Abstract
TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF THE ADEQUACY OF THE CONTENT OF MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS IN THE PROCESS OF HIGH SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAM
The purpose of this research is to determine teachers’ opinions on the adequacy of the content of mathematics textbooks in the process of high school entrance exam. Case study, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. The study group consists of 37 mathematics teachers working in Istanbul. The mathematics teachers who participated in the study were selected by the maximum diversity method among mathematics teachers who taught 8th graders at 8 different secondary schools both in European and Anatolian parts. The teachers were selected by taking socioeconomic and sociocultural characteristics of the schools into consideration. To do that, the locations of the schools were taken into consideration. Besides, the views of the teachers and administrators working at those schools were asked. The views of the authorities working at National Education Directories were also utilized. Volunteer teachers were included into the study. An interview form including five semi-structured questions was used to determine the opinions of mathematics teachers regarding the adequacy of the contents of mathematics textbooks in the preparation process of High School Entrance Exam. Content analysis method and NVIVO10 program were used to analyze the data. Teachers stated that textbooks were not suitable for students’ levels. Textbooks were not found sufficient in terms of variety and numbers of the questions. Textbooks should be prepared based on students’ needs. The opinions of the teachers should be taken into consideration more during textbook preparation process.
Keywords
High School Entrance Exam, Mathematics Teacher, Mathematics Textbook
