Identifying the characteristics of the content and educational materials and resources in the context-oriented mathematics approach, as well as evaluating the sixth-grade mathematics curriculum according to this approach

Fazeli, Farshad; Nasr Isfahani, Ahmad Reza; Mahdian, Mostafa

doi:10.22034/jei.2025.494764.3111

Identifying the characteristics of the content and educational materials and resources in the context-oriented mathematics approach, as well as evaluating the sixth-grade mathematics curriculum according to this approach

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Farshad Fazeli ¹

Ahmad Reza Nasr Isfahani ²

Mostafa Mahdian ³

¹ PhD student in Curriculum Development, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

² Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor, Mathematics Education Department, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jei.2025.494764.3111

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify the characteristics of content and educational materials and resources within the context of context-based mathematics approaches, as well as to evaluate the content of the sixth-grade mathematics curriculum according to this approach. This research is practical and uses exploratory mixed methods. In the qualitative phase, articles, theses, and books related to the research topic from the years 2014 to 2025 were reviewed, and interviews were conducted with experts and individuals with experience related to the research topic. Ultimately, by analyzing the data obtained from studies and interviews using the Colaizzi method, five main categories related to content characteristics and seven main categories related to educational materials and resources in the mathematics curriculum according to the context-based approach were identified. In the quantitative phase, based on the identified characteristics, a 17-item questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was designed and distributed. The results of the one-sample t-test indicated that, from the perspective of sixth-grade teachers in the cities of Isfahan and Shahrekord, both components evaluated in this study—namely, the content and educational resources for sixth-grade mathematics—have a favorable status in terms of alignment with context-based mathematics characteristics. Nevertheless, it is recommended that: the use of context-based problems in the sixth-grade mathematics textbook be increased and specialized workshops on the use of technology in education and the production of electronic content be organized, so that teachers can themselves become designers capable of creating standard and desirable content.

Keywords

Evaluation

Content

Educational materials and resources

Mathematics curriculum

Context-oriented mathematics