THE CUSTOM QUALITIES OF TEXTBOOK IN THE PUPILS’ ASSESSING OF BASIC SECONDARY EDUCATION

Abstract

The article highlights the results of the pilot study with regard to the evaluation of the custom quality of textbook by students of basic secondary education through their assessment of structural components (student texts, drawings, charts, graphs, diagrams, tasks of different types, field works, educational projects, glossary of terms) of natural science textbooks (biology, chemistry, geography) using the author’s methods. The overall assessment as to the custom quality of biology, chemistry and geography textbooks for 9th grades was provided and separately the measurement of custom quality of their polycode texts (drawings, charts, graphs, diagrams), together with all components which require effective implementation (tasks, field works, educational projects, glossary of terms). At the time of this study the following was found out: 1) The proximity of integral assessments of textbooks and affinity of average score of their individual parts which can be attributed to approximately the same experience of every pupil resulting from using of these textbooks, along with linguistic and didactic similarities of their texts and similarity of structural arrangements of textbooks as a whole. 2) The high rate of empirical coefficient of determination on all data categories of evaluation results that reaffirm that at the time of the study the custom quality of textbook were highlighted from the point of view of pupil. There are four factors that have been experimentally established («Accessibility», «Visibility», «Interestingness», «Practicality») which characterize the custom quality of textbook from the point of view of the ninth-grader. Thus, the factor «Accessibility» incorporates such characteristics of textbook as simplicity and comprehensibility of its teaching texts, as well as the presence of drawings therein; «Visibility» includes diagrams, graphs and tables; «Interestingness» is a interestingness of study texts and also placement of tests and vocabulary. «Practicality» implies the presence of educational projects and practical works. The textbook is considered to be a means of scientific activity and the performance measures for the utilization of the latter depends on the quality of method and users’ attitude towards structural issues of textbook.