This book is about textbooks, textbook quality and quality standards of textbooks. From a theoretical point of view, in the light of Bahtin's theory of speech genres, school textbooks are seen as a specific, complex genre, defined by the addressee. At the same time, this approach requires us to see textbooks as a cultural product. From an educational point of view, textbooks are, according to Vygotsky's theory of cultural development, a key socio-cultural aid to cognitive development in school years. Forty-three quality standards are operationally defined and explained. They can be used for compiling textbooks, for textbook accreditations, for textbook evaluation and for selection by teachers.

Hersteller:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ute.schnueckel@brill.com
Theaterstraße 13
DE 37073 Göttingen

Slobodanka Antic is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Belgrade. Ivan Ivic is Full Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Belgrade. Ana Pesikan is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.

As widely accessed resources for learning, textbooks are cultural products of primary importance. This publication views school textbooks as a complex genre whose key characteristics should ideally be defined by the student. It illustrates the significance of textbooks to successful learning outcomes and school students’ cognitive development. The core of the book is formed by forty-three quality standards for textbooks, their operational definitions, theoretical backgrounds and practical implications. The standards are intended for use by textbook authors and publishers, educational authorities, teachers and others involved in the creation, accreditation, selection and evaluation of textbooks and other teaching materials.