School Mathematics Textbook Design and Development Practices in China
In this chapter, we present and discuss school mathematics textbook design and development in China, with a special focus on high school mathematics textbooks. Textbook development in China has its own history. This chapter highlights several design guide
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Abstract In this chapter, we present and discuss school mathematics textbook design and development in China, with a special focus on high school mathematics textbooks. Textbook development in China has its own history. This chapter highlights several design guidelines and common development practices used in selecting, presenting, and organizing content in mathematics textbooks over time. With the recent curriculum reform in China, we also discuss some new developments in designing high school mathematics textbooks. The implication of these Chinese practices in textbook development are then discussed in a broad context. Keywords China · Curriculum reform · Mathematics textbook · School mathematics · Textbook design · Textbook development
Introduction It is generally recognized that developing and using textbooks can serve as an important channel for promoting changes in teaching and learning mathematics (e.g., Ball and Cohen 1996; Beagle 1973; Hirsch 2007; Weiss et al. 2002). Although textbooks’ effectiveness in improving classroom teaching and learning relates to many factors, including the teachers who use them (e.g., Kilpatrick 2003; National Research Council [NRC] 2004), the textbook quality itself is often an important concern to many teachers and educators (e.g., American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS] 2000; Kulm 1999; Trafton et al. 2001). Efforts to develop new, high-quality textbooks have received ever-increasing attention and sup-
This chapter is built upon an article that formally appeared in ZDM: Li, Y., Zhang, J., & Ma, T. (2009). Approaches and practices in developing mathematics textbooks in China. ZDM, 41, 733–748. Y. Li (B) · T. Ma Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected] J. Zhang People’s Education Press, Beijing, China Y. Li, G. Lappan (eds.), Mathematics Curriculum in School Education, Advances in Mathematics Education, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7560-2_15, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
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port over time (e.g., Senk and Thompson 2003). In contrast, there are a very limited number of studies available that examine and discuss textbook design and the process of textbook development. In fact, during the 10th International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME-10) held in Denmark in 2004 (Fan et al. 2008), the development and research of mathematics textbooks was the topic of a Discussion Group for the first time in the history of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). As textbook development is a process that integrates many different considerations in content and instruction, a better understanding of textbook design and development practices helps enhance the quality of the textbooks being developed. Because many issues related to textbook design and development (e.g., “the relationship between mathematics curriculum standards/syllabi and textbooks” and “possibly good practices and approaches in presenting and organizing content in textbooks”) are not restricted to specific regi
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