Abstract
This study presents the results of an analysis of Croatian Language and Natural Sciences textbooks used in the fourth and sixth grade of primary education in Croatia. Textbooks are therein seen as core educational materials, influencing teacher practices—specifically, the reading comprehension instruction. Five textbooks were coded for text type, learning goals, and instructional strategies and activities. Our results show that simpler text structures prevail in textbooks for both subjects and grades. We observed only minor differences in the structure of textbooks for younger and older students—more specifically, the textbooks for older students were found to contain more questions encouraging various levels of inferencing. Most of the questions, however, aim to test factual knowledge, revealing a superficial approach to reading comprehension in all of the analysed textbooks. Since post-reading questions, instructional strategies and activities reflect the intended learning goals, they can influence teaching practices. Therefore, teachers unsatisfied with the approach taken by textbook authors might distance themselves from using textbooks, while others might use the one-dimensional (or even trivial) templates present, both thereby unintentionally creating a lack of opportunities for their students to develop their reading skills and more sophisticated patterns of critical thinking through intelligent textbook use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aaron, P. G., Joshi, R. M., Gooden, R., & Bentum, K. E. (2008). Diagnosis and treatment of reading disabilities based on the component model of reading: An alternative to the discrepancy model of LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219407310838.
Bakota, L. (2011). Pravopisna norma u udžbenicima [Orthographic Norm in Textbooks] Jezik : časopis za kulturu hrvatskoga književnog jezika, 58(4), 135–149. https://hrcak.srce.hr/134416
Beerwinkle, A. L., Wijekumar, K., Walpole, S., & Aguis, R. (2018). An analysis of the ecological components within a text structure intervention. Reading and Writing, 31(9), 2041–2064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9870-5.
Bendelja, D., Budić, I., Operta, E., Pongrac, N., Roščak, R., & Valečić, H. (2015). Priroda 6 [Natural Sciences 6]. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Bežen, A., & Munk, K. (2003a). Stavovi učitelja o udžbenicima i udžbeničkoj politici [Teachers’ opinions on course books and course-book policy]. Napredak, 144(1), 66–80.
Bežen, A., & Munk, K. (2003b). Stavovi učitelja o nabavi udžbenika i obvezama nakladnika [Teachers’ attitudes on textbook acquisition and publisher obligations]. Metodika, časopis za teoriju i praksu metodika u predškolskom odgoju, školskoj i visokoškolskoj izobrazbi, 4(6), 65–76.
Bleses, D., Makransky, G., Dale, P. S., Højen, A., & Ari, B. A. (2016). Early productive vocabulary predicts academic achievement 10 years later. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37(6), 1461–1476. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716416000060.
Braš Roth, M., Markočić Dekanić, A., Markuš, M., & Gregurović, M. (2010). PISA 2009: Čitalačke kompetencije za život [The Assessment of Reading Competence Results]. Zagreb: Nacionalni centar za vanjsko vrednovanje obrazovanja. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://pisa.ncvvo.hr/wpcontent/uploads/2018/05/IZVJESTAJ_PISA2009_press.pdf
Braš Roth, M., Markočić Dekanić, A., & Markuš Sandrić, M. (2017). PISA 2015—Prirodoslovne kompetencije za život. [The Assessment of Science Competence Results]. Zagreb: Nacionalni centar za vanjsko vrednovanje obrazovanja. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://pisa.ncvvo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PISA-2015-kb.pdf.
Clarke, P. J., Snowling, M. J., Truelove, E., & Hulme, C. (2010). Ameliorating children’s reading-comprehension difficulties: A randomized controlled trial. Psychological Science, 21(8), 1106–1116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610375449.
Didović, M., & Kolić-Vehovec, S. (2009). Different aspects of vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension in elementary school students. Psihologijske teme, 18(1), 99–117.
Elleman, A. M., Lindo, E. J., Morphy, P., & Compton, D. L. (2009). The impact of vocabulary instruction on passage-level comprehension of school-age children: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345740802539200.
Franić-Glamuzina, L., Grbaš Jakšić, J., Matijašić, I., Peić, I., Rnadić Đorđević, I., Žic, M., et al. (2014). Kocka vedrine [The cube of good mood]. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Guthrie, J. T., Hoa, L. W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S. M., & Perencevich, K. C. (2006). From spark to fire: Can situational reading interest lead to long-term reading motivation? Reading Research and Instruction, 45, 91–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388070609558444.
Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., Barbosa, P., Perencevich, K. C., Taboada, A., Davis, M. H., et al. (2004). Increasing reading comprehension and engagement through concept-oriented reading instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 403–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.3.403.
Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., Metsala, J. L., & Cox, K. E. (1999). Motivational and cognitive predictors of text comprehension and reading amount. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3(3), 231–256. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532799xssr0303_3.
Hebert, M., Bohaty, J. J., Nelson, J. R., & Brown, J. (2016). The effects of text structure instruction on expository reading comprehension: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(5), 609–629. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000082.
Hidi, S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2000). Motivating the academically unmotivated: A critical issue for the 21st century. Review of Educational Research, 70, 151–179.
Huang, S. (2013). Factors affecting middle school students’ reading motivation in Taiwan. Reading Psychology, 34(2), 148–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2011.618799.
Keresteš, G., Lugomer Armano, G., Čičko, V., Goldstein, T., Jerković, K., Juras, L., et al. (2020). Čitanje u ranoj adolescenciji - dobne i spolne razlike te individualni i obiteljski prediktori [Reading in early adolescence: Age and gender differences and individual and family predictors]. Zagreb: FF Press.
Kisovar Ivanda, T., Letina, A., Nejašmić, I., De Zan, I., & Vranješ Šoljan, B. (2017). Naš svijet 4 [Our world 4]. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Kolić-Vehovec, S., & Bajšanski, I. (2006). Metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension in elementary-school students. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 21(4), 439–451.
Kolić-Vehovec, S., Bajšanski, I., & Rončević Zubković, B. (2011). The role of reading strategies in scientific text comprehension and academic achievement of university students. Review of Psychology, 18(2), 81–89.
Markočić Dekanić, A., Gregurović, M., Batur, M., & Fulgosi, S. (2019). PISA 2018: Rezultati, odrednice i implikacije [PISA 2018: Results, determinants and implications]. Zagreb: NCVVO.
Markovits, H. (2010). Semantic memory retrieval, mental models, and the development of conditional inferences in children. In M. Oaksford & N. Chater (Eds.), Cognition and conditionals: Probability and logic in human thinking (pp. 177–195). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233298.003.0010.
Matijević, M., Topolovčan, T., & Rajić, V. (2013). Učenička evaluacija udžbenika [Textbook evaluation from the students’ perspective]. Napredak: časopis za pedagogijsku teoriju i praksu, 154(3), 289–315.
McGeown, S. P., Osborne, C., Warhurst, A., Norgate, R., & Duncan, L. G. (2016). Understanding children’s reading activities: Reading motivation, skill and child characteristics as predictors. Journal of Research in Reading, 39(1), 109–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12060.
Meyer, B. J. F., Brandt, D. M., & Bluth, G. J. (1980). Use of top-level structure in text: Key for reading comprehension of ninth-grade students. Reading Research Quarterly, 16(1), 72–103. https://doi.org/10.2307/747349.
Meyer, B. J., & Freedle, R. O. (1984). Effects of discourse type on recall. American Educational Research Journal, 21(1), 121–143. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312021001121.
Meyer, B. J. F., & Poon, L. W. (2001). Effects of structure strategy training and signaling on recall of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 141–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.141.
Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. (2010). National Curriculum Framework for Pre-School Education and General Compulsory and Secondary Education (in Croatian). Zagreb: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. https://www.azoo.hr/images/stories/dokumenti/Nacionalni_okvirni_kurikulum.pdf
Močinić, S. N. (2006). Analiza udžbenika prirode i društva u školama talijanske manjine [Textbook analysis – science in Italian schools in Croatia]. Metodički obzori : časopis za odgojno-obrazovnu teoriju i praksu, 1(2006)2(2), 27–48.
Mullis, I.V.S., Martin, M.O., Foy, P., & Drucker, K. T. (2012). PIRLS 2011 international results in reading. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College. https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2011/downloads/P11_IR_FullBook.pdf
Pavličević-Franjić, D., & Gazdić-Alerić, T. (2010). Utjecaj udžbeničkih tekstova na rani leksički razvoj u hrvatskom jeziku [The influence of textbook texts on the early lexical development in Croatian language]. Jezik: časopis za kulturu hrvatskoga književnog jezika, 57(3), 81–96. https://hrcak.srce.hr/133832
Pečjak, S., Podlesek, A., & Pirc, T. (2011). Model of reading comprehension for 5th grade students. Studia Psychologica, 53(1), 53–67.
Peti-Stantić, A., Tonković, M., & Keresteš, G. (2018).Evaluacija udžbenika [Textbook evaluation]. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia: Unpublished research report.
Pop-Pacurar, I., & Ciascai, L. (2010). Biology school textbooks and their role for students’ success in learning sciences. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 3(1), 1–10.
Schiefele, U., Schaffner, E., Moller, J., & Wigfield, A. (2012). Dimensions of reading motivation and their relation to reading behavior and competence. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(4), 427–463.
Stutz, F., Schaffner, E., & Schiefele, U. (2016). Relations among reading motivation, reading amount, and reading comprehension in the early elementary grades. Learning and Individual Differences, 45, 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.11.022.
Šojat, A. (2014). Snaga riječi 6. [The power of words]. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Townsend, D., & Collins, P. (2009). Academic vocabulary and middle school English learners: An intervention study. Reading and Writing, 22(9), 993–1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-008-9141-y.
van den Ham, A.-K., & Heinze, A. (2018). Does the textbook matter? Longitudinal effects of textbook choice on primary school students’ achievement in mathematics. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 59, 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.07.005.
Van Keer, H., & Verhaeghe, J. P. (2005). Effects of explicit reading strategies instruction and peer tutoring on second and fifth graders’ reading comprehension and self-efficacy perceptions. The Journal of Experimental Education, 73(4), 291–329. https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.73.4.291-329.
Wijekumar, K. K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2012). Large-scale randomized controlled trial with 4th graders using intelligent tutoring of the structure strategy to improve nonfiction reading comprehension. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(6), 987–1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9263-4.
Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., Lei, P.-W., Lin, Y.-C., Johnson, L. A., Spielvogel, J. A., et al. (2014). Multisite randomized controlled trial examining intelligent tutoring of structure strategy for fifth-grade readers. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 7(4), 331–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2013.853333.
Wright, T. S., & Cervetti, G. N. (2017). A systematic review of the research on vocabulary instruction that impacts text comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 52(2), 203–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.163.
Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia. (2018). Zakon o udžbenicima i drugim obrazovnim materijalima za osnovnu i srednju školu. [Law on Textbooks and Other Educational Material for Primary and Secondary School]. Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, p. 116.
Zentall, S. S., & Lee, J. (2012). A reading motivation intervention with differential outcomes for students at risk for reading disabilities, ADHD, and typical comparisons: “Clever is and clever does.” Learning Disability Quarterly, 35(4), 248–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948712438556.
Zokić, T., & Vladušić, B. (2014). Slovo po slovo [Letter by letter 4]. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Acknowledgements
The work presented here benefited from networking at COST Action IS1401ELN (www.is1401eln.eu) and was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation as a part of the project MEGACRO—HRZZ-IP-2016-06-1210.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Peti-Stantić, A., Keresteš, G. & Gnjidić, V. Can Textbook Analysis Help Us Understand Why Croatian Students Seldom Read Their Textbooks?. Tech Know Learn 26, 293–310 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09485-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09485-z