A Content Analysis of Religious Issues in Elementary School Social Studies Textbooks

• Main Authors: Lin,Hsueh-Fen, 林雪芬
• Other Authors: Tseng,Jung-Hua
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/74257996861922218945

碩士 === 國立臺中教育大學 === 課程與教學研究所 === 97 === Abstract This study aimed to understand how “religious issues” are presented in elementary school social studies textbooks. Based on the self-developed “categories of religious issues in elementary school social studies textbooks”, a content analysis was performed on 24 social studies textbooks published by Nan-I, Kang Hsuan, and Hanlin publishing companies. Through analysis of the marking statistics, the following conclusions were obtained: 1. Distribution of religious issues in elementary school social studies textbooks (1) Overall distribution of religious issues: Text content: 10.57%; graphic content: 10.66%. (2) Distribution of main categories of religious issues: “Religious elements” takes the largest proportion of the text content, while “religious culture transmission types” takes the largest proportion of the graphics content. (3) Distribution of sub-categories of religious issues: “Religious experience and behavior” under the main category of “religious elements” takes the largest proportion of the text content, while “craft” under the main category of “religious culture transmission types” takes the largest proportion of the graphics content. (4) The main category “religious elements” has more coverage in the text content than in the graphics content of the textbooks. Issues in its the sub-categories, including “religious concepts”, “religious experience and behavior”, “religious system”, and “others” are more evenly presented in text content than in graphics content. (5) The main category “religious development patterns” has more coverage in the text content than in the graphics content of the textbooks. Among its sub-categories, including “tribal religions”, “national religions”, “world religions”, and “other religions”, “tribal religions” has the most coverage in both the text content and graphics content, followed by “national religions”. Other sub-categories have varying proportions of the text content and the graphics content. (6) The main category “religious culture transmission types” has more coverage in the graphics content than in the text content of the textbooks. The ranking of coverage of its sub-categories, including “literature”, “drawing”, “craft”, “rituals”, and “others” in the text content slightly differs from the ranking of their coverage in the graphics content. (7) The main category “others” has more coverage in the text content than in the graphics content. 2. Integration of religious issues among different editions of social studies textbooks (1) Distribution of religious issues among all the volumes of social studies textbooks: Religious issues are mainly integrated into Volume 4, Volume 7, and Volume 6 of the Nan-I edition; Volume 3, Volume 6, and Volume 7 of the Kang Hsuan edition; Volume 8, Volume 6, and Volume 7 of the Hanlin edition. (2) Distribution of religious issues among all units of social studies textbooks: Religious issues are mainly integrated into “Taiwan’s traditional culture”, “hometown customs and rituals”, and “hometown stories and early buildings” units in the Nan-I edition; “Living places”, “life arrangement”, and “early development of Taiwan” units in the Kang Hsuan edition; “Cultures around the world”, “Passing on the culture and innovation”, and “rituals and folk activities in the hometown” units in the Hanlin edition. 3. Comparison of presentation of religious issues among different editions of social studies textbooks (1) Distribution of the main categories issues in the text content is almost consistent across the three editions of social studies textbooks: “Religious elements” has the largest share, followed by “religious culture transmission types”, “religious development patterns”, and “others”. There are slight differences in text presentation of these issues among the three editions. Distribution of these categories in the graphics content is also similar across the three editions. “Religious culture transmission types” has the largest share, followed by “religious elements”, “religious development patterns”, and “others”. There are slight differences in graphical presentation of these issues among the three editions. In terms of distribution of issues in the subcategories, no consistency in distribution was observed in both the text content and the graphics content. (2) Distribution of religious issues among all the volumes of social studies textbooks is not consistent across different editions. (3) In all editions of social studies textbooks, religious issues are mainly integrated into units concerning Taiwan's development history. Based on the above conclusions, some suggestions were finally proposed as a reference for editors of elementary school social studies textbooks and future researchers. Keywords: religious issues, social studies textbooks, textbook analysis