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The Publishers Association is launching a new campaign, The Textbook Challenge, after an independent survey found that 63% of primary and secondary teachers in English schools could be "making more use of textbooks" - while one in five don’t use them at all.
The PA's campaign is calling for the whole education sector to "strive to ensure that every child has access to a textbook in the main subject areas" in response to its survey's findings. It will be promoting the campaign and research with schools and teachers and others involved in the education space.
It revealed teachers are in agreement (90%) that textbooks can improve pupil attainment. Meanwhile, nearly half of all teachers and 64% of secondary teachers think textbooks make a "significant improvement" and nearly 60% said using textbooks helps reduce the amount of time they spend planning lessons.
Nearly half (45%) of all teachers said funding "strongly impacts" their ability to use more textbooks, however, with over half (56%) of secondary teachers agreeing funding has "an extensive impact" on their ability to purchase textbooks.
The independent research is backed up by new research from education publisher Collins in consultation with over 500 teachers which supported the claim that using textbooks cuts teacher workload, helps students make better progress and frees up teacher time for one‐to‐one support in the classroom. Collins' research found that eight in 10 teachers (78%) who use textbooks credited them in cutting the amount of unpaid overtime that they would otherwise have to do, with almost half (44%) of teachers estimating they save up to five unpaid hours a week.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb agrees textbooks to improve standards and reduce teacher workload. He said: “All the evidence shows that high-quality textbooks are good for teachers, students and parents" and that “textbooks work”.
Despite these benefits, and outward praise of the resources, the Collins research also found that many teachers felt that textbooks had "fallen out of favour" within the profession. More than half of teachers surveyed (52%) believed “there is a view within teaching that using textbooks is lazy and unimaginative”, while one in six teachers (15%) agreed “using prepared resources makes me feel like I am cheating.”
A third of primary school teachers are not using textbooks at all, according to independent research, while in secondary schools only 10% of teachers said they make no use of textbooks. In total, 21% of teachers are making no use of textbooks at all.
Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said: “Textbooks are a vital resource in helping to reduce teacher workload and to improve educational attainment. However, as this [the PA's independent] research shows, despite these benefits they are being under-used in schools and many teachers are unable to buy the textbooks they need due to a lack of funding.
“At a time when teachers are increasingly finding their workloads unmanageable, it is more important than ever that they have access to resources which can help make lesson planning easier while also helping to improve standards. This is why we are launching the textbook challenge today: a new challenge calling for every pupil in England and Wales to have access to a textbook in the main subjects.”
In addition to promoting current evidence available as part of its campaign, the PA will continue to try and build the evidence-base demonstrating the value of using textbooks in schools.