Addition and subtraction word problem distribution in years 1 to 4 mathematics texts and its relationship to pupils' achievement in word problems / Nurulhudha Mohd Yussoff

The content in Mathematics textbook is an important source for both teachers and pupils in teaching and learning of mathematics. Since 2011, all schools were provided new textbooks in mathematics since the implementation of the new curriculum known as the Primary School Curriculum Standards (KSSR). Thus, this study was conducted to analyse the content distribution of the types of word problems categories in addition and subtraction topics in these new KSSR Mathematics Text and its relationship with pupil‘s achievement. The types of errors made by pupils as they solve the problems were also investigated using Newman Error Analysis Guideline (NEAG). This three phase study involved both quantitative and qualitative approach. In the first phase, document analysis was utilized in analysing the distribution of the type of word problem categories involving addition and subtraction operations in Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 text (including the accompanying activity books for each Year) according to eleven types of categories as modelled by Van de Walle (1998). The second phase analyses 570 pupils‘ achievement in Word Problem Test (WPT) and its relationship with the distribution of the eleven categories in the math text. The final phase analyses the type of errors made by 48 pupils as they solve the word problems using Newman Error Analysis Guidelines (NEAG). The analysis of Primary Mathematic Texts indicates that the composition distributions of the types of word problem categories in addition and subtraction topics are not represented in a systematic manner. Some categories were over represented while some had no representation at all. For example, both SRU (Separate Result Unknown) and JRU (Join Result Unknown) categories which are considered as the easiest had the highest representation throughout the levels while the more difficult categories of JIU(Join Initial Unknown), SCU(Separate Change Unknown) and CSU(Compare Smaller Unknown) were underrepresented across levels. The study on the relationship between pupils‘ performances in WPT with the word problem distribution also suggested significant association for all grade levels. The findings also depict that pupils had most types of error in transformation and process skills across all grade levels. Taking into consideration, the importance of mathematics textbooks used in classroom, coupled with the difficulty pupils faced in solving word problems, thus the Ministry of Education need to ensure that the textbooks distributed to schools are regularly updated and monitored for quality assurance.