Textbook policy has been subjected to fierce controversy over the last decade. Due to the importance of textbooks and the immense impact of textbook policy, more and more research attention has been given to textbook controversy. However, most of the existing textbook related studies focus more on content analysis of textbooks. Only a few focus on textbook policy analysis. We rarely find studies on textbook policy analysis from a sociological perspective. Since the legitimized knowledge in textbooks is quite often the result of power struggles among cultural, social, political, economic, and educational forces, it is critical to gain better understanding of textbook controversies through a sociological lens. Therefore, this article attempts to explore possible approaches and embedded values of sociology-oriented textbook policy analysis. In this article the authors will first introduce the meanings and functions of sociological analysis. The authors will then explore the potential themes for textbook policy analysis. Finally, examples of sociology-oriented textbook policy analysis are given to illustrate possible issues for analysis as well as the implications for further studies.

　　The teacher-designed materials are subsidized by the official initiative “Hand-in-Hand.” In order to develop social science materials that suit children, we not only apply the conception of social action curriculum to locally oriented curriculum, but also take school conditions into consideration. The references for the teaching materials are data from interviews and local history textbooks. In order to reveal the outside oppression and local reactions of the past, we design the teaching materials to expand children’s social awareness.

　　Since it became possible for textbooks to be published by private-sector publishers and be approved by the government, it has become obvious that we need more objective and simple evaluation methods not only for publishers, but also for schools. In many countries, readability is widely adopted as an evaluation criterion; however in Taiwan, the elementary school English textbooks are rarely evaluated according to readability. The present research examines the readability of different versions of elementary school English textbooks. The main purpose is to find a readability formula that can be used to evaluate elementary school English textbooks in Taiwan. In doing so, Fryinator readability software was employed to analyze variables, and four effective for-mulas (Flesch Reading Ease, Fog index , Flesch-Kincaid readability formula, and SMOG formula) were used to test grade level readability. By comparing the difficulty scale proclaimed by each textbook, it's expected that a formula can be used to account for evaluation results. The results show that the formulas frequently used to test readability are unable to correctly evaluate the difficulty scale of the textbooks. There is no readability formula which corresponds to the textbook evaluation criterion in Taiwan, therefore, a suitable formula needs to be established to evaluate elementary school English textbooks in Taiwan.

　　Beginner textbooks play an important role in learning Chinese. However many foreign learners feel confused and bewildered because of cultural and geographical differences. Although in the past lots of researchers contributed towards word-frequency and vocabulary, in the market few textbooks are compiled based on word-frequency. Using the statistics of modern Chinese word-frequency this study aims to find a common denominator in beginner Mandarin textbooks in China, Hong-Kong and Taiwan, and further provide a reference for instructional design and editing materials. In addition, this study comments on differences of vocabulary between China and Taiwan: the beginner textbooks could bring together the most common vocabulary in China and Taiwan, and the differences in vocabulary caused by environment and culture could become supplementary teaching materials. That way learners and teachers can choose suitable textbooks. This method can improve the function and practicality of beginner textbooks. Finally we expect to lift Mandarin textbooks in Taiwan out of their increasingly marginalized role.