教科書是學校課程的主要部份,中小學七成以上的教室活動與教科書有關。教科書的產製與其編輯機制有闕,包括了解產品性質、蒐集資料、製作成品、使用等部份,使用「機制」乃因重視教科書編輯成份的動態組合與表現。本文首先探討教科書的特性,一為合法知識,一為文化經濟商品,這兩個特性均受到許多非教育因素如政治、經濟、文化的影響。教科書的編輯包括了教科書的編輯人員、教科書的內容、教科書的實驗與試用三個部份。教科書的使用層面則是以教師及學生的角度討論。教科書的編輯機制需根據研究結果,是一長期持續的工作,因此教材的研究發展是教科書編輯機制的基礎。
Textbook is the crucial part of curriculum. More than 70 percent of classroom activities is somewhat related to the textbook. The producing and publishing of textbook is deeply involved with the editing mechanism. The word of mechanism is used because the dynamic composition and performance of components is stressed. The first part of the article explores the two characteristics of textbook: legitimate knowledge and cultural economic product. Then, it discusses the elements of textbook editing, which includes editors, contents and experimenting process. The third part deals with textbook use from both teacher and student's perspectives. The conclusions are that the mechanism of textbook editing is a long-term, ongoing work. And more research and development should be done before a better editing mechanism of textbook can be anticipated.