Book review:
Mikk, Jaan. 2000. Textbook: Research and Writing. Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern, Brussels, New York, Oxford, Vienna: Peter Lang GmbH. ISBN 3-631-36335-4. Soft Cover. 426 pp. DM 89.-
Reviewed by George R. Klare, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.

Once again public consciousnesss has focused on the effectiveness of educational practices, particularly in the United States. Criticisms to date have centered largely on teaching and testing, and on use of vouchers and alternative schools, but textbooks are now receiving critical attention as well. Professor Jaan Mikk, in his Textbook: Research and Writing, has provided useful information for several categories of educators looking for suggestions and guidelines in this often heated atmosphere. They include: someone planning to write a textbook; another wishing to evaluate a textbook for appropriateness for given readers; and yet another considering research on textbook effectiveness. Each will find a thorough review of work that has been done, along with interpretations of its practical significance. The author is Professor of Education at Tartu University in Estonia, and Vice President of the International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media.
Potential readers of English should not be turned away because Professor Mikk is Estonian and his book was published as one of a series of Baltic Studies. The book is in English, and at least half of his 571 references are by authors writing in English, chiefly Americans. The other references are largely from Estonian, Russian, and German authors, with frequent translations of the titles. More important for readers of English, Professor Mikk has described the findings and tied them into his text. He has clearly kept up with the literature: many references come from the 1990s, including the later years 1997 and 1998 and, occasionally, 1999. The five chapters under the general heading of Evaluation of Textbooks include: Respondents' Opinions; Evaluation of Textbooks by Experiments; Analysis of Textbooks; Readability Formulae; and Use of Computers in Textbook Writing and Analysis. The five chapters under the general heading of Composing of Textbooks include: Suggestions for Comprehensible Writing; Criteria for the Optimal Readability of a Text; Interest a Text Can Offer; Illustrations in Textbooks; and Value Forming Aspects of Textbooks.
The phrasing may seem quaint now and then to readers of English, but none will fail to understand Professor Mikk's meanings in this highly readable book. He has clearly applied his own special background and expertise in readability research to the writing itself. He and his colleagues have done significant work in readability formula development and application in Estonian and Russian text. They have also tackled a difficult area in readability measurement generally: how to include characteristics of the reader as well as the text in formulae.
Professor Mikk has provided readable and useful information in other difficult areas. With the current emphasis on tests and what they can contribute as an index of the effectiveness of schools, his clear presentations of statistics and statistical explanations can be of help to many readers looking for background. Another area is what he terms the 'value forming aspects of textbooks', which is of growing political concern today. This area is difficult for a reason entirely different from the complications of statistics, where objective answers can be agreed upon for most problems. Here, instead, the problem lies in the subjective nature of the problems and the proposed answers. The arguments involve not only what the supposed problems are, but also what should be done to improve schooling so as to provide the desired answers. Professor Mikk looks directly at these issues and, equally important, indicates in practical terms what steps are needed in clarifying them. He does not hesitate to provide guidelines for the effectiveness of textbooks in this area because, as he says in the Introduction, textbooks are the 'future of a nation'. Perhaps no more important reason can be found to read Textbook: Research and Writing in this age where schooling has come under scathing criticism.