Effective Use of Social Science Textbooks: A Neglected Aspect of Education in Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Textbooks are part of the curriculum found in today’s classrooms because they allegedly provide a framework for thinking about what will be tested and taught, to whom, when, and how. Textbooks are one of the most important educational inputs: texts reflect basic ideas about a national culture, and … are often a flashpoint of cultural struggle and controversy. They convey a global understanding of history and of the rules of society as well as norms of living with other people. Social science textbooks have traditionally been styled as a simple narration of facts. The idea that textbooks must provide a format which invites the active participation of students has rarely been put into practice. Instead, there has been a linear monologue, punctuated only to check whether or not students have dutifully accepted what was uttered. In the state of J&K, the quality of Social Science textbooks and classroom teaching has not risen to expectations. Too often there has been the lament that social sciences are dull and uninspiring. The most common complaint is that they are meant only for rote learning and cramming. The paper aims by offering recommendations on improving Social Sciences textbook usage in Jammu and Kashmir.

Keywords: textbooks, perceptions, approaches, issues, teaching and training,