Comparison of the level of authenticity of arithmetic word problems in Spanish and Singaporean textbooks

  1. Santiago Vicente 1
  2. Lieven Verschaffel 2
  3. David Múñez 3
  1. 1 Universidad de Salamanca
    info

    Universidad de Salamanca

    Salamanca, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02f40zc51

  2. 2 KU Leuven
    info

    KU Leuven

    Lovaina, Bélgica

    ROR https://ror.org/05f950310

  3. 3 Nanyang Technological University
    info

    Nanyang Technological University

    Singapur, Singapur

    ROR https://ror.org/02e7b5302

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Journal:
Culture and Education, Cultura y Educación

ISSN: 1135-6405,  1578-4118

Year of publication: 2021

Volume: 33

Issue: 1

Pages: 106-133

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1080/11356405.2020.1859738 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR

More publications in: Culture and Education, Cultura y Educación

Abstract

The nature of the arithmetic word problems found in maths textbooks influences the way students develop their ability to solve them, as teachers use the books in their classes quite frequently. Given that students are better able to reason through and solve authentic problems that are contextualized in situations familiar to them, and that different international assessments have shown the students in Singapore to be more skilled at problem-solving than their Spanish counterparts, this study compares the level of authenticity of the problems included in the primary school textbooks from the most frequently used publishers in both countries. The results show that the books from Singapore contain problems with a higher degree of authenticity than the Spanish textbooks at all school levels, thus providing students with better opportunities to learn how to solve problems through reasoning.

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Funding information

This study was conducted within project PGC2018-100758-B-I00 funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. / Esta investigación se ha realizado dentro del proyecto PGC2018-100758-B-I00 subvencionado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades.

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