treatment of World War II in the secondary school national history textbook of the six major powers involved in the war, The

Journal of Social Studies Research, Winter 1999 by Santoli, Susan P, Weaver, Andrew

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the treatment given World War II in current high school textbooks from Japan, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States. Information from each textbook was matched with a list of World War II events and leaders. The war was divided into six major time periods and one topic which included 10 leaders. Each text's coverage of every event and person was entered on charts. Differences occurred in the both the inclusion and interpretation of the events and leaders included in each text. The Japanese text was the most blatant in providing imbalanced coverage. Data presented in the textbooks from the other five countries varied greatly.

Although there is much disagreement about what should be included in history curriculums, there appears to be agreement on the need to emphasize World War II as a turning point in world history. There is also little disagreement as well that in today's social studies classrooms the primary tool used by teachers to convey an understanding of that war is still the textbook. Textbooks continue to play a major role in determining what our students will learn about their own country an other countries (Berghahn & Schlissler, 1987), and textbook versions of events are often accepted without question (Parsons, 1982). Textbook-related activities occupy 70% to 95% of class time in American schools (Wade, 1993), and studies in Japan (Goodman, 1983) report a similar reliance. The research of German's George Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research emphasizes the important role of textbooks in shaping attitudes and understandings both nationally and internationally (Nose, 1986). The impetus for a joint Soviet-U.S. textbook study in 1977 was the shared belief that "what students learn from their textbooks can contribute to or detract from efforts aimed at improving relationships" (U.S./CT.S.S.R Textbook Study Project [U.S./CJ.S.S.R], 1981, p.1). One earlier study on international textbook revision concludes: "No sources of socialization in modern societies compare to textbooks in their capacity to convey a uniform, approved, even official version of what youth believe" (Becker, 1955, p. 338). What is presented in national textbooks more than half a century after the World War II ended still molds the understanding students have of that period.

The specific purpose of this study was to analyze and compare information concerning selected World War II events and people in one secondary level, national history textbook for college bound students from each of the following countries:

1. Great Britain

2. France

3. Germany

4. Japan

5. Russia

6. United States

The textbooks were selected with help from the International Textbook Institute in Braunschweig, Germany which provided lists of the British, French, and German history textbook publishers and the names of contacts in Japan Russia. The criteria for the texts was that they be most frequently or at least, frequently used national history textbooks published and currently in use after 1990. Because the Russian text was in the process of being written, an alternative text was selected with the help of Janet Vaillant at the Harvard University National Resource Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. The U.S. text was selected from a list of frequently used U.S. History texts published by the American Textbook Council.

The secondary school tests used for this study were:

1. Japan: Susumu Ishii et al. Shosetu Sekaishi. Tokyo: Yamakawa-shuppan, 1994.

2. France: Robert Frank and Valery Zanghellini. Histoire Ire L, ES, S. Paris: Belin, 1994.

3. Germany: Herausgegeben von Wolfgang Hug Unsere Geschichte. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Moritz Diesterweg, 1991.

4. Great Britain: Denis Richards and J. W. Hunt. An Illustrated History of Modern Britain, 1783-1980. Burnt Mill, England: Longman, 1991.

5. Russia A.A. Kreder. Noveishaia Istoriia. Mockva: Interpraks, 1994.

6. United States: Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy. The American Pageant. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991.

Native speakers of the language translated the four non-English textbook selections into English. All translators were bilingual and had live in the United States for a number of years.

A method similar to one used in two previous content analysis studies was used (American Council on Education [A.C.E., 1947; Harbourt, 1931). The composition of the list was based on the Tables of Contents of several U.S. History texts and input from faculty in the History department of a local university. The development of such a list was consistent with the methodology used in other textbook content studies (Harbourt, 1931; Peiser, 1971). The finished list reflected the biases and backgrounds of the authors and faculty contributors since all were from the United States.

The textbook analysis was primarily descriptive. The items on the Events and People list were used to determine how much space in each textbook was devoted to each item. A strategy used in other studies (Barth, 1991-1992; Ketchem, 1982; Social Studies Development Center [S.S.D.C.], 1981, 1984). The coding for space usage which follows is similar to one used in a previous study (Julian, 1979). n = no mention