Breaking Down Barriers to Science Education: Evaluating the Readability of Science Textbooks for second-grade Secondary Students in Jordan

Abstract

This study investigated the readability level of second-grade secondary school scientific stream Chemistry and Physics textbooks in Jordan, determining the effect of gender on the degree of readability, in addition to knowing the order of the textbooks according to the degree of their readability in both books. The current study was conducted to determine the readability level of chemistry and physics textbooks by involving 300 second-grade secondary school students of the public schools affiliated with the Directorate of Education, Jordan. Four Cloze tests were prepared from different topics of both textbooks to measure their readability. The test included four texts with 20 words omitted from each text, and the texts were presented in the same format as in the textbooks, with clear instructions provided for the students. A pilot sample outside the study sample was administered with the test-retest method to confirm the reliability of the four tests for both textbooks. The findings revealed that physics textbooks had a higher level of readability than chemistry textbooks. A significant difference (p≤0.05) was observed based on the type of textbook in the readability of chemistry and physics textbooks. The scientific texts in the chemistry textbook were ordered in light of their readability level. In contrast, the scientific texts in the physics textbook were not ordered in light of their readability level. The study concluded that the readability level of Jordanian Chemistry and Physics textbooks of the second grade of the scientific stream differed significantly (p≤0.05). The study recommends that the Jordan Ministry of Education should appoint a panel of experts to review the textbooks and make the necessary changes to improve their readability level.