Effect of COVID-19 on Taiwanese Mandarin Teachers' Textbook Selection Processes
Author: Ming-Wen Chang (Education Department,New Taipei City Governmenty), Chung-Hao Chiang (Department of Industrial Education, National Taiwan Normal University), Wan-Fei Chen (Department of Language and Creative Writing,National Taipei University of Education), Yu-Hsi Yuan (Department of Graphic Communication Arts Education,National Taiwan University of Arts), Chien Yun Dai (Department of Industrial Education,National Taiwan Normal University)
Vol.&No.：Vol. 69, No. 1
Date：March 2024
Pages：35-68
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202403_69(1).0002
Abstract：
Purpose
Allowing teachers to select their own textbooks promotes the diversification, specialization, and democratization of education, encourages publishers to develop higher-quality materials, and enables teachers to select the materials that best meet their instructional needs. A policy of allowing instructors to choose their textbooks strengthens teachers’ professional growth and enhances the quality of education they provide. Numerous studies have identified the features that influence textbook selection, including policies and writing processes, evaluation criteria, visual design, content compilation, psychological factors, and disciplinary conceptual frameworks. However, the practices traditionally used to select standardized textbooks for national education have been subject to challenges and criticism owing to politically motivated changes in the content and selection of textbooks approved by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, the emphasis on a competency-oriented core in the compulsory 12-Year Basic Education, and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical book selection and public briefings have been replaced by the online interactive texts and noncontact instructional modes required by the pandemic. Research on the factors influencing teachers when selecting their textbooks is lacking. The present study sought to address this critical research gap by examining the textbook selection criteria of elementary school Mandarin Chinese teachers.
Methodology
This study adopted a quantitative survey method. First, a literature review examined textbook selection practices to clarify how textbooks have historically been selected in terms of policies, institutional practices, and criteria. Second, studies were reviewed, and items were selected to develop a survey instrument. Third, six experts and scholars in textbooks, education, questionnaire design, and educational administration were invited to review and revise the questionnaire’s content and wording, thus ensuring expert inter-rater validity. This evaluation process resulted in a preliminary questionnaire titled “Questionnaire on Factors Influencing the Selection of Mandarin Chinese Textbooks in Elementary Schools,” which consisted of items in nine dimensions: environmental factors, textbook selection factors, teaching factors, content factors, physical factors, distribution factors, skill factors, social media factors, and usage factors. Fourth, the preliminary questionnaire was distributed to 129 participants for pilot testing, and item analysis and construct validity were examined. This process resulted in a formal questionnaire comprising 48 items. Fifth, convenience sampling was used to invite Taiwanese elementary school Mandarin teachers to participate; 1,264 valid responses were obtained. Sixth, descriptive statistics were used to understand the sample characteristics and the influence of the research factors. Seventh, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Finally, hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were examined using the data collected from the formal survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test each item’s standardized factor loading estimates, which were all greater than 0.500, indicating acceptable reliability. An assessment of convergent validity indicated the favorable convergent validity of the scale, and the results also confirmed the discriminant validity of the instrument through significant factor loadings. Subsequent regression analysis revealed that environmental factors significantly influenced five groups of factors in the textbook selection criteria: teaching, content, physical, distribution, and skill factors. These results indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic substantially affected teachers’ textbook selection criteria. Selection factors were positively associated with content factors and distribution factors. This result suggested that both content and availability strongly influenced selection factors. Regarding selection criteria, three types of factors— content, physical, and distribution factors were positively associated with selection factors. This result indicated that content, availability in nonphysical editions, and distribution influenced the teachers’ textbook selection decisions. Additionally, social media factors were found to have a significant moderating effect between distribution factors and selection factors. This finding suggested that when distribution factors were favorably reviewed in social media factors, teachers were more confident in their selection decisions.
The results of this study’s analysis revealed that the content factors of the 108 Curriculum heavily influenced teachers’ textbook selection decisions, whereas skill factors did not. One reason skill factors may not have influenced textbook selection is that teachers trust that the 108 Curriculum textbooks align with the standards mandated by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and that these textbooks are composed by experts in their fields. However, environmental factors during the pandemic strongly affected selection factors. Teachers considered online information a vital tool in making selection decisions when the pandemic prevented them from traveling to bookshops. Moreover, environmental factors were positively associated with all five dimensions of the selection criteria. Physical factors and distribution factors were positively associated with selection factors, suggesting that teachers prioritized readability in layout, font size, correspondence between text and illustrations, color arrangement, glare-free paper quality, and binding quality. Additionally, teachers who relied on social media platforms felt more confident in the quality of the textbooks they selected, whether they were available online, as physical copies only, or both. Social media platforms, including Line and Facebook, significantly influenced textbook selection decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic beyond merely increasing teachers’ confidence in their choices.
Originality/Value
This study provides empirical research on the factors influencing textbook selection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research sample consisted of elementary school teachers throughout Taiwan, ensuring the study’s objectivity and specificity. This study proposes textbook selection factors and decision-making patterns distinct from those found in marketing and procurement decision-making models in business contexts. The differences have arisen from the unique needs of Taiwan’s elementary school Mandarin Chinese teachers, which differ substantially from those of teachers in previous studies on textbook selection.
Keywords：twelve-year basic education, textbook, COVID-19, textbook selective decision-making