Introducing statistical inference to senior high school students: a textbook analysis

Abstract

Statistical inference is a new concept for students in senior high (secondary) school in the 2013 curriculum. This study analyses how Indonesian mathematics textbooks for the 12th-grade senior high school present this concept. The method used here is content analysis, i.e., examine five books written by different authors and publishers. We find that almost all textbooks start with the explanation of random variables, followed by the binomial distribution, the normal distribution, and hypothesis testing. However, there are some differences in the depth of the materials among these textbooks. Although those textbooks explain the hypothesis testing, almost all books do not explain the sampling distribution, which is the foundation of inference. This study can be used as a guide to strengthening the explanation of statistical inference in mathematics textbooks as well as in developing statistical inference teaching strategy.