The World Portrayed in Texts: An Analysis of the Content of Elementary School Textbooks

Abstract

Textbook content continues to frame a great deal of classroom learning. In thispaper, the perception of society and its ideals portrayed in elementary- leveltextbooks commonly used in British Columbia, Canada, are investi gated andanalyzed. Prominent themes are teased out and discussed under fo ur broadheadings: technology and consumeri sm, the personal world of children, what itmeans to be a Canadian, and morality and religion. Questions are raised aboutthe potential effects of the nature and scope of textbook content.