Abstract
This article reports the results of case studies that investigated the manner in which sociology textbooks are used in both universities and vocational schools in Japan.
The vocational schools covered in the studies were schools for prospective nurses, social workers, and civil servants. The results revealed that it is difficult to generalize the reasons and conditions for which the textbooks are used in different schools. The textbooks were compiled and used differently in each case, depending on various conditions : the students' purposes for studying the subject, the schools' teaching programs, the rationale behind the inclusion of the subject in qualifying examinations, the success of the students with regard to the subject in such examinations, and the establishing of a professional status for nurses and social workers.
The analysis of the syllabi for sociology classes showed that the types of textbooks used in universities are varied. Three major factors which influence the choice and use of these textbooks emerged with regard to this in interviews with teachers : the attitudes of the students towards the textbooks, the intentions of the teachers in programming class schedules, and characteristics of respective textbooks. The purpose of sociology education in universities is to transmit the discipline of sociology to the next generation. Compiling sociology textbooks from the point of view of the students and the efficient use of such textbooks should be suitable to the inherent purpose of university education.
