Critical review of geometry in current textbooks in lower secondary schools in Japan and the UK

Abstract

This paper reports on an initial analysis of current best-selling textbooks for lower secondary schools in Japan and the UK (specifically Scotland) using an analytic framework derived from the study of the textbooks in the “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study” (TIMSS). Our analysis indicates that, following the specification of the mathematics curriculum in these countries, Japanese textbooks set out to develop students’ deductive reasoning skills through the explicit teaching of proof in geometry, whereas comparative UK textbooks tend, at this level, to concentrate on finding angles, measurement, drawing, and so on, coupled with a modicum of opportunities for conjecturing and inductive reasoning