The basic purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate seven current, frequently used high school level health education textbooks for their relevance to several major student health concerns and problems. The importance of text evaluation in general cannot be over-stated. In this regard, Ornstein and Hunkins (1993) have noted that:
Textbooks...can stabilize the curriculum...(they) can have a strong influence or even dominate the nature and sequence of a course and thus profoundly affect the learning experiences of students. (p. 360)
Clearly, anything that "profoundly affects" the learning experiences of students is an important area for educational research. Adding to the importance of textbook evaluation is the fact that current theory on school reform has focused on the selection and use of textbooks (e.g., Lee, 1996; Woodward & Elliot, 1992). Regarding reform, one of the strongest calls has been to develop textbooks that are relevant to students' interests, needs, and concerns (Ornstein & Hunkins, 1993).
According to Ornstein and Hunkins (1993), when curriculum (and its texts) are irrelevant to students, it will debilitate student motivation and learning. Irrelevant texts are defined by the authors as texts that are divorced from students' sense of reality, texts that seem to be unrelated to societal concerns and changes, and texts whose figures and facts are moved from those people, things, and events that are meaningful to students.
What is important to understand here is that when it comes to health education texts, the consequences of irrelevant texts can be more severe than those of low academic motivation and/or learning. As noted by Silin (1995), health education can and often does serve the role of actually preventing illness and/or injury to students.
For example, Silin (1995) states that a strong contributor to teen morbidity and mortality arising from transmission of the HIV Virus is the "sil...