| The purpose of this research was to examine studies on racial bias in high school United States history textbooks published between 1950--2000, to gain an understanding of their progress in the coverage and portrayal of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Native Americans.;After a search using specified criteria for an historical study of this nature, twenty studies were chosen to be utilized. Detailed data were gleaned from each and organized in a profile format. They were situated by racial group and summarized. Then a comparative analysis was conducted of the findings across racial categories.;The findings showed that progress in the high school United States history textbooks evaluated in those studies has been marked yet uneven from 1950--2000. The most progress has been made in the coverage and portrayal of African Americans. Native Americans have also seen a significant although inconsistent increase in their treatment in the texts. The improvements for Hispanic/Latino Americans have been mixed as well, and the Asian American population has had little to no progress over the course of those fifty years on any level.;Although most racial categories have been afforded more space in textbooks, both in pictures as well as textual content, the portrayal of each group still lacks accuracy, balance, and comprehensiveness. All of the studies still found some degree of bias described in words such as "omission," "distortion," "prejudice," "one-sided," and "ethnocentric." Textbooks were also still depicted as being "Eurocentric," and lacking the presence of the racial groups' perspective being discussed.;This research also provides a contextualization of this study in the literature regarding the prominent role that textbooks have in school, particularly, the United States history text, and the impact of providing a multicultural perspective in educating children. This is situated within the framework of the theory of social and cultural reproduction in our society. |
