Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Realistic Mathematics Education: Meta-Thematic Analysis / Gerçekçi Matematik Eğitiminin Etkililiğinin Değerlendirilmesi: Meta-Tematik Analiz

Abstract

This study was aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) used in mathematics teaching. For this aim, studies including participant views on the use of RME were examined in accordance with the PRISMA flow chart and in line with the inclusion criteria determined by the researcher. These criteria were determined as “studies involving the RME application in the field of mathematics, studies conducted between 2012-2022 (last ten years), studies containing qualitative participant views, and studies published in Turkish or English”. A total of 146 studies reached were evaluated according to these criteria, and the remaining 24 studies were included in the meta-thematic analysis. The data on the examination of the use of RME were obtained by the document analysis and analyzed by the content analysis through the use of the Maxqda-11 qualitative data analysis program. The themes that emerged from the analysis were: contribution to the delivery of course, making connections with daily life, contribution to the attitude towards mathematics and contribution to thinking skills. These themes and codes were interpreted separately. In addition, direct quotations from the sources were included to support the presentation of the relevant themes and codes. Analysis results showed that RME has contributed positively to math teaching in many ways. On the other hand, the negative contribution of RME to math attitude emerged with codes such as inefficient use of time, noise, negative group synergy and intra-group conflicts. It is suggested to include more RME practices in order to adopt the principle of "mathematics for all" on Freudenthal's discourse, to develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and to associate it with real life.