Vol. 560 No. 1
428 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason a situation exists where some books used in English classes are chosen by primary school authorities on the basis of samples provided by the printing companies themselves; his views on whether this is a satisfactory situation; the steps he intends to take to redress the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1637/03]
Educational publishers from Ireland and overseas publish textbooks and activity books to support the implementation of curricula and editors of textbooks and activity books for use in primary schools select the content of such books. The material selected for inclusion in textbooks reflects the personal preferences of the editors. When selecting material for textbooks, editors are required to follow guidelines drawn up by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. It is common practice for school authorities and teachers to introduce a new series of textbooks to a school on an incremental basis over a number of years, thereby replacing existing textbooks gradually. It is therefore not unusual for schools to purchase, for example, the books for the junior classes before the books for the senior classes are published. While some changes in textbooks as a result of introduction of revisions to curricula are inevitable, it must also be recognised that textbooks play only a limited role in the teaching and learning process.
The selection of textbooks for primary schools is a matter for the principal and staff of the school, under the authority of the board of management. The textbooks selected should present positive images of people from different cultures. The guidelines for publishers from the NCCA specifically state that textbooks written ab initio by publishers should present multi-culturalism in a manner that reflects “a balance between the child's experiences and the educational responsibility of fostering attitudes of equity and tolerance.” Many books, stories and poems contain passages, which, if taken out of context, could be regarded as portraying people from particular backgrounds in an unfavourable light. Examples of passages from books set in the Second World War immediately come to mind where variously Jews, English, Japanese and Germans are depicted both favourably and unfavourably. Equally, some of the folk tales and fairy tales that are part of our rich literary heritage could be cited in this regard.
I cannot therefore definitively state that a passage from a book used in a primary school should never contain a negative racial or social portrayal, because to do so would be unduly censorious. Rather, I believe that teachers should be aware of the importance of presenting such material in a manner that challenges prejudice and discrimination.
