 | The Elaboration of School Textbooks - Methodological Guide (UNESCO, 1989, 66 p.) |
 |  | (introduction...) |
| | PREFACE |
| | NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
|  | I. INTRODUCTION |
| | Textbooks and educational achievements |
| | Provision of school textbooks |
| | Projects to develop the production of textbooks |
| | Conditions and Constraints on textbook production |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Identification of needs |
| | Financial resources |
| | Elaboration of textbooks |
| | Publishing |
| | Printing |
| | Distribution |
| | Circulation and marketing of school textbooks |
| | The decision to produce a textbook |
| | Formulas and conditions for the elaboration of textbooks |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Original design |
| | Adaptation of existing textbooks |
| | Translation |
| | Rights and protection of authors and translators |
| | II. ELABORATION OF TEXTBOOKS |
| | The main categories of textbooks |
| | The roles of textbooks |
| | The objectives in using textbooks |
| | Teacher Training |
| | Those elaborating the textbook |
| | The author's contract |
| | III. TEXTBOOK MANUSCRIPTS |
| | Textbooks and curricula |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Teachers guides and school textbooks |
| | The content of textbooks - origins |
| | The nature of content |
| | Accuracy |
| | Precision |
| | Topicality |
| | Objectivity |
| | Contribution to social objectives |
| | Learning experiences and development of aptitudes |
| | Progression of concepts and development of abilities |
| | Interdisciplinarity |
| | Educational approaches |
| | Levels of ability of pupils |
| | Interests and motivation of pupils |
| | Stimulating an enquiring mind |
| | Learning and evaluation exercises |
| | Self-evaluation |
| | Drafting a manuscript |
| | The outline of the manuscript |
| | Structure and organization of chapters |
| | Presentation of chapters |
| | The text: language used in textbooks |
| | Vocabulary in textbooks |
| | Phrases |
| | Punctuation |
| | The thread, or continuous link |
| | The summary |
| | Writing style |
| | The first and last pages of a manuscript |
| | IV. ILLUSTRATIONS |
| | The role of illustrations |
| | Types of illustrations |
| | Characteristics and conditions of a good illustration |
| | The cost of illustrations |
| | The qualifications of illustrators |
| | V. MANAGEMENT OF THE ELABORATION OF MANUSCRIPTS |
| | (introduction...) |
| | School Textbook Committees |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Functions of Textbook Committees |
| | Status of the Committees |
| | Members of the Committees |
| | Working procedures |
| | Submission of manuscripts |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Submission dates |
| | Technical guide-lines for presentation and composition of text |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Corrections in the text of the manuscript |
| | Presentation of illustrations |
| | The final manuscript |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Submission of the final manuscript |
| | The definitive manuscript |
| | VI. EVALUATION OF THE FINAL MANUSCRIPT |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Aspects of evaluation |
| | Questions to be raised in the evaluation of a final manuscript |
| | Guidelines for evaluation |
| | The evaluators |
| | Modalities and criteria for evaluation |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Evaluation by teachers |
| | The trial edition |
| | (introduction...) |
| | Testing |
| | Evaluation |
| | VII. CONCLUSION |
| | REFERENCES |
Testing
The trial edition is produced once the final manuscript has been evaluated and revised. So, it is guaranteed, a priori, as relevant teaching material. However, testing in schools can reveal imperfections which have passed unnoticed during evaluation. The following conditions are applicable for testing a trial edition:
- The trial edition is tested in a small number of schools and in classes which correspond to the instructional level of the textbook (four or five schools);- The schools chosen should be located in different zones (urban and rural or semi-rural);
- Teachers taking part should have good or average qualifications; if qualifications are too low, much of the validity of the testing and evaluation will be lost. Moreover, these teachers should be capable of expressing valid opinions on the experimental textbook and of making pertinent suggestions as to eventual modifications;
- The teachers designated to take part in the experiment should understand the objectives. They should also be aware that their observations and suggestions will be transmitted to the author(s) and to the publisher;
- An evaluator will accompany and supervise the experiment.
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