CONTENT ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE STUDIES ON IRRATIONAL NUMBERS IN TURKEY: A META-SYNTHESIS STUDY

Abstract

The concept of number, which forms the basis of mathematics, is also an essential part of mathematics education. On the other hand, irrational numbers are one of the number sets that students have the most difficulty making sense of. In this study, descriptive content analysis and thematic content analysis (meta-synthesis) methods were used to determine the current status of qualitative studies on irrational numbers in Turkey, interpret them with a holistic perspective, and present systematic summary information. As a result of the research, although there are many studies in the national field to reveal conceptual knowledge about irrational numbers and to identify misconceptions, the scarcity of reflections on concept teaching has attracted attention. In addition, it has been seen that it will be more effective to emphasize the equivalence of different representations of numbers in instruction and make instructional designs by focusing on the fundamental properties of irrational numbers. The fact that the studies are mainly based on radical expressions, a form of representation, and few reflections on concept teaching, reveals the need for studies that deal only with irrational numbers in learning and teaching processes.