Mathematical Values Conveyed by High School Mathematics Textbooks

Abstract Mathematics is usually seen as a value-free field. This is the primary reason for the lack of values studies in mathematics education. However mathematics is related to various values and that must be seriously considered from this perspective. Values are taught implicitly rather than explicitly in mathematics classes compared to other fields. A similar trend can be found in mathematics textbooks. That is, mathematics textbooks also convey various values. Thus, the presence of educational and mathematical values in the 9th, 10th and 11th Turkish high school mathematics textbooks was investigated in this paper. For this purpose, 12 textbooks were randomly chosen and were analyzed by semantic content analysis. Results showed that rationalism, control, and openness are emphasized more than complementary value pairs in the 9th, 10th and 11th grade mathematics textbooks. Similarly, it has also been fixed that formalistic view, theoretical knowledge; instrumental learning/ understanding, accessibility, and evaluation are conveyed more than complementary value pairs in the 9th, 10th and 11th grade mathematics textbooks. Key Words Mathematical values, mathematics educational values, values, mathematics textbooks Although affective or cognitive aims or cognitive factors contain affective factors, it is seen that cognitive aims usually take place a more significant place in curriculum and textbooks. Yet, affective factors have developed in the same way and shown their own effects in men's lives. So, this kind of negative point of view towards education's affective aspect is inconvenient. Studies that focus on mathematics education and effective usually focus on topics such as attitudes, beliefs, and motivation while ignoring values (Seah & Bishop, 2000). However, studies that focus on mathematics and values are limited. Nonetheless, values are the most important elements of mathematics learning and teaching (Seah, 2002). What are these values? According to Brown (2001), identifying values is hard. For this, we need some concepts such as "good" and "bad" (Swadener & Soedjadi, 1988). The word "value" has been used in different meanings. "The value" of unknown in an equation, the "value" of listening a conversation and a moral "value" of an individual can be given as an example (Seah & Bishop, 2000). According to Swadener and Soedjadi (1988), identify values as a concept or an idea about value of anything has been always difficult. Mattthews (2001) also sees them as leaders and means of behaviors. When looking these identifications, it can be described as personnel choices considering value or importance of a behavior or idea, or general aims that are adopted or followed by an individual as a member of a society. Therefore, values have reflected concepts or ideas about anything. Values can be categorized into two as aesthetic and ethical. Aesthetic values are beauty concepts but ethical values are about concepts which can be expressed as good or bad. Ethical values are interested especially in good and bad sides of a behavior. This part of values forms a wholeness with education. They cooperate with education and so they make society formation possible (Swadener & Soedjadi, 1988). Mathematics and Values Modern mathematics has a deductive-axiomatic structure and generally shows a hierarchical construction. So, it is hard to understand a mathematical concept without being aware of its preliminary subjects. This structure of mathematics depends on undefined terms, definitions, and logical rules (Swadener & Soedjadi, 1988). Absolutist philosophers who see mathematics from this perspective appreciate it as an abstract science and think that it is interested in generalization, theory, and abstractions. So, mathematics is seen as a field which has no social choice and with which only a few people concerns. According to this view, mathematics is value-free; that it is neutral (Bishop, 1988; Bishop, 2002; Ernest, 1991). …