Le manuel scolaire, une fausse évidence historique

Abstract

For some thirty years, education historians have raised the recurring issue of the definition of the school textbook. The author's aim is to take stock of the various aspects of a theoretical debate that periodically stimulates the international scientific community. In order to account for the nature and identity of the textbook, the author adopts four complementary perspectives, basing his reasoning on the analysis of world scientific literature devoted to the history of the books and publishing for schools. Which terms are (or have been) used to name the school textbook and what conclusions concerning its nature, functions or uses can be drawn from this inventory? What boundaries or borders separate (or have separated) the "territory" of school textbooks from neighbouring areas of publication? Is the textbook necessarily a book, and a printed book, or can it take other forms and consequently imply other uses? Finally, this census of textbook collections spotlights methodological problems, in particular questions related to categorization and typology.