Qualitative Aspects of Egyptian Social Studies Textbooks
Bakkar, Nadia Ahmed
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68984
Description
Title
Qualitative Aspects of Egyptian Social Studies Textbooks
Author(s)
Bakkar, Nadia Ahmed
Issue Date
1985
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Social Sciences
Abstract
This study considered some critical problems in the social studies curriculum in the Egyptian preparatory school, i.e., the school serving students in grades seven to nine.
(1) Coverage demands. This part of the study focused on the expansion in the information load embedded in syllabi over the past decade. A number of indices were developed to measure this load. The result of the analysis showed a significant increase in information load between 1970 and 1983. These increases occurred while the schools were experiencing a decline of overall aptitudes for learning--a product of state policies designed to expand educational opportunity--and a decrease in instructional time for many students--a result of the use of a shift system. The major implication of this analysis is a case for an adaptation of the load of information in courses and texts to meet the relative capacity of the majority of Egypt's preparatory school students.
(2) Mental maps as a goal of geographic education. The world picture is a qualitative aspect of courses and texts which should be considered in constructing the content of geography syllabi. The study argued that the quantity of information included in textbooks about given environments is an important variable affecting students' ability to picture places accurately and richly. The measurement of the emphasis devoted to places and regions was the major approach in the analysis. The implication of the findings is that greater balance be introduced among the areas of concern in geography in the Egyptian preparatory school in order to build an appropriate picture of the world and increase students' comprehension of the contemporary world.
(3) The considerateness of history textbooks. The problem of comprehension posed by the structure of text offers an important perspective for judging the quality of a textbook. Four aspects of text structures were used to evaluate the quality of the explanations of historical events in Egyptian textbooks. The result of the evaluation revealed that texts do not provide adequate historical explanation according to the Goal-Plan-Action-Outcome frame suggested by Armbruster and Anderson (1984). Suggestions about some ways in which text explanations might be improved were offered.
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