Project Details
Projekt
Mathematics Textbook effects on the implemented and attained curriculum in primary school
Subject Area
General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
Term
since 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 501109956
Mathematics textbooks are among the most important curricular materials and are used by most teachers as a basis for their instruction. Studies show that textbooks can differ significantly in terms of content design and the quality of the didactically prepared curricular content. In addition, correlations between the textbook used and the content implemented in the classroom or the mathematics achievement of students can be shown. It has not yet been established how strong the influence of textbooks on students' learning success in mathematics classes is and to what extent textbooks should be included for educational research and practice as a relevant determinant of students' achievement development. In particular, empirical evidence from quantitative studies is lacking to elucidate the underlying mechanism of how textbooks affect mathematics learning, as previous studies have only considered partial aspects and have not included important variables. For example, the extent to which teachers' professional knowledge moderates the implementation of textbook content in mathematics instruction remains unclear. School characteristics may also influence the selection of the mathematics textbook for the school and be (co-)causal for a textbook effect. In the proposed project, the role of the mathematics textbook for the learning success of elementary school children in mathematics will be analyzed. To this end, we will investigate to what extent (a) the relationship between textbook quality and student achievement growth is mediated by the implementation quality of mathematics textbook content in the classroom and (b) teachers' professional knowledge moderates the implementation quality of textbook content in the classroom. In addition, we will analyze (c) how mathematics textbooks are selected in schools and to what extent school characteristics influence the quality of the selected textbook. To answer the research questions, a longitudinal study over one school year in grade 2 is planned. Three textbooks will be considered that have shown different quality profiles in previous studies, and 30 school classes from one federal state will be recruited for each book. The design of the study and the multilevel modeling of the data will allow for a more detailed elucidation of the role of mathematics textbooks in the achievement development of elementary school children as a function of student-, teacher-, and school-level variables. In particular, the research findings will deepen knowledge about the relationship between textbook quality, teacher professional knowledge, and school characteristics in their effect on students' mathematics achievement, thus providing important insights for educational research and practice related to mathematics learning in elementary schools.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
Co-Investigators
Professor Dr. Oliver Lüdtke; Professor Dr. Knut Schwippert; Dr. Henning Sievert
