Assessing the Alignment of Secondary Education Mathematics Textbooks in Jordan with NCTM Standards

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of mathematics textbooks developed for secondary education in Jordan, with a focus on their alignment with the standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The analysis was conducted by scrutinizing the content of mathematics textbooks designed for the eleventh and twelfth grades within the scientific curriculum, with a specific emphasis on the unit of analysis referred to as "Idea." The study applied a predefined set of standards, encompassing three "Content Standards" (Number and Operations, Algebra, Data Analysis and Probability) and two "Process Standards" (Problem Solving and Reasoning and Proof), as delineated by NCTM (2000). The results revealed that the two high school mathematics textbooks exhibited inconsistent and suboptimal adherence to the aforementioned five NCTM standards. The incorporation of ideas corresponding to these standards was distributed as follows: Algebra at a rate of 24.88%, Problem Solving at 24.10%, Reasoning and Proof at 18.00%, Data Analysis and Probability at 16.98%, and the Number and Operations standard at a rate of 16.04%. In light of these outcomes, the study furnishes a set of recommendations for the improvement of mathematics textbooks in the context of secondary education in Jordan.

Keywords: Mathematics textbooks, Secondary education in Jordan, Content analysis, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Standards.Top of Form