Textbook activities. Their contribution to the development of the Scientific Literacy

Abstract

• Scientific literacy is promoted through specific abilities that are facilitated through the teaching activities. Given the importance of textbooks in education, a review of their activities is proposed. In total, 1723 activities, taken from both primary and secondary textbooks from three different publishers, and aimed at the study of either living beings or human food/nutrition, were analysed. For that purpose, a set of categories based on the abilities associated to scientific competences, as well as on other basic cognitive abilities empirically identified, was stablished. All textbooks examined present similar activities that tend to prioritise basic abilities over those more complex associated to scientific competences. New textbook proposals are thought to be convenient to foster a greater array of abilities, progressively more demanding, and to address all dimensions of scientific literacy.