ASSIGNMENT NO#1

COURSE NAME: TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT PART-I

COURSE CODE: 6552

NAME: MAHAM MUNIR

ROLL NO. : BV559039

SEMESTER: MA T.EDU (IV)

Q.1 Make a comparison of the advantages and limitations of textbooks in
modern era. What essential changes are requiring din the current style and
contents of AIOU textbooks at M.A/M.Ed. level?

A textbook is an organized body of material useful for the formal study of a subject area. A good
textbook is distinguished by the following pedagogical features:

• A discrete, all around limited degree: all the material ought to identify with a strong
comprehension of the subject, normally blending hypothesis and practice for every point as it
covers the subject area.

• Use of models and issues: the understudy ought to have the option to all the more likely
handle each introduced idea by following models, and afterward applying the idea in organized
activities or issues.

• An inside predictable style: after the initial not many segments, there ought to be almost
no curve balls for the understudy regarding format and introduction of material. The writings client
can get settled with the format, the rhythm of introduction, and the example of figures,
delineations, models and activities.

• Utility for future reference: when looked into, the course book ought to detach material
that is valuable to the future utilization of subject information in efficient addendums and tables.

• A structure that bodes well: the course book isn't only an assortment of helpful material; it
is a manual for the understudy for a request for audit which will help in dominating the branch of
knowledge.

Textbook Structure

These rules should include:

1. Rule of Frameworks: Maintain a consistent structure. The structure acts as a mental

roadmap that allows learners to navigate within and through the subject domain. To best
aid in understanding, the structure should be visible early on.
 2. Rule of Meaningful Names: Create and use consistent titles and terminologies. Use
terminology that is common in your discipline. These names are critical to the ability to
recall or retrieve the things we know and remember.
3. Rule of Manageable Numbers. Limit the amount of information introduced at one time.
For new material, four to six new elements are a reasonable limit. Most of us are limited in
our ability to absorb new material. As we become familiar with part of a subject domain,
this number expands.
4. Rule of Hierarchy. New knowledge builds on learned knowledge. When introducing new
material, only refer to foundational material if it is relevant to the new material. The student
needs to understand the foundational knowledge before being introduced to a new concept.
When new concepts are introduced they should be explicitly connected to the foundational
material.
5. Rule of Repetition. Repeat important concepts. For example, frameworks and important
hierarchies are repeated as many as five or six times; frequently used elements are repeated
three or four times; and elements of lesser utility may not be repeated at all. There is a
pattern of repetition that aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to
long-term memory.
As you visit classrooms, you probably notice that most, if not all, of those classrooms use a
standard textbook series. The reasons for this are many, depending on the design and focus of the
curriculum, the mandates of the administration, and/or the level of expertise on the part of
classroom teachers.

Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:

• Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and
the design of each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.
• Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons
you need to cover a topic in some detail.
• A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.
• Textbooks are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and
when to do it. There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.
• Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is
typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies.
 • Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and
students.

Weakness Student Difficulty Ways of Overcoming Problem

The textbook is designed Students only see one Provide students with lots of
as a the sole source of perspective on a concept or information sources such as trade
information. issue. books, CD-ROMS, websites,
encyclopedias, etc.

Textbook is old or Information shared with Use textbook sparingly or supplement

outdated. students is not current or with other materials.
relevant.

Textbook questions tend Students assume that Ask higher-level questions and
to be low level or fact- learning is simply a provide creative thinking and
based. collection of facts and problem-solving activities.
figures.

Textbook doesn't take Teacher does not tailor Discover what students know about a
students' background lessons to the specific topic prior to teaching. Design the
knowledge into account. attributes and interests of lesson based on that knowledge.
students.

Reading level of the Students cannot read or Use lots of supplemental materials
textbook is too difficult. understand important such as library books, Internet, CD-
concepts. ROMs, etc.

The textbook has all the Students tend to see learning Involve students in problem-solving
answer to all the as an accumulation of correct activities, higher-level thinking
questions. answers. questions, and extending activities.
When thinking about how you want to use textbooks, consider the following:
• Use the textbook as a resource for students, but not the only resource.
• Use a textbook as a guide, not a mandate, for instruction.
• Be free to modify, change, eliminate, or add to the material in the textbook.
• Supplement the textbook with lots of outside readings.
• Supplement teacher information in the textbook with teacher resource books; attendance
at local, regional, or national conferences; articles in professional periodicals; and
conversations with experienced teachers.
The front matter is the introductory section of your textbook and the first thing readers see. If
you’re using an authoring platform such as Pressbooks, the system will set up some of these
sections for you, including a copyright page and a table of contents. The following table lists the
items typically included in the front matter and the order in which they appear. While most open
textbooks will have many of these elements, very few will have all of them. Only include the
sections relevant to your textbook.

Front Matter

Item Responsibility Purpose

Includes just the title of the book on the recto (front side
Half title Publisher
of the page) with a blank verso (back side of the page).

Book title is repeated along with subtitle (if any),

Title page Publisher
author(s) and/or editor(s), and illustrator (if any).
 On the verso of title page, the following may be
included:

• open-licence information (type, definition, where to

obtain free copy of book)
• if an adaptation, the changes made
Copyright page Publisher
• attribution for cover image
• publisher’s name and address
• copyright notice
• ISBN
• date of publication and publishing history
• printing information

These can appear on the colophon or separately after the

Disclaimers Publisher
title page.

The person or people for whom the author has written or

Dedication Author
dedicated the book.

A list of all parts and chapters (or chapters and chapter

sections) together with their respective page numbers.
Table of contents Publisher
Front-matter items that appear after the table of contents
are also included.

This page is used to define open textbooks and other

OER, and any other unique features for this type of
About this book Publisher book. Funding provided by the author’s institution, a
public body, or philanthropic organization can also be
noted.
List of illustrations
Publisher This summary is useful for the reader.
and/or tables

The forward is typically written by an outside expert in

Expert (not the the field at the request of the primary author. The
Foreword
author) foreword author’s name, place, and date are included at
the end of the statement.

The author uses the preface to explain why and how they
Preface Author came to write the book. They might also describe their
expertise in the subject area.

This is a list of individuals whom the author

Acknowledgements Author
acknowledges for their contributions and assistance.

This introduction describes the book contents as a

whole. The book’s theme, layout, special features, and
Introduction Author how instructors can make the best use of it, can also be
included. The author may also create a “How to Use This
Book” section if more fitting.

This list of abbreviations and their meanings is useful

List of abbreviations Publisher
for the reader.

If the book has been written and designed to be

accessible, provide a description of how this was done
Accessibility statement Publisher and various options people have when accessing the
book. Indicate the standards that have been followed,
and provide contact information for where people can
 report any accessibility issues. (See Accessibility and
Inclusion.)

Publisher’s, This information provides background on various

translator’s, or editor’s Publisher aspects of the book’s creation depending on who writes
notes the notes.

Q.2 Explain methods of textbook evaluation. And give some suggestions to

students for using textbooks.

A critical element of viable educating is the choice of course book assessment that address the
issues of understudies and fit the imperatives of the instructing and learning climate. There are
numerous pressing factors for teachers to coordinate the varying media boosts of TV, PCs, and
electronic games with which understudies are capable. The speed of PCs and the simplicity of
creating frameworks grant teachers to plan and alter PC based varying media introductions and to
create PC based tasks for their understudies. The huge expansions in paces of data move,
admittance to the Internet, and posting of materials on the World Wide Web give teachers and
understudies a practically boundless stock of asset material. Also, the simplicity of electronic
interchanges between an educator and understudies, and among understudies, gives new freedoms
to sharing inquiries, answers, and conversations during a course. Simultaneously, there stays a
significant job for understudy utilization of course readings and for instructional utilization of
shows, films, recordings, slides, and overhead transparencies.

Painstakingly scripted introductions and exercises risk stressing instructor conveyance instead of
understudy learning. Painstakingly arranged and arranged instructional assets here and there entice
teachers to race ahead and to cover more. The fast fire introductions joined with varying media
over-burden can entice understudies to remain mentally latent. One approach to maintain a
strategic distance from this is to blend exercises which evaluate understudy understanding and
energize reflection and basic reasoning. Another chance is to decrease the speed of the class
meeting, by stopping occasionally to welcome inquiries.

Instructional assets normally can be categorized as one of two classifications: understudy focused
and instructor focused. In the understudy focused model, instructional assets can be utilized for
instructional exercises, critical thinking, revelation, and audit. In the instructor focused model,
assets are utilized for introductions of beneficial or essential material in the study hall. Data
innovation can likewise be utilized for correspondence and for data recovery.

The method of instructing so normal today—the talk text-test approach-is a curio of hundreds of
years of European training. The educator's primary job before the wide accessibility of the print
machine was to address on data acquired from an uncommon duplicate of a frequently antiquated
book. Regardless of the apprehensions of the personnel at the University of Salamanca during the
sixteenth century, the reading material quickly turned into a valuable enhancement to the class
address as opposed to its substitution. Today a course book is accessible for pretty much every
school science class. As McKeachie (1994) notes, ''. . . my long periods of involvement with
endeavoring to survey instructing adequacy have driven me to feel that the reading material, more
than some other component of the course, decides understudy learning."

Books are a profoundly versatile type of data and can be gotten to when, where, and at whatever
rate and level of detail the peruser wants. Exploration demonstrates that, for some individuals,
visual preparing (i.e., perusing) is quicker than hear-able handling (i.e., tuning in to addresses),
making reading material an exceptionally successful asset (McKeachie, 1994). Perusing should be
possible gradually, joined by broad note taking, or it very well may be done quickly, by skimming
and skipping. There are points of interest to the two styles, and you may think that its helpful to
talk about their benefits with your understudies.

Issues to Consider When Selecting Instructional Resources

• What is the impact of the assets, philosophies, and advancements on understudy learning?

• How are understudies utilizing them?

• What are understudies gaining from them?

• Which understudies are utilizing them?

• How and how much are understudies utilizing discretionary assets?

One significant part of any science class is assisting the understudy with figuring out the mass of
data and thoughts in a field. This should be possible by telling understudies the best way to
organize data in an important chain of command of related major and minor ideas. Very much
picked course books assist understudies with seeing how data and thoughts can be coordinated.

Course books have a few significant restrictions. Albeit an elegantly composed book can draw in
and hold understudy interest, it isn't intrinsically intelligent. Notwithstanding, if understudies are
urged to pose inquiries while they read, look for answers inside the content, and distinguish
different sources to investigate thoughts not contained in the content, they will become dynamic
perusers and gain the most extreme profit by their course book. To address the issues of a wide
crowd, writings are regularly thick to the point that they overpower understudies looking for key
data. Writings are regularly compelled to depend on recorded or dated models, and they once in a
while give a feeling of the revelation perspectives and disorder of data confronting present day
analysts.

Science course readings have advanced significantly from the expressive and verifiable
methodologies regular before World War II. The present writings are undeniably more refined,
less recorded, and contain a greater number of realities than before, with complex language and
wording (Bailar, 1993). Delineations and numerical articulations are more normal. Accentuation
has moved toward standards and hypothesis. Present day messages endeavor to manage issues of
interaction just as issue of truth or substance. They are packed with articles, sidebars, charts,
representations, worked models, and issues and inquiries at various levels. One consequence of
these progressions is that the normal book length has expanded two to multiple times in the
previous quite a few years.

Because of the requirement for quality science course books for all understudies, not simply
science majors, a few writers are getting back to clear and authentic methodologies. For the most
part, books for science education courses depict significant thoughts and revelations, present a set
number of key ideas, and underscore the connections among various realities and standards. Others
(e.g., Trefil and Hazen, 1995) adopt an interdisciplinary strategy, by covering a scope of science
disciplines in an intelligible, associated way.

Examination on the adequacy of course books has zeroed in on two general zones: text construction
and format. The investigation of text structure has zeroed in on how the peruser assembles
intellectual portrayals from text. Ongoing work sorts the construction of science text as either a
proof-first or a rule first association (Dee-Lucas and Larkin, 1990). The verification first
association builds up a proof or contention that forms to an end, for the most part as a central idea,
rule, or law. On a fundamental level first association, an idea or guideline is expressed
unequivocally, at that point the proof expected to help it is introduced. The pervasiveness of the
verification first design in quite a while might be because of the way that most school science
reading material are composed by researchers with minimal conventional preparing in instruction.
They present science the manner in which it is drilled by specialists. In any case, concentrates by
Dee-Lucas and Larkin (1990) show that the guideline first design is more successful for long haul
maintenance and comprehension by amateur perusers.

Design and delineations are significant indicators of a book's viability. Perhaps the best kinds of
outline, particularly for understudies with low verbal fitness, is a basic multicolor line drawing
(Dwyer, 1972; Holliday et al., 1977). Albeit all the more outwardly engaging, and more pervasive
in the current course book market, sensible drawings or photos are less compelling at improving
understudy learning. The association of data on a page additionally influences understudy learning
(Wendt, 1979).

Q.3 Compare AIOU model of textbook publishing to any other model of

textbooks publishing.
Distributing Culture contains the temperances and codes that hold in a specific country, which
turns into the conventional estimation of that country. Each nation has its own Publishing Culture.
The Publishing Culture of Pakistan is extremely varying, which every ethnic gathering getting its
personality from its attributes social qualities and standards which ultimately makes it
unmistakable from others.

Start of twentieth century, western Publishing Culture has expanded; a stage towards catastrophe.
Westernization has been spread all through our country due to the media. The TV channels show
different program holders and various characters in the dramatizations wearing westernized
garments. What's more, personal scenes are getting more normal in projects.

Besides, Urdu or English? A quandary most Pakistanis are confronting today particularly the
adolescent. Every nation has its own mom language and they are a method of correspondence as
well as a piece of their Publishing Culture. The majority of individuals are not glad to communicate
in our own language now and this is generally found in the center and privileged. Most Pakistanis
are moving away from their mom language and receiving English. By embracing English we are
receiving their language as well as their Publishing Culture, qualities, customs and customs and in
the process are failing to remember our own Publishing Culture. This disarray began when the
British came to administer our territory and from that point forward individuals have been
attempting to duplicate their language and have related it with eminence and class. Indeed, even
our schooling is presently zeroing in a lot on English at all levels. The facts demonstrate that
English is a global language and is utilized around the world, everyone should know it to dominate
abroad. Thus we need to discover a harmony between our decisions of language between one that
addresses our Publishing Culture and the other that will take us to global business sectors.

Try not to allow westernization to win! It is difficult to consistent quality in Publishing Culture
and language we are receiving yet we need to balance it. The majority of individuals of our general
public are being ingested medications, liquor and prostitution for style and just to communicate
innovation. In spite of their transparency, no moves are being made to dispense with them in our
general public. Western Publishing Culture drive us away from our Publishing Culture just as our
religion.

Westernization has affected each part of every day life going from cooking to the fundamental
common liberty. Westernization has made among people in general as well as it was a stage
forward towards modernization and modernization in no sense can be viewed as unsafe. Then
again an excess of interest of youth towards western impacts can be viewed as a negative effect on
the general public.

On the off chance that we need to live with honor, respect and secure our character, we need to
gladly claim and love our country. In the event that we need our forthcoming age ought to inhale
openly as an autonomous country on the planet, at that point, today we need to work to the greatest
advantage of Pakistan. We need to revamp our characters and brains to take the track which drives
Pakistan to the objective our precursors had longed for. To limit and oppose the impacts of western
and Indian channels, it is proposed that neighborhood channels ought to be fortified and projects
ought to have better substance. These channels should create and communicate quality projects
that could help in the advancement of Pakistani qualities and customs and improve the picture of
Pakistan at worldwide level.

Independently publishing organizations aren't distributers. Actually, they're the administrations

that empower you to get your book out of an organizer in your PC and convey it to the world for
individuals to peruse. Obviously, it gets a touch more mind boggling than that, since there are a
few kinds of organizations that can understand this for you. Practically every one of them fall into
three essential classifications:

• Book retailers, like Amazon and B&N Press, are the online book shops in which your book
will be discoverable and sold. Each huge book retailer by and large gives a marked eBook
distributing stage for you to separately transfer your book.

• Aggregators, like Draft2Digital and Smashwords, permit you to circulate to a lot of book
retailers at the same time. This will likely save you time and energy, however you'll have to pay
an additional charge for their administrations.

• Print-on-request merchants are full-suite independently publishing organizations that

remember print-for request administrations on top of appropriation choices. Normally, they're
especially helpful in case you're wanting to circulate a printed book!

As we referenced, you truly are your own distributer all through this entire interaction. That implies
that you will hold all imaginative authority over your books, and you will settle on the entirety of
the business choices. By and large, you'll will keep the greater part of the benefits (most book
retailers and aggregators will not charge you until a duplicate of your book really sells, and
afterward they'll take a cut of the sovereignties.) But what's best for your book will rely upon your
own circumstance, and we'll get to that in the remainder of this post

Q.4 What collaboration mechanism is adopted by curriculum and textbook

developers for mapping the curriculum, while designing textbook?

1. Rule of frameworks

Memory and understanding are promoted by the use of a structure that mimics the structures we
all use within our minds to store information. Before we can use or master a subject, we have to
have a mental road map that allows us to navigate within and through the subject domain. The text
can best aid understanding by making this framework visible early on within each section or topic.
The extent to which the student understands that they are using a framework, and knows what that
framework is, is important as they internalize and make use of the material presented.

2. Rule of meaningful names

Everything we know is tagged with an index or a title. These indices are critical to the ability to
recall or retrieve the things we know and remember. Each concept, process, technique or fact
presented should aid the student to assign a meaningful name for it in their own mental
organization of the material. To be most useful, these names shouldn’t have to be relearned at
higher levels of study. The names assigned by the text should be useful in that they support some
future activities: communication with other practitioners, reference within the text to earlier
mastered material, and conformity to the framework used for the subject. Each unique element of
the subject domain should have a unique name, and each name should be used for only one
element.

3. Rule of manageable numbers

When we learn from an outline, an illustration, or an example, most of us are limited in our ability
to absorb new material. As we become familiar with part of a subject domain this number expands,
but for new material four to six new elements is a reasonable limit. If a chapter outline contains
twelve items, the student will have forgotten the outline before getting to the last item. When a
text fails to support this rule, it requires even a diligent student to needlessly repeat material.

4. Rule of hierarchy

Our mental frameworks are hierarchical. Learning is aided by using the student’s ability to couple
or link new material with that already mastered. When presenting new domains for hierarchical
understanding, the rules for meaningful names and manageable numbers have increased
importance and more limited application. A maximum of three levels of hierarchy should be
presented at one time. The root should be already mastered, the current element under
consideration clearly examined, and lower levels outlined only to the extent that they help the
student understand the scope or importance of the current element. This area is supplemented by
two more rules within this rule: those of Connectivity and Cohesion. Connectivity requires
consideration of what the student likely knows at this point. The more already mastered elements
that one can connect with a new element, the easier it is to retain. Cohesion requires that the
characteristics of new elements as they are presented be tightly coupled.

5. Rule of repetition

Most people learn by repetition, and only a few with native genius can achieve mastery without it.
There is a pattern of repetition that aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to
long-term memory. Implementations of this rule may mean that frameworks and important
hierarchies are repeated as many as five or six times, while frequently used elements are repeated
three or four times, and elements of lesser utility may not be repeated at all. The first repetition
should normally occur within a day of first presentation, followed by a gradually decreasing
frequency. Exercises and review sections are ideally contributing to a designed repetition pattern.

5 Rules of Textbook Development long description:

1. The rule of frameworks means maintain a consistent structure. The text can best aid
understanding by making this framework visible early on.
2. The rule of meaningful names means create and use consistent titles and terminologies. The
names are critical to the ability to recall or retrieve the things we know and remember.
3. The rule of manageable numbers means limit the amount of new information introduced at one
time.
4. Rule of hierarchy means new knowledge builds on learned knowledge. The student needs to
understand the foundational knowledge before being introduced to a new concept. When new
concepts are introduced the should be explicitly connected to the foundational material.
5. The rule of repetition means repeat important concepts. There is a pattern of repetition that
aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to long-term memory.
Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:
• Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and
the design of each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.
• Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons
you need to cover a topic in some detail.
• A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.
• Textbooks are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and
when to do it. There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.
• Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is
typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies.
• Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and
students.

Q.5 How brain functioning is associated with learning? Discuss its implicating
for textbook design.

Language Educational Policy in Pakistan:

English has acquired the status of the universal language in the recent years. The importance of
English is being emphasized in different newspapers and books by various authors. Crystal (2003,
p.1) rightly points out ,
” From Bengal to Belize and Las Vegas to Lahore, the language of the scepted isle is rapidly
becoming the first global lingua franca. “
Economic and social well being, advancement in science and technology has made people
dependent on English around the world. Crystal (2003, Pg.30) reveals the fact in the following
words,
“English has penetrated deeply into the international domains of political life, business, safety,
communication, entertainment, the media and education.”
Another point of view has described English as a “Trojan horse” (Cooke, 1988 cited in Pennycook,
1995 p.39). This reflects that when English is used as a lingua franca the language user start to
think in the manner positioned by that language and they are hooked on that culture and perhaps
change their original views. The use of this metaphor implies that the perceptions and culture of
English take root in the environment and acculturation takes place. Another comment on the status
of English as a lingua franca comes from Phillipson(2001). According to him,
“English being referred to as lingua franca conceal the fact that the use of English serves the
interest of much better than others. The concept includes some and excludes some”(p.188)
The notion was asserted by Pennycook (1995) that English is the
“gate keeper to the positions of prestige in society”(p.40).
The role of English in Pakistan is to be studied in the light of the fact that English has spread a
world language and also as a lingua franca beyond as, “any lingua franca of the past” (Wright,
2004 p.136). English is seen as a means of attaining modernisation, of the nation as a whole
(Rahman, 2002; Haque, 1993; Shamim, 2007). In Pakistan, improving the competency in English
is seen as part of improving the standard of education as a whole (Shamim, 2008). Since
independence, Pakistan has seen many changes in the language policies during the initial years
Urdu was approved as a medium of instruction but English was not replaced by Urdu in the private
schools. As a result, two different systems of education took firm roots in Pakistan resulting in
creating a division in the people as asserted by Shamim (2008) that, this strengthened,
“the British Education policy of two streams of Education, English- and Urdu- medium continued
with the same aims, that is, to create two classes of people- the ruling elite and the masses” (
Shamim, 2008 p.238).
The Minister of Education, Zubaida Jalal in 2004 emphasized the need for teaching English as
“an urgent public requirement” (Jalal, 2004 p.25).
This need was expressed with the
“aim to provide literacy in English to the masses for levelling social inequalities” (Shamim, 2008
p.239).
This inclination of the government was also manifested in the revised white paper on education:
“English should be made a compulsory subject, starting from class I, in all public schools. Such
compulsory education of English should only start after suitably qualified teachers for English
language are available to staff positions in all primary schools of the country to ensure that the
benefit is assured to all the citizens and not just the elite” (Aly, 2007 p.54).
The recent educational policy presented in August 2009, also lays stress on the provision of
opportunities for all to learn English in the following words,
“Develop a comprehensive plan of action for implementing the English language policy in the
shortest possible time, paying particular attention to disadvantaged groups and lagging behind
regions” (MoE, 2009 p.27).
Education and Political commitment:
Education performs a vital role in nation building. The attention paid to the education sector by
any government shows the level of commitment of that government to its people. Pakistan is a
developing country and education is one of the many challenges the government of Pakistan faces.
The Constitution of Pakistan has placed the responsibility of basic education on the state as this
obligation is reflected in the Principles of Policy in Article 37, (GoP, 1973). Despite constitutional
and policy commitments to promote literacy and education, for most of the past six decades, budget
allocation for education and public spending have been very nominal. Educational funding by the
Government of Pakistan has not increased from an average of 2% of GNP over the past ten years
while the recommended allocation for developing countries is about 4 %(GoP, 2008 p.157). The
economic survey states the reason for allocating less budget in the following words.
“It is on the lower side in accordance to its requirement given the importance of the sector but
seems appropriate in terms of current financial situation of the economy”(GoP, 2008 p.157)
The outcome of this situation is that the,
“Enrolment in government schools continues to fall due to out-dated curriculum and text books,
damaged buildings and absent teachers” (Qureshi,2003 p.22).
Literacy rate has been improving even though at a very slow pace, a little over 0.7 percent per
annum over the last decade with considerable urban-rural and provincial differences. Of the over
163 million population, over 72 million are illiterate, 31% males and 56% females (GoP,2008).
the economic survey of Pakistan 2008-09 says,
“According to Pakistan Social and Living Measurement (PSLM) Survey (2007-08), the overall
literacy rate (age 10 years and above) is 56% (69% for male and 44% for female) in 2007-08
compared to 55% (67% for male and 42% for female) in 2006-07. Literacy remains higher in urban
areas (71%) than in rural areas (49%) and more in men (69%) compared to women (44%).” (p.158)
If we add the 69% male and 44% female they give the total of 113 which should be 100 so is the
case with rest of the figures. This shows a wide discrimination in the gender wise ratio of
education. As stated in the RD1PA different policies and plans were made to address the issues of
education and literacy in Pakistan. The brief summary of the plans and policies is as below.
The Governmental Policies: A Glance.
Policies and Plans
Important Issues Addressed
National Conference on Education Dec, 1947
Qualitative and quantitative expansion of education (AIOU.2007).
Commission of national Education 1959
Teaching of National Languages (GoP, 1959).
The National Education Policy 1970
Organization of curriculum committees and encouraging private publishers to publish textbooks
(AIOU.2007).
The National Education Policy 1979
Revision of entire curricula with the reorganization of the textbook boards to ensure quality
textbooks in time availability of the textbooks and the reasonable prices (AIOU.2007).
The National Education Policy 1992
Introduction of national ideology and social values (AIOU.2007).
The National Education Policy 1998-2010
Make Learning Rewarding and attractive. The introduction of Competitive textbooks (GoP, 1998).
The National Education Policy 2009
Objective driven and outcome based Curriculum, introduce competitive textbooks, launch a review
process for textbook approval by the textbook boards, promote national cohesion by respecting
each others faith and religion and cultural and ethnic diversity ,provide minorities with adequate
facilities for their cultural and religious development, enabling them to participate effectively in
the overall national effort.(MOE,2009 )
It is clearly evident that the focus of educational policies has remained the curriculum as delivered
by the textbooks. Different provisions were made in all the policies to make the use of textbooks
effective. A White Paper was published by the Ministry of Education in Feb, 2007 (written by
Aly)in the situational analysis it was clearly stated that ,
“Textbook development appears to be the only activity flowing from curriculum even the
assessments are based on these textbooks. (Aly, 2007 p.17)”
Especially in the developing countries, the textbooks are considered as the sole source of
information to accomplish objectives and aims of curriculum. For the majority of the educators
the textbooks are the only authentic material to rely on, while the students are laden with a big bag
full of textbooks approved by the government to study.
To cite Altbach & Kelly (1988),
“Texts constitute the base of school knowledge, particularly in Third World countries where there
is a chronic shortage of qualified teachers.” (p.3)
An important development in the new educational policy of 2009(MOE, 2009) is the concept of
inclusion and equity which were not emphasized in any previous policy. Deliberate efforts to
mould the minds of youth through education especially through textbooks, started in early 1980 in
Pakistan with the political agenda of Zia-Ul-Haq in the name of Islamization of the state (Nayyar,
2003). The insensitivity towards other faiths not only causes unrest and a sense of inferiority
among the students belonging to other religions but also in the Muslim students belonging to other
sects. Agitation was seen between 2000-2005, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan which are Shia (a
religious sect in Islam) dominated. The ‘textbook controversy’ took hundred lives and constant
curfew paralyzed the whole area. The Shia Muslims were not ready to accept the books written by
Sunni (a religious sect in Islam) Scholars as they only depicted one perspective of Islam i.e. the
Sunni Islam (Ali, 2008). Insensitivity and discrimination promoted in textbooks has also been
observed in other countries. In Indonesia, for example, textbooks on the English Language give a
single picture of the Javanese (a special group in Indonesia). The textbooks for Dalits in India and
Buraku in Japan also tell the same stories of insensitivities towards the minorities (Plantilla, 2005).
The current English curriculum for secondary school level in Pakistan (2006) says that,
“All students will develop ethical and social attributes and values relevant in a multicultural,
civilized society…embedded in the chosen themes and topics of the reading texts” (MOE, 2006p.
119).
Curriculum Formulation and the use of Textbooks:
The curriculum for grades 1-12 is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education curriculum wing,
Islamabad. In each province there is a curriculum Bureau or Curriculum Research and
Development Centre (CRDC) that provides academic support to the ministry of Education
Islamabad. Curriculum formulation is a lengthy process, as the ministry has to take expert opinions
from all regions of the country. The curriculum draft is finalized by national Curriculum Review
Committee, Islamabad. Thus uniform curriculum of each subject is followed all over the country.
The process above indicates complete governmental control and is thus influenced by the politics.
Watson and Aubusson 1999 (cited in Halali,et.al. 2007) studied curriculum implementation in
Pakistan and found that there has been authoritarian system in the curriculum and development
process. Curriculum development is an ideologically motivated practice in Pakistan, which often
results in heated political debates in the country (Nayyar & Salim, 2003) for instance, In 2003,
when major curriculum changes from the ministry of education were introduced by the Ministry
of Education, Islamabad Pakistan. The religious parties were up in arms, for example, they were
against the removal of the Quranic references from Biology textbooks (Sarwar, 2004). The
conference on, “Protecting Ideology of Pakistan” clearly warned the government against the
implementation of ‘US Agenda’ by changing the curricula (PPI, 2004). Few changes made in
English textbook class 10 were also deleted as it caused unrest among the people. The republication
of these textbooks cost the govt at least one billion Rupees (Gillani, 2004).
Subsequently, the developed national curriculum is implemented by the provincial governments.
The Textbook Boards established in the country, develop textbooks which follow the national
curriculum. All the state schools in the country are expected to use textbooks which are according
to the national curriculum and which have been developed by the respective Textbook Boards. The
textbooks printed are submitted to the Curriculum Wing of the Federal Ministry of Education
which make sure that the textbooks are aligned with the national curriculum. However, in the
education policy1998-2010 as well as the education policy 2009, the concept of competitive
textbooks has been emphasized (MOE, 1998; MOE, 2009).
Textbooks are the most important element in any attempt of the educational reform in Pakistan
because,
“textbooks are the sole reading material that the students will have access to and which the teachers
will use as an instructional resource.(Halali. et.al. 2007)”
Textbook are at the heart of educational enterprise as they offer students, “a rich array of new
potentially interesting facts and open the door to a world of fantastic experience” (Chambliss &
Calfee 1998, p.7). The dominance of textbooks, especially in the context of developing countries
has been reiterated and highlighted by various writers. Maxwell, 1985 for example identifies their
role as the organizing centres for instructional programme and as the most dominant element in
classrooms aside from teachers, students and physical space. (Cited in Mohammad & Kumari
2007, p.3)
Textbooks
Education in many countries is going through reforms in the curriculum. For example, India
(Srivastava, 2005) In many countries when curriculum reforms are in process the most influenced
sector is the textbook. For example, In Malaysia the Curriculum development Centre revised the
English curriculum in 2002 and textbooks according to the new curriculum were published in
2003(Mustapha,2008). In Pakistan, the textbooks are,
“the widely used tool for curriculum interpretation and implementation (Mahmood.et.al, 2009
p.1)”.
This has been asserted by Nemati 2009 in the following words,
“One way to amend and improve a curriculum is to improve the textbooks and the materials
employed in the program. (Nemati 2009, p 98)”
Textbooks play a central role in the interpretation of the curriculum as they are the primary
realization of the syllabus that the teacher uses. The use of textbooks to teach English remains
strong. Garinger(2002),explains this in the following words.
Textbooks in Pakistan are the core source of information on a particular field of knowledge, they
are also designed to reflect the values and aims of the nation. They are made to teach what the
administration or the government want pupils to study. It can also be interpreted in the following
words that the textbooks,
“tell children what their elders want them to know (Kalmus, 2004, p.13)”.
There has been a difference between the situations in the developed and developing countries. In
some countries the textbooks are only used as resource material and the teachers are provided with
other resources to compliment the textbooks, for example in the Canadian education system
“……a textbook is always accompanied by other materials such as, CD’s cassettes, tests and a
teacher’s guide. (Fredriksson & Olsson, 2006 p.10)”.
Contrary to this, the situation in the developing countries is entirely different. Policy
recommendations of the World bank for the developing countries stresses the supply of the
textbooks
” (with a) student-textbook ratio of at least 2:1 for each subject taught… countries should focus on
providing their school with good (pedagogically sound, culturally relevant, and physically durable)
textbooks and on encouraging teachers to use them. (Lockheed & Verspoor, 1991, p.57 cited in
Crossley & Murby, 1994 html doc no page specified )”
In the context of Pakistan the situation has not changed over the past two decades, despite global
developments in web based materials. The government of Pakistan in the green paper published in
2006 state the situation that,
“the textbook is the only available learning material in most schools. Additional materials like
teaching aids, supplementary reading materials and school libraries are virtually non-existent
(p.2)”.
In Pakistan, the textbooks are developed in the light of national curriculum and are evaluated
afterwards to see the alignment between the textbooks and the curriculum. The evaluation of the
textbook is one of the most important tasks of the curriculum wing. The curriculum wing of the
Ministry of Education is authorized to approve or withdraw any textual material for the classes up
to XII (GoP, 1976). An approved textbook turns into the curriculum in the class room (Lame,
1991). Skierso (1991) found that,
” most of teachers tend to follow the text’s sequence, methodology, pacing and vocabulary to the
letter” (p.432).
In Pakistan research in the field of education has thrown light on the different issues Chughtai
(1990), Mansoor (1993) and Shirani (1995) showed that researchers in the English language
learning have not explored the role of English language textbooks as the main tool in the delivery
of curriculum. Their main focus has been on other areas for example, the overcrowded class rooms,
orthodox teaching methods and the competency of English language teachers. As stated above,
textbooks serve as a centre of educational quality and reform. Abbas (1993) reported on several
attempts that have been made to update Pakistani textbooks, what is missing is study of the
interaction between textbooks and how teachers make use of this resource. Further studies by Bano
(2005) concluded that since teachers do not have access to national curriculum documents,
provided only to textbook writers for their guidance, it is imperative that textbook writers ensure
that the textbook reflects the aims and objectives of the national curriculum.