An investigation of mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German classrooms: who gets an opportunity to learn what?

This digest found in

English
Mathematics

Authors

Haggarty, Linda: The Open University, &
Pepin, Birgit: Oxford Brookes University

Publisher

British Educational Research Journal, 2002, Vol 28, No 4, pp. 567- 590.

Introduction

What is the importance of the text book?

The authors of this study argue that the school textbook (in this study, the mathematics textbook) is pivotal to teaching and learning in the classroom. The textbook is, they say, both in itself, and in the way it is used, an indicator of a nation's culture of education. This small-scale, comparative study examines standard mathematics textbooks and the way in which they are used by lower secondary pupils and teachers in fifteen French, German and English schools. The researchers conclude that the combination of educational setting, educational philosophy, textbook, and lesson style provided different mathematics experiences and different opportunities to learn for the pupils in each country. Specifically, they provided:

challenging mathematical content and tasks to all pupils in the unstreamed French lower secondary system;
broadly similar mathematical opportunities for German (academically oriented) Gymnasium pupils;
more limited, unimaginative, though efficient content and tasks for German (vocationally oriented) Haubtschul pupils; and
fewer mathematical opportunities for students in ability sets in comprehensive schools in England - particularly lower-attaining ones.

Although this research was undertaken on a small scale, and the authors are cautious of generalisation, their findings on lack of pupil access to English mathematics textbooks (see pages 6, 8, 9) was unexpected. The authors suggested that a larger scale study might be needed. However, it is worth noting that data from this study were collected prior to the introduction of the National Key Stage 3 Strategy. The Strategy includes a whole range of teaching and learning resources and programmes for raising mathematics standards and pupil engagement in secondary schools.

Keywords:
United Kingdom; England; France; Germany; Textbooks; Pedagogy; Teaching methods; Mathematics; Teachers; Pupils; Cognitive development; Key Stage 3; Secondary schools; Curriculum; Classroom organisation

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction The use of textbooks in the classroom The aims of the study The study design How does provision differ between the countries? How is mathematics made available in the text books? How was the mathematics in textbooks mediated by the teachers? Conclusions drawn from the research Implications of this study for practitioners Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader An investigation of mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German classrooms: who gets an opportunity to learn what? This digest found in English Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 80KB Printer friendly Collate for later Authors Haggarty, Linda: The Open University, & Pepin, Birgit: Oxford Brookes University Publisher British Educational Research Journal, 2002, Vol 28, No 4, pp. 567- 590. Introduction What is the importance of the text book? The authors of this study argue that the school textbook (in this study, the mathematics textbook) is pivotal to teaching and learning in the classroom. The textbook is, they say, both in itself, and in the way it is used, an indicator of a nation's culture of education. This small-scale, comparative study examines standard mathematics textbooks and the way in which they are used by lower secondary pupils and teachers in fifteen French, German and English schools. The researchers conclude that the combination of educational setting, educational philosophy, textbook, and lesson style provided different mathematics experiences and different opportunities to learn for the pupils in each country. Specifically, they provided: challenging mathematical content and tasks to all pupils in the unstreamed French lower secondary system; broadly similar mathematical opportunities for German (academically oriented) Gymnasium pupils; more limited, unimaginative, though efficient content and tasks for German (vocationally oriented) Haubtschul pupils; and fewer mathematical opportunities for students in ability sets in comprehensive schools in England - particularly lower-attaining ones. Although this research was undertaken on a small scale, and the authors are cautious of generalisation, their findings on lack of pupil access to English mathematics textbooks (see pages 6, 8, 9) was unexpected. The authors suggested that a larger scale study might be needed. However, it is worth noting that data from this study were collected prior to the introduction of the National Key Stage 3 Strategy. The Strategy includes a whole range of teaching and learning resources and programmes for raising mathematics standards and pupil engagement in secondary schools. Keywords: United Kingdom; England; France; Germany; Textbooks; Pedagogy; Teaching methods; Mathematics; Teachers; Pupils; Cognitive development; Key Stage 3; Secondary schools; Curriculum; Classroom organisation