A comparison of cultural perception of oriental cultures as reflected in selected sixth grade social studies texts and children's literature

The current study focused on the cultural information offered in selected elementary social studies texts and children's literature suggested by those social studies texts as supplemental literature. The specific research questions the study attempted to answer were:

1. Do the selected elementary social studies textbooks provide a nonstereotypical representation of Oriental Cultures as determined by ECO Analysis?

2. Does the children's literature suggested for use by the social studies textbook publishers provide a favorable representation of Oriental Cultures as determined by ECO Analysis?

3. Is there a significant correlation between the cultural information presented in the selected social studies textbooks and the children's literature suggested for use by the text publishers?

Analysis of the selected social studies texts and suggested children's literature was made using the method of Evaluation Coefficient Analysis (ECO), developed by David Pratt (1972). ECO Analysis is especially useful in relation to evaluation of written materials concerning minority or cultural groups. The analysis involved identifying those terms in the materials which were used in an evaluative manner concerning Oriental cultures, and rating the usage as being favorable (+), unfavorable (-), or neutral (0).

A review of the findings led to the following conclusions:

1. The textbooks under study were, generally, nonstereotypical in representation of Oriental cultures.

2. The children's literature suggested for use by the social studies textbook publishers provide a favorable representation of Oriental cultures.

3. Based on the findings of the analysis, a positive, although not significant, relationship exists between the two sets of materials.