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A Study of Japanese and Australian Students’ Mathematical Values in Problem-Solving

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Values and Valuing in Mathematics Education

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Abstract

This study focused on only two of the mathematical values proposed by ( Bishop, A. J. (1988). Mathematical enculturation: A cultural perspective on mathematics education. Kluwer Academic Publishers.), namely "control and progress", and provided suggestions on problem-solving practices in mathematics education that can convey these values in a balanced manner based on cultural similarities and differences. To this end, a questionnaire was designed for students studying the same Japanese mathematics curriculum in Japan and Australia. They were presented with a problem-solving situation involving two variables and three solutions with different ideas and were asked to select the most mathematically important idea. This qualitative research results indicated that weekday mathematics education content may strongly influence students’ values. The importance of focusing on the idea (the mechanism of the relationship between two variables) was demonstrated. In addition, solving only one required problem at a time was insufficient to convey progress values in problem-solving. The importance of taking time in practice to examine the merits of the idea, which could be integrated with other as-yet unaddressed problems, was demonstrated.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19K14222. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19K14222. Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of JSPS KAKENHI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Teikyo University, Itabashi, Japan

    Miho Yamazaki

Authors
  1. Miho Yamazaki
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Correspondence to Miho Yamazaki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics Education, Gazi Education Faculty, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye

    Yüksel Dede

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Gosia Marschall

  3. Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Philip Clarkson

Appendix 1 The English Version of the Questionnaire

Appendix 1 The English Version of the Questionnaire

A survey questionnaire form. It has 4 questions about the 3 ideas, whether the students understood the idea, if this is a mthematically good idea, and which is the most mathematically important idea along with the reasons that have to be answered.

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Yamazaki, M. (2024). A Study of Japanese and Australian Students’ Mathematical Values in Problem-Solving. In: Dede, Y., Marschall, G., Clarkson, P. (eds) Values and Valuing in Mathematics Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9454-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9454-0_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-9453-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-9454-0

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