Exploring the introduction of fractions in Germany, Singapore, and South Korea mathematics textbooks

Abstract

This exploratory study focuses on analyzing three mathematics textbooks in Germany, Singapore and South Korea to reveal similarities and differences in their introductions of fraction concepts. Findings reveal that all three countries’ textbooks introduce fraction concepts predominantly by using pictorial representations such as area models, but the introductions of multiple fraction constructs vary. The Singaporean and South Korean textbooks predominantly used a part-whole construct to introduce fractional concepts while the German textbook introduced various constructs sequentially in the first pages using several scenarios from different real-life situations. The findings were represented using visual representations, which we called textbook signatures. The textbook signatures provided configurations of the textbook features across the three countries. At the end of paper, we share insights and limitations about the use of textbook signatures in the research on textbook analysis.