- R. Turner
- Published 1990
- Psychology
A desire to learn more about the development of instructional materials from those who create and publish them has become a topic of interest among textbook critics. Michael Apple (1986) addressed the need in his book Teachers & Texts in which he recommended an investigation of the culture and commerce of publishing-including how publishing operates internally and the cultural economic market within which it is situated. My experience as a project editor in a major textbook publishing house suggests that the development of textbooks is an idiosyncratic process. Each textbook has a life and a history of its own, and there can be no single formula to guide editors with diverse points of view editors who must develop a variety of instructional materials for fluctuating schooling needs and market demands. Even the philosophical tone of a single textbook is set largely by the authors (if the project entails outside authorship), consultants, and the project editor involved. When it comes to gender-related considerations, however, it is the project editor who ultimately determines if the manuscript will reflect merely technical requirements (e.g., equal treatment guidelines set forth by state education agencies) or will follow the spirit of a specific philosophy (e.g., through the thorough integration of nonbiased language and other concepts.) The present study is based on my experience and observations as project editor in charge of developing a programmatic set of instructional materials for elementary art education.1 Although my perspective is probably like that of
