CC BY
3
Baltic Journal of Economic Studies
--- Vol. 9 No. 2, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2023-9-2-172-180
PUBLISHING SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS: INTERNATIONAL POLICY AND PRACTICAL SCENARIOS*
Yuriy Safonov1, Ievgen Bazhenkov2, Svitlana Zaiets3
Abstract. The article presents the factors of the international policy of publication and provision of school textbooks at the national, regional and local levels in the context of modern requirements for the quality of education. Such research methods as analytical review, comparison, analysis, generalization, interpretation, synthesis were used. An analysis of existing problems and possible ways of improving the quality and objectivity of the system of textbook provision was carried out. The scientific and methodological approaches and practical recommendations of international organizations on the formation of textbook publishing policy, the role of central authorities, local self-government, private organizations, the public and parents of students in the financing, development and distribution of textbooks are considered. The peculiarities of textbook publishing in countries working with the system of centralized state publication, state approval of a list of textbooks by choice, mixed system and open market are analyzed. The similarities and differences of the main changes over the last 20-30 years in the position of countries regarding textbooks (with an emphasis on leading Asian countries) are identified in terms of types of policies, processes of approval and control of production, distribution of textbooks, priorities in providing students with textbooks. The analysis confirmed that in most countries there is a change in the role of central and local self-government, the private sector, parents and the public in the development and distribution of textbooks, as well as the interaction of subjects of educational book publishing. Recommendations for improving the process of textbook publishing have been developed based on the experience of the outlined work in the countries of the world.
Key words: quality of education, policy of educational book publishing, school textbooks, printing, foreign book publishing experience.
JEL Classification: H50, H52, I28
1. Introduction
The issue of the quality of education is always acute and relevant and determines the vector of state policy in the field of education.
The Education for Sustainable Development 2030 Roadmap focuses renewed attention on education and the need to transform all aspects of the learning environment for sustainable development, enabling students to live what they learn and learn what they live (UNESCO, 2020).
The UNESCO Education 2030 Framework Agreement for the period up to 2030 sets out guiding
principles for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning for all, as well as commitments by states in this area (UNESCO, 2021).
School textbooks are a key factor in any plan to improve the quality of education. Textbooks shape the thinking and values of students, thus influencing their worldview, social cohesion, and national development.
The textbook is not the only source of information, but it is the core of basic knowledge, the entry point into the field of certain knowledge. The development of textbooks is a task of national importance.
* The article was written in accordance with scientific topic No. 0122U002363
1 State Scientific Institution "Institute of Education Content Modernization", Ukraine (corresponding author) E-mail: sum1971@ukr.net ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5623-1965 ResearcherID: GPK-4326-2022
2 State Scientific Institution "Institute of Education Content Modernization", Ukraine E-mail: bazhenkov@ukr.net ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0117-294X
3 State Scientific Institution "Institute of Education Content Modernization", Ukraine E-mail: zsv@bigmir.net
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6133-1087 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms
ResearcherID : S-2638-2017 of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0
UNESCO's Comprehensive Strategy for Textbooks and Learning Materials notes that the issues surrounding the development and use of textbooks are complex and often controversial. However, the main purpose of textbooks - to impart knowledge, values, attitudes, skills and behaviours - is constant (UNESCO, 2005).
According to UNESCO's Global Framework for Policy Development, textbooks and learning resources must adapt to the challenges of societal evolution, new technologies, and global commitments to sustainable development (UNESCO, 2016).
Countries with the most successful education systems, such as Finland, Singapore, and China (Shanghai), have the brightest textbooks (Smart, Jagannathan, 2018).
At the same time, the countries with the best results in the field of education have made significant changes in the processes of publishing and providing textbooks in the last ten years. Obviously, there is a relationship between countries' textbook policies, the immediate learning process in the classroom, and learning outcomes.
Textbooks are critical. They are purchased and used in large numbers, and governments take responsibility for their provision by guaranteeing education for all. Therefore, the national textbook policy is crucial and answers the following questions: Will the government provide textbooks for all students? When textbooks are published, will they be sold, loaned, or given free to all students? Will there be textbooks for all subjects or just some subjects? How many years will the textbook be officially used in schools? etc.
Politicians, teachers, the media and other education stakeholders are calling for a change in the way textbooks are published (often because of their low quality). Only valid and convincing research can make a difference in the direction of improving the content of textbooks, which in turn will inform curriculum developers and relevant government institutions on how best to strike a balance in the production of quality textbooks. A carefully planned policy on textbooks and learning resources based on sound educational principles is needed. The need for a comprehensive strategy to address textbook development and revision issues is becoming increasingly urgent.
The role of central authorities, local governments, private organizations, the public and parents of students in the financing, development and distribution of textbooks in the countries of the world is different, but it is necessary to determine the patterns and trends in the development of potential and experience at each stage of their publication, this will help to form a general idea about the policy book publishing.
The purpose of the article is to analyze the basic trends in the field of publishing school textbooks, synthesis of the interaction of subjects of educational book publishing, existing problems, ways to improve the quality and objectivity of the system of providing textbooks for school education, developing recommendations for improving the process of publishing school textbooks through work experience in the countries of the world.
2. Literature review
Since the publication of UNESCO's Comprehensive Strategy on Textbooks and Learning Materials in 2005, the role of textbooks in teaching and learning has undergone a profound transformation. Since 2014, UNESCO has renewed its efforts to help policymakers and educators around the world develop sustainable textbook and learning materials publishing systems that are more responsive to the needs of today's learners, inclusive and engaging for learners of all ages, at all levels of ability, and in all types of learning environments. To help bridge the gap between theory and practice, UNESCO intends to use a variety of formats to expand its activities in textbook and learning resource development. Communication channels will include a dedicated web portal, a community of practice with regular blogs and discussion forums, and a multilingual e-newsletter for researchers, educators, textbook authors, publishers and curriculum planners.
UNESCO, together with the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Studies, has prepared a manual on textbook research and review, which has been a tool for peacebuilding approaches for educational experts - researchers, textbook authors, teachers, curriculum developers - who have been analyzing, comparing and developing educational media in a national or international context for 13 years (Pingel, 2010).
In addition to UNESCO, UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI), the International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media (IARTEM), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) the Arab Bureau of Education in the Gulf States (ABEGS), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Asia-Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), the Council of Europe, and the Islamic Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ISESCO), among others.
Global research by international organizations and analysis of the importance of textbooks show their impact on learning outcomes in many countries around the world.
The work of UNESCO and other international organizations in the field of creation, publication and distribution of textbooks, directions of use of this experience in foreign countries and prospects of use of positive ideas in Ukraine are described in detail in the doctoral thesis of I. Chekriy (Chekriy, 2020).
The process of creating textbooks has been the subject of research at every stage of social development. The works of Ya. Kodliuk (Kodliuk, 2004) are devoted to the creation of the concept of textbooks for the Ukrainian school and the development of innovative approaches to their preparation, which revealed the conceptual apparatus of textbook creation and the conceptual foundations of textbook research.
The principles of functioning of textbook systems that existed in different regions and chronological intervals, the peculiarities of government policies in the field of education, the role of textbook publishing in the development of the educational system, management mechanisms at various levels (federal, state, local), including economic mechanisms aimed at supporting the processes of textbook creation and textbook publishing are revealed in the works of researchers H. Dryndak (Dryndak, 2002), I. Strazhnikova (Strazhnikova, 2014), O. Hlushko (Hlushko, 2017), O. Lavrut (Lavrut, 2016), O. Elbrekht (Elbrekht, 2020) and others.
In Ukraine, the history and theory of the creation of pedagogical literature is also studied for individual academic disciplines. In particular, this issue has been addressed by M. Golovko (Golovko, 2016), I. Smagin (Smagin, 2009), and many others.
Among the modern foreign researchers who have identified the relationship between textbook content and learning outcomes in several Asian countries, have studied the integration of Singapore's mathematics and science textbooks, Japan's focus on problem solving in mathematics textbooks, and China's approach to mathematics textbooks should be mentioned G. Clement (2017), J. Vasagar (2016), B. Camden (2017).
The main trends in world educational publishing were considered by B. Karimova, R. Mikhalev, A. Duysebek (2017) and others.
At the same time, the aspects and trends of the policy formation of the publication of school textbooks from the point of view of the changes in the economic and educational conditions in the countries have not yet been considered by domestic scientists.
According to A. Dziatkovskii (2023), an urgent task is the development of a strategy of publishing educational books with a clear formulation of the content for each level of education, continuity for all levels of education, development of specific general guidelines for textbook authors.
Thus, the revision of textbook content and approaches to its publication has a long history of success, but the time has come to take into account the changing role of textbooks in the educational process to meet the diverse needs of all students in a wide range of cultural contexts, economic and educational conditions.
It is necessary to develop a policy for the publication and distribution of textbooks that meets the urgent needs of communities due to the long-term effects of economic instability, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, suffering from violent conflict or natural disasters.
3. Generalization of the main statements
The system of textbook production, distribution and use is not static, but a dynamic process that is constantly changing and improving. Meaningful, constructive change requires openness to new ideas and approaches, and acceptance of innovations, including those initiated by teachers, parents, and communities. Accordingly, it requires a well-functioning apparatus for managing the production, selection, and review processes, as well as for the professional development of authors, illustrators, designers, editors, and teachers to produce quality materials and resources.
A comprehensive textbook policy covers all elements of the textbook production chain: curriculum structure; professional development programs; and textbook development, financing, production, distribution, management, and use. Policy development can provide a valuable framework for all actors, describing the roles of each stakeholder and setting high quality standards at each stage.
All aspects of textbook policy should be designed to improve learning outcomes and ensure the provision of adequate numbers of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials at a reasonable cost and in a timely manner.
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has developed recommendations for policymakers and other decision-makers to improve investment in education (De Guzmán, Alfonso, 2022).
According to the World Bank, textbook publishing is a multi-step process in all countries. Schematically, the publishing process includes manuscript preparation, printing, production, delivery, and distribution of textbooks. The processes of curriculum planning and development precede the publication of textbooks. The processes of professional development and certification of teachers follow the provision of books (Table 1).
In all countries, without exception, there are various problems throughout the textbook publishing cycle. Moreover, the whole cycle of textbook production
T 7- i T „„„„„ Baltic Journal of Economic Studies Vol. 9 No. 2, 2023 ---
Table 1
The school textbook publishing cycle: from curriculum to impact assessment
No. Stage name Component actions of the stage Recommended options for action
1. Curriculum planning, development or revision, textbook publishing program Determination of the purpose of the curriculum, the policy of providing educational materials Student progress monitoring Reviewing the curriculum Updating the program, assessing the state of education and availability of textbooks Details of the plan. Establish requirements for the preparation of textbooks at the highest level of quality. Linking the goal of implementation of the initial plan with the annual financial plan, further detailing the implementation of the curriculum by quarters, and coordinating with procurement plans. Determine the number of academic years during which the curriculum will remain unchanged.
2. Textbook manuscript preparation Creating a structural and logical scheme Writing the content of a textbook, teacher's manual Testing the material in classrooms Reviewing the content, approving the manuscript for publication Concluding contracts with individuals, including freelance authors, retired teachers; organizing their interaction with experienced writers, publishers who know how to work with authors, write, and interact productively with Ministry of Education and Science reviewers and others involved in the manuscript development process.
3. Preparation for textbook publication Editing of author's manuscripts Textbook layout, typesetting, illustrations, page layout Verification of compliance with technical specifications, competitive evaluation, determination of circulation Proofreading, corrections, review, approval before printing Selection of publishers able to ensure effective printing of the textbook according to parameters: design (i.e., "look"), appropriate font size for the age and level of students, teachers; the type of illustrations used, the need for color printing; the number of pages (volume) of the textbook in accordance with the requirements of the curriculum; the term of use of the textbook (its physical life); number of copies for distribution and reservation; type of paper and its characteristics, binding and packaging, and modes of delivery and distribution.
4. Purchases* Clarification of production and distribution proposals Evaluation of quality, prices Contractual procedure Check, payments To achieve value for money in book purchases, the government should establish technical specifications that maximize savings and meet international standards for materials (paper) and processes (printing, binding). Conduct procurement using free, open and competitive procedures. For large-volume contracts, consider prequalifying potential suppliers with respect to their financial and technical ability to meet the terms of the contract. For medium-volume orders, analyze the financial and technical capabilities of contractors.
5. Printing, publishing house Paper procurement Printing, brochures, packaging Delivery, ground transportation to publishing houses Procure printing services only from local vendors to support the local publishing industry, or from international vendors at the best quality and price.
6. Distribution Warehousing Marketing, sales promotion Delivery to regions, local offices, schools, bookstores Distribution or collection in schools Using the services of another governmental or parastatal agency for the distribution of educational materials, including textbooks. Using the Ministry of Education's storage and transportation vehicles and personnel to deliver books to schools. Contracting this service with private sector companies to forward books to regional or district offices or deliver them directly to schools. Once the books are delivered to local offices, school communities sometimes take responsibility for their distribution, using funds provided by the government or their own resources.
7. Teacher training, certification Familiarizing teachers with new materials Evaluating program effectiveness or impact on learning Feedback of the results obtained to the planning and development of the educational program The Ministry of Education provides training for classroom teachers, school principals, and local education administrators on curriculum changes, textbook inventory management, effective use of new textbooks, and care and storage of educational materials. The options here are to provide the training as: a special short course to familiarize teachers and administrators with the new instructional requirements of using the new textbooks; the national professional development program for teachers. Impact evaluations involving complex study design, fieldwork, and quantitative analysis are best conducted by experienced, well-equipped, and well-staffed research organizations.
* Procurement is not a separate stage of textbook publishing, but a process inherent in each stage of the cycle, the largest of which is publishing and distribution.
Source: compiled by the authors according to (De Guzman, Alfonso. Teachers and Teaching GPE Value for Money Guidance Note, 2022)
and distribution works in such a way that a problem at one stage has a ripple effect on the rest of the chain. The analysis of publications confirmed that in most countries the government is trying to manage the textbook publishing process on its own. However, governments need to develop a holistic approach to solving problems, rather than solutions aimed at solving individual problem areas.
An artificial, one-off approach can strengthen one link and neglect other parts of the book chain. Examples of successful practices in educational publishing show that problems disappear when the book industry becomes a strategic partner of government.
In different countries, the state participates in the development and regulation of the educational publishing market in different ways. According to experts in the field of education, the ideal system allows to reduce the role of the state to the minimum and to leave the main part of activity to the educational publishing market. In the field of state regulation, the main tasks remain: development of educational standards, curricula and requirements for graduate education (organization of state exams); responsibility for providing educational programs with textbooks and certification of their content. Textbook requirements rest with publishers, while teachers are responsible for selecting textbooks and communicating their content to students. This practice has developed in the United Kingdom, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
However, even in such an ideal environment, there must be a regulatory mechanism, and the state must be able to determine which textbooks can be used and which cannot. This practice exists in the rest of Western Europe, especially in the countries of Eastern Europe.
4. Discussion
Over the past 30-40 years, the global trend in textbook policy has been toward greater liberalization of state-produced textbooks. In particular, OECD countries have moved from state-approved textbook lists to open markets. For example, Finland moved from a centralized to an open system in the 1980s, Singapore and Sweden in the 1990s (Bruillard, Aamotsbakken, Knudsen, Horsley, 2005). Commercial publishers play an important role in open systems.
The impact of a competitive multivariate textbook market, where the customer is the driving force, is undeniable from the point of view of continuous improvement of textbook content. In such a system, publishers and authors must constantly strive for improvement in order to be successful. However, the transition to such a system must be carefully
managed so that all entities can perform their functions effectively and there are no disruptions in student learning and teacher support.
Currently, countries around the world have varying degrees of autonomy in textbook selection. Some Asian countries have policies where textbook changes are reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education. However, most European countries do not have a pre-approved list of textbooks, so public schools are free to choose their textbooks, as are private schools that receive public funding. The main differences are whether there is a system of recommended textbooks or whether schools are completely free to choose books.
PISA results confirm that school autonomy in determining curricula and assessment systems has a positive impact on the overall effectiveness of the education system. For example, education systems that give schools more authority to make decisions about assessment policies, courses offered, content, and textbooks used tend to be better performing education systems (OECD, 2019).
Textbook policy follows education policy. In particular, while many countries in Europe, North America, and Australia have expressed admiration for aspects of high-performing East Asian education systems, policymakers in those same Asian systems are now determined to reduce their focus on "achievement" and change the trajectory of textbook policy.
Although textbook publishing policies are primarily influenced by the political condition of the state, there is no relationship between political systems that have liberal, liberalized, or mixed textbook publishing policies. In addition, the territorial location of countries does not affect the degree of centralization or liberalization of their education policies, there are many examples of mixed models from the perspective of textbook publishing policies, and there is no single direction of movement (Table 2).
The most centralized systems operate in the states of Central and South Asia, in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka have systems in which textbooks are free and cheaply produced. In Bangladesh and India, textbooks are single-use only. Outside of Asia, many countries in the Arab world also follow a policy of cheap, low-yield textbooks that are reprinted every year.
A unique feature of the countries of the Indian subcontinent is that many schools are not in the public sector, and therefore there is a viable for-profit educational publishing sector.
Many countries in East and Southeast Asia (notably Japan, Vietnam) have moved or are moving to a state-approved textbook list system, in which commercial publishers must meet criteria set by the Ministry of
Table 2
Distribution of countries by type of textbook publishing system
System type Features Countries
Centralized state publication The government, the Ministry of Education, fully controls the process of publishing textbooks by stages: manuscript preparation, prepress preparation and printing. In Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan the first two stages are carried out by the government, in Uzbekistan tenders are held for each stage. India, Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam (although there are plans to move to an alternative textbook policy), Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Hungary.
The system of state approval of the list of optional textbooks In most countries, schools select textbooks from a recommended list. The exceptions are Japan (primary and secondary schools), where a local school board consisting of principals, head teachers, classroom teachers, and parents makes the selection on behalf of local schools, and China, where the decision is made by a provincial education department or city government. With the transition from a fully centralized system, with no real opportunity for schools to choose textbooks themselves, to a system of an approved list of textbooks of choice, publishers usually begin to actively develop in response to new opportunities for their business. USA (some states), Germany (most states), Austria, Czech Republic, Chile, Japan, PRC, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, Georgia
Mixed system The government issues textbooks for primary schools, and at later stages of schooling there is a state-approved list of textbooks from which to choose. Independent selection of textbooks can be part of the autonomy of schools (administrative and professional), regardless of whether they operate in the system of state approval of the list of textbooks by choice or in the system of the open market. In this model, the school can become a driving force for continuous improvement of textbook quality. South Korea, Poland
Open market Publishers may produce textbooks according to their own commercial priorities and sell them directly to schools. The federal government does not impose educational materials and methods of their selection on local authorities, but finances projects, studies the creation of educational programs and the production of educational materials, makes appropriate recommendations for their adoption and use. In some schools the opinion of parents' committees plays a dominant role in the organization of the educational process, up to the selection of programs and teaching methods. There is no single scheme of textbook adoption, there are different approaches. UK, USA (some states), Australia, France, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain
Source: compiled by the authors according to (Smart, Jagannathan, 2018)
Education (MoE) and compete to promote their approved textbooks.
In the People's Republic of China, no publisher is purely private. In other cases, the Ministry of Education publishes individual textbooks in competition with commercial publishers.
In Indonesia's policy, books developed by the Ministry of Education compete with books developed by third parties for support for use in schools. In Bangladesh, the bureaucratic response to the publication of textbooks by commercial publishers was mixed. Although the government supported the policy, the publication of government textbooks continued, which eventually became a barrier to the private sector.
In countries that have adopted textbook-of-choice policies, there is a rapidly growing educational publishing industry and publishers that participate in international associations and book fairs.
Some high-performing Asian education systems have adopted a hybrid approach in which the Ministry of Education retains some responsibility for publishing textbooks in subjects in which the government has a national interest.
In the Republic of Korea, textbook policy began to be liberalized in the 1990s: elementary schools
can now choose between textbooks "approved" by the MO, for which schools can use their textbook funds, and "approved" textbooks, for which the school must raise its own funds. The content of subject textbooks (except English) for elementary schools in South Korea continues to be developed by the MO, and manuscripts are submitted to publishers for editing, design, production, and delivery.
Mixed approaches often lead to tensions between state-owned publishers and the private sector.
Textbook publishing requires appropriate policies and governance that support the development of national publishing capacity and encourage new ideas from within and outside the country.
In incremental steps, the government should evaluate the development of national commercial publishing capacity - this can minimize the risks associated with textbook costs.
Countries with centralized systems experience the most criticism of their textbooks in the media.
To successfully publish textbooks under a hybrid model, such as in the Republic of Korea, MoEs need publishing skills and operations similar to those of the private sector. Very few MoEs in countries without a strong commercial educational
publishing sector have been able to produce high-quality textbooks.
The combination of political necessity, economic efficiency, and the technical capabilities of publishers serves as the rationale for choosing a policy of liberalization or centralization. Sometimes governments abandon a fully open market system and return to a system of government approval of a list of optional textbooks. One example is Portugal, whose government introduced public evaluation and approval of a list of optional textbooks into a previously unregulated system in 2006 in response to the country's low PISA scores ( Joana de Sousa and Maria de Lourdes Dionisio, 2009).
Accordingly, countries around the world have adopted varying degrees of autonomy in the publication and selection of textbooks. Asian countries typically have a policy whereby textbooks are evaluated and approved by the MoE for selection by users. In contrast, in most European countries there is no prior approval: a school can use any textbook it wants, and public schools operate in the same way as private schools, but with public funding.
5. Conclusions
In most countries, the algorithm of modern textbook publishing is a fairly clear system, which includes the following elements: textbook writing and authorship; printing, publishing, and polygraphy; textbook distribution and use by teachers and students.
Despite recent advances in technology, the importance of textbooks has not diminished. The rationale for textbook publishing policies is valuable in that it can inform difficult decisions about investing in new technologies to support teaching and learning, while preserving and updating traditional textbooks and learning materials.
A continually updated textbook policy can facilitate the allocation of budget resources between traditional print textbooks and digital materials; ensure consistency between curriculum, educational processes, and educational goals; and introduce innovation into the teaching and learning process. A well-designed textbook policy will help bridge the gap between print and digital materials and align textbooks to support improved student learning.
Most Asian countries that have shown high results in international education assessments over the past 20 years have made changes to their textbook policies over this period, which have become integrated and comprehensively cover all stages of the school textbook cycle (curriculum, textbook writing, teacher training, pedagogy, student monitoring and assessment, etc.) and are characterized by the following innovations: a significant increase in the number of school textbook authors by involving
teachers and methodologists with experience working in schools; acceleration of the pace of updating the content of school textbooks; creation and approval of a new, more objective model of examination of educational publications and a fundamentally new system of their evaluation according to the criteria proposed by the professional community; determination of quality criteria of the "new generation textbook", development of conceptual bases for the creation and publication of new types of textbooks; demonopolization of the market of educational literature and, as a result, development of competition between publishing houses, stimulation of improvement of quality of educational publications and limitation of increase of their prices, prediction of mechanisms to prevent oligopolization of the book market.
The analysis of the policy of publishing textbooks of a number of foreign countries in the context of modern requirements for the quality of education showed that there is no universal publishing policy, the needs of each country correspond to its context - structural and content characteristics of educational publications, design, methodological features of the content of educational materials, illustrative materials used in textbooks, as a rule, reflect the ideology and educational policy of the country, national specifics and language (Karimova, Mikhalev, Duysebek, 2017).
In countries where the planning of textbook production and distribution does not take into account sustainable development, textbooks may be produced with high polygraphic quality (four-color printing, attractive illustrations, thick paper and hard covers), but at the same time they may be of low quality in terms of content because they do not match the level or cultural background of the students, may be gender biased, or may not relate to the cultural context of the students.
Clearly, textbook publishing policies that maintain tight control over production and printing facilities have economic consequences. If local publishers are not given the opportunity to produce and distribute textbooks and learning resources, the potential for developing and sustaining the supply of books and reading materials for the wider community is also greatly reduced.
The right policy combined with good practice leads to the desired sustainable result. By studying the advanced processes of textbook publishing in different countries (especially on the issues of: textbook review, vetting and selection; textbook financing scenarios; strategies for their acquisition, avoidance and prevention of risks - components that should be included in national textbook policies), governments can obtain useful technical advice on best practices for developing and financing textbook publishing projects.
International organizations, in particular UNESCO, support governments in formulating appropriate textbook publishing policies through the implementation of practices, with regular blogs and discussion forums, as well as a multilingual e-newsletter for researchers,
References:
teachers, textbook authors, publishers and curriculum planners.
Effective collaboration between the public and private sectors and civil society can be a powerful catalyst for textbook provision. It is therefore important to study the experiences of countries that are doing this effectively.
Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap (2020). Publisher: Paris, UNESCO. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802
Analysis of textbook policy in Uzbekistan. Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan. United Nations Children's Fund in Uzbekistan (2020). Available at: https://www.unicef.org/uzbekistan/media/3741/ file/Analyses%20textbook%20Eng%20onepage.pdf
Bruillard, E., Aamotsbakken, B., Knudsen, S. V., & Horsley, M. (October, 2005). Caught in the Web or Lost in the Textbook? Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media. Caen. Available at: https://iartemblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/8th_iartem_2005-conference.pdf
Camden, B. (2017). Single Textbook Approved for Maths Mastery Teaching. Schools Week. Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/single-textbook-approved-maths-mastery-teaching-grace-rowley/
Chekriy, I. (2020). Organizational and Pedagogical Activity of UNESCO in the Field of School Textbook
Creation: Dissertation. Ph.D. Pedagogical Sciences: 13.00.01; Ternopil National Pedagogical University
named after V. Hnatyuk. (in Ukrainian)
Clement, G. F. (2017). Exploring the Influence of the Singapore Modeling Method on Prospective Elementary Teachers in a University Mathematics Course. Publisher: Atlanta: Georgia State University. Available at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=ece_diss
De Guzman, Alfonso (2022). Teachers and Teaching GPE Value for Money Guidance Note. Available at: https://assets.globalpartnership.org/s3fs-public/document/file/2022-08-value-money-guidance-note-teachers-teaching.pdf?VersionId=hLR.YKnh6JQfEjxITXo0A.7jZVO308.T
Dryndak, H. (2002). Theory and practice of creating school textbooks on the native language for primary classes in the 1940s of the XX century. Bulletin of the Prykarpatsky University: Pedagogy. Vol. VII. Ivano-Frankivsk: Plai, pp. 141-147. (in Ukrainian)
Dziatkovskii, A. (January 17-20, 2023). Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Modernise Textbooks. The 2th International scientific and practical conference "Modern education using the latest technologies". Publisher: Lisbon, Portugal. International Science Group. 504 p.
Elbrekht, O. (2020). Textbooks Provision Management of School Education in the USA as a System. Research Notes. Series "Psychology and Pedagogy Research" (Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University), vol. 2, pp. 109-120. (in Ukrainian)
Framework for the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) beyond 2019 (2021). Publisher: Paris, UNESCO. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370215.locale=en Golovko, M. V. (2016). Development of Criterion Basis of Evaluation of Physics Textbook for General School. Naukovi zapysky Seriia: Problemy metodyky fizyko-matematychnoi i tekhnolohichnoi osvity, vol. 9(II), pp. 92-99. (in Ukrainian)
Hlushko, O. (2017). Genesis of Textbook Development Sector in the Ukrainian Diaspora of the USA. Problems of the modern textbook, vol. 18, pp. 13-21. Available at: http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/psp_2017_18_4 (in Ukrainian) Joana de Sousa & Maria de Lourdes Dionisio (2009). Between the market and the school: Textbook approval, selection and evaluation in Portugal. Available at: http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/ 1822/12663/1/Sousa%20%26%20Dioni%cc%81sio%2c%202010.pdf
Karimova, B. S., Mikhalev, R. K., & Duysebek, A. T. (2017). World Training Curriculum. Major Trends. Bulletin Kazakh National Pedagogical University after Abai Series "Pedagogical sciences", vol. 3(55), pp. 19-25. Available at: https://kaznpu.kz/docs/vestnik/seriya_ped_nauki/Ped_nauki_3_vestnik_2017.pdf (in Russian)
Kodliuk, Ya. P. (2004). Textbook for primary school: theory and practice. Ternopil: Textbooks and manuals, 288 p. (in Ukrainian)
Lavrut, O. (2016). Creation of textbooks in the Ukrainian SSR during the 1940s-60s: methodological and organizational problems. Historical and political studies. Vinnitsa: Donetsk National University named after V. Stus, vol. 1 (59), pp. 52-68. (in Ukrainian)
OECD (2019). "PISA 2018 Reading Framework", in PISA 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/5c07e4f1-en
Pingel, Falk (2010). UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision. Paris-Braunschweig: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization i Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000117188/PDF/ 117188eng.pdf.multi
Smagin, I. I. (2009). Methodological Bases of the Theory and Practice Analysis of Creation of School Textbooks on Social Science Subjects. Visnyk Zhytomyrskoho derzhavnoho universytetu. Pedahohichni nauky, vol. 45, pp. 10-14. Available at: http://eprints.zu.edu.ua/3045A/2_45.pdf (in Ukrainian) Smart, A., & Jagannathan, S. (2018). Textbook policies in Asia: Development, publishing, printing, distribution, and future implications. Publisher: Manila: Asian Development Bank, 98 p.
Strazhnikova, I. (2014). Theoretical and Methodological Deposit of Scientists in the Process of Creating Text-Books of the Western Region of Ukraine (Second Half of the XX - the Beginning of XXI Century). Pedagogy of creative personality formation in higher and secondary schools, vol. 38 (91), pp. 71-78. (in Ukrainian) Textbooks and Learning Resources: A Global Framework for Policy Development (2016). Publisher: Paris, UNESCO. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232222_eng
UNESCO Education Sector, Division for the Promotion of Quality Education, Section of Education for Peace and Human Rights. A Comprehensive Strategy for Textbooks and Learning Materials (2005). Publisher: Paris, UNESCO. Available at: https://inee.org/sites/default/files/resources/UNESCO-Comprehensive_Strategy_ for_Textbooks_2005.pdf
Vasagar, J. (22 July 2016). Why Singapore's Kids are So Good at Maths. Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/2e4c61f2-4ec8-11e6-8172-e39ecd3b86fc
Received on: 06th of March, 2023 Accepted on: 16th of April, 2023 Published on: 23th of May, 2023
