Effect of Indian English Textbooks on Learning Outcomes: Evidence from a Textbook-Quality Framework and an Illustrative Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors-Alicia Renold Fereira, Pyarelal Singh
Keyword-English language textbooks; Textbook Quality Index (TQI); learning outcomes; middle school education; task-based learning; assessment alignment; teacher mediation; National Curriculum Framework (NCF); multilingual pedagogy; India.
The predominant teaching tool that continues to be used in most classrooms (e.g., NCERT/SCERT and state-board series) continues to be an important indicator of what learners are capable of achieving, although this depends on the quality of language input, the ability to meaningfully use it, the compatibility of assessment with it and the media-tion of teachers. Based on the assumption and recognition reflected in the indications of the National Curriculum Framework on reducing rote, enhancing child-centred peda-gogy, and the multilingual resource, as well as the expectations of outcomes, described in the national learning-outcomes documents, this paper researches the relationship be-tween prescribed English textbooks and the student learning outcomes at the middle-school level. The article constructs a Textbook Quality Index (TQI) by weighing (a) bal-ance of skills, (b) task authenticity, (c) cultural and linguistic inclusion and inclusivity, (d) matching assessment, and (e) supporting characteristics of a teacher. After that, it il-lustrates an example of a repeatable mixed-method design (content analysis + teacher survey + learner pre/post assessment) and presents some illustrative results based on a simulated dataset (N = 360 Grade 8 learners in 24 schools) to illustrate how analysis can be formatted on an APA-style research report, in instances where researchers were pre-paring instruments or planning fieldwork. Findings of the exemplific analysis depict (i) an increase in learning with an increase in TQI and (ii) an increase in learning with en-richment in the form of structured, task-based enrichment as well as the alignment of textbook units. Both TQI and textbook+enrichment predict gains in a clustered-robust regression model with control variables of baseline score and background variables. The discussion explains the findings with input/interaction/output theories, the implementa-tion gap between the textbook intent and classroom implementation, and provide policy and practice recommendations based on the textbook design, teacher training, and as-sessment reform, in India, and more so under the outcome-based curriculum expecta-tions.