Textbook Quality Criteria and Evaluation

The informed choice: mathematics textbook assessment in light of educational freedom, effectiveness, and improvement in primary education

“…First, a free choice can only be made when educational stakeholders have information on textbooks' effectiveness. In light of this, and as indicated and recommended by Fey and Matthes (2018), speaking of qualities of a textbook rather than the quality of a textbook better captures the multidimensionality of textbook assessment criteria. Second, mapping textbooks' effectiveness serves as an important input for textbook publishers on possibilities for improvement.…”

“…In light of this, the role and the use of textbooks have been widely studied (Fan, Zhu, & Miao, 2013). Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, however, in light of educational effectiveness and improvement and together with the major role of textbooks in education (Fey & Matthes, 2018), research on textbooks' effectiveness, i.e., their contribution to educational outcomes, has gained in significance (Fan et al, 2013;Fuchs & Henne, 2018). Consequently, diverse topics were investigated, including design elements of textbooks such as illustrations, graphics, and tables, digital versus printed media, combining textbook with use of own materials (Fuchs & Henne, 2018; e.g., Wijaya, van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, & Doorman, 2015;Hadar, 2017), leading to a growing body of knowledge on criteria for evaluating textbooks' effectiveness in relation to student achievement.…”

“…In many educational systems, this led to a list of approved textbooks, either which schools are obligated to use (e.g., Singapore and Slovenia) or which are recommended (e.g., the Netherlands, Croatia, and Hong Kong). In many cases, based on a combination of academic and practice-oriented research, largely situated within the context of the educational system at stake (Fey & Matthes, 2018), tools or assessment criteria for textbook evaluators are part of this framework for textbook assessment. See e.g., the Augsburger Raster in Germany (Fay, 2015;in Fey & Matthes, 2018), which captures different aspects of textbooks by means of eight dimensions (e.g., picture and text composition, practical applicability, and normative-discursive positioning).…”

“…In many cases, based on a combination of academic and practice-oriented research, largely situated within the context of the educational system at stake (Fey & Matthes, 2018), tools or assessment criteria for textbook evaluators are part of this framework for textbook assessment. See e.g., the Augsburger Raster in Germany (Fay, 2015;in Fey & Matthes, 2018), which captures different aspects of textbooks by means of eight dimensions (e.g., picture and text composition, practical applicability, and normative-discursive positioning). Due to its contextual development and context dependency, widespread information on these frameworks is mostly absent.…”

Criteria for Inclusion-Sensitive Educational Materials and Their Further Development for the Digital Context

“…Qualitätskriterien national und international: Überblick über den Forschungsstand Die Betrachtung von Qualitätskriterien für Bildungsmaterialien ist Gegenstand interdisziplinärer Ansätze sowohl erziehungswissenschaftlicher, (medien-)psychologischer als auch fachdidaktischer Perspektiven (vgl. Fey und Matthes 2018). Um effektiv in den aktuellen nationalen und internationalen Forschungsstand einzuführen, wird auf eine konzise und international-vergleichende Überblicksarbeit von Fey und Matthes (2018) referenziert, welche Qualitätskriterien für Lehrbücher und andere Bildungsmaterialien erfasst haben.…”