A comparative case study on textbook use of mathematics teachers in Beijing and Hong Kong

Abstract

This study explored: 1) how mathematics teachers use textbooks to develop curriculum during classroom teaching in Beijing and Hong Kong; 2) what factors have influence on mathematics teachers’ textbook use; 3) how to interpret the textbook use from perspectives of socio-culture. Using Brown’s design capacity for enactment framework and Remillard’s framework for examining teacher’s curriculum development, this study selected one experienced mathematics teacher and one novice mathematics teacher from Beijing and Hong Kong respectively and constructed a new theoretical framework. Based on the in-depth data getting from classroom observation, semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, the major findings are as follows: Beijing cases offloaded textbook more than Hong Kong cases in the curriculum mapping level. Beijing cases mainly followed the textbook and Teaching Research Group’s arrangement that they offloaded the general chapter structure, knowledge sequence, and time allocation except for advancing the teaching of whole chapter. In Hong Kong, experienced case adapted textbook’s curriculum mapping while novice case offloaded it mostly. In the curriculum design level, Beijing cases adapted and improvised more than Hong Kong cases, and experienced cases developed curriculum into a richer design than novice cases based on their richer curriculum resources. Beijing experienced case improvised the introduction part and proof part and adapted the application part. While Beijing novice case mainly offloaded the introduction part and adapted the proof part and application part. As to Hong Kong, neither experienced case nor novice case offloaded the textbook completely, but most content and tasks they taught were selected from textbook. For the curriculum delivery level, Beijing experienced case was good at improvising textbook’s delivery into a richer and systematic curriculum, while Beijing novice case offloaded the textbook’s delivery method more. Hong Kong cases improvised textbook’s conception delivery and they offloaded textbook’s delivery of application. Influential factors for mathematics teachers’ textbook use in Beijing and Hong Kong were found as follows: textbook’s role, design, richness, language, expression and the richness of affiliated curriculum materials; teacher’s power, teaching goals, teaching habits, teaching style, belief, education background, working experience, professional norms, professional development, mastery of textbook, educated experience, perception about mathematics, teaching and learning; education department of government, institution settings, education policies, curriculum reforms, exanimation driven, education traditions, working mechanism, curriculum standards/ teaching syllabus, teachers’ training program, school’s arrangement, peer’s impact, home-school relationship, teacher-student relationship, students’ learning abilities and performance, schooling trends, and education market out of school. The similarities of textbook use may due to these two cities’ commonality in pragmatism and secularism, demands for efficient learning, the predominant role of exanimation, and common sense about teaching and learning. The different textbook use may root in these two cities’ differences in education traditions, economic models, degrees of collectivism and individualism, teacher-students relationship, richness of textbook curriculum resources, teachers’ teaching arrangements, and degrees of relative examination difficulty. There are some theoretical and practical contributions of this study, but it has some limitations due to limited resources and time. Some recommendations for further research have been raised at the end of this thesis.