Abstract
This paper reports on an investigation of mathematics curriculum documents, commonly used textbooks and teacher ‘curricular practice’ with respect to educational traditions in France and Norway. The study has helped to develop a deeper understanding of (1) educational traditions in France and Norway; (2) the ways the educational traditions permeate the system, from policy documents through textbooks into the classroom; and (3) the connections between the worlds of policy, textbooks and teacher curricular practice in mathematics. Results show that French and Norwegian curricular documents and practices were influenced by egalitarian values, albeit differently interpreted and ‘lived’ in each country. In terms of mathematics, using a focus on grade 6 geometric transformations has shown that French textbooks and teacher curricular practices emphasized theoretical properties and mathematical reasoning, whereas the Norwegian counterparts stressed practical and inquiry-based activities. It is argued that mathematics textbooks can be regarded as a crucial interface between culture, policy and curricular practice, and as a pivotal resource in teachers’ resource system for curricular practice, even in times of digitization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sesamath: Sesamath 6ème. http://www.sesamath.net. Accessed 15 July 2013.
Alseth, B., Nordberg, G., & Roesseland, M. (2007). Multi 6a and 6b. Grunnbok: Gyldendal NorskForslag.
Bakke, B., & Bakke, I. N. (2006). Grunntall (6a and 6b) Matematikk for barnetrinnet. Oslo: Elektronisk Undervisningsforslag AS.
Braathe, H. J. (2012). Discursive positioning in Norwegian teacher education: Shifting from cross-curricularity to skill-based subject specialisation. International Journal of Educational Research, 55, 26–35.
Brändström, A. (2005). Differentiated tasks in mathematics textbooks – an analysis of the levels of difficulty. Luleå, Sweden: Universitetstryckeriot, Licentiate Thesis at Luleå University of Technology, Department of Mathematics.
Bueno-Ravel, L., Gueudet, G., & Poisard, C. (2009). Exerciseurs au premier degré, au-delà de l’entraînement! MathemaTICE, 17. http://revue.sesamath.net/spip.php?article238. Accessed 15 July 2013.
Chapiron, G., Mante, M., Mulet-Marquis, R., & Pérotin, C. (2009). Triangle 6ème. Paris: Hatier.
Clarke, D. J., Keitel, C., & Shimizu, Y. (Eds.). (2006). Mathematics classrooms in twelve countries: The insider’s perspective. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Core Curriculum-CC: The Royal Ministry of Education. (1997). Core curriculum—For primary, secondary and adult education in Norway. Oslo: Norwegian Board of Education.
Fan, L., & Zhu, Y. (2007). Representation of problem-solving procedures: A comparative look at China, Singapore, and U.S. mathematics textbooks. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 66, 61–75.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Grenier, D., & Laborde, C. (1988). Transformations géométriques: le cas de la symétrie orthogonale. In G. Vergnaud, G. Brousseau & M. Hulin (Eds.), Didactique et acquisition des connaissances scientifiques. Actes du Colloque de Sèvres mai 1987 (pp. 65–86). Grenoble: La Pensée Sauvage.
Gueudet, G., Pepin, B., & Trouche, L. (Eds.). (2012). Mathematics curriculum material and teacher development: From text to ‘lived’ resources. Dordrecht: Springer.
Gueudet, G., Pepin, B., & Trouche, L. (2013a). Collective documentation work—An essential dimension for teacher resources and professional development. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45(7).
Gueudet, G., Pepin, B., & Trouche, L. (2013b). Textbooks design and digital resources. In A. Watson & M. Ohtani (Eds.), Designing and using tasks for learning mathematics. 22nd ICMI study, Oxford, July 2013.
Haggarty, L., & Pepin, B. (2002). An investigation of mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German classrooms: Who gets an opportunity to learn what? British Educational Research Journal, 28(4), 567–590.
Henningsen, M., & Stein, M. K. (1997). Mathematical tasks and student cognition: Classroom-based factors that support and inhibit high-level mathematical thinking and reasoning. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28(5), 524–549.
Hiebert, J., Gallimore, R., Garnier, H., Givvin, K. B., Hollingsworth, H., Jacobs, J., et al. (2003). Teaching mathematics in seven countries: Results from the TIMSS 1999 video study (NCES 2003-013). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
Johannsson, M. (2003). Textbooks in mathematics education—A study of textbooks as the potentially implemented curriculum. Luleå: Universitetstryckeriot, Licentiate Thesis at Luleå University of Technology, Department of Mathematics.
Kaiser, G. (2002). Educational philosophies and their influence on mathematics education: an ethnographic study in English and German mathematics classrooms. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 34(6), 241–257.
Kaiser, G., Hino, K., & Knipping, C. (2006). Proposal for a framework to analyse mathematics education in Eastern and Western traditions—Looking at England, France, Germany and Japan. In F. K. S. Leung, K. D. Graf & F. J. Lopez-Real (Eds.), Mathematics education in different cultural traditions—A comparative study of East Asia and the West (pp. 319–351). The 13th ICMI Study, Vol. 9. New York: Springer.
Kansanen, P., & Pepin, B. (2005). Historic and comparative perspectives on Didaktik. In S. Ongstad, B. Hudson, B. Pepin, G. Imsen & P. Kansanen (Eds.), Didaktik and mathematics education. Comparative and communicational perspectives (pp. 28–49). Oslo: Oslo University College Press.
Knipping, C. (2003). Learning from comparing: A review and reflection on qualitative oriented comparisons of teaching and learning mathematics in different countries. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 35(6), 282–293.
Kunnskapsløftet-KL 06: Ministry of Education. (2006). Læreplanverket for Kunnskapsløftet. Departementet: Oslo.
McLean, M. (1990). Britain and the single market Europe. London: Kogan Page in association with the Institute of Education, University of London.
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale (2008). Programmes du college—Programmes de l’enseignement de mathematiques. Bulletin officiel spécial n°6 du 28 août 2008.
Morgan, C. (2005). Word, definitions and concepts in discourses of mathematics teaching and learning. Language and Education, 19(2), 102–116.
Pepin, B. (1999). The influence of national cultural traditions on pedagogy: Classroom practices in England, France and Germany. In J. Leach & B. Moon (Eds.), Learners and pedagogy (pp. 124–139). London: Sage Publications.
Pepin, B. (2009). The role of textbooks in the ‘figured world’ of English, French and German classrooms—A comparative perspective. In L. Black, H. Mendick, & Y. Solomon (Eds.), Mathematical relationships: Identities and participation (pp. 107–118). London: Routledge.
Pepin, B., & Haggarty, L. (2001). Mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German classrooms: a way to understand teaching and learning cultures. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 33(5), 158–175.
Rezat, S. (2012). Interactions of teachers’ and students’ use of mathematics textbooks. In G. Gueudet, B. Pepin, & L. Trouche (Eds.), Mathematics curriculum material and teacher development: From text to ‘lived’ resources (pp. 231–246). Dordrecht: Springer.
Schmidt, W. H. (2012). Measuring content through textbooks: The cumulative effect of middle-school tracking. In G. Gueudet, B. Pepin, & L. Trouche (Eds.), Mathematics curriculum material and teacher development: From text to ‘lived’ resources (pp. 143–160). Dordrecht: Springer.
Schmidt, W. H., Jorde, D., Cogan, L. S., Barrier, E., Gonzalo, I., Moser, U., et al. (1996). Characterizing pedagogical flow: An investigation of mathematics and science teaching in six countries. Dordrecht: Springer.
Schmidt, W. H., McKnight, C. C., Valverde, G. A., Houang, R. T., & Wiley, D. E. (1997). Many visions, many aims (TIMSS Volume 1): A cross-national investigation of curricular intentions in school mathematics. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Valverde, G. A., Bianchi, L. J., Wolfe, R. G., Schmidt, W. H., & Houng, R. T. (2002). According to the book: Using TIMSS to investigate the translation of policy into practice through the world of textbooks. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Warwick, D., & Osherson, S. (Eds.). (1973). Comparative research methods: An overview. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Woods, P. (1996). Inside schools: Ethnography in educational research. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Sesamath Mathenpoche (Interactive exercise inserted in the digital Sesamath textbook)
(Sesamath 6ème, p. 126, http://mep-outils.sesamath.net/manuel_numerique/index.php?ouvrage=ms6_2009&page_gauche=126)
Translation: “Conservation of length”
Question no 2: The length of one side of the triangle is known. Write this length on the correct side of the symmetric [reflected] figure, symmetric with respect to the line (d)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pepin, B., Gueudet, G. & Trouche, L. Investigating textbooks as crucial interfaces between culture, policy and teacher curricular practice: two contrasted case studies in France and Norway. ZDM Mathematics Education 45, 685–698 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-013-0526-2
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-013-0526-2