Cogent Education (Dec 2023)
History of mathematics (HM) in secondary school mathematics textbook
Abstract
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate elements of the history of mathematics in secondary school mathematics textbooks in Ethiopia. In line with this, the study also identified the extent to which mathematics is seen as a social construct in textbooks. To achieve these four mathematics textbooks from Grades 9 to Grade 12 were selected for this purpose. The document review method used to determine the extent of use of elements of the history of mathematics, the stage in the unit it used, and the learning domains of mathematics it covered in these textbooks are considered. For document analysis purposes Erdoğan et al.’s (2015) classification of elements of the history of mathematics was adopted. This distribution involves historical notes, notes on usage areas of mathematics, applications with historical notes, and historical elements in students’ extracurricular activities. The result has indicated that it has found 26 elements of the history of mathematics and the highest number found in the grade 11 Mathematics textbook. The learning domain algebra in the form of historical notes also received the highest coverage than others. Moreover, the result has indicated most elements of the history of mathematics were used at the beginning stage of the unit. Finally, the study has concluded that elements of the history of mathematics are not sufficiently integrated with the contents of mathematics textbooks. Several elements of the history of mathematics are far from the social context of the learner, as indicated in the textbooks.
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