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Half Time Scholars - Language Textbooks in Early Grades Aren’t Working— Let’s Reimagine Them
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Half Time Scholars, we sit down with Shruti Sheshadri, a doctoral candidate in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco, to discuss a critical yet often overlooked issue in global education: the persistent mismatch between early-grade language textbooks and the real learning needs of children in the Global South.
Drawing from her research, Dismantling the Hierarchy of Skills: A Comparative Study of the Development of Language Textbooks in the Global South, Shruti explores how standardized textbook design fails to reflect contemporary pedagogy or meet the needs of diverse linguistic communities. Despite billions in investment and intensive planning, textbook development remains rigid, centralized, and out of sync with educational equity goals.
We unpack the findings of her comparative case study across India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan, where she conducted interviews, textbook analyses, and document reviews to trace the institutional logics behind textbook development. Shruti reveals how language-in-education policies, community preferences, and institutional hierarchies shape the form and content of textbooks—and how these realities impact learning outcomes.
This episode challenges listeners to think differently about educational materials in the early grades and invites educators, policymakers, and development practitioners to reimagine textbooks not as static tools, but as dynamic platforms capable of supporting inclusive and innovative literacy development.
Key Themes:
Why early-grade language textbooks are failing learners in the Global South
The institutional politics of textbook publishing
The hidden pedagogies embedded in textbook design
Comparative insights from India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan
The transformative potential of generative AI and digital tools in reimagining textbooks
About the Guest:
Shruti Sheshadri is a researcher, editor, and consultant with deep expertise in global literacy and textbook publishing. She holds a master’s degree in international education development from the University of Pennsylvania and serves as the Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights Education. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) as a Student Representative. Since 2018, she has worked on education program design, monitoring, and evaluation and currently consults for the Global Partnership for Education.
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By Suren LaddEpisode Summary:
In this episode of Half Time Scholars, we sit down with Shruti Sheshadri, a doctoral candidate in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco, to discuss a critical yet often overlooked issue in global education: the persistent mismatch between early-grade language textbooks and the real learning needs of children in the Global South.
Drawing from her research, Dismantling the Hierarchy of Skills: A Comparative Study of the Development of Language Textbooks in the Global South, Shruti explores how standardized textbook design fails to reflect contemporary pedagogy or meet the needs of diverse linguistic communities. Despite billions in investment and intensive planning, textbook development remains rigid, centralized, and out of sync with educational equity goals.
We unpack the findings of her comparative case study across India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan, where she conducted interviews, textbook analyses, and document reviews to trace the institutional logics behind textbook development. Shruti reveals how language-in-education policies, community preferences, and institutional hierarchies shape the form and content of textbooks—and how these realities impact learning outcomes.
This episode challenges listeners to think differently about educational materials in the early grades and invites educators, policymakers, and development practitioners to reimagine textbooks not as static tools, but as dynamic platforms capable of supporting inclusive and innovative literacy development.
Key Themes:
Why early-grade language textbooks are failing learners in the Global South
The institutional politics of textbook publishing
The hidden pedagogies embedded in textbook design
Comparative insights from India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan
The transformative potential of generative AI and digital tools in reimagining textbooks
About the Guest:
Shruti Sheshadri is a researcher, editor, and consultant with deep expertise in global literacy and textbook publishing. She holds a master’s degree in international education development from the University of Pennsylvania and serves as the Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights Education. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) as a Student Representative. Since 2018, she has worked on education program design, monitoring, and evaluation and currently consults for the Global Partnership for Education.