Alignment of Textbook Questions with the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and Curriculum Requirements in Chemical Engineering Education: An Illustrative Case Study from an Austrian Technical College

Abstract Textbooks continue to play a central role in engineering-related secondary and vocational education as instruments which structure learning and shape assessment practice. Thus, this study examines the alignment between textbook-based revision questions and curriculum requirements in engineering education at an Austrian higher technical college. The study uses a selected chapter of the textbook ‘Chemietechnik’ by E. Ignatowitz as an illustrative case and analyzes six revision questions with regard to their alignment with the national curriculum for the subject ‘Environmental and Process Engineering’. In addition, the questions were analyzed with regard to their alignment with the revised Bloom’s taxonomy of Anderson and Krathwohl. The results indicate that, within this selected chapter, most of the analyzed questions are curriculum-compliant in terms of content but predominantly target lower cognitive levels. More cognitively demanding processes, particularly applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, are underrepresented. Based on these findings, revised question formats are proposed that aim to address a broader range of cognitive processes while maintaining curricular alignment. Finally, high school students were asked to assess the clarity of the original and revised questions, with the revised questions being perceived as clearer. The study highlights the importance of aligning textbook tasks with both curricular goals and cognitive frameworks and provides practical implications for textbook design and engineering education.