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Example
The example will be given with the search for a Spanish school textbook: F.T.D., El libro de España, Barcelona, Editorial F.T.D., 1928. The first thing we do is to look for the book in the main search engines of the internet to see what kind of information on the book is given to the researcher. In this consultation, we find various pages which briefly describe the book and say that “thousands of Spanish people read and reread El Libro de España for decades” [2]. Through the reading of these pages we find out that the book was read in Spanish classrooms. The second step is to look for the book in the main on line data bases on school textbooks: the data bases of the MANES Research Centre, the International Centre of School Culture (CEINCE), and the library of the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED). 11 registers come out in the MANES data base [3]. The oldest is from 1928 and the most recent one is from 1958. This information allows for an interpretation of the lapse of time in which the school textbook was used in the schools. Nome of the registers give a number of edition, but the book from 1958, in the field of “Comments”, says that “it is francoist adaptation of the 1928 work with the same title”. This piece of information makes us think that the manual was modified and adapted to the different historical time in order to survive. 7 registers come out in the data base of the International Centre of School Culture (CEINCE). The oldest is from 1928 and the most recent from 1953. The information on the different locations of the school textbook tells us where we can find the hard copy of the book. In this case, there are samples in 5 different places: the private collection of Manuela López [4], the International Centre of School Culture (CEINCE) [5], the archive of Vicente Casero, the School Museum Library of the Department of History of Education of the University of Valencia [6], and the library of the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED) [7]. If we look for the book in virtual libraries we find that it has been partially reproduced (digitised) in the virtual library of the PATRE-MANES Web [8]. This allows for a first virtual contact with the real book. Reading the index we obtain a better idea of its contents and of its structure. Similarly, by reading some of the pages we can also see if there are illustrations supporting the text or as an aesthetic element. Before we start analysing the manual, we need to find out what has been said about the book; what research has been carried out on the work and on the related subjects: the publishing house, the teaching of Geography, the historical context when it was published. In order to learn on these topics, we must consult and read the bibliography found in different specialized institutions, such as the MANES Research Centre [9]. An example could be the following chapter of a book: DIEGO PÉREZ, C.: “El libro de España”. En El currículum: historia de una There are a number of steps which must be followed (although not necessarily in this sequence) when analysing a school textbook. The first one is to contextualize the book. We must have some knowledge of the historical time when it was published, the political and educational characteristics of the time. Secondly, the publishing house must also be taken into consideration, paying attention to its prestige or to how well known it was, to religious and ideological tendencies. Thirdly, we must describe the book in the outside and inside: hard or soft cover, dimensions, number of paged, structure, amount of text and paratext (maps), and illustrations, exercises, etc.. All school textbooks may be object of the following themes of study: - Political and religious influences imposed by the authorities of the time. In Spain, for example, during the Franco Dictatorship the influence of the Catholic Church was extraordinary. This may be confirmed by the official religious authorisation printed on the book. - Evolution of the school textbook which has been published and edited numerous times in different historical periods. It would be very interesting to seed the kind of adaptations and modification which it has been through in its form and content. - Contents analysis. The study of its contents and of its silences may reveal what and why was selected to be taught, and what and why was omitted. This type of analysis helps in the study of the curriculum syllabus. - Specific studies such as gender differences, religious contents, social or ethnic questions. - Paratextual elements such as illustrations, drawings, and maps from the point of view of aesthetic values, of stereotypes, and of coherence with the message of the text (as a complement or support of the text). Iconographic codes are as important as textual ones.
[2] http://perso.wanadoo.es/meacuerdo/espana.htm [4] xvallejo@terra.es [9] http://www.uned.es/manesvirtual/ProyectoManes/Bibliografia.htm |
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