A Comparative Study On Trigonometry In Textbooks From China, Japan, The United States And Britain

In this study, mathematical textbooks for high school students from China, Japan, the United States and Britain are examined at both macro and micro levels, paritcularly with respect to general features, the trigonometric content included, the sequencing of trigonometric content, the structure of trigonometric content, presentation features and the requirement of problems.According to the survey, the author obtains the following results:a. The American textbook is visually attractive and many pictures in full colour. In contrast, the other three textbooks are plain and basically black-and-white. Meanwhile, both Chinese and American textbooks are convenient for students to read.b. These four countries value the trigonometry highly, but the Chinese textbook includes less trigonometric content than the other three countries. On one hand, the Chinese textbook arranges some trigonometric content (e.g. acute trigonometric function) in junior middle school. On the other hand, the Chinese textbook deletes some trigonometric content in the reform of mathematics curriculum.c. American and Chinese textbooks present trigonometric application after trigonometric function, while Japanese and British textbooks present these topics much earlier. Moreover, the Chinese and Japanese textbooks do not duplicate previous topics, the American and British textbooks often duplicate most of the content which reveal the difference between east and west textbooks.d. The concept maps of four coutries are similar in terms of "trigonometric identity" and "trigonometric application". Redarding "trigonometric function and equation", the depth and connectivity of content are higher in the Chinese textbook, whereas, the width of content is higher in the Japanese, American and British textbooks.e. Research on presentation features reveal difference between east and west textbooks. The Chinese and Japanese textbooks have more emphasis on content instruction and less emphasis on problems when compared to the American and British textbooks. f. Almost all textbooks are dominated with pure mathematics problems and emphasize the development of students’procedural skills. In contrast, much less problems examine students’conceptual understanding or require students to give some explanation.Based on the above findings, several suggestions are proposed at the end of the paper.