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An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Compulsory Senior High School English Textbooks Published by the People’s Education Press (PEP)

Author(s)

Qing Zhao

Affiliation(s)

School of Foreign Languages, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

Abstract

With the growing emphasis on interdisciplinary education in basic education, English textbooks increasingly reflect an integration of multiple disciplines. Previous studies suggest that English teaching should move beyond language proficiency to foster students’ overall competence and knowledge transfer abilities. This study examines the compulsory senior high school English textbooks published by the People’s Education Press, using content analysis from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Quantitative analysis covers 15 units and 64 texts from Book 1 to Book 3, evaluating disciplinary coverage, richness, balance, and diversity. Qualitative analysis focuses on three selected units to explore patterns of interdisciplinary integration. Results indicate a high level of interdisciplinary integration, with coverage rates of 93.75% at the unit level and 87.5% at the text level. A total of 10 subject areas (units) and 19 (texts) disciplinary categories are identified, showing strong contextual relevance. However, humanities disciplines dominate the distribution, while science and technology-related content remains limited. In addition, most texts demonstrate dual-discipline integration, whereas deeper multi-disciplinary integration is relatively rare. The study provides empirical evidence for optimizing textbook design and offers implications for implementing interdisciplinary English teaching practices.

Keywords

Senior High School English Textbooks; People’s Education Press (PEP); Interdisciplinary Integration

References

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