Open this publication in new window or tab >>2016 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, ISSN 0031-3831, E-ISSN 1470-1170, Vol. 60, no 6, p. 577-593Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The aim of this study is to analyse how mathematical problem solving is represented in mathematical textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis comprises dominating Swedish textbook series, and relates to uncovering (a) the quantity of tasks that are actually mathematical problems, (b) their location in the chapter, (c) their difficulty level, and (d) their context. Based on an analysis of 5,722 tasks from the area of calculus, it is concluded that the textbooks themselves contain very few tasks that can be defined as mathematical problems, and that those that are mathematical problems are found at the end of a chapter at the most difficult level, and are presented in a pure mathematical context. Implications are discussed.
Keywords
mathematics textbooks, problem solving, textbook analysis, upper secondary school
National Category
Humanities Educational Sciences
Research subject
Didactics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-27748 (URN)10.1080/00313831.2015.1066427 (DOI)000385694500001 ()2-s2.0-84938633425 (Scopus ID)
2015-03-272015-03-272025-10-10Bibliographically approved