Textbooks, teaching and learning in primary mathematics classrooms

Abstract

This paper describes a research project that was undertaken to explore the impact of a textbook, Maths for all, in primary mathematics classrooms. A quasi-experimental design was used, and a random sample of 14 classrooms from ex-DET primary schools in Cape Town was selected, 10 of which were given class sets of the textbook at the start of the project, and 4 were given these sets only after the project was completed. Data from interviews, questionnaires, classroom observation and pre-and post-tests were collected. An analysis of aspects of the textbook was undertaken, and of its use by teachers in classrooms. It is argued that the inductive style prioritised by the textbook is in tension with the preferred deductive style of most of the teachers, resulting in the fragmenting of its semantic structure. Statistical analysis of pre- and post-tests revealed no educationally significant differences between students with access to the textbook and those without access. The majority of learners (n=538) performed very poorly on the test. While the data analysis does not allow strong claims to be made about the impact of the textbook on learner performance, it raises important pedagogic issues about the contexts into which textbooks are inserted, especially with respect to the specialisation of time.