Analysis of arts and crafts content in the arts and physical education integrated textbook of grade 3: Amhara national regional state in focus

Abstract This research focused on grade three Textbook of the Amara National Regional State Education Bureau, published in 2015 (2007 Eth. C) and aimed at content selection and integration with other learning. The evaluation concerns content selection in terms of dimensions of the learner (age, level of learning, and culture) and arts integration with other learning. Evaluation is made based on standards in textbook writing informed by the literature. In this study, qualitative content analysis (QCA) is adopted as a method for the subjective interpretation of the arts and crafts content of the textbook through the systematic process of classification, coding and identifying themes or patterns. The curriculum framework for KG—Grade 12, Pre- Formal Education and Caring O-Class Syllabus, the Grades 1–4 Arts and Physical Education Integrated syllabus, Arts and Physical Education Textbook for Grade 3 were selected as the major data sources using purposive sampling technique in this study. The results of qualitative content analysis indicated that there was a good alignment between the arts and crafts content with the learners’ age level and culture. However, the emphasis placed on handcrafts was found unsatisfactory. The textbook had focused on “sine-wubet” (i.e., beauty), rather than “sine-tibeb” (i.e., the arts) as intended in the syllabus. In the end, implications to future revision of the textbook are included in the study.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
This study aims to analyze the proportion of the arts and crafts content. The sources of data include the ETP, the curriculum framework for KG-Grade 12, Pre-Formal Education and Caring O-Class Syllabus, Grades 1-4 Arts and Physical Education Integrated Syllabus, and Arts and Physical Education Textbook for Grade 3. The results indicated that the emphasis placed in the textbook on handcrafts was not satisfactory. On the positive side, the kinds of sketching and modeling practices suggested in the textbook are those that can be achieved by children of Grade 3. The arts and crafts integration was not achieved in sections of the textbook such as "Waters Day", "HIV/AIDS", and "Doing Things with Legs". In these regard, the researchers forward that policy aims and syllabus framework alignment of contents and resources with learners' age, their level of learning and with community experiences, and other learning could be a good lesson for textbook writers, curriculum planners, decision makers and classroom teachers in Ethiopia and the international readership.

Background of the study
A textbook is a book used as a standard source of information for formal teaching, learning and study of a subject. Textbook is a key component in most instructional programs. It provides structure and a syllabus for a program and help standardize instruction; can provide effective content models and input for learners; and can become a medium of induction for teachers of limited teaching experience (Richards, 2001).
Handcrafts have been introduced into basic education, 0-Class (KG) and Grades 1-4, of Ethiopia in the Education and Training Policy of 1994. The Federal Democratic Republic Government of Ethiopia (1994) defined education as a process by which man transmits his/her experiences, new findings, and values accumulated over the years, in his struggle for survival and development, through generations. The National Cultural Policy (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Cultural Policy, 1997) also called for research and inventory of the Ethiopian traditional arts and handcrafts and methods and means of using them as the basis for modern creative activities.
A handcraft [also handicraft] refers to a variety of useful and decorative objects which are made completely by hand or by using simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft, and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. (WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook, 2008). The WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook (2008) states that traditional handicrafts are valuable cultural, social and historical assets of the communities, which are maintained, practiced and developed by the respective community. The traditional knowledge and skills of craftwork are of considerable antiquities transmitted from generation to generation (UNESCO, 2008;WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook, 2008) through modeling, practice, and animation (Battiste, 2002).
Traditional crafts education is supported by the post-modern curriculum reconstruction theory. Pinar (2015), for example, indicated that curriculum development and design should incorporate a nation's distinct history, culture and intellectual properties. Pinar wrote: "[Academic knowledge] bears the mark of its composer, his or her time and place. . . . it incorporates the specificity of its origins, even the lived experience of its creator. As a form of witness, study encourages historicity and foreshadows the future" (Pinar, 2015:11).
The arts and crafts intermarried in technical reference. Marshall, 2005), in Studies in Art Education, stated that integration of art with other subjects relates ideas to form, cross disciplinary boundaries to reveal conceptual connections, and locates art in context with other disciplines. In light of postmodern and visual culture theory, learning is described as essentially a situated, socially-constructed, and culturally mediated process of making meaning. The theories emphasize the connections between the body, context, experience, culture, emotion, and higher-order thinking (Marshall, 2005). According to Long (2014), arts integration constitutes multiple intelligences covering physical, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, an ability to understand others, and an ability to understand ourselves.
On the other hand, textbooks are often evaluated of effectiveness, the results of which can be used for revisions, amendments, and choice among alternatives. Analysis is made by applying basic considerations in textbook writing and the systematic techniques of content analysis. In educational researches, content analyses refer to studies that range from documenting the coverage of a curriculum in relation to standards to more extended examinations of quality of content and presentation. It is, therefore, unlikely that a published checklist is used without adaptation as a basis for evaluating and choosing textbooks. National Research Council. USA (2004) gives three dimensions of a content analysis, that is, an examination in relation to the discipline, learner(s), and the teacher. Richards (2001) noted the main issues involved in textbook evaluation and selection as program factors; teacher factors; learner factors; content factors; and pedagogical factors-questions relating to the design of the materials, choice of activities and exercise types.

Statement of the problem
The Roots and Flowering of Ethiopia's Traditional Crafts (UNESCO, 2008) was a millennium publication on the history, status and prospects of Ethiopian handcrafts. In Ethiopia, crafts are a mirror of the cultural diversity-resulting from a combination of the creativity, culture and the heritage and the environment of the crafts people (see , Table 1).
In this publication, H.E. Habte Sellassie Tafesse, State Minister of Tourism, noted that "a systematic and comprehensive study of the decorative arts and crafts of the Ethiopian people-their clever use of materials in the diversity of its natural endowments and eclectic culture-has yet to be done. As the artisans have been by tradition are highly marginalized, scholars have not been seriously concerned with documenting and preserving for posterity this fabulous expression of culture" (UNESCO, 2008:3). Edukans Foundation (2012Foundation ( , 2009) reports on TVET mapping in Ethiopia also reflected similar views: in Ethiopia until recently, traditional crafts skills were not provided by the education system.
The Federal Democratic Republic Government of Ethiopia (1994) assigned importance to traditional handcrafts as elements of the Ethiopian experiences, findings, and values accumulated over the years, and as essential for survival and development. Thus, the policy aimed to focus on crafts in basic education (article 3.2.6) and also in TVET in the form of apprenticeship (article 3.2.8.1). In addition, traditional handcrafts are informed in the policy objectives such as interest in aesthetics, the environment, creativity, traditional technologies and workmanship. To provide general In the Arts and Physical Education subject, arts are defined as including visual arts, sound arts (music), dance and drama. Visual Arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works, which are primarily visual in nature, such as painting, sculpture, handicrafts, photography, print making and film making. In Grades 1 to 4, the Arts are taught in combination with Physical Education since some branches of arts, such as dance, are related to the way in which we use our bodies (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education, Curriculum Framework for Ethiopian Education, 2009). Thus, handcrafts are identified with visual arts as including creative works, drawings, sculpture as well as paintings.
Besides, in general education, arts and crafts can provide a means for learning other subjects. The principles are applied in the sketching and modeling of alphabets or numbers (assembling, detaching and animating); in the kinds of fixed-pulley and moving objects of the science subject; and in drawings and measurements of geometrical figures. Crafts provide priori learning and real life applications and create contexts for interaction in these subjects. The integration of handcrafts in education also meets the rationales of Education and Sustainable Development (ESD) and makes it possible to sustain culture in learning and to build on creativity and respect for society's labor.
No research was so far reported on the textbooks alignment with policy aims and with the dimensions of the discipline, the learner and the teacher's resource. This research aims to make analysis of arts and handcrafts content in the Arts and Physical Education Textbook of Grade 3 by the Amhara National Regional State Education Bureau, published in 2015 (2007 E. C.). It particularly aims to investigate content selection and organization (conceptual link with other learning).

Study objectives
This study focuses on the arts and crafts content of the Arts and Physical Education textbook for Grade 3 and aims to analyze the proportion of the arts and crafts content vis-à-vis the policy aims and syllabus framework alignment of contents and resources with learners age, level of learning and with community experiences the links made with other learning (e.g., sports, music, etc.).

Significance of the study
Good textbooks serve to turn the guidelines in the official government syllabus into a rich source of content, texts, and activities for both students and teachers. To the researchers' best experience in the education system, the textbook emphasized in this study failed to properly realize its purpose. To alleviate the existing problem, it is viable to come up with research based solutions. Therefore, the results of this study will provide research informed data and recommendations regarding the selection, proportion and integration of the arts and crafts content in the textbook that are useful for making amendments and revisions to textbook writers and curriculum planners. The results of this study will also suggest alternative resources or methods that teachers may use alongside the textbook.

The scope of content analysis
Content analysis in this study concerns the arts and crafts content of the textbook. It is limited to content selection vis-à-vis the curriculum objectives and the learners' domains (age, level of learning and culture) and organization in reference to the conceptual links made with other learning in the textbook. In this regard, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, activities and the whole curriculum package (The Federal Democratic Republic Government of Ethiopia (1994), the curriculum framework for KG-Grade 12, Pre-Formal Education and Caring O-Class Syllabus, the Grades 1-4 Arts and Physical Education Integrated syllabus, Arts and Physical Education Textbook for Grade 3) analyzed were used as units of analysis. On the other hand, evaluation is made based on standards and policy and does not examine practice and opinions of teachers and learners using the textbook.

Definition of arts and crafts
A handcraft [also handicraft] refers to any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by hand or by using simple tools. It is a traditional main sector including work with textiles, moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. (Wikipedia/2019). The WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook (2008) states that there is no universally agreed definition, but identifies the following common characteristics: • they are produced by artisans, completely by hand or with the help of hand-tools or even using machinery, provided the artisan's direct manual contribution remains the most substantial component of the finished product; • they are representations or expressions that are symbolic of the artisan's culture; • they encompass a wide variety of goods made of raw materials; • their distinctive features can be utilitarian, aesthetic, artistic, creative, culturally attached, decorative, functional, traditional, or religiously and socially symbolic and significant (see , Table 1); • There are no particular restrictions on production quantity, and no two pieces are exactly alike.
The arts and crafts are interlinked and thus paired in technical references. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary 11 th Edition defines arts as (1) the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, especially through a visual medium such as painting or sculpture; and (2) as works produced in this way. The arts encompass the various branches of creative activity such as painting, music, literature and dance. On the other hand, craft refers to (1) an activity involving skill in making thing by hand, and (2) things made by hand and (3) the members of skilled profession. Arts and crafts then describe decorative design and handcraft.

Arts integration in the elementary curriculum
Studies in the Arts Education (e.g., Long, 2014;Marshall, 2005) indicate that "substantive" art integration harmonizes with contemporary postmodern thought in art education and, bringing together theories from cognitive science and metaphor theory, that substantive integration promotes learning and creativity.
Postmodern theorists endorse an art education where art is contextualized, boundaries between domains are blurred, and emphasis is placed on content in relation to form. Integration of art relates ideas to form, crosses disciplinary boundaries to reveal conceptual connections, and locates art in context with other disciplines (Marshall, 2005).
Integration is also emerging in the arts education in light of postmodern and visual culture theory. Marshall (2005), using Freedman (2003) and Efland (2002), examined that new findings and theories from cognitive science are shaping our understanding of learning and epistemology. These theories describe learning as essentially a situated, socially-constructed, and culturally mediated process of making meaning. They emphasize the connections between the body, context, experience, culture, emotion, and higher-order thinking and view the mind as an integrated system that unites symbol-processing with sociocultural factors.
These conceptions of learning throw lights over from conventional notions of discipline-based epistemology. Knowledge is no longer thought of as divided into discrete domains, but is seen in terms of an integrated system. The findings of cognitive science also challenge the concept of creativity as a magical self-expression by an isolated individual, and suggest that creativity exists in its cultural context, often entailing recycling, appropriation, reframing or adapting existing ideas to new concepts (Marshall 2005, p. 228).
According to Marshall (2005), substantive integration is a pedagogy that involves making conceptual connections that underlie art and other disciplines: It reveals something of the core principles, structures, and practices of fields by moving beyond the most concrete level (depicting subject matters particular to disciplines), to a more abstract level (tapping into the concepts that underlie the disciplines addressed) to the most profound and conceptual level (revealing concepts that are common to art, the disciplines with which it is integrated, and the mind in general) (pp.228-9).
Connecting art to other areas of inquiry in a substantive, integrative way not only reveals the foundations of each discipline, but also makes for sound pedagogy because it: (a) is congruent with the way the mind works-how we think and learn; (b) highlights and promotes learning, especially learning for understanding and transfer; and (c) catalyzes creativity (Marshall 2005, p. 229). Long (2014) has referred to Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1991) to explain the importance of arts integration in elementary art education. Gardner, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, believed that people are intelligent in different ways. Those intelligences Gardener identifies are physical, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, existential, an ability to understand others, and an ability to understand ourselves. Art integration will merge the multiple intelligences; it can open up a space of inclusiveness in teaching, learning, and experiencing. According to Long (2014), visual art integration is a potentially positive practice in increasing reading/math achievement, writing, and empathetic behaviors for disadvantaged students.

Crafts in modern education: the finnish model
The Finnish Craft and Technology education aim to increase students' self-esteem by developing their skills through enjoyable craft activities; to increase students' understanding of the various manufacturing processes and the use of different materials in craft (Autio, 2016).
Craft education is a very practical school subject with small integration of science and technology to encourage creative skills and the development of technical literacy. In lower grades (1.-4.), it focused on production skills, to replicate demonstrated skills, and to achieve more knowledge of materials. It often required students to merely copy and reproduce similar products, such as artifacts commonly used in households. In many schools, the students reproduce artifacts on their own, according to given models. In grades 5-9, crafting focused on induction skills, to encourage students to construct scientific concepts or meanings, to see phenomena and objects in the environment. Design includes both process and product. Planning is divided into three phases: initial planning, sketching and detailed planning. Each phase includes analysis, synthesis and assessment.
Finnish handicraft traditions are also established throughout the curriculum, inclined to the most primitive and first-hand data and to community experience and values. It is indicated that, in practice, craft education can be used as a vehicle for teaching scientific knowledge in craft education as well as adding practical craft knowledge in science education. Learning integrates all the cognitive technical knowledge and reasoning (e.g., tool design and application); psychomotor (e.g., motor skills, precision); and affective domain (e.g., interest in community life, handiworks and technology).

Dimensions of content analysis in research
In educational research, content analyses refer to studies that range from documenting the coverage of a curriculum in relation to standards to more extended examinations of quality of content and presentation. The analysis of the content should address whether the content meets the current and long-term needs of the students, what constitutes the long-term needs of the students is a value judgment based on what one sees as the proper goals and objectives of a curriculum. Furthermore, an analysis of a curricular program's content will be influenced by the values of the person or persons conducting the content analysis.
The content analysis procedure used by the American Association for the Advancement of Science/AAAS (the National Research Council. USA, 2004, USA) is summarized below: • Identify specific learning goals to serve as the intellectual basis for the analysis, particularly to select national, state, or local frameworks, • Make a preliminary inspection of the curriculum materials to see whether or not they are likely to address the targeted learning goals, • Analyze the curriculum materials for alignment between method/instruction and the selected learning goals, and • Summarize the relationship between the curriculum materials being evaluated and the selected learning goals.
Features of AAAS's content analysis process include opting for a careful review of a few selected topics, chosen prior to the review, that are used consistently across the textbooks reviewed, and requiring that particular page numbers and sections are referenced throughout the review.
On the "Mathematically Correct" website, USA, ratings focused on depth, the clarity of objectives, and the clarity of explanations, concepts, procedures, and definitions of terms. Other foci included the quality and sufficiency of examples and the efficiency of learning. In terms of student work, the focus was on the quality and sufficiency of student work and its range, depth, and scope.
Two dimensions were identified: quality of the presentation (clarity of objectives, explanations, examples) and quality of student work (sufficiency, range, and depth). In this approach, each textbook was rated according to the depth of study of the topics, ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding). No procedure was outlined for how reviewers were trained or how differences were resolved. National Research Council. USA, 2004) states that curricular content analysis has three dimensions, i.e. an examination of materials in relation to its treatment of the discipline, learner(s), and the teacher-and resource perspectives. Learning occurs through an interaction of these three elements and analysis must consider how they interact with one another.
The disciplinary dimension refers to clarity, coverage, depth of inquiry and organization. Learner perspectives cover engagement, support for diversity, and assessment. Student engagement or participation in the learning process may vary due to prior knowledge, interests, curiosity, compelling misconceptions, alternative perspectives, or motivation.
The teachers' dimensions include pedagogy, resources, and professional development. A successful curriculum is impossible if it does not pay attention to the abilities and needs of teachers, and thus pedagogy must be a component in a content analysis. This concern was often heard from teachers, educators, and textbook publishers.
One issue is that such analyses should report on the expectations of the designers for professional development of teachers. It is clear that programs which introduce new approaches and new technologies will require more professional development for successful implementation. Deeper understanding is possible only through added support; if stipulated, such requirements should be reported in content analyses. Support includes the curriculum, teachers, parents, the social culture, and government commitment, curricular resources and assumptions about the environment in which it is to be used. Cunningsworth (1995) proposes four criteria for evaluating language textbooks. Textbooks should match the aims and objectives of the language-learning program; they should correspond to learner's needs; they should have a clear role as a support for learning; and like teachers, they mediate between the target language and the learner. The type of evaluation a textbook receives, however, will also reflect the concerns of the evaluator. One teacher may look at whether or not the book can be used flexibly and could easily be adapted. Another teacher may look at a book much more critically in terms of its theoretical orientation and approach.
In any case, it is unlikely that a published checklist can be used without adaptation as a basis for evaluating and choosing textbooks. Richards (2001)

Evaluation criteria of content selection
2.4.2.1. Specific goals and objectives of education. Early childhood education, for instance, is often referred to us a preparation for learning. Its goals may include monitoring the child's physical development, providing an enabling environment for emotional and mental development, enhancing communication and creative skills, and continuing the socialization process by instilling in the young desirable habits and manners. Most learning will necessarily be based on group experience and activities that train children to express them in a variety of media-verbal as well as non-verbal (drawing, making, performance in action). According to the Curriculum Framework for Ethiopian Education, KG-Grade 12, the goals of primary education (Grades 1-8) are: • to provide basic education, which is appropriate to the physical and cognitive development of the learners; • to acquaint the learners with the production and service giving activities within their immediate environment; • To provide general education that prepares the learners for further education and training and for the world of work; by equipping them with basic knowledge, skills and abilities and attitudes (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education, Curriculum Framework for Ethiopian Education, 2009, pp. 13-21).
In the present education system, educational goals are stated in terms of expected behavioral changes after completing cycles of primary and secondary education (ICDR, 1994). The Profile of Students completing the first four years of primary schooling states that: • They know the purpose of the different materials at home, and can use these materials and take proper care of them.
• They will be able to observe the work and production activities practiced in their surroundings and can also participate in labor activities of their choice.
• They will be able to identify and examine useful and harmful outlooks, beliefs, opinions and practices at individual, family and societal levels and make decisions for themselves (ICDR, 1994).
The revised curriculum of Arts and Physical Education Integrated Syllabus Grades 1-4 aimed to enable students to recognize their life environment, to engage in creative works and use them, to appreciate and care for culture and heritages(artifacts), and to use physical exercises to protect themselves from damages and build bodily and mental skills (MOE 2006 E.C). Each textbook comprises of 4 Units: Unit One "Objects of Our environment"; Unit Two "Culture and Artifacts"; Unit Three "Care and Safety"; and Unit Four "Functions of Body Parts". Unit One, Unit Two and Unit Four especially embody traditional handcrafts.
Handcrafts apply to any activity of making symbols, sketches or objects by hands and using simple tools. The framework for primary education designated crafts with the Visual Arts. Crafts also exist as manifest forms in sketching, making objects and artifacts, and as integral forms in Music (in the kinds of traditional instruments) and in Physical Education (in the making of play objects such as balls and nets). Therefore, an analysis of contents shall consider the policy rationales, curriculum framework and the syllabus objectives as described above.

Age and level of learning.
Age and level of learning are important determinants of content. Grades 1-4 aim at the children from 7 to10 years of age. It is undesirable to introduce concepts young children cannot understand or do not need. At the elementary level, the goals would include initiation into more formal learning, mastery of language and other communication skills, and literacy, numeracy and writing skills.
Besides, some of these children have also attended 0-Class ( Appropriate Content selection depends on the objectives, but also age and maturity level of the students for skill learning. For young children (Ages 7-14), textbooks content should: enhance retention, interest, curiosity; make ideas and concepts appeal to the five senses, and include living things (plants and animals) as well as objects (metals, toys, batteries, liquids, etc.). Schools, and therefore textbooks, should reinforce the learning that has already taken place and build on the knowledge and skills that the child brings to school.

Culture and community experiences.
Schema theory, the role of experience in learning, is an important principle in content selection, grading and sequencing. When children come to school, they have already learnt to use language and know hundreds of words in their mother tongue. They have established social relations with the family and community members and some of the values and attitudes that characterize their culture. They have also acquired a number of skills in the social practices.
Soviet psychologist Vygotsky  proposed that social relations and social demands play a critical role in the cognitive development of individuals. Human beings can actively modify the environment and reality; they invent and perfect tools that can transform culture. In other words, it implies that learning can be stretched or extended beyond school's curriculum. Language can provide a short-cut to abstract concepts through the media of stories, games and role-plays. For instance, play to children is real work; it allows them to re-create social reality and to internalize norms and psychological controls imposed by society. Textbooks, therefore, particularly in the lower grades, incorporated plays and games as essential pedagogic activities.
Plays should appeal to children's experiences, using models from the life environment. They must be interesting and manageable in terms of space. Some kings of plays are to be conducted outside on the school yard. We also consider that the resources are available to the teacher and learners. Resources may include materials, living things as well as objects, artifacts and liquids available in the family, community or school. The Grades 1-4 syllabus recommends that teachers use the textbooks in adaptation with local realities and resources.

Linking craft content with other learning
Postmodern theorists endorse an art education where art is contextualized, boundaries between domains are blurred, and emphasis is placed on content in relation to form. Integration of art with other subjects relates ideas to form, crosses disciplinary boundaries to reveal conceptual connections, and locates art in context with other disciplines (Marshall 2005, p, 227). It reveals something of the core principles, structures, and practices revealing concepts that are common to art, the disciplines with which it is integrated, and the mind.
Integration in art education also establishes connections between the body, context, experience, culture, emotion, and higher order thinking and view the mind as an integrated system that unites symbol-processing with sociocultural factors (Marshall 2005, pp.227-228). Similarly, Long (2014) stated that the arts integration in the Elementary Art Education can combine many things like, physical, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, an ability to understand others, and an ability to understand ourselves.
Integration is a way of making a horizontal link of concepts and skills in the curriculum. It may include the links made between (1) the units of a textbook, the components of a unit; (2) the textbooks of a subject at different grade levels; and (3) the different subjects of the same grade.

Rationale for employing a qualitative content analysis
Content analysis is a systematic technique used to analyze texts (written, spoken or visual) into meaningful quantitative or qualitative categories. Quantitative methods apply statistical tools such as frequencies, percentages and ratings which can be used to report coverage, proportions and ranges of topics or activities in a textbook. However, much of the basic considerations in textbook evaluation will not be informed by statistics alone; the analysis of judgments regarding interests, flexibility, and context of use will require qualitative procedures and may also incorporate the opinions of teachers, learners and publishers.
Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is defined as a research method for the subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic process of classification, coding and identifying themes or patterns. QCA of text data shares the methods used in case studies, grounded theory and phenomenology. Hsieh and Shannon (2005) describe two approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. A directed approach to content analysis is that aims to validate or extend conceptually a theoretical framework or theory. Existing theory or research can provide predictions about the variables of interest or help to determine the initial coding scheme or relationships between codes. This has been referred to as deductive category application.
In conventional content analysis, however, researchers avoid using preconceived categories, and instead make inductive analysis of data allowing categories and coding and new insights to emerge. Data analysis starts with reading all data repeatedly to achieve a sense of the whole. Then, labels for codes emerge directly from the text and are then sorted into categories. These emergent categories are used to organize and group codes into meaningful clusters. To prepare for reporting the findings, exemplars for each code and category are identified from the data. With a conventional approach to content analysis, a researcher might compare and contrast findings to theory and show how the findings contribute to knowledge.

Content analysis design
This research concerns the evaluation of the arts and crafts content in the Arts and Physical Education textbook, Grade 3, of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia, Education Bureau. The evaluation concerns content selection in terms of dimensions of the learner (age, level of learning, and culture) and arts integration with other learning. Evaluation is made based on standards in textbook writing informed by the literature (National Research Council. USA, 2004;Richards, 2001). They include: Content selection: (1) alignment with policy and syllabus aims; and (2) alignment with learners' age, learners' level of learning and community experiences, and organization: links with other learning.
In this study, qualitative content analysis (QCA) is adopted as a method for the subjective interpretation of the arts and crafts content of the textbook through the systematic process of classification, coding and identifying themes or patterns. The goal of content analysis is not to validate or extend conceptually a theoretical framework or theory. Instead, conventional content analysis is used with the study design (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) thus allowing the categories and names for categories to flow from the data and to allow new insights to emerge inductively, as is done in Grounded Theory development.
The research design progresses from a review of the gross population, quantitative data and analysis, to qualitative analysis of categories and relationships, that is, a parallel mixed research design was used in this study. Quantitative descriptions such as frequencies and percentages were used to report coverage, proportions and distributions of topics or activities. Qualitative analysis was made with judgments regarding contents alignment with the learners' domain (age, level of learning, culture) and links made with other learning.

Sources of data
The content analysis includes the following documents: the ETP, the curriculum framework for KG -Grade 12, Pre-Formal Education and Caring O-Class Syllabus, the Grades 1-4 Arts and Physical Education Integrated syllabus, and Arts and Physical Education Textbook for Grade 3.

Sampling and analysis procedures
The study involves simultaneous data collection and analysis as in Grounded Theory, and "emerging pattern" is constantly tested out against further experience, data and questionings. The main task in qualitative analysis is to organize data (text) into a meaningful format or set of patterns, categories, and/or themes. Interpretation is the process by which meaning and significance is attached to the analysis. Interpretation leads to explanations for descriptive patterns, relationships between categories, and theories.
The content analysis task was carried out following some procedures. The researchers' made a careful review of the units' sections, lesson topics and activities so as to obtain the proportion and distribution of arts and crafts content, requiring that particular sections, lesson/activity numbers and allotted time are referenced throughout the review. Then, an attempt was made to sort out topics and activities into categories based on the type and level of skill practices such that they are used consistently across the textbooks reviewed. The researchers further perform inspection of the arts and crafts content to see whether they are likely to address the selected evaluation criteria including alignment with the targeted learning goals (of the policy and syllabus) and the learners' domains, and the links with other learning. The procedures of data collection will include checklists, frequency, as well as qualitative coding and categories (see Appendix I/II). The data are presented using tables and charts, and including figures, examples and descriptions.

Results and discussion
As it happens in exploratory qualitative studies, the objectives and hypothesis have undergone certain changes in the course of this research. It became clear that handcrafts were treated as components of arts, and the teaching proceeded from objects, sketching or painting, and then modeling (craftwork). Thus, it was preferred to make the analysis of arts and crafts content and thus make revision of the research targets. Nevertheless, in conclusion, it was attempted to relate the findings to policy orientations for handcrafts in particular.
In the following sections, we report on the alignment of the syllabus and the textbook, the proportion and distribution of arts and crafts content, alignment of craft models with learners' age, level of learning, and culture, and the conceptual links made with other learning.

Arts and crafts content in grade 3 syllabus
The syllabus was prepared at the department of curriculum development in August, 2008 (Art and Physical Education Grade 3 Comp 3 CV2 Page 23-41). It describes the unit topic, allotted learning periods, objectives, contents, teaching -learning activities, aids and assessment.
The Grades 1-4 syllabus comprises of 4 Units: Unit One "Objects of Our environment"; Unit Two "Culture and Artifacts"; Unit Three "Care and Safety"; and Unit Four "Functions of Body Parts". We found Unit One, Two and Four as containing traditional crafts in their objectives, contents, activities and teaching aids. We also indicated the manifest and integral contents of crafts, and calculated the lesson periods (LP) allotted for each in the units. The data of handcrafts content for Grade 3 (in Grades 1-4 Syllabus, pp. 23-41) is summed up in the following Table 2

Textbook contents outline
The textbook የሥነ ዉበትና ሰዉነት ማጎልመሻ 3ኛ ክፍል የተጣመረና ተግባር ተኮር ማስተማሪያ መጽሓፍ contains three units: Our Environment, Our Health, and Functions of the Parts of Our Body and a total of 48 LPs as indicated in Table 3. It has 166 pages. Each unit is organized with lesson number, section number and objectives, and activity number, media/ resources and procedure.
In the curriculum framework KG-Grade 12, the week timetable for the Arts and Physical Education subject was 4 Lesson Periods (LPs) for Grades 3 and 4. The total LP for Grade 3 is 156 LP (= 4 periods * 39 weeks) (see MOE, 2009, Section 7.1.2 Timetable). The syllabus assigns 136 LPs. In the textbook, the total LP has been reduced to 48 LPs. The week time table may also drop at the same rate (1.23 LP). The introduction informs that the textbook was prepared with 120 minutes of daily lesson plans in mind. This figure is not dependable.
The textbook was first published in 2004 by the AEB and it was then revised by the Desse Teachers' College published in 2005 and printed again in 2012 and 2015. The introduction suggests that it was prepared based on the national curriculum framework. Nevertheless, the time chronology implies that the textbook was not prepared as per the recommendations in the curriculum framework (MOE 2009) or the Grades 1-4 syllabus (2008).
On the other hand, the textbook informed the contents of the syllabus framework but with modifications. As described in Table 4., the content of arts and crafts in the syllabus was 48 LPs out of 136 total which was 35.29 % of the total allocation in the syllabus. In the textbook, the arts and crafts content was calculated by the number of activities and was 28.46% (37/130; see, Table 5). In the textbook, the syllabus frame has been reorganized and Unit Two "Culture and Artifacts" was incorporated into "Our Environment" Unit One of the textbook, whereas Unit Three "Care and Safety" of the syllabus into "Our Health", Unit Two.

Proportion and distribution of arts and crafts content
The arts and crafts are interlinked and are thus paired in technical references. The following operational definitions are used for terms describing arts and crafts. Art is defined as (1) the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, especially through a visual medium such as painting or sculpture; and (2) as works produced in this way. The arts can refer to the various branches of creative activity such as paining, music, literature and dance. Craft refers to (1) an activity involving skill in making things by hand, and (2) things made by hand and (3) the members of skilled profession.
At this point, the researchers felt that it is viable to provide operational definitions of key terms used in the arts and craft work Sketch: a rough or unfinished drawing or painting. Modeling: (1) a three-dimensional representation of a person or a thing, typically on a smaller scale; (2) in sculpture, a figure in clay or wax, to be reproduced in a more durable material; (3) a simplified description, esp. a geometrical one, of a system or process, to assist calculations or predictions. This last definition implies that modeling also applies with sketches and drawings. Mosaic: a picture or pattern produced by arranging together small pieces of colored stone tile or glass; tile, wood, rubber, etc. on a flat so that they do not overlap. Therefore, all activities involving making sketches, drawing, painting, modeling, object crafting and mosaic were described as arts and craft work.
In this way, the proportion of arts and crafts learning was calculated in the units and sections activities. This is done by considering the lesson topic or the activity involved or the resources used or implied in each case. Table 6 describes total activities, LPs, crafts activity of each unit and section. Table 7 describes the total number of lessons and activities in each unit and section, and the proportion and distribution of arts and crafts content in the number of activities and time allotted (LP). The textbook data is then discussed as per the provisions in the Curriculum framework and the Grade 1-4 syllabus.
Based on the analysis, 37 activities out of 130 describe arts and crafts learning, which is 28.46% coverage. Arts and crafts are particularly focused on in "Unit One, Our Environment"; the figure is 25/50 (50%). "Unit two, Our Health", contained 10/30, which is 33%. In Unit 3, they are only 6 out of 50 (12%) and these were found in "Things to Make with Hands" (Section 3.1). In section 3.2, the arts and crafts were not obviously dealt with. This lack of emphasis is discussed in Section 4.4. It was difficult to calculate the time allotments against the Total Learning Period (48 LP) because of lack of accuracy in the minutes ascribed to the activities.

Learners' ages
It was attempted to relate craft content and resources with learners' age, their level of learning, and community experiences. The kinds of sketching and modeling practices can be achieved by children of Grade 3, at 10 years old. They used pencils and colors. The activities do not ask for accuracy and however children are encouraged to evaluate drawings in groups. In crafting works,

Levels of craft learning and skill practices
We made three categories of the arts and crafts content: (1) identifying objects, forms and colors, (2) sketching as including drawing and painting, and (3) crafting as including making object, modeling, and mosaic. Level of craft learning may also be described as cognitive-analysis (identifying forms, colors, functions), analysis-synthesis (sketching or painting), and application or craftwork.
In the textbook, most arts and crafts activities focused on object identification (18/38) and most do not proceed onto drawing or crafting of them. Sketching has 12 and craft production only 8 throughout. The activities do not ask for accuracy and however children are encouraged to evaluate drawings in groups. Two activities contained evaluating sketches and models (in Unit 1, Section 2, Activity 11/3 and 12/2). At this Grade, it may also be appropriate to focus on cognitive domains (forms, colors and functions) and sketching, and less on craft production.
In terms of progression, learning starts with objects, then sketching, and then crafting. This maintains the principles of vertical hierarchy and development.

Culture
The Grades 1-4 syllabus recommends that teachers use the textbooks in adaptation with local realities and resources. The contents, objects and examples of arts and craft work align with community experiences.
On the other hand, we feel that the community models are not satisfactorily provided for arts and crafts work. In some cases the emphasis placed on other learning has delimited opportunities  for craft knowledge and skills. Community surveys would provide data of craftworks, objects, and role-plays done by children in urban or rural settings. We make the following suggestions for the sections of the textbook indicated hereunder.

Conceptual links made with other learning
The Grade 3 textbook incorporated the arts and crafts in the different units. The title of the textbook also implies that it adopts an integrated approach and action learning. However, even when this was the case, Unit Two and Unit Three are not focused on crafts satisfactorily. In some cases the emphasis placed on other learning has delimited opportunities for craft knowledge and skills. Topics such as Sanitation, Care and Safety, music and sporting events could as well include craft models, learning and practice.
Integration of art with other subjects relates ideas to form, crosses disciplinary boundaries to reveal conceptual connections, and locates art in context with other disciplines (Marshall 2005). It also unites symbol-processing with the body, activities, culture and societies life. This could help integrate the subjects/learning but also enhance the weight of art and craft teaching in the textbook. The estimate figures in Section 4.1/2 of the proportion of Art and craft content were not all meant for the manifest content of Arts and crafts but also included the integral activities.
In Unit 2, the topics of Sanitation and Care and Safety are treated as singular, whereas there were immense opportunities to include art and craft learning. The sanitation tools such as the broom, water-wheel, waste-baskets, for instance, are craft objects. They also include clay pots, ropes, cups of horns, seed-coats or plastic. Care and Safety would be related to craft materials and tools. Finally, the sporting events of Unit 3 should assign crafting of textile and plastic staffed balls. The music lessons in Unit 3 do not deal with any sketching or modeling of the flute, the drum, the kirar, for instance.
On the other hand, the topics like health, sanitation, HIV/AIDS are also available in the Environmental Science subject in Grades 1-4, which comprises of natural sciences, health, home science and Civics Education (MOE 2009). It is to be asked why they have been incorporated in Arts and Physical Education. The Curriculum Framework defines the Arts as visual arts, music and dance and drama; and the visual arts as works of painting, sculpture, handicrafts. Integration with Physical Education was justified in that some arts, such as dance, are related to the way in which we use our bodies.

Conclusions
The ETP has assigned particular emphasis for handcrafts in basic education. Traditional crafts model our society's accumulated experiences and are important for survival and development. In education, the handcrafts encourage workmanship; they inculcate respect for labor and positive attitudes for the crafts people of Ethiopia.
The assumption in this study was that arts and crafts are interlinked: identifying forms and colors, sketching and painting are components of craft activity. Thus, the contents of the syllabus and the textbook are analyzed as craft content by including art. If the traditional handcrafts were considered in isolation, the proportion would be much smaller than predicated by the policy.
The emphasis placed on handcrafts was not satisfactory. Textbook content was reduced from 156 LP (curriculum framework) and 136 LP (syllabus) into only 48 LP. The textbook shall focus on sine tibeb if to incorporate the Ethiopian handcrafts as essential. If one considers the policy objectives or the frameworks laid for primary education, objectives such as creativity, traditions and the immediate environment, and preparation for further learning and for the world of work, etc., all assign advantages to handcrafts.
On the other hand, it is not effective that sine-wubet was assigned as title for the textbook [The textbook is entitled as sine wubet and physical education]. Art defines creativity and imagination expressed in a visual medium such as paintings, crafts or sculptures. The reference sine wubet has narrowed the conceptualization of arts and visual arts. These fall in the domains of sine tibeb as given by the Syllabus. Sine tibeb embodies both arts and crafts, making models of things or kirsakirs. The topics such as Sanitation might have been understood in line with sine wubet.
As regards the learners' domains, the kinds of sketching and modeling practices are those that can be achieved by children of Grade 3, at 10 years old. In crafting works, children used mud, papers, sticks and wax and these relate to their ages and play skills. The activities do not ask for accuracy and however children are encouraged to evaluate drawings in groups.
In terms of integration, the textbook announces that it is an integrated and activity based teaching manual. However, arts and crafts integration was not achieved in Waters Day, HIV/ AIDS, and Doing Things with Legs. We note that the textbook unit topics were favorable for incorporating crafts. In addition, the integration of contents shall also put into effect the time allotted for a subject and ensure a topic has been presented, practiced and assessed proportionally in the textbook (see Options Table 5).
On the other hand, textbooks are often evaluated of effectiveness, the results of which can be used for revisions, amendments, and alternatives. The FDRE (1997) believed that the Ethiopian traditional arts and handcrafts provide useful methods and means of learning and become a basis for modern creative activities. Tesfaye et al. (2010) who studied the Status of Science Education in Primary Schools of Addis Ababa reported that the science textbook lacked context of Addis Ababa and Ethiopian role-models. The Ethiopian role-models, such as craft workshops, will support process skills and interest and motivation in the science subject. The authors rather called for family assistance in primary science education (p.86-87).

Recommendations
The researchers hoped that policy aims and syllabus framework alignment of contents and resources with learners age, level of learning and with community experiences, and the links made with other learning (e.g., sports, music, etc.) could be a good lesson for textbook writers, curriculum planners, education related decision makers and classroom teachers in Ethiopia and the international readership.
It is also noted that future studies shall consider international experiences of integrated handcrafts education. In Finland, handcrafts are taught in Grade 1 through Grade 9 with integration of science and technology to encourage creative skills, technical literacy and interest in community life and handiworks (Autio, 2016). In the Ethiopian curriculum, handcraft topic seizes in Grade 4 and the Grades 5-8 proceed with arts and sculptures, colors, creative and modern arts.
Finally, we hope that the findings of this study can provide inputs for future revisions and editions of the syllabus and textbook.