Use Of Mathematics Textbooks From Senior High School Students’ Perspective

Research on textbooks has received much attention from educational researchers in recent decades.As a part of textbook research,textbook use plays an important role in improving the theory of curriculum implementation.From the perspective of students,this study investigated the use of the latest version of mathematics textbooks by senior high school students in a key senior high school(School A)and an ordinary senior high school(School B)in Shanghai.Through questionnaires collected from 268 students in senior grade one and grade two and stimulated recall interviews with six students,this study analyzed and discussed students’ perceptions of textbooks,the process of textbook use,the use of different curriculum resources,and the influence of teachers on their use of textbooks,and explored the differences of textbook use among different student groups,with the aim of providing research evidence for the effective use of mathematics textbooks.The results showed that,first,compared to existing literature,senior high school students used the mathematics textbooks infrequently(42.2% used the textbook no more than 2 days a week)and generally for a short period of time(77.0% used the textbook for less than 30 minutes a day).School and grade level were the factors contributing to the differences in frequency and length of use.Second,most sections of the textbook were used by students,and among the sections,the usage rate of “Chapter Introduction” section was low at 26.4%,indicating that the section was easily ignored by students.There are differences in the sections that are of interest to students in different schools,grades,and genders.Third,senior high school students used the textbooks for a variety of purposes,mainly for “checking”,“reviewing”,and “doing examples and exercises”,and some students think that textbooks can “expand” their mathematical horizons and they can “refer” to textbook to sort out their knowledge.Fourth,the majority of students thought that textbooks were useful for learning mathematics,and the level of recognition was higher among students in School B than School A,and higher among girls than boys.Fifth,the frequency of use of “textbooks”and “school-based assignment” was high,as well as the frequency of students taking“class notes”.They were generally accepted by the students as useful for mathematics learning.This indicates that,to some extent,the development of “school-based assignment” is helpful for students’ learning and it is necessary for students to take class notes appropriately.Sixth,mathematics teachers played a mediating role in students’ use of textbooks.Compared with School A,mathematics teachers in School B often assigned exercises from textbooks as homework,and most of the examples taught in class came from textbooks,which may also explain the higher frequency of textbook use by students in School B.Based on the results of the study,some suggestions were made for students,teachers and textbook developers.First,students should think deeply in the process of using textbooks and increase their understanding of the various sections of textbooks thus making full use of functions of textbooks.Second,teachers should be aware of their own influence on students’ use of textbooks,give guidance on how to use textbooks at appropriate times,and focus on developing "school-based assignments" suitable for students.For textbook developers,it is important to increase the difficulty of exercises as well as to add mathematical extension sections to strengthen the connection between mathematics and real life.Future research related to textbook use could be carried out from the following aspects: first,to select a larger sample of students for the study,to involve different types of high schools,and to explore students’ use of textbooks in general;second,to use more methods of collecting data to understand students’ actual use from multiple perspectives;and third,to explore the relationship between textbook use and students’ mathematics achievement under the conditions of a larger sample.