| dc.description.abstract | The use of visual representations (VRs) in mathematics is a highly recommended educational approach in the field of special educational needs and disability (SEND). The study is important because its results contribute to knowledge about the use of VRs in mathematics textbooks for pupils with mild learning disability (MLD) and how VRs can be learned and taught effectively. This study has been undertaken using a content analysis and case study methodology in order to examine the use of VRs in Saudi mathematics textbooks for pupils with MLD. The study also examines explicit instruction including the use of VRs in line with Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract theory (CPA).
The study also examines the different types of VRs provided in textbooks for pupils with MLD in Saudi Arabia (SA), using the framework of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study is interested in the use of mathematics textbooks for pupils with MLD in self-contained classrooms (SCC) and examines the perceptions of Saudi mathematics teachers and pupils with MLD of the use of VRs in the 4th, 5th and 6th Grade mathematics textbooks.
The research design employed a content analysis of 4th, 5th and 6th grade mathematics textbooks in the first phase, and a case study in the second phase. In this study, the participants were Saudi Arabian mathematics teachers and pupils with MLD from one city in Saudi Arabia. The data collected were both quantitative (from the content analysis) and qualitative (from classroom observations and interviews).
For the interviews, 12 male teachers and 9 male pupils with MLD were interviewed, while for the content analysis, three mathematics textbooks were analysed. The quantitative data were collected during my study in the UK and qualitative data for both classroom observations and interviews occurred during my field trip to Saudi Arabia.
The study findings revealed that the largest percentage of activities in all three of the Saudi mathematics textbooks are in the Abstract category, which is the last stage of CPA in. In addition, the textbooks and VRs were generally used in all classrooms by teachers and pupils with MLD.
Observations confirmed that social and cultural aspects play a role for teachers and pupils with disabilities in the development of educational skills in the classroom, especially at primary level.
The interviews confirmed that the teachers held positive views of CPA. They believe that, for better cultural content in teaching mathematics using the CPA strategy, the textbooks should include activities that are relevant to pupils with MLD and which match the local Saudi culture.
The findings of the current study revealed that the pupils with MLD tend to learn mathematics effectively when they are taught by using the CPA strategy, in which the first level (Concrete) and the second level (Pictorial) need to be linked together as one level.
The conclusion of the study includes some suggestions and implications to improve the cultural content of the mathematics textbooks, as well as for the mathematics teachers in general and their practices and decision-making with regards to the textbook, teaching VRs and CPA strategy. For example, CPA should not be applied to all pupils and C and P stages should be one stage (C+P) leading to abstract understanding (A) in mathematics education for these pupils. The second stage (P) should not be limited to pictures, but should include drawing from realia. Furthermore, in stage 1 (C), the objects presented to pupils with MLD must be already familiar to them and should not be from outside the pupils' social environment.
Furthermore, the study’s results can be applied locally in the Saudi context and similar contexts (Gulf countries) and around the world. For example, teachers prefer to have the pupils drawing in the first and second stages (C and P) with a real object, not a picture. However, the current mathematics textbooks do not give room for drawing, as they are only limited to solving exercises. | en_GB |
