From Symbolic Manipulations to Stepwise Instructions: A Curricular Comparison of Swedish School Algebra Content over the Past 40 Years

Although there have been a huge number of attempts to improve school algebra teaching, several countries are still struggling to improve students algebraic skills. In this study, we focus on the specific case of Sweden where students for several decades have had major problems mastering algebra. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of educational research 2023-02, Vol.67 (2), p.225-239
Main Author: Bråting, Kajsa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algebra
Algorithms
Arithmetic
Case study
Content analysis
Curricula
Curriculum Studies
Didaktik
early algebra
Elementary School Mathematics
Foreign Countries
intended curriculum
Mathematics Curriculum
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Instruction
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Summary:Although there have been a huge number of attempts to improve school algebra teaching, several countries are still struggling to improve students algebraic skills. In this study, we focus on the specific case of Sweden where students for several decades have had major problems mastering algebra. In order to get a better understanding of the Swedish situation, we consider what constitutes Swedish school algebra by investigating the development of algebraic content in the Swedish mathematics curriculum documents over the past 40 years. The results reveal that the connection between arithmetic and algebra, the so-called generalized arithmetic, is almost absent in all three curricula although researchers argue that generalized arithmetic is one of the most relevant topics within early algebra. Instead, Sweden has chosen a unique approach as programming, with a specific focus on stepwise instructions and algorithms, recently has been implemented within the core content of algebra.
ISSN:0031-3831
1470-1170
1470-1170
DOI:10.1080/00313831.2021.2006301