Textbook research

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Textbook research (or, today, often broadly defined educational media research ) is a transdisciplinary research area that is defined by its main subject, the textbook (more generally: teaching / educational media). Scientific comparisons and historical analyzes of educational media allow e.g. B. Conclusions about the worldview, level of knowledge and values ​​in their context of development and use.

History of textbook research

In addition to oral tradition, texts in written cultures are also written for educational and teaching purposes in order to convey specialist knowledge and competencies that societies consider to be true and important. The roots of modern European educational history lie not only in the monastery schools but above all in humanistic Italy of the 15th century, where Latin schools as well as grammar schools and academies emerged.

The invention of the printing press made large print runs for teaching materials possible and affordable in the long term. The first initiatives for compulsory schooling existed in German-speaking territories at the end of the 16th century. A relatively extensive network of basic or. Elementary schools existed around the end of the 18th century, although the level of literacy was still low. Since then, school books have become mass media that reach a large number of children and young people and the production and distribution of which is often regulated by the authorities. Ecclesiastical and secular scholars and sovereigns always argued about school regulations and curricula , textbook content and pedagogical methods .

After the First World War, the League of Nations showed interest in the revision of textbooks, especially in history lessons, and in 1926 passed the Casares Resolution . In 1937 an intergovernmental agreement between 26 states on the history book came about, which remained politically ineffective.

In Germany, after 1945, for the first time, school books were the focus of a reflection initiated by the history didactic Georg Eckert in Braunschweig . With the support of UNESCO and the Working Group of German Teachers' Associations , he founded the International Institute for Textbook Improvement in 1951 . In 1953 it was set up as an international textbook institute at the Braunschweig University of Education as a research institute that initially concentrated on the subject of history. In 1965, the Council of Europe expanded the mandate to include geography. Aided by educational reform processes and the increasing interest of the Federal Foreign Ministry in cultural policy , the Georg Eckert Institute for international textbook research was founded in Braunschweig in 1975, independently of the PH . As required by UNESCO, bilateral discussions on textbook revision took place here by means of textbook commissions . In 1977, under the direction of the political scientist Horst E. Schallenberger, a number of scientists from various disciplines joined forces at the University of Duisburg to form the Institute for Textbook Research (IfS). In contrast to the Georg Eckert Institute, the IfS in Duisburg dealt with "contemporary problems" and the "political significance" of textbooks. Together with Gerd Stein , Schallenberger concentrated on the criticism of textbooks, which resulted in "practical tips for designing new and better textbooks". The institute was dissolved in 1991. The special collection of textbooks was included in the textbook collection of the University Library of the University of Duisburg-Essen, it comprises around 7500 volumes that were published between 1879 and 2008. The focus is on the period 1960 to 1970.

From the mid-1980s, more and more social science questions were asked, e.g. B. according to the production (conditions) of school books, their use in teaching, visual communication, and school books as a means of socialization. New research approaches and research infrastructures developed parallel to the retro-digitization of historical school books and the increased emergence and use of genuinely digital, often multimedia offers such as digital school books and open educational resources .

Educational media research in Germany is not anchored at the university through corresponding chairs, but is primarily carried out as a sub-area of ​​educational or historical seminars, but also by the Georg Eckert Institute , which is now part of the Leibniz Association .

Methods

After content analyzes and comparisons were initially the focus of the research, empirical studies were also carried out later on, for example on reception and effect. Recently, history-didactic textbook research in particular has been trying to work out the history and design process of school history books empirically (source-based). Today, research also uses methods from digital humanities, for example to analyze discourses, language change, etc.

Qualitative methods include borrowings from narrative theory , discourse analysis, and dispositive analysis .

Research areas

Current research areas include B .:

  • Historical educational (media) research , e.g. B. Differentiation of school types, development of curricula, secularization of the educational system, etc.
  • Didactic research / recommendations for textbook production and revision
  • Comparative educational media research, e.g. B. Representation of conflicts, religions, gender, migration in school books
  • School book production / design / media, e.g. B. also e-school books and open educational resources
  • Use and acquisition by teachers and learners

Research institutions, specialist portals, associations

The most important international association is the International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media (IARTEM).

In the German-speaking region, (international) educational media research is carried out or supported by various institutions and professional associations, including:

literature

  • Christa Berg, Karl-Ernst Jeismann (among others) (Hrsg.): Handbook of the German history of education. 6 volumes. Beck, Munich 1987-2005, ISBN 3-406-32468-1 .
  • Wolfgang Jacobmeyer: The German school history book 1700-1945. 3 volumes. LIT, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-11418-1 .
  • Eckhardt Fuchs, Inga Niehaus, Almut Stoletzki (eds.): The textbook in research. Analyzes and recommendations for educational practice (= Eckert. Expertise 4). V&R unipress, Göttingen 2014. [5]
  • Petr Knecht, Eva Matthes , Sylvia Schütze, Bente Aamotsbakken (Eds.): Methodology and Methods of Research on Textbooks and Educational Media (= Klinkhardt research. Contributions to historical and systematic research on textbooks ). Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2014.
  • Imke Rath (Ed.): Methods and theories of educational media and educational research - a workshop report by young scientists at the Georg Eckert Institute. (= Eckert. Dossiers 14). 2017, ISSN 2191-0790.
  • Eckhardt Fuchs / Kathrin Henne / Steffen Collector: School books as a mission. The history of the Georg Eckert Institute, Böhlau, Cologne 2018 ISBN 978-3-412-507374

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See e.g. B. the contributions in Aleida and Jan Assmann (eds.): Writing and memory. Archeology of literary communication , Munich: Fink 1983 ISBN 3-7705-2132-3 .
  2. ↑ August Buck, Der Italian Humanismus , in: Handbuch der deutschen Bildungsgeschichte I: 15.-17. Century , Munich 1996, p. 1, 19.
  3. ↑ Reinhard Wittmann: History of the German Book Trade , 1999 ISBN 3-406-42104-0 , pp. 190–197.
  4. ↑ Cf. August Buck, Der Italian Humanismus , in: Handbuch der deutschen Bildungsgeschichte I , p. 11; Wilhelm Kühlmann, Pädagogosche Konzeptionen , ibid. Pp. 156–159, Arno Seifert, The higher school system , ibid. P. 224.
  5. ↑ See Eckhardt Fuchs, Steffen Collector, School Books Between Tradition and Innovation. A journey through the history of the Georg Eckert Institute , p. 2 urn: nbn: de: 0220-2015-00074
  6. ^ Simone Lässig: History of teaching materials. The textbook as a political issue , in: Tagesspiegel.de from August 14, 2014, 11:43 am [1]
  7. ↑ Gerd Stein: Institute for Textbook Research e. V. at the University of Duisburg , in: International Textbook Research Vol. 3, No. 1 (1981), pp. 65–67 [2]
  8. ↑ Werner Wiater: The textbook as an object of educational research , in: Historical textbooks of the special collection Cassianeum of the University Library Augsburg: booklet for the CD-ROM edition of the catalog, publisher: University of Augsburg [3]
  9. ^ The textbook collection of the Duisburg-Essen University Library [4]
  10. ↑ Eckhardt Fuchs, Das Schulbuch in der Forschung , p. 21f.
  11. ↑ Benjamin Bauer: "The decision for a history book is also a political act" - historical-cultural hegemony and school history books in the admission procedure , in: Christine Pflüger (ed.): 2019 The complexity of competence-oriented history teaching, pp. 131-150.
  12. ↑ Sabrina Schmitz-Zerres: Contents and development processes of future narratives in history books from 1950 to 1995. (= supplements to the Zeitschrift der Geschichtsdidaktik 18), V&R unipress, Göttingen 2018.
  13. ↑ Eckhardt Fuchs, Das Schulbuch in der Forschung , pp. 22, 24–29.
  14. ↑ Imke Rath, Textbook Research as a Challenge for Qualitative Methods , in: Imke Rath (ed.): (2017) Methods and Theories of Educational Media and Educational Research , pp. 4–16. urn: nbn: de: 0220-2017-0193 .
  15. ^ Library of the Georg Eckert Institute: Thematic literature list: Scientific literature on the methodology of textbook research , 2nd edition. Status: August 2016 PDF
  16. ↑ Cf. Falk Pingel: UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision (2nd full and expanded edition) Paris / Braunschweig 2010 PDF
  17. ↑ http://www.historische-bildungsforschung-online.de/ Link to the historical educational research online portal