The purpose of this book is to investigate the textbook regulations and changing policies which have affected the authorization of textbooks for elementary schools from 1846 to 1950, and discusses the characteristics of several series of texts that have been used in the schools of the province.

VIOLA PARVIN began her teaching career in a mountain school where 59 pupils from eight grades were housed in one room. She has taught in schools in Tennessee, and in universities in Missouri and Minnesota. Miss Parvin taught educational and child psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1961-62; she is currently engaged in independent research in children's vocabulary.