The methodology used in this study is based on a content analysis of the textbooks. This methodology was chosen in order to assign meaning to the various methodologies employed in textbooks and to make inference about their meaning (Krippendorff, 2004, Wang, 1998, Wilkinson, 1999). As teachers are using textbooks as primary resources in their teaching, the activities presented in the textbooks are crucial to understanding how teachers are currently teaching science. In order to analyse the textbooks within an inquiry context an analytical framework had to be created and applied to the textbooks (Wang, 1998, Wilkinson, 1999). For the purposes of this work a framework was developed based on the 5E model of inquiry (Bybee, 2006a). The 5E model is utilised in the teaching of a lesson which meets the requirements of an inquiry based approach as defined above.
The textbooks chosen for analysis were randomly chosen from a list of current science textbooks. No consideration was given to the title or author of the selected textbooks. This method was chosen in order to eliminate any factor of the title or author which could influence the results of this study. Two exclusion criteria were applied to this study. The first exclusion criterion was the textbooks purpose in the classroom. There were several textbooks available that dealt with the subject of Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) rather than specifically science education. These textbooks were excluded from the selection of textbooks as their purpose went beyond the subject of science alone. This would have had an effect on the analysis as the content would have to have been subjected to an extra section determining whether it was targeted towards geography, history or science. It
was also assumed that the amount of science activities in these textbooks may be reduced as they catered for three subjects rather than one. Therefore, it was decided that these textbooks could not be compared to textbooks that included science alone. It is important to note that the audience of the textbook was also not a factor in the decision for analysis. As it will be shown, if a textbook was selected for analysis all of the textbooks in that series were analysed. This meant that the analysis of the textbook would not be subjected to an unfair comparison if the textbook was aimed at a younger or older year group. This decision also removed the issue that will be shown with Textbook Series C whereby each individual textbook is aimed for use over two years rather than one year. By analysing every textbook in the series, conclusions could be drawn that would compare activities aimed at the same level in schools. The three Textbook Series therefore, were chosen at random, from the available textbooks on science education and were all subjected to the same method of analysis. The second exclusion criterion was the language in which the textbooks were presented. Several of the textbooks available in science education are presented in Irish as well as English. In order to ensure that the textbook could be properly analysed the English only versions were chosen. At the time of the study there were eight textbooks available for use in primary schools. Applying the exclusion criteria meant that six were applicable for analysis. It is also important to note that this study was not designed to classify each the amount of inquiry in textbooks. Therefore the sample size that was chosen for analysis was n=3. It was decided that three textbooks would provide enough data to determine whether textbooks could be used to support inquiry in Irish primary school classrooms.
IBSE is focussed on the idea of a process rather than a single activity (Anderson, 2002). This process of inquiry is identified by carrying out all five phases of the 5E model (Bybee, 1989, Bybee et al, 2006a), described in Table 2. Applying the various concepts described to primary school contexts it was decided that a descriptor of inquiry would be used within this research to allow for a certain degree of flexibility to support cases whereby a textbook did not follow the prescribed 5E structure. This descriptor allowed for two assumptions to be applied to the textbooks. The first assumption involved the elaboration phase. Elaboration activities involve the application of what has been learned and may include many elements outside of the context of the classroom. It was assumed that textbooks would supply knowledge and activities but not ask students to apply it to other situations. The second assumption was that the textbook would not place a particular emphasis on evaluating students. It was assumed that if a teacher wished to evaluate the learning that they would
develop their own methods and tools to do so. It would therefore be unlikely that a textbook would supply a teacher with a formal evaluation for the content and therefore the concentration on evaluation would be reduced in textbooks. This meant the descriptor of the process of inquiry would include the first three of the 5Es, Engagement, Exploration and Explanation. This descriptor still allowed a textbook to incorporate all of the five phases if the textbook included them but allowed flexibility in the analysis to see whether textbooks could promote at least the first three phases of the 5Es.
Table 4: The Content Analysis Tool
Subject Engagement Exploration Explanation Elaboration Evaluation Topic
matter Add engage activity Add Explore activity Add Explain activity Add Elaborate Activity Add Evaluate Activity
Topic matter 2
Add engage
activity Add Explore activity Add Explain activity Add Elaborate Activity Add Evaluate Activity
The next stage in the methodology involved the development of a tool that would enable the various ideas and activities within the textbooks to be placed under the phases of the 5E model. The nature of the 5E model ensured that every activity within the textbook could be placed within one of the 5E phases. A tool was designed in such a way to allow for the easy comparison of topics, books and year groups. Each topic or lesson in the textbook was broken into its various activities and placed under a heading in the 5E model. Each activity was also described under the 5E model heading to enable a comparison of the various activities that the textbooks promote.
Table 5: An extract from a completed framework on the subject of light
Subject Engagement Exploration Explanation Elaboration Evaluation Light Discuss whether black is a colour or not Explain how light is a form of energy Discuss the differences between natural and artificial light Discuss whether white is one colour Explain how white light is made of 7 colours Experiment to mix different colour light Question and discussion: What colour dog should an Australian farmer get Research how
lasers work Create information an poster about lasers Discuss a torch beam in the darkness Discuss the light entering and exiting an aquarium Experiment to observe and record refraction Discuss the findings of the experiment Investigate how lenses affect the beam of light
Table 4 shows the template content analysis tool. Table 5 shows how above tool was used to break down and associate the material and corresponding activities on the subject of light in one of the textbooks to each of the phases/headings of the 5E model and, hence, providing an IBSE-organised lessons structure. The output of the tool also incorporates an order element so, for example, in Table 6, the first activity described in the textbook is a discussion. This is followed by an explanation of how white light is a form of energy. The third activity is an Explore activity, which gets placed on the next line as the table is designed to be read from left to right. Hence, the developed tool categorises an identified activity, describes it and puts in the relevant order that would enhance the inquiry approach of the lesson.
In order to deeply uncover the nature of inquiry in the textbook, a four layer study was developed, as described in Table 6. These layers would each highlight an area of the 5E model structure. Each layer individually could not be used to determine whether the textbooks could be capable of promoting IBSE however the conclusions from each layer and a combination of the layers would uncover this information.
Table 6: The layered structure of the study
Layer Element Description
1 Structure of the
textbook Place each activity present in the textbook under a 5E model heading and allow for the structure of the textbook to be viewed under and inquiry lens.
2 Individual Topics Compare individual topics in the textbooks for patterns and comparisons as to which topics met the requirements of the framework
3 Individual Activities Highlight whether textbooks are utilising many varied activities or repeating a limited set of activities
4 Pedagogical or Content
Orientated textbook Identify which textbooks promote a large number of pedagogies, a large amount of content or both.
Data analysis was carried out by a single researcher using a blind test method of coding. This method was used to ensure the consistency of data. Additional coders could not be used in this analysis as all coders would have had to have a standard and in-depth knowledge of the construction of the 5Es, as well as the aims and objectives of each layer of the study. Instead a blind coding setup was used where a selection of the textbooks were coded, and then recoded without reference to the first analysis. A comparison of the two analyses highlighted ambiguities in the definitions used during the analysis. These definitions were clarified further, the structure of the tool was adapted and another textbook was chosen for a blind code test. Once the comparisons of the two blind coding tests showed consistent results then the full analysis was carried out.
Table 7: The breakdown of the textbook labels: Junior Infants Senior Infants 1st class 2nd class 3rd class 4th class 5th class 6th class Textbook A A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 Textbook B B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 Textbook C C1 C2 C3 C4
The structure of the textbooks also created a difficulty for comparative reasons. Three Textbook Series, designated A, B and C, were analysed as part of this study. Each textbook in series C contained material to be covered in two consecutive years of the Irish primary school system, whereas each textbook in series A and B contained material for only one year. In order to account for this variation in the structure of analysed textbooks, the following labelling system was designed. Each textbook was assigned a unique label comprising the designated letter of its series followed by a number indicating the targeted year of its coverage. Accordingly, a textbook from series A that contains material for Junior Infants year was assigned the label A1, whereas a book from the same series but covers material for first Class was assigned the label A3, and so forth. The textbooks were then grouped according to their corresponding target year, as illustrated in Table 7.
4.3.2: Textbook Analysis Results