

qualitative data w as described in Chapter III.

Statistical analysis

of data w as confined to m easures of central tendency, variability,

60
and rank-order designation.

Results of the analysis of data as they

relate to the research questions are presented in this chapter.

In

order to simplify the reporting of data, the textbooks have been
alphabetized and assigned letter-nam e designations as they appear
below:
Book A

The Eastern Hemisphere: Yesterday and Today.
Silver Burdett and Ginn, Inc.

Book B
Globe Book Company, Inc.
Book C
D.C. Heath
Book D

LatiiiAmfirica.aDd£anada,
Macmillan Publishing Co.

Book E
Scott Foresman and Co.
Book F
Scott Foresman and Co.
BookG

The Western Hemisphere: Yesterday and Today.
Silver Burdett and Ginn, Inc.

Book H

The World.
McGraw Hill Book Company

Book

World Geography.
Allyn and Bacon

Book J

World Geography; E sq,pie„and.Klaras,
Merrill Publishing Co.

61

Degree of Cultural Pluralism; Question 1.0
The first research question posed in the study was, "How do
the middle school level social studies textbooks currently in use
in the state of Michigan
D a ta

re p o rte d

reflect our culturally pluralistc society?"

h e re

w e re

c o lle c te d

recomm endations as described in C hapter III.
reporting

of

data

results,

one

must

note

fro m

r e v ie w e r s '

W hen reading the
th at

not

all

of

the

textbooks are designed to include all of these areas of the world.
Only

those

discussion

texts

which

of the

a re a

could

be

logically

in question

will

be

expected

to

referred

to

include
in

the

resu lts.

Qualitative Data
Question 1.1

Do middle school social studies textbooks positively
reflect the culture of North Africa and

the

Middle

East?
Reviewers found two textbooks w ere

acceptable, while four

were

not acceptable.

Question 1.2

Do middle school social studies textbooks positively
reflect the culture of Asia?

R eview ers found one textbook acceptable, while five
accep tab le.

w ere

not

62
Question

1.3 Do middle
reflect the

school social studies

textbooks positively

culture of Canada?

Reviewers found six textbooks were acceptable, while three were
not acceptable.

Question 1.4

Do middle school social studies textbooks positively
reflect the culture of Latin America and the
Caribbean?

R eview ers
w ere

found

two

textbooks w ere

acceptable,

while seven

not acceptable.

Question

1.5 Do middle
reflect the

school social studies

textbooks positively

culture of Sub-Saharan Africa?

Review ers found two textbooks w ere

acceptable, while four were

not acceptable.

In conclusion, no single textbook w as found to be totally
acceptable to all of the reviewers, while each reviewer did find at
least one textbook of the total to be acceptable.
review ers' responses is shown in Table 4.1 .

A summary of the
In cases w here a

textbook w as not included in a particular reviewer's report, "NA",
which indicates "Not Applicable" will appear.

63

Table 4.1 Summary of Revievers' Recommendations for Action
Areas Revieved
Textbook
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1
J
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

North Africa
& the Mideast
4
2
NA
NA
NA
5
NA
3
2
5

Asia Canada
3
2
NA
NA
NA
4
NA
4
4
4

NA
1
2
1
1
3
2
5
4
2

Latin America
Sub-Saharan
& the Carri bean
Africa
NA
3
3
2
2
NA
5
NA
2
NA
3
2
3
NA
3
3
3
3
4
3

Use as is
Use v ith mi nor modifications
Use the materials in vays vhich v il l counteract the deficiences
Redevelop the materials
Do not use materials

64
The ten textbooks can be divided into two groups.
group,

which

consists

of

most

of

the

sixth

g rad e

T h e first
textbooks,

focuses on the history and geography of the W estern Hem isphere.
Those texts are:
Heath Social Studies.: Latin_AmencaancLCanada. D.C. Heath
(Textbook C)
Latin_America_apcLCanacla. Macmillan Publishing Co.
(Textbook D)
Latin America and Canada. Scott Foresman and Co.
(Textbook E)
The Western H em is D h fii£ L ^ fe s le iria )ia ^ ^

Silver

Burdett and Ginn, Inc. (Textbook G)
The second group consists of one sixth grade textbook and
the

majority

of the

seventh

grad e

textbooks.

textbooks focuses on general world geography.

This

group

of

Those texts are:

Explo rinq_a_C hanal a a W o rid. Globe Book Co., Inc. (Textbook B)
EeoQlajQrLEarth: A W odcLGfiograBhy. Scott Foresman and Co.
(Textbook F)
The World. McGraw Hill Book Co. (Textbook H, and the only
sixth grade text in this group)
World Geography. Allyn and Bacon (Textbook I)
,, Merrill Publishing Co.
(Textbook J)
The remaining seventh grade textbook, T h e _ E a s te rn

Hem isphere:

,, Silver Burdett and Ginn, Inc. (Textbook A),
seem s to put more emphasis on a cultural approach to peoples

65
living within the Eastern Hem isphere.

All of these books, however,

can be considered primarily geography textbooks.

For a complete

treatm ent of the reviews of each of the five areas in this study,
the

read er

Education's
Study

of

is directed

to consult the

Michigan

S tate

Board

Michiq a D -S flg ia L S lu d ies Textbook Study. (1988);

of
A

S eJ^ctM _^ even th .,-_an d _S .lyth . _Gc.ade_.SQjaial. Studies

T extb oo ks.

Summary of ReviewersLCommejits

The reviewers responsible for assessing these textbooks for
their treatm ent of North Africa and the Middle

East found four

major problem areas which seem ed to indicate a W estern rather
than

pluralistic

cultural

perspective.

The

trea tm e n t

of

these

issues seem ed to determ ine the acceptability/non-acceptability of
the textbooks for classroom use.
The first of these problems focused on the use of the term
"Middle E ast.”

A lack of definition of this term in textbooks tended

to contribute to a W estern ethnocentric view of the region, one
which seem ed to group all peoples who inhabit this area into one
stereotypical category.

As one reviewer points out,

"... the people from this region do not refer to themselves as 'Middle
Easterners,' for that term reflects a European and/or American
perspective..." (MSBE, 1988).

66

The

second

issue

of concern

dealt with

the

treatm ent of

Islam, particulary the association of Islam with violence, and the
tendency to

present it as

less sophisticated than

Judaism

and

C h ris tia n ity .
The third topic to which attention must be paid, according to
th e s e

r e v ie w e r s ,

is

th e

d is tin c tio n

b e tw e e n

S e m itic ,

Indo-European, and Ural-Altic language and culture groups in the
region.

T h ese

textbooks

tend

to

ignore

the

cultural

diversity

within these groups of peoples.
The final concern of the reviewers focused on the inclusion of
out-dated and sometim es inaccurate m aterial in the textbooks.

Asia
In the

treatm ent

of Asia,

many concerns

surface,

but the

m ajor concern of the review er seem ed to be the lack of passage
length

com m itted

to

world's population.
oversim plification

an

area

that

includes

alm ost

half of the

Another related problem deals with the gross
of

historical

events

in

A sia.

The

narrative

report notes that the publishers attem pt to incompass too many
concepts related to Asia in a few pages.

As a result, the reviewer

found the treatm ent to be shallow, superficial, and uninteresting.
In addition, it was noted that the diversity of cultures within Asia
was ignored in these textbooks.

67
Canada
The

revie w er

assessing

the

textb ooks

fo r

th e ir

cultural

fairness with regard to C an ada seem ed the least negative in the
recommendations, but found three textbooks unacceptable for use:
Scott Foresm an's People On Earth:
Hill’s The

A W orld G eography. M cG raw

W orld, and Allyn and Bacon's W orld

general opinion of the reviewer

G e o g ra p h y . The

was that little was done in most

texts to treat C an ada as a nation with an identity separate from
that of the United States.

In one case, M cG raw Hill's The

W o rld ,

coverage w as so minimal as to be practically non-existent.

Also,

the cultural diversity within C anada seem s to be an area many of
these textbooks tend to neglect.

Latin America and the_Caribb.eap
Th e

concerns

of

the

assessing the textbooks

review er,

charged

with

the

task

of

in light of the cultural perspective with

which Latin America and the Caribbean are presented, are centered
on the

lack of information

dealing with

S tates in Latin Am erican

internal affairs.

review er,

these textbooks

misleading

students

using

the

role of the

In the opinion of the
could

and erroneous conceptions regarding

America and the Caribbean.

United

easily

develop

events

in Latin

68

Sub-Saharan Africa
In the opinion of the Africanist reviewer,

"...the continent of Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, is
still not represented adequately, qualitatively or quantitatively, in
length, breadth or objectivity in the textual narrative." (M SBE,
1988)

The major concerns seem ed to focus not so much on the content of
w h at

w as

included,

though

the

review er

also

found

culturally

biased and inaccurate information in some cases, but more on what
had

been excluded.

The reviewer highlighted three issues which

w ere either not addressed or w ere m isrepresented in these texts:
1)

Four of the

textbooks m isrepresented the nature of the

historical relationship between North Africa and the area
south of the Sahara
2)

All

of

the

textb ooks,

with

the

exception

of

S ilver

Burdett's IJ ie _ £ a s lfi£ Q J to iisphere:

Y estecdav-flndJEoday.

ignore

before

the

history of the

region

the

arrival

of

European traders and adventurers
3)

Only Merrill's WorlcLGeoqraphv:__Ee_QP_L^,aM£Laces.. and
Allyn and Bacon's World Geography offered any critique
or review of the colonial era in Africa

In summ ary, the reviewers tended to agree that many of the
textbooks simply try to encom pass too much

information.

This

leads to oversimplification of concepts and an inundation of facts
which

do

cultures

very

which

little

to

prom ote

a

exist

on

our globe.

real

understanding

A dequate

of

the

developm ent of

69
s ig n ific a n t

co n cep ts

is

n e c e s s a ry

for

th e

d e v e lo p m e n t

of

objectives which deal with students' understanding of them selves
and others.

Quantitative Data
In

addition

to

the

q u alitative

d a ta,

w ord -co unts

of

text

passages devoted to discussion of the global areas w ere taken in
order to obtain a quantitative m easure of the "value" placed on a
particular area by the publisher of the textbook.

The research

questions were used as a guide in determining topics for analysis.
In cases w here the textbook would not logically be expected to
contain discussion of a certain area, "NA" (not applicable) appears
in the reporting of findings.

North A frica and th e M iddle East
Results:
Book A

Book B

Book C

Book Q

B&OkJE

11,600

10,250

NA

NA

NA

Book E

Book G

BsokH

BooJU

Book J

18,720

NA

1555

5740

4775

Book A

Book_B.

BQGk,..C.

Book D

Book E

16,500

17,400

NA

NA

NA

A sia
Results:

70
B oo kF

BqqK.G

BOflllH

B.Q0K..1

BookA

12,740

NA

5180

11,068

8820

Book ,A

Boo,k.B

Book C

BQQK..B

Book E

NA

6770

18,207

23,305

20,152

Bqq KJE

Book G

Book H

Book I

BqqKJ.

8400

39,895

300

4631

2875

Canada
Results:

Latin America and the Caribbean
Results:
Book A

B.Q.QLB

BqoJl C

Book D

Book E

NA

10,975

87,465

71,390

131,912

Book F

Book G

BookH

Book I

B pq KJ.

27,300

115,735

9045

8368

17,225

Sub-Saharan Africa
Results:
Book A

Book-B

B-QQk-C.

Book D

BQQk.E

9895

300

NA

NA

NA

Book F

BqqK-G

Book H

B ao.KJ

BqqKJ.

16,522

NA

1555

5740

4775

71

Summary of Data Pertaining to Question j LQ
Th ere appears to be little relationship between
of a

particular textbook

with

regard to

acceptability

its cultural

and am ount of passage devoted to that area.

perspective

Table 4.2 contains a

sum m ary of textbook rank-ordering according to space alloted to
areas of the world.

W hen one looks at North Africa and the Middle

East, one notes that Textbook F, which contains the greater amount
of space devoted to discussion of that area of the world, is also
rated "do not use" by that reviewer.

Conversly, the two textbooks

the review er for this area found "acceptable" represent the middle
of the rank-ordering.
The only textbook rated "acceptable" by the

Asian reviewer

was also the textbook which devoted the greatest amount of space
to that topic.

Table 4.2 Summary of Textbook Rank-Ordering according to Passage
Length Devoted to Areas of the World.
AREAS OF THE WORLD

TEXTBOOKS
D E F G

A

B

C

North Africa and the liideast

5

4

NA NA NA 6

Asia

5

6

NA NA NA 4

Canada

NA 4

6

8

7

Latin Am. & the Caribbean

NA 3

7

6

9

Sub-Saharan Africa

4

NA NA NA 6

1 - denotes lowest ranking
10 - denotes highest ranking
NA - denotes Not Applicable

5

H

1

J

NA

1

3

2

NA

1

3

2

5

9

1

3

2

5

8

2

1

2

NA

1

3

2

72

The

revie w er

for

acceptable for use.

C anada

found

m ost

of

th e

textbooks

The most unacceptable textbook, Textbook H,

represents the lowest ranking, while the two remaining textbooks
found not acceptable, F and I, come from the center to lower ends
of the ranking.
The reviewer for Latin Am erica and the Caribbean found only
two textbooks, C and E acceptable for use.

These represent the

higher end of the rank-ordering.
The two textbooks ranked highest in passage length devoted
to S ub-S aharan Africa also happen to be the only two textbooks
acceptable to that reviewer, Textbooks F and B.

The second question posed in the study was: "How do middle
school level social studies textbooks currently in use in the state
of

M ichigan

positively

reflect the

in terdependent

nature

of our

world in the presentation of the global issues outlined in MSBE's
Essential

G oals

and

O bjectives

For Social

Studies

in

Michigan

(K -1 2 ) ?
Again, the quantitative analysis of passages devoted to the
global topics provides a portion of the answer for us.

In addition,

the qualitative instrum ent described in C hapter III (see appendix
for GLOBAL ISSUES C HECKLIST) gives

data pertaining to the degree

of global perspective of the presentation
topics.

of each

of the global

73
Qualitative Data
The following

results w ere obtained from the application

of

the checklist described in Chapter III.

Response values range from

"0, no extent" to "4, great extent".

Responses of "4" represent

presentations

of these

topics from

a truly

"global"

perspective.

The mean for each set of responses was computed, along with the
Standard Deviation for each set of responses.

Question

2.1

To w hat

extent do the textbooks em ph asize the

problem s of world food distribution?
Mean: 1.6

Standard Deviation:

Tw o textbooks m et the criteria for presenting

1.4
this issue from a

global perspective.

Question

2.2

To w h at

exten t

do

the

textbooks

discuss

the

activities of the World Health O rganization?
Mean: 0.4
No

textbook

m et the

Standard Deviation:

criteria

for presenting

1.3
this

issue

from

a

global perspective.

Question

2.3

To what

extent do the textbooks address the topic

of world
world

population

in

relation

to distribution

resources?

Mean: 2.0

Standard Deviation:

1.3

Two textbooks met the criteria for presenting this topic from
global perspective.

of

a

74
Question 2.4

To

w hat

e x te n t

do

analysis

of

problem s

m ilitary

arm am ents?

Mean: 1.4

Standard

th e
such

te xtb o o k s
as

Deviation:

w ar,

fa c ilita te
peace,

and

1.2

No textbook m et the criteria for presenting these problems from a
global perspective.

Question 2.5

To what extent do the textbooks give recognition
to the world's environmental ecosystems?
Mean: 2.0

Standard

Deviation:

1.3

Two textbooks m et the criteria for presenting this issue from a
global perspective.

Question 2 .6 a

To w h at extent do the textbooks encourage the
appreciation

of

individual

and

group

differences

around the world?
Mean: 2.8
O ne

textbook

Standard

Deviation:

m et the criteria for presenting

1.3
this

issue from

a

global perspective.

Question 2.6b

To what extent do the textbooks avoid racial slurs
or stereotypes?
Mean: 3.4

T h re e
from

textbooks

m et the

a global perspective.

Standard

Deviation:

criteria for dealing

1.3
with

these

issues

75
Question 2.6c

To w hat extent do the textbooks em phasize that
each person has a unique perspective on the world
that may not be shared by others?
Mean: 1.8

Standard Deviation:

1.3

O ne textbook met the criteria for presenting this issue from

a

global perspective.

Question 2 .7 a

To w hat extent do the textbooks em phasize that
th e re

a re

basic

n e ed s ,

co n ce rn s,

a c tivities ,

rights and responsibilities common to humanity?
Mean:

1.9

Standard Deviation:

1.3

Two textbooks met the criteria for presenting these issues from a
global perspective.

Question 2.7b

To

w h at

ex ten t

do

the

textbooks

develop

an

understanding of how one's personal choices can
affect others around the world?
Mean:
No

textbook

m et the

1.5

Standard Deviation:

criteria

for

presenting

1.3
this

issue

from

a

global perspective.

Question 2.8

To

w hat

e x te n t

do

th e

te xtb o o k s

fa c ilita te

discussion of concerns dealing with the mental and
spiritual w elfare of all humankind?
Mean:

1.2

Standard Deviation:

1.3

76
No textbook met the criteria for presenting these concerns with a
global perspective.

Question 2 .9 a

To

w hat

e x te n t

discussion

of

do

the

th e

te x tb o o k s

in flu en ce

th at

p rom ote

g e o g rap h ic al

features of an area have on the history, culture,
and living conditions of a people?
Mean: 3.4

Standard

Deviation:

1.3

Four textbooks met the criteria for presenting these issues from a
global perspective.

Question 2.9b

To

w h at

exten t

appreciation

and

do

the

textb o o ks

understanding

e n co u ra g e

of the

arts

and

culture of other nations?
Mean: 2.3
No

textbook

m et the

Standard

criteria

Deviation:

for presenting

1.3
this

issue

from

a

global perspective.

Question 2.9c:

To w hat extent do the textbooks inspire students
to see that all persons are m em bers of one global
family as well as m em bers of localities, cultures,
and nations?
Mean: 1.2

Standard

Deviation:

1.3

No textbook met the criteria for dealing with this issue from a
global perspective.

77
Question 2 .1 0

To

w hat

ex ten t

discussion

of

do

the

international

textbooks
m onetary

fa c ilita te
and

trade

relations and their affect on our global economy?
Mean: 1.8
No textbook

Standard Deviation:

1.3

m et the criteria for presenting these

isses from

a

global perspective.

Question 2.11

To w hat extent do the textbooks address the topic
of language as an aspect of culture?
Mean: 2.8

Standard Deviation:

1.3

Three textbooks met the criteria for presenting these issues from
a global perspective.

Question 2 .1 2

To w h at extent do the textbooks give recognition
to the fact that the world's energy resources are
f in ite ?
Mean: 2.3

Standard Deviation:

1.3

Two textbooks met the criteria for presenting these issues from a
global perspective.

Question 2 .1 3

To w hat extent do the textbooks give recognition
to the

fact that the world's wealth

is unequally

d is trib u te d ?
Mean: 2.8
O ne

textbook

m et the

global perspective.

Standard Deviation:

criteria for presenting

1.2
this

issue from

a

78

Question 2 .1 4 a To w hat extent do the textbooks help students to
m ake comparisons and look for interrelationships
a c ro s s

c u ltu re s ,

n a tio n s ,

or

s u b g ro u p s

of

s o c ie tie s ?
Mean: 1.3
No

textbook

m et the

Standard Deviation:

criteria

for

presenting

1.2
this

issue

from

a

global perspective.

Question 2.14b To

w hat

e x te n t

do

th e

textb o o ks

fo s te r

an

understanding of how human organizations such as
governm en ts,
in teract

religious

groups

and

Standard Deviation:

1.2

corporations

globally?

Mean: 1.6

No textbook m et the criteria for presenting these issues from a
global perspective.

For a comparison of the individual textbook's

ratings, please refer to Table 4.3.

79

T able 4 . 3

Summary of C hecklist Responses
B o o k

Item

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

1

2.1
2.2

0

1

1

3

1

4

0

1

4

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

2.3

1

2

1

3

1

4

1

1

4

2

2 .4
2.5
2.6a

0
1
2

1
1
3

2
4
3

2
1
3

2
2
3

1
4
4

3
0
3

1
1
1

1
3
3

1
3
3

2.6b

3

3

4

4

3

4

3

2

2

1

2.6c

1

1

3

3

1

4

2

3

3

4

2.7a

1

2

4

1

2

4

2

0

2

1

2.7b

2

1

3

0

1

3

2

0

2

1

2.8

2

2

2

1

0

1

0

1

2

1

2.9a

3

4

4

3

3

4

4

3

3

3

2.9b

1

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

0

1

2.9c

1

1

2

0

1

3

2

1

1

0

2.10

1

2

2

0

3

3

2

1

2

2

2.11
2.1 2

3
1

3
2

4
2

4
4

3
1

4
4

3
2

2
1

0
3

2
3

2.13

2

3

2

4

3

3

2

3

2

4

2.14a

0

0

2

2

1

3

2

2

1

0

2.14b

1

1

3

1

2

2

2

2

1

1

Totals:
Mean:
Rank:

27
1.4
1

37
1.9
5

51
2.6
9

42
2.1
8

36
1.8
3

62
3.1
10

38
1.9
6

29
1.5
2

39
2.0
7

36
1.8
4

1 - denotes lowest ranking
1 0 - denotes highest renking

J

80
In
m eeting

conclusion,
the

this

group

of

criteria for m aintaing

textbooks
a global

cam e

closest

to

perspective through

their presentations of the infuence geographical features have on
culture, history and the living conditions of a people.
a

considerable

stereotypical

evidence

of the

presentations

of

avoid ance

racial

and

of

There is also

racial

ethnic

slurs

groups,

and

which

indicates a m ovement toward a global perspective.

Most issues,

h o w ev er,

p e rs p e c tiv e .

w e re

not

of

issues

D iscussion
O rganization
w e lfa re

of

top-ranked
on

p re s e n te d
such

or concerns
all

dealing

hum ankind

textbook

as

w e re

in term s

from

a

efforts
with

g lo b a l
of

the

virtu ally

of global

th e

W orld

m ental

and

H ealth
spiritual

n o n -e xis ten t.

perspective

The

m et criteria

ten of twenty items on the checklist.

Q uantitative

D ata

In order to obtain quantitative data reflecting the am ount of
passage devoted to each topic, a word-count was conducted.
following

results w ere obtained:

World Food Supply
Results:
Book A

Book_B

Book C.

Book D

Book E

225

1848

594

217

1060

Book F

BookG

BookH

B.oo.kJ

BooKJ

1025

3849

370

2442

685

The

81

World Health
Results:

V

Book A

Book_B

Book C

Book-D.

Book E

270

427

1259

208

154

Book.F

Book G

Bo.Qk.tl

Book 1

Book J

103

706

101

466

425

World Population
Results:
Book_A

Boo.k_B.

Book C

Book D

Book-E

330

1527

577

1068

1804

Book.E

BookG

BookJd

B ooki

Book-J

3400

1847

490

3564

1820

War, Peace, and Armaments
Results:

Bo.Qk_A

fiookJB

Book C

Book D

Book E

2230

6709

12,394

8315

4475

Book.F

BOOkG

BookM

Book I

Book.%1

2115

12,687

298

775

625

BooLA

Book B

Book C

Book D

Book E

550

1441

7214

768

1938

Environment
Results:

82
Book F

B00.k_Q

Book,Id

Book I

Book J

4850

661

1483

7556

3495

Race and Ethnicity
Results:
Book A

Book B

BO0k..G

Book D

Book E

1200

4372

2458

3058

3634

Book F

BQQk J fi

Book H

Book I

B aakJ

3312

3561

540

750

185

Human Rights and Responsibilities
Results:
Book A

Book B

Book-G

B.0.0k Q

Book E

725

1629

2936

1632

2799

Book F

BqqK.G

Book..H

Book I

Book J

1521

2035

150

375

400

Book A

Book B

Book C

Book D

Book E

6700

4699

917

336

1542

Book_F

Book,Q

BookH

B a o ki

Book J

3512

335

1455

575

713

Religion
Results:

83
International Monetary and Trade Relations
Results:
Book D

Book E

3035

1590

2802

Book G

B flflkH

Book I

Book J

2164

480

2755

1785

Bo.oKA

Book B

B.QQ,k C

B.Q.Qk-P

Book E

2355

1643

1534

542

2128

Book F

Book G

B..Q.QKH

aooki

Book J

2314

2147

1055

355

925

BqqK-A

Book B

675

4538

BQQ.k.E
1750

Book C

Language
Results:

Arts and Culture
Results:

BjOflkA

Book B

BookC

Book D

Book E

1495

3025

4382

1986

3971

Book E

BQQK.G

B.q.qJs H

Book ,l

Book J

3160

2879

865

835

875

Book A

Book B

BookC

Book D

Book E

500

2286

934

847

1407

Energy
Results:

84
Book F

Book G

Book H

B qqK I

B.Q.Q.LJ

750

2860

260

5224

3200

Book A

Book B

B qqUl C

B qq K.D

B.QQLE

125

3471

2153

462

2278

Book F

Book G

BqoK H

BqqKI

B.Q.Q.RJ,

750

2090

465

480

650

Poverty
Results:

Relations Between Nations/States
Results:
Book_A

Book-B

BoflkX.

BQ_ok_B

B.Q.Qk-E

175

3098

4735

1154

3085

Book F

Book G

BqqK H

Bm kJ

BqqK,J

2195

3081

420

350

925

In conclusion, the topic which occupies the greatest passage
length is the topic of W ar, Peace and Arm am ents.

The topic of

W orld Health occupies the least total passage space.

The topic

with the w idest range in passage length w as the topic of W ar,
Peace,

and Armaments:

words in Textbook G.

from 298 words in Textbook H to 12,687

For a summary of the rank-ordering of the

textbooks, according to passage length, see Table 4.4.

85

Table 4 .4 Summary of Textbooks Rank-Ordering According to
Passage Length Devoted to Global Topics.
TEXTBOOKS
GLOBAL TOPICS
A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

1

J

Y o r ld Food Supply

2

8

4

1

7

6

10

3

9

5

Y o r ld H e a lth

5

7

10

4

3

2

9

1

8

6

Y o r ld P o p u latio n

1

5

3

4

6

9

8

2 10

7

Y a r , P e a c e , and A rm am en ts

5

7

9

8

6

4

10

1

3

2

E n v iro n m en t

1

4

9

3

6

7

2

5

10

6

Race & E th n ic ity

4

10

5

6

9

7

8

2

3

1

Human R ig h ts and
R es p o n s ib ility

4

6

10

7

9

5

8

1

2

3

R eligion

10 9

5

2

7

8

1

6

3 4

ln t ‘1 M o n e ta ry and T ra d e
R e latio n s

2

10

9

3

8

4

6

1

7

5

Language

10

6

5

2

7

9

8

4

1

3

A r ts and C u ltu re

4

7

10

5

9

8

6

2

1

3

Energy

2

7

5

4

6

3

8

1

10 9

P o v e r ty

1

10

8

2

9

6

7

3

4

5

R e la tio n s B e tv e e n
N a tio n s /S ta te s

1

9 10

5

8

6

7

3

2

4

1 - denotes lovest ranking
1 0 - denotes highest ranking

86
Summary of Data Pertaining to Question_2il:
In

trying

to

d e te rm in e

how

textb ooks

e m p h a s iz e

the

interdependent nature of our world, one sees that abundance of
passage length did not necessarily guarantee global perspective.
In only three cases did the textbook devoting the greatest amount
of

p a ssa g e

p erspective

to
in

a

topic

its

m eet

the

presentation

of

criteria
that

for

topic:

a

truly

Textbook

global
I,

in

presentation of World Population; and Textbook C, in presentation
of Hum an Rights and Responsibilities, as well as presentation of
the

topic of Arts

and

Cultures

of other nations.

definitely the textbook with the

Textbook

F,

most global perspective overall,

in no instance provided the greatest amount of passage devoted to
that topic. On the other hand,

rarely is it possible to m eet the

criteria for having a global perspective on a topic without giving
it substantial passage length.
for

p resen tatio n

from

a

The

global

presentations meeting criteria
perspective

4 5 0 -5 0 0 words, or about one page of text.

required

at

least

W hen one looks at the

rank-ordering of textbooks according to global perspective (Table
4.3) and com pares that to total number of items receiving a "4",
denoting a truly global perspective, it can be clearly seen that only
one textbook, Textbook F, met the criteria for a global perspective
in ten

of twenty

items

on

the

checklist.

The

second-ranked

textbook, Textbook C, m et the criteria for a global persective on
only five of the twenty items.

87
Descriptive Profile of Textbooks
Using the qualitative

and quantitative data obtained,

it is

now possible to construct a descriptive profile of each textbook,
according to the methodology presented in Chapter III:

Textbook A
Textbook

A

ach ieves

its

strongest

ratings

in

am ount

of

passage length devoted to discussions of R eligion and L a n g u a g e .
and to discussion of

NoxtbL Africa _and tb..e_Mlddlfi_EasL

The overall global perspective in this text however was the
w eakest of the ten textbooks.

Likewise, this textbook's cultural

perspective on North Africa and the Middle East was som ewhat
biased.

Areas of greatest deficiency in global perspective occur in

discussions of W odd-^Q flcLSupply: W ar. PeaceL_3D<ijQLimaflMiits: and
Re Iatimis__Bet w ee n N ations/States,.
discussion

of

W o jld

R elatiflD S _B etw een

Length of passage devoted to

E a p u la lia a : En v ir o n m .e n l: P o v e r t y : and

N atkiasZS iaiea seems likewise deficient.

Textbook B
Textbook B presents a strong, unbiased cultural perspective
in its discussion of C a n a d a , and devotes the greatest am ount of
passage to its discussion of A s ia .
in discussion of Arts

and

C ulture

The global perspective present
is another of this textbook's

strengths, along with the more than adequate length of passage
devoted to the issues of Race an d .E th n icity; International
and Trade Relations: and Egyjait^.

M onetary

88
A reas

of greatest deficiency

occur

in the

biased

cultural

perpective in the discussions of Latin Am erica and the C arib b ean ,
as well as a deficiency in the length of passage devoted to that
area of the world.

Also, a lack of global perspective is evident in

discussions of R elation s

B etw een

EjahaagZStal&a, and a lack of

sufficient passage length is devoted to discussion of E n viro n m en t.

Textbook C
Areas of strength in Textbook C include; presentation of the
issues of E n m fln m fln l. R ace .a n d E th n ic ity , H .uJnaii-_R lahls_._aM
R e s p o n s ib ilitie s . Arls_and_Cuituie. and L a n g u a g e . from a global
perspective; and the great length of passage devoted to discussion
of

issues

related

to

R e s p o n s ib ilit ie s . Arts

W o rld
and

H e a lt h . H u m a n

R ig h ts

C ulture, and B fllfllifln s

and

E te lw fifia

N a tio n s /S la te s ..
Areas of greatest deficiency in this text occur in length of
passage devoted to discussion of
W orld

P o p u la tio n .

Canada, W orld

F o o d L S iip fily, and

Likewise, the global perspective is w eak in

presentation of the issues related to Wot!d_..Foo.d_Siip.piy.. W o r ld
H e a lth , and World Population.

Textbook D
Areas of greatest strength for Textbook D are the unbiased
cultural perspective in the presentation of material on C a n a d a , and
the global perspective present in discussion of the topics related
to Race and Ethnicity. L a n g a a g a . E m rg y . and P overty.

89
A re as

of

g re a te s t

deficien cy

for

T e xtb o o k

D

are

the

som ewhat biased cultural perspective in the presentation of Latin
America-_and the C arib b ean , and the lack of global perspective in
discussion of issues related to W orld

H e a lth . Human

Rights and

R esponsibilities, and InternatiQnaLM_Qne_tarv.._.and T rad e_B M atio n s.

Textbook E
Textbook

E appears strong in the fair cultural perspective

with which C a n a d a

w as addressed.

Also, the length of passage

devoted to discussions of Latin A iiie jla a ^ n d -J ,(ie ^ a d k b e a a , B a a a
and Ethnicity. JH iim ao-E jdhts and R espxm sM itigs, Ails__an(l_Q yltum ,
and P o ve rty is quite substantial.
Areas of greatest deficiency occur in
issues related to W orld
the

criteria

for

a

global

the presentations of

H ealth and R e lig io n , which fail
perspective,

as

well

as

the

to meet
lack

of

adequate passage length devoted to a discussion of World H ealth.

Textbook F
The cultural perspective with which Textbook F presents the
m aterial related to SufctiSaJiacan

A frica is one of its strengths,

along with the large length of passage devoted to discussions of
North Africa and the M id d le -E a s i, and B u b ^ a iia ia n
textbook

also

perspective.

a c h ie v e s

the

highest

d e g re e

of

Afric a -

overall

This

global

Issues which are particularly strong in their global

presentation are World Food S u d p Iv .

90
E n v i r o n m e n t . R ace

an d

E th n ic ity . H u m a n

B ig hts

and.

R esponsibilities. Arts and. Culture. La ngua g e , and E n erg y .
The areas in which this textbook appear w eakest are the
som ew hat biased cultural perspective from which discussions of
North Africa and the M iddLe_JEasi are presented, and the lack of
global perspective in the presentation of issues related to W o rld
H a a ttii.

Textbook G
Textbook G presents m aterial dealing with C a n a d a from an
unbiased

cultural

perspective.

This textbook

greatest length of passage devoted to C a n a d a .
in the presentation of Arts
well

as

a

more

than

and

ad eq u ate

also

provides the

Global perpsective

C ulture is also quite strong, as
length

of p assage

devoted

to

discussion of W o M -E o ad -B u Q P iy, and W aL_Em c_e and Arm am ents.
Areas of greatest deficiency are a lack of global perspective
in the presentation of issues related to W orld

Food S upply. W o rld

H e a lt h . E n v ir o n m e n t, and B & liqiQ Ji; as well as lack of adequate
passage length alloted to discussion of Religion and E n v iro n m e n t.

Textbook H
A reas

of greatest strength

in Textbook

H are the

global

perspective in presentation of issues related to Arts and Culture.
and discussions of P o v e r ty .

This text also devotes an adequate

amount of passage length to discussion of R elig io n .

91
A reas of greatest deficiency occur in the lack of unbiased
cultural perspective with which C a n a d a

is presented, as well as

the

presentations

lack

of

global

related to W orld
Inadequate

in

the

H e a lth , and Hum an

passage

H e a l t h . W a r.

perspective

length

Peace

and

Rights

is devoted

and

of

issues

Responsibilities.

to discussions of W o rld

Armaments, Human

R e s p o n s ib ilitie s . International M onetary and Trad e

BigMs

and.

R elations, and

Enem y-

Textbook I
A reas of greatest strength for Textbook I are the unbiased
cultural

p erspective

in

presentation

N a r tli^ n c a -ja n d ^

of

m aterials

dealing

with

as well as the strong global

perspective present in discussions of the issues related to W or ld
Food Supply, and W orld Population.

Adequate amounts of passage

are devoted to discussion of issues related to World

Population.

Environm ent, and E n erg y.
A re as

of

g re a te s t

deficiency

are

the

lack

of

unbiased

cultural perspective in the presentations of m aterials on A sia and
C a n a d a , and the lack of adequate passage length devoted to Latin
America and the C aribbean.

Likewise, there is an absence of global
t

perspective in presentation of the issues related to W orld

H e a lth ,

and Lan g u ag e, and inadequate passage length devoted to discussion
of L a n g u a g e , and Arts and Culture.

92
Textbook J
Textbook J presents m aterial dealing with C a n a d a from a
fair and unbiased cultural perspective.
the

global

perspective

present

in

Another of its strengths is

presentations

related to R a r^ a jn d L ^ J J in jid ly :, and R ov/arty..

of

the

issues

There is also a more

than adequate amount of passage length devoted to discussion of
the topic, E n e rg y .
A reas of greatest deficiency occur in the som ew hat biased
cultural perspective with which
M iddle

material on North Africa and the

E ast is presented, the lack of global perspective in the

p re s e n ta tio n

of

issu es

re la te d

to

R e l a t i o ns

Between

N a tio n s /S ta te s , and the lack of adequate passage length devoted to

SUMMABY
In answering the first question, "How do the middle school
level

social

M ichigan

studies

textbooks

currently

in

use

in the

state

reflect our culturally pluralistic society?", a wide

of

range

of opinions from reviewers was reported, ranging from "use as is"
to "do not use".

It should be noted however, no textbook was found

to be totally acceptable for use with all reviewers.
Upon examining the data gathered pertaining to the second
question,

"How do

currently

in

use

interdep en den t

middle

in the

nature

school

state

level

social studies textbooks

of Michigan

of our world

in the

positively

reflect the

presentation

of the

global issues outlined in MSBE's Essential Goals and Objectives for

93
Social Studies in Michiaan_JK-12y?". it was observed that the book
meeting

the most criteria for having a truly

appears to be Textbook F, People On Earth:

global perspective
A World G eography.

Scott Foresman and Company.
The researcher also compiled a descriptive profile of each
textbook

exam ined

in

the

study,

describing

area s

of

g rea tes t

strength as well as areas of greatest deficiency.
C hapter V contains a summary of the purpose of the study,
and the major findings and conclusions based on the data gathered
in the study, as well as recommendations for future research.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY O F FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary
The purpose of this study was to gather and an alyze data
related to the degree to which social studies textbooks used in
grades six and seven throughout the state of Michigan positively
reflect the culturally pluralistic and
global

A ratio n ale w as

society.

interdependent nature of our
established

evaluate educational m aterials due to

for

study

will

be

sh ared

with

the

need

to

the strong influence they

exert in social studies classroom s (N C S S , 1977).
this

the

M ichigan

The results of
D e p a rtm e n t

of

Education in the hope that they may contribute to the data that
have been am assed for the design and implementation of global
education concerns.

The results may also be useful to curriculum

planners and educators in the evaluation of current programs and
m aterials

related

Findings will also

to stated
be

goals

shared

with

in global

education

programs.

authors and publishers,

(see

A P PE N D IX E, S U G G E S T IO N S TO PUBLISHERS) in order to aid in the
improvement of social studies textbooks.

The sampling procedure

used in this study was designed to represent the various

95
geographic

areas

in

Michigan

as

well

as

reflect

the

ratio

of

community types (urban, rural, and suburban).
In the previous chapters the background and rationale for the
study was described, related research was reviewed, a description
of the instruments used and data collected w as provided, along
with the methodology used in analyzing data.
analysis
reported.

as

they

M ajor

im plications

of

related
findings

the

to
of

the
the

results,

research
study

along

Results of the data
question

and

with

w ere

discussion

also

of

the

reco m m en dation s

for

future research are discussed in this chapter.

M ajoiiM iD gs
In this section the major findings of the study are discussed
within the limitations of the population and methodology.

Degree of QulturalJJurallsm
The findings of all reviewers seem ed to concur with regard to
the lack of focus on the cultural diversity within various areas of
the world, as well as a tendency to focus only on aspects of the
relatio n sh ip s
ignoring

th ese

their

co un tries

relationships

one

review ers expressed concern
seem ed

to dom inate the

in terre late d n ess

of

those

have
to

with

th e

another.

U nited
In

S ta te s ,

addition,

all

over the inundation of facts which

passages with
facts.

No

little discussion
relationship

w as

of the
found

between length of passage related to specific areas of the world
and degree of cultural pluralism.

96
Degree of Global Perspective
O nly

two

textbooks

approached

the

criteria

for

presenting

m aterial from a global perspective: Scott Foresm an's
Earth:

A W orld G eo grap hy, and D.C. Heath's

Canada.

Overall, however, no topic was adequately developed from

a global

perspective

in any text.

W hile

discussions related to

cultural issues such as race and ethnicity or the influence of arts
and language on cultural w ere presented from a global perspective
in most texts, discussions of world food supply, world health, and
world population w ere not developed
could

see

the

interrelationship

in a m anner in which one

of these

issues.

Discussion

of

resources in these textbooks tended to focus on the imports and
exports

of

m entioned

co u n tries.
by nam e

The

efforts

H ealth

in only three of the

textbook, Merrill's W orld
w orldw ide

W orld

O rg an izatio n

books,

and

was

only one

G eo g rap h y, provided any discussion of its

to erad icate disease.

Two

of the textbooks,

Heath's Latin America and C an ada, and Scott Foresman's People On
Earth:
g lo b a l

A World G eography, presented environmental issues from a
p e rs p e c tiv e ,

e m p h a s izin g

the

vario u s

en viro n m e n ta l

systems at work on our globe and humankind's influence on those
system s.
Overall, what seem s to be lacking in the presentation of the
various
te x ts

topics

is their

m e n tio n e d

interdependence, few

th e

interrelatedness.
c o n c e p ts

of

Although

most of the

in te rre la te d n e s s

other than Scott Foresman's People On

and

97
Farth, . .. followed through with presentation of exam ples of those
concepts.

Discussion and Implications of the Findings
Cultural

Pluralism

W hen
textbooks

p re s e n tin g
tend

to

focus

areas of the world.
tra d itio n a l
trad itio n al

in fo rm a tio n
on

lists

about

of facts

o th e r

and

c o u n trie s ,

statistics

about

All of the textbooks in this sam ple take a

g e o g ra p h ic a l
g eo g rap h ic

a p p ro a c h

know ledge

to

is

o rg a n iz a tio n .

ce rtainly

W h ile

n eces sa ry,

the

approach can lead to a presentation of a litany of facts related to
countries of the world,

region by region,

in the sam e

repetitive

fashion.
In

som e

cases,

the

m aterial

becom es

so

superficial

that

students can

not possibly understand the source of conflicts in

th ese

of

a rea s

the

w orld.

R ecen t

studies

in

the

review

of

literature (Hill, 1981; W yniem ko, 1982; Demps, 1983; and W agner,
1986) support this idea.

Students in this age group (sixth and

seventh grade) tend to be primarily interested in people, according
to Johnson and B enegar (1983).

Torney (1979) and Carnie (1972)

indicate that this age is the critical period for developm ent of a
global perspective.
ad van tag e
new spaper

by

Publishers and teachers can use this to their

supplem enting

a rtic le s ,

new s

textbooks
m a g a z in e

with

m aterials

p iece s,

and

such

as

lite ra tu re

pertaining to these areas of the world with a focus on the human
dram a that takes place there daily.

98
A m erica
estim ates

is rapidly expanding

are

that within

its im migrant population,

six or seven

generations

and

C aucasians

will no longer constitute a majority in the United States (Gifford
and G illett,

1986).

Students in schools must becom e aw are of

cultural diversity around the globe.
review ers

w as

that th ese

books

A flaw reported

tended

to

ignore

diversity present in other regions of the world.

by all the
the

cultural

Americans have

finally accepted the fact that they live in a land of many cultures,
but they tend to lump "Asians", or "Africans", or people from the
"M iddle

East",

or

"Latin

Am erica"

into

one

category,

not fully

recognizing the trem endous diversity present within these regions.
Cortes and Fleming (1 986 a) spoke of this problem, warning of the
dangers

of failing

foreign cultures.

to

present

the

diversity

which

exists

within

It is quite understandable that this might occur

given the fact that textbooks try to include a study of the whole
world in one book.

W hen this happens, it is necessary to resort to

generalizations in order to get through it all.

W hat would make

more sense is an in-depth examination of a few areas of the world
at a tim e,
attem pts

such as

to do with

Silver Burdett's
an

em phasis

E a s te rn

H e m is p h e re

on their relationships

text

to the

global family as King (1970) advocated.
Another strong

implication of the findings in this study is

that the interrelatedness of regions tends
in textbooks.

This

would

tend

to

still to be overlooked

corroborate

the

findings

of

Cortes and Fleming (1 986 a) that although attention is given to the
relationship which these countries have to the United States, their

99
relationships
discussion.

with

one

an o th er

are

so m e tim es

n e g le cte d

in

These textbooks alone will not furnish the necessary

m aterial to teach this interrelatedness.

Educators must becom e

aw are of strengths and weaknesses in these areas and find the
necessary materials to do the job.

W hen

looking at the presentation of the topics identified in

the study as those related to formulation of a global perspective,
one sees that more is not necessarily better.

The best exam ple of

this is the presentation of m aterial related to discussion of war,
peace and military armaments.

Of all the topics, this one amassed

most passage length, but the topic w as

presented

in a

manner

which in most cases would not lead to the understanding of why a
particular conflict occurred in the first place, much less how one
might go about peacefully resolving that conflict w ithout the use
of military aggression. These findings support those of Cleveland
(1986) who proposes a need for lessons from history illustrating
that

it

is

possible

for

people

to

reso lve

conflicts

and

work

together for peaceful solutions to problems.
Another interesting

implication

relates to the

subtle w ay

in

which what is left out of a textbook may shape our perceptions as
well as what is put in the narrative. This is an illustration of what
Billington (1966) referred to as "bias by omission".

The exam ple

of this phenomenon occurs in the discussion of world health.

Only

three of these textbooks mentioned the World Health Organization

100
by name, and only one gave it so much as a paragraph of discussion!
If

th e re

is

one

o u tstand ing

e x a m p le

of

how

in tern atio n al

cooperation has worked to solve world problems, it is the World
Health Organization.
its

efforts

problem s

and
in

relationship

a

Yet, seven of these textbooks chose to ignore

instead
w ay

am ong

presented

which
health,

tended

discussion
to

nutrition,

im m unization, and population concerns.
C ross/R ed

lack

of

any

world
focus

g o vernm en t

health
on

health

care,

The efforts of the

C rescent Society, W orldVision, and the World

the

Red

Health

O rganization could serve as models of international cooperation.
W hy are these topics and the other topics identified in the study
not found more readily in the textbooks?

As English (1986) points

out, the aim of textbook publishers is to m ake a profit in sales.
W hen school districts and curriculum directors dem and textbooks
that include these topics, they will begin to appear. W hen looking
at this list of fourteen global topics though, one must keep in mind
that they may not all be appropriate for discussion at every age
level.

Som e are more appropriate for the middle school student

than others.
th ese

issues

W hat is necessary is that the teacher decide which of
relates

supplem ent classroom

to

a

particular

topic

of

discussion

and

instruction with the necessary m aterials to

promote understanding of the concept.

101
Projected .Outcomes of the Study
The

study will

be

shared

with

Dr. John

C hapm an,

Social

Studies Specialist at the Michigan State Departm ent of Education,
so that results can be dissem inated to curriculum

planners and

teachers using these textbooks in classrooms.

Through the use of

this study they might be m ade aw are of the

major strengths and

w e a kn ess es

of

textbooks

with

regard

to

cultural

and

global

p erspectives.
By sharing the findings with the publishers of textbooks, one
hopes the efforts already underway to add a global dimension to
the content of social studies textbooks will be enhanced.
evidence
sim ilar

that

A m e ric a

studies

have

Am erican

history

stereotyping.

R e v is e d
had

books

Perhaps

much
in the

this

study

(F itzG e ra ld ,
influence
areas
and

1979)

on

the

of bias,
others

There is
and

other

content

prejudice,

like

it will

of
and

have

similar effects upon the inclusion of a global perspective in social
studies textbooks, particularly at the middle school level.

Recommendations for Future Study
The

following

recom m endations

a re

presen ted

for

future

studies:
1.
d e te c t

This study should be replicated periodically in order to
progress

m ade

by

publishers

in

infusing

a

culturally

pluralistic and global perspective into curricular m aterials.

102
2.

More research is needed in the area of appropriateness of

various global topics to student populations of varying age and
stage

of social developm ent.

topic

a re a s ,

subd ivided
should

be

such
into

as

W ar,

fu rth er

directed

to

units

Additionally, a closer analysis of
P eac e,
of

evidences

and

A rm am ents

analysis.

could

S pecific

of peaceful

m eans

be

attention
of settling

conflict, as opposed to consistently violent ones.

3.

There is a need for more research into the progress made

in expanding the global perspective of classroom teachers.
th ey

a re

u ltim ately

in

ch a rg e

of

w h at

will

be

Since

taugh t

in

classroom s, they must have the knowledge and desire to impart
concepts from a global perspective.

More effort should be made to

study and an aly ze the effects of travel and overseas exchange
e x p e rie n c e s

on

the

d evelo p m en t

of

a

global

p erspective

in

educators.

4.

Periodically, data should be collected regarding students'

knowledge and attitudes toward various cultural groups in order to
m onitor progress

or lack of progress

in the developm ent of a

culturally unbiased perspective in the student population.

5.

Th ere is a need for a comprehensive historical study that

would trace the developm ent of global education.

Much of the

existing literature on global education is in the form of position
p a p ers,

e v a lu a tiv e

reports,

and

g o vern m en t

do cum ents.

A

103
definitive

study,

which

would

an aly ze

the

various

stages

com ponent parts of global education would help to prom ote

and
its

inclusion into the school curriculum.

6.

As the concern for a global perspective in education is not

unique to

the

determ ine

the level of foreign

re fle c te d

in

non-Am erican

United

te x tb o o k s .
curiculum

of knowledge to the

7.

S tates,

B ecause

research

should

be

conducted

to

interest in the global perspective

C o m p a ra tiv e

s tu d ie s

m aterials would contribute

e x a m in in g
a great deal

existing body of data.

the

p e rsp ective

of

the

m aterials greatly influences w hat appears
of the

backgrounds

w ould

contrib ute

to

of the
th e

im provem ent of classroom

authors
body

of

m aterials.

authors

of

textbook

in textbooks,

of social
know ledge

studies

analysis
textbooks

related

to

the

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE

STATE OF MICHIGAN

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Lansing, Michigan 48909
D O N A L D L. BEMIS
Superintendent
o f Public Instruction

M E M O R A N D U M

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
BARBARA ROBERTS M ASO N
President
D O R O T H Y BEAR DM OR E
I ice President
C H E R R Y JACOBUS
Secretary
DR. G U M E C IN D O SALAS
Treasurer
DR. E D M U N D F. V A N D E T T E
X A SBE Delegate
A N N E T T A M IL L E R
N O R M A N O T T O STO C K M EYE R , SR.
(vacancy)
G O V. JAMES J. B L A N C H A R D
E x O ffic io

TO

Ms. Sharon Lee

FROM:

John M. Chapman, Ph.D(C^./v^
Social Studies and
International Education Specialist

DATE:

October 3, 1988

RE:

Global Issues Checklist

I have reviewed the Global Issues Checklist which you have asked
me to comment on.
The instrument does give significant attention to the issues and
topics which are recommended in the Essential Goals and Objectives
For Social Studies Education In Michigan, K-12 document. Thus,
we would be interested in your findings and recommendations based
on either this instrument as it is now constructed or an adaptation
of it.

104

Indiana D ep artm en t o f Education
r
C e n te r fo r S c h o o l Im p ro v e m e n t a n d P e r fo r m a n c e

R o o m 2 2 9 , S t a t e H o u s e • In d i a n a p o l i s , I X 4 ( 5 2 0 4 - 2 7 9 8 • 3 1 7 / 2 6 9 - 9 6 5 4

July 14, 1988

Sharon D . Lee
College of Education
Department of Teacher Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1034
Dear Ms. Lee:
I am glad that the materials evaluation checklist from Indiana
in the World has been helpful to you.
You will not need the permission of the Indiana Department of
Education to use an adapted version of the checklist in your
doctoral research.
It will be sufficient to cite Indiana in
the World as the source of the checklist in your bibliography.
Thank you for your inquiry. Best wishes for the swift and
successful completion of your dissertation.
Sincerely,

Mary Fortney
Social Studies Consultant
mw

105

O f f i c e L o c a t io n • T w o M a r k e t S o u a r e C e n t e r • 2 5 1 E a s t O h io S t r e e t

APPENDIX B
SAMPLE OF SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

SURVEY OF SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS
USED IN GRADE 7

SEVENTH GRADE LEVEL
TEXTBOOK USED:

AUTHOR:__ _________________________________________
TITLE:

_________________________________________

PUBLISHER:

_________________________________________

COPYRIGHT DATE:

_________________________________________

Is this book part of a series used in your school?
If yes, name of series:

___________________

______________________________________________

Is your school district planning to purchase a new book for this level?
If yes, when?

_________________________________________________________

NAME OF PERSON COMPLETING FORM:

______________________________________

SCHOOL:
ADDRESS:__ _________

___________________________

PHONE:

RETURN THIS FORM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO:

106

Dr. John Chapman
Social Studies Specialist
Michigan Department of Education
P. 0. Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan 48909

APPENDIX C
REVIEWERS' EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

Social Studies T e xt bo ok Study

1988

I . The text should convey to the
student cultural and geographical
diversities as well as human
commonalities in a positive way
A.

Peoples of other cultures are
described without bias or
stereotypical descriptions,
including ones relating to sex
roles, religion customs, etc.

B.

History is presented without an
eurocentric Western bias. All
phases of the area's history are
presented as important in and of
themselves, not just as they
relate to the West.
The
colonial period is discussed
fairly, presenting the negative
as well as positive impact.

Scarcely, or
Not at all
Evident

Somewhat
Evident

Title:
Publisher:
Copyright:
Reviewer:

Evident
Throughout

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

Comments

Geography is presented with
reference to human culture
and to the area's political
and economic concerns. Exotic
but less humanly relevant
geographical features do not
dominate the material. The
concepts of "continent,"
"country," and "culture" are
differentiated.

D.

Political, social, and economic
issues are treated honestly. The
effects of the dominant role of
Western powers are analyzed
without deference to Westerni­
zation. Areas of political,
social, and economic conflict
are discussed openly. Peoples
are described with diversity
of social, political, and
economic interests, not as
homogenous citizens of a nation
or area.

Scarcely, or
Not at all
Evident

Somewhat
Evident

Evident
Throughout
C.

Comments

The arts and music are presented
positively, showing diversity
and beauty in the cultural
context

F.

Commonalities in the human
experience are made relevant
to the reader. There is an
opportunity to draw comparisons
and contrasts in lifestyles and
institutions

The textbook should reflect quality
scholarship:
A.

The text reflects contemporary
scholarship, including views
of scholars from the area
being studied

B.

The facts are accurate and
up-to-date and not presented in
misleading ways

Scarcely, or
Not at all
Evident

Somewhat
Evident

Evident
Throughout
II.

E.

Comments

The charts, maps, and
illustrations are up-to-date

D.

The terminology used to describe
other cultures is acceptable •
and accurate; value-laden
negative descriptions are avoided

E.

Controversial issues are treated
fairly; diverse viewpoints are
presented without bias.
Countries not considered
"friends" of the United States
are given fair treatment

Scarcely, or
Not at all
Evident

Somewhat
Evident

Evident
Throughout
Oi l

C.

Comments

APPENDIX D
GLOBAL ISSUES CHECKLIST

GLOBAL ISSUES CHECKLIST

Title of Material being reviewed

Publisher/Copyright

Directions: Circle the appropriate response.
WORLD FOOD SUPPLY
2.1
To what extent do the materials emphasize the problems of world food
distribution?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

WORLD HEALTH
2 .2
To what extent do the materials discuss the activities of the World Health
Organization?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

WORLD POPULATION
2 .3
To what extent do the materials address the topic of world population in relation
to distribution of world resources?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

WAR, PEACE AND MILITARY ARMAMENTS
2 .4
To what extent do the materials facilitate the analysis of problems such as war,
peace, and military armaments?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

ENVIRONMENT
2 .5
To what extent do the materials give recognition to the world's environmental
ecosystems?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

RACE AND ETHNICITY
2 .6 a
To what extent do the materials encourage the appreciation of individual and
group differences around the world?
no extent

0

1

2

111

3

4

great extent

2 .6 b

To what extent do the materials avoid racial slurs or stereotypes?
no extent

2.6c

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

To what extent do the materials emphasize that each person has a unique
perspective on the world that may not be shared by others?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
2 .7 a
To what extent do the materials emphasize that there are basic needs, concerns,
activities, rights and responsibilities common to humanity?
no extent
2.7 b

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

To what extent do the materials develop an understanding of how one's personal
choices can affect others around the world?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

RELIGION
2 .8
To what extent do the materials facilitate discussion of concerns dealing with the
mental and spiritual welfare of all humankind?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

ARTS AND CULTURE
2 .9 a
To what extent do the materials promote discussion of the influence that
geographical features of an area have on the history, culture, and living
conditions of a people?
no extent
2.9b

1

2

3

4

great extent

To what extent do the materials encourage appreciation and understanding of the
arts and culture of other nations?
no extent

2.9c

0

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

To what extent do the materials inspire students to see that all persons are
members of one global family as well as members of localities, cultures, and
nations?
no extent

0

1

2

112

3

4

great extent

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND TRADE RELATIONS
2.10
To what extent do the materials facilitate discussion of international monetary
and trade relations and their affect on our global economy?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

LANGUAGE
2.11
To what extent do the materials address the topic of language as an aspect of
culture?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

ENERGY
2 .1 2
To what extent do the materials give recognition to the fact that the world's
energy resources are finite?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

POVERTY
2 .1 3
To what extent do the materials give recognition to the fact that the world's
wealth is unequally distributed?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

RELATIONS AMONG NATIONS/STATES
2 .1 4 a To what extent do the materials help students to make comparisons and look for
interrelationships across cultures, nations, or subgroups of societies?
no extent
2 .1 4 b

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

To what extent do the materials foster an understanding of how human
organizations such as governments, religious groups and corporations interact
globally?
no extent

0

1

2

3

4

great extent

Total points for the twenty ite m s _______

Checklist based on:

INDIANA IN THE WORLD: TEACHING ACTIVITIES
PACKET (1981). Indiana Department of Education.

and

ESSENTIAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR SOCIAL
STUDIES EDUCATION IN MICHIGAN, K-12 (1987).
Michigan State Board of Education.

113

APPENDIX E
SUGGESTIONS TO PUBLISHERS

SUGGESTIONS TO PUBLISHERS
Within the last decade, much progress has been m ade in depicting
the multicultural nature of American society.
Textbooks treat the
diversity of various ethnic within the population with fairness and
respect.
T h ese positive strides should not be overlooked.
To
encou rage further im provem ent of social studies textbooks, the
following suggestions to publishers are offered:

First, place more em phasis on the diversity within other cultural
areas of the world.
Publishers are beginning to do a fine job of
em phasizing the m ulticultural aspects of A m erican society, but
more must be done to em phasize the diversity within other regions,
such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Second,
p ro v id e
s u b s ta n tiv e
c o n te n t
w h ich
e n c o u ra g e s
understanding of the interrelatedness of facts about a region rather
than inundating the reader with sheer volume.

Third,

provide enough background on all perspectives of crucial
issues so that they may be studied and discussed objectively.

Fourth, em phasize the interrelatedness of all countries.

In order to
produce a generation of citizens cognizant enough of the world's
problem s to go about solving them , progress must be m ade in
stressing that what happens anywhere on the globe directly affects
not only the United States, but other nations.

F i f t h , e m p h a s ize the world system involving each individual;
b io lo g ic a lly , through our common species; e c o lo g ic a lly , through
our

com m on

lo c a tio n
in
th e
th e
e a r th 's
b io s p h e re ;
s o c i o - c u l t u r a l l y , through our cultural linkages in our human
en v iro n m e n t; h i s t o r i c a l l y , through our links with the past; and
p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y , through our ability to see the world beyond our
borders through our perception, attitudes, and beliefs, as our nation
is view ed through the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of others
(Anderson, 1986). Try to include all branches of the social sciences

m

in textb ooks,
geography.

rath er

than

an

Sixth,

exclu sive

focus

on

history

and

include experts in global education on editorial advisory
boards.
International specialists from various areas are excellent
as advisors concerning scholarship of m aterial with regard to
specific areas of the world, but som eone with a global orientation
is able to transcend political boundries to see the "global village"
shared by all.

115

APPENDIX F
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF RESEARCHER

Autobiographical Sketch

SHARON ANN LE E has spent fourteen of the last fifteen years in a
classroom :

public,

private, and

involved teaching
In te rn a tio n a l

university.

social studies to

School

of

K u ala

Five

m iddle-school

Lum pur,

of those years
students

M a la y s ia ,

at the

w h e re

the

researcher experienced first-hand the frustration of being unable to
lo cate

classro om

perspective.

This

m a te ria ls

w ithou t

experience created

an

ex c lu s iv e ly

A m erican

interest in this topic as

an

area of research.
W hile working as a graduate teaching assistant at Michigan
S tate University in 1987, this researcher w as fortunate enough to
have

com e

in contact with

Dr.

John

C hapm an

of the

Michigan

D epartm ent of Education, who extended to her the opportunity to
p a rticip ate
Michigan.

in

the

1 9 8 7 -8 8

textb ook

study

then

un derw ay

in

Ms. Lee served as a bias reviewer on the fifth and sixth

grade study and collected survey data for the seventh grade study,
from which much of the data in this study was gathered.

At the

conclusion of the textbook review, the researcher worked with the
D epartm ent of

Education

as

a technical

w riter on

a

global education documents in the capacity of consultant.

116

revision

of

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Charlotte J., and Anderson, Lee F. (1977). "Global Education
in Elem entary Schools: An Overview."
S ocial Education 44,
(January): 3 4 -37 .
A nderson, Lee F. (1 9 8 6 ).
"An Exam ination
O bjectives of International Education."
(N o vem ber) :6 3 9 -4 7 .

_

, (1979).

of the Structure and
Social Education 3 3 .

Schooling_and-CitizfiDShip in. a.Global Aoa;

An

Exploration, of the Meaning and Significance of Global Education.
Bloomington:
M id-Am erica Program for Global Perspectives in
Education.
____________ , and Rivlin, Garry (1 980 ).
"Citizenship Education in a
Global Age." Educational Leadership (October): 64-65.
B anks, Ja m e s A. (1 9 7 6 ). "C ultural P luralism : Im plications for
C o n tem p o ra ry S cho ols." In te g ra te d
E d u catio n (J a n ./F e b .):
3 2 -3 6 .
Becker, James M. (1969). An Examination of Objectives. Needs.,_and
Priorities in International Education in U .S . Secondary
and
Elem entary Schools. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Education,
(ERIC Document ED 031 612).
____________ ,
(1 9 7 9 ).
"G lobal/International Education Today:
An
O verview ."
P ap er delivered at the Michigan D epartm ent of
Education's Institute for Staff Developm ent, July-October.
____________ , (1 9 7 4 ).
"Perspectives on Global Education."
Education 38 (N ovem ber/Decem ber): 678-8 2.

S o c ia l

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____________ , E d .(1 9 7 9 ).
M c G ra w -H ill.

Schooling for a G lo bal A a e .

New York:

____________ , & Anderson, Lee F. (1980). "Global Perspectives in the
S ocial Studies." Jo u rn a l of R esearch a n d D evelop m ent in

Bell, Sam uel R., & Soley, Mary E. (1986).
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R ay

A.

(1 9 6 6 ).

The

"The New Immigration and
50: 170-171.

H isloxiaiLs

C o n trib u tio n

to

N ational Bias in A nglo-A m erican History T e xtb o o ks. Ray A.
Billington, Chairman. New York: Hobbs, Dorman & Co.
Black, Hillel (1967). The
Morrow and Co.
B lankenship, G len

Am erican

(1 9 8 4 ).

S fld& L -E du gation

Schoolbook.

New York:

William

"How to Test a Textbook for Sexism."

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Bragaw, Donald H. & Loew, Helen Z. (1 9 8 5 ).
"Social Studies and
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Bullard, Betty M. (1980). "A Promising Agenda:
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International Studies
The Annals of the

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