Textbooks in mathematics education : a study of textbooks as the potentially implemented curriculum

Sammanfattning: Textbooks are a most important feature of teaching mathematics in the classroom, in Sweden as well as in many other countries. For teachers and students, the textbooks often determine what is school mathematics and also what is mathematics. Previous studies on textbooks and the use of textbooks in teaching and learning mathematics raise important questions about textbooks as representations of the curriculum. One important question concerns their role as a link between curriculum and activities in classrooms. In this thesis, some international investigations in this connection are reviewed and analyzed. Moreover, in order to illustrate the role of textbooks as the potentially implemented curriculum, a content analysis of a textbook series, is conducted. The development of the textbook series, a commonly used schoolbook in Sweden, is portrayed in the light of the curriculum development. Some findings from the analysis of the textbooks show that the objective of mathematics, formulated in the national curriculum, are only partially realized.