ANALYSIS OF QUALITY STANDARDS FOR DIDACTIC DESIGN OF TEXTBOOKS USING THE EXAMPLE OF A FABLE IN THIRD GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL READERS

Abstract

This paper analyzes quality standards for didactic design of textbooks, using the example of readers for the third grade, published by Klett, before and after curriculum changes resulting from the alteration of legal frameworks defined by the Regulation on the Curriculum for the Third Grade of Primary Education: 5/2019-6, 1/2020-1, 6/2020-1. By means of content analysis, the reader published by Klett and used in teaching until the 2020/21 school year will be analyzed, as well as the reader approved for use in accordance with the new recommendations, serving as a Serbian Language textbook in the Republic of Serbia from the 2020/21 school year. The analysis of the quality standards for didactic design of textbooks has been carried out according to the general quality standards for textbooks (Ivić et al., 2009) and legislative regulations (Law on Textbooks, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette 68/2015, 27/2018–13, and the Regulation on Quality Standards for Textbooks and Guidelines for Their Use, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette: 42/2016-11, 45/2018–40), which define the quality framework for textbooks and textbook sets. This analysis is conducted using the example of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop, which is part of the curriculum. A comparative analysis of the realization of standards within the domain of didactic design will provide insight into the alignment of curriculum requirements and textbooks, both the previous and newly approved ones, using the fable as an example. Additionally, it will examine the encountered qualitative didactic adequacy of the reader as a component of the textbook set. This paper will highlight possibilities for enhancing the existing didactic-methodological apparatus that accompanies the fable, aiming to expedite the process of educational interpretation of the work.