The Image of the Chinese Nation in German Textbooks

Abstract One aim of secondary education is to convey informed and multilayered notions, rather than simplistic stereotypes, about other nations. In this context, textbook materials play a decisive role as teaching aids. In this article, we analyze representations of China in seventy-one secondary school textbooks from two federal states in Germany. We used complementary frequency and latency analyses to examine textbook elements, topics, topic valences, language valences, and contextualized image valences. An analysis of 1,806 coded segments revealed several forms of bias, including a selective choice of topics, negative stereotypes in headings and images, and negative language valences in text sources. Here, we evaluate these findings against the background of the intended educational goal of constructing an informed and balanced image of the nation.