| Since 1948, the state of California has used a set of Curriculum Frameworks as statewide reference guides for textbook adoptions. Since textbooks are an integral component of public school education, the adoption of ones that contain the most accurate and up-to-date data has most frequently been a crucial issue both within the frameworks and within the state's educational mission.; This study investigates the California State Department of Education's textbook adoption choices from 1950 to 1990 to ascertain how well the process worked regarding the selection of textbooks that presented information on Africa and related topics. The list of social studies and history books chosen are critiqued for content which demonstrate evidence of unnecessary omissions, distortions, and misrepresentations of fact regarding Africa-related materials. As African states moved to independence and their international credibility increased, was there a corresponding change in the quality of coverage of Africa and African related topics in California public school textbooks?; The answer is a mixed yes and no, with the latter being the dominant answer. This is particularly surprising in the 1980s and 1990s when there has been so much carefully researched material available to textbook authors and publishers, and the specific language of the curriculum frameworks promised more balance and parity. The textbook investigation focused on four basic questions which provided the thrust for a content analysis instrument, tailored to detect textbook content omissions, distortions, and stereotypes based on one designed by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1977. In addition, a descriptive analysis of available material on Africa and related topics through the time period of this study, and interviews with historians familiar with the portrayal of Africa in public school texts are included.; One implication of this study is the possible direct violation of California Education Code History/Social Science requirements governing the use of instructional materials in primary and secondary public schools, and the possibility that the State Department of Education knowingly disregarded such violations of its own policy in adopting biased texts. |
