ABSTRACT

The centrality of textbooks to learning in primary schools in most cultures has been referred to in many contexts. Text material is crucial to the process of teaching and learning in schools.

. . . most teaching is initiated by some form of 'text': a textbook, a syllabus, or an actual piece of material the teacher or student wishes to have understood. The text may be the vehicle for the accomplishment of other

educational purposes, but some form of teaching material is almost always involved. (Shulman, 1987)

In the USA, Yore and Denning (1989) point to the 'overwhelming reliance on textbook teaching' in science, and believe that it is likely to remain dominant. In teaching primary science in developing countries, text material assumes greater importance because of the specific problems encountered. These can be summarized as:

1. Teacher quality 2. Cultural appropriateness of textbooks 3. The language of instruction 4. Linguistic textual and structural complexity 5. Science content 6. Learning context

The purpose of this article is to define an agenda for research which will identify the problems within existing science text material and its use by teachers and pupils in primary schools in developing countries. This may lead initially to the development of better strategies for teachers to deal with existing texts, and ultimately to the development of improved materials for science learning by children. The agenda will be defined by reference to existing understanding as it relates to the six main areas of difficulty set out above.