PREFACE

The problem which many countries still have to face today is that of ensuring the provision of school books to their educational system. This is an undertaking which demands considerable resources given the complexity of the different operations involved in the production and distribution of school books. Unesco has promoted a series of regional meetings on this theme which have offered the countries directly concerned recommendations on aspects related to costs, management, production planning, and on the distribution of school textbooks. However, besides these very important and decisive aspects, one of the main objectives of educational authorities is to provide textbooks which are adapted to the social and cultural context of their countries and which meet the needs of their educational system. Engaging national personnel to elaborate these textbooks is one of the main ways of attaining this objective.

If the production process has been the subject of studies and publications on material, technical, financial and administrative aspects, the same cannot be said for the elaboration of manuscripts which is the starting point of this process, and which has never been systematically studied. A few countries have prepared guides on technical aspects and the drafting of manuscripts to simplify the work of authors and formulate rules to be followed to standardise elaboration. This handbook attempts to respond to the need for a general methodological approach which could guide authors and teachers who wish to take on the work of textbook elaboration, and the educational authorities who are responsible for the promotion and the quality of books used in the teaching and learning process.