School textbooks and citizensip cultivation: Possibilities and limitations
Abstract
One of the main functions of schools is to prepare students to integrate and actively participate in modern democratic societies. The culture and climate of the school unit, the interaction between teachers and students, the subjects, the teaching and pedagogical activities are some of the factors shaping the democratic ethos of students as future citizens. Another essential factor is the school textbook, as it holds a central role in Greek education, affecting educators’ teaching choices and is the main source of information for students. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether the 6th grade school textbooks offer opportunities to cultivate students as active citizens. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used for the implementation of the purpose of the research. Regarding the direction of analysis, we investigated "what" is said, which was interpreted based on the relevant theoretical assumptions and research. The 'theme' was defined as the unit of recording, including 'knowledge', 'skills/abilities' and 'attitudes/values' that contribute to the cultivation of citizenship. The fact that the productive system of categories emerges from the relevant theory ensures the validity of the present study. For the reliability of the categories and sub-categories in terms of quantitative content analysis, the system of coders was used and questions whose classification was not agreed by at least two coders were excluded from further analysis. In addition, Krippendorff’s alpha was employed as coefficient to examine intercoders’ reliability. As far as the qualitative analysis is concerned, a descriptive representation of the researched material was made, and characteristic references were quoted. Data analysis indicates that 6th grade school textbooks, as a whole, offer various opportunities to shape citizenship. While emphasis is laid on providing citizenship-related knowledge, it is encouraging that these textbooks also contain many skill-building activities which are a prerequisite for cultivating active citizens. However, findings suggest that these textbooks do not contribute adequately to the formation of corresponding attitudes and values. In conclusion, it is considered necessary to update school textbooks in order to give equal emphasis to knowledge, skills, attitudes and values related to citizenship. Moreover, in-service teachers, as the main mediators between the content of the textbook and students, can make good use of this study’s results. Our findings can also be useful to researchers, authors involved in the design of relevant teaching material, as well as education policymakers.
Article Details
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Plastira, R., Kotsi, S., Chandrinou, S., & Liakopoulou, M. (2024). School textbooks and citizensip cultivation: Possibilities and limitations. Preschool and Primary Education, 12(2), 232–261. https://doi.org/10.12681/ppej.36606 (Original work published November 29, 2024)
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