| Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study was to develop a matrix for designing a standard which could be applied in conducting analyses of the content, kinds, and relative amounts of information based on current linguistic knowledge and theory presented in a selected group of college freshman English textbooks.;Procedure. The matrix for this investigation was established from a collection of college freshman English textbooks which are currently used in forty-three (43) private colleges in Georgia and thirty-two (32) public units of the University System of Georgia. A model checklist developed by the investigator, with inputs from other English professionals, was used to determine acceptable language and linguistics content in randomly selected textbooks. In order to assure positive identification, each selected textbook was assigned a code. The contents of each of the texts in the study were examined for category, substance, and relative amounts of information contained in each selected book. Once the research data were compiled, they were measured through the use of standard statistical reliability tests.;Findings. (1) There are more textbooks in which categories of content based on traditional grammar predominate than textbooks in which categories of content based on current linguistic theory and knowledge are predominant. (2) The textbooks in which categories of content based on traditional grammar predominate did comprise a textbook type--either handbook, rhetoric, or composition skills text. (3) Other relationships within and among the textbooks, such as a relationship between content emphasized and date of publication, and between quality of content and publishing companies were revealed. (4) The potential of this study is that it may provide a clear, objective, and valid standard for systematically assessing the presence or absence of language and linguistics content in both textbooks and courses of study. (5) The standard might also serve as a non-impressionistic guide in the planning of language and linguistics content in a freshman English course of study. |
