Seeking evidence for “curricular relevancy” within undergraduate,liberal arts chemistry textbooks

Interviews with representatives of nine municipal agencies involved in air‐quality education were analyzed for concepts and skills perceived as important for citizens in addressing air‐quality concerns. Interviewees focused mainly on general air quality‐related understandings (60.2%), although cognitive skills (22.0%) and specific concepts (17.8%) were also mentioned. The major categories of desired air‐quality understandings identified in interviews included sources, impact, detection, and transport of air pollutants. Identified cognitive skills focused on information‐gathering and ‐evaluating abilities, enabling informed air‐quality decision making. Eight Learning Goal Sets generated from interview data and validated via peer and member checks helped guide a content analysis of six undergraduate liberal arts chemistry textbooks. Overall, sampled chemistry textbooks supported the previously identified air‐quality concepts and skills. However, few textbooks directly confronted interviewee‐reported, air quality‐related misconceptions and inabilities. Instructional and research implications of these validated air‐quality learning goals and subsequent textbook analyses are discussed. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 174–196, 2008.