Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a textbook as a "literary work relevant to the study of a subject.” All around the world, teachers and students use textbooks as reference for gaining advanced knowledge on different subjects.

Textbooks have been in existence for a long time in different forms in respect to the different stages of civilisation. According to Encyclopaedia, the collection of online encyclopaedias, some ancient textbook forms included clay tablets, scrolls, knowledge written sheets of papyrus, and many others.

The earliest forms of textbooks were written during ancient civilisations, such as Greece, where teachers would make scripts for educational reference at a future time.  This is according to Wikipedia, an encyclopaedia.

According to The Atlantic, a media company, during ancient times, students did not have scholastic materials such as pen or paper and so they’d sit in the classroom and listen as a teacher dictated to them from a written book, and then gain knowledge through memorisation.

When German metalsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented printing in the mid-15th century, it became possible to share knowledge written in books with many people at a large scale.  The first book to be printed using Gutenberg’s technology was the Old Testament Bible text that had been translated from Hebrew to Latin, and the Greek New Testament. This is according to Encyclopaedia.

During the years preceding 1840, educational material consisted mainly of religious text. The reason for this, according to researcher John F. Wakefield, is that education was solely carried out to help people to learn to read the Bible.

The textbooks were few in number, thus, only available to the privileged. Later, when education for children became compulsory, and the education system became standardised, schools started purchasing books with reference material in large quantities.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "textbook” only came into use in the 18th Century when teachers and students started having easy access to the books.

Since the massive production of textbooks began in Europe, it was spread to other continents through colonisation. As such, different continents were teaching material that was developed in the context of Europe. It was only after they gained independence, and after industrialisation increased, that different countries started making textbooks that were relevant to their national beliefs and aspirations.

Although physical textbooks are still largely popular in schools around the world, with technological advances, there are many alternative sources of knowledge now. Countries periodically go through the rigorous process of reviewing the knowledge provided in textbooks because as new information comes to light, and as time passes, the learning needs of students’ change.