Alternatyvių matematikos vadovėlių poveikis šeštokų mokymosi pasiekimams
The impact of alternative mathematics textbooks on the achievements in the 6th grade

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the background for the rise of alternative mathematics textbooks due to restructuring the educational system. Not all but just a few new mathematics textbooks have a strong presence at schools. A decade’s leader Matematika ir pasaulis (Mathematics and the World) for the 5th–6th grades is gradually being superseded by the textbook Matematika Tau (Mathematics for You) published a couple of years ago. Following the 2006 and 2008 databases of the Lithuanian National Research in Pupils’ Learning Achievements, an attempt has been made to evaluate the impact of the older textbook and that of the new one on the achievements in the 6th graders. As a result, the conclusion has been drawn that the achievements of the pupils who were learning from the new textbook Matematika Tau were moderately and statistically significantly higher not only in performing the 2008 task, but also in solving the repeatable 2006 problem. It also has been established that the prevalence of the new textbook in different schools and in the locations of different level of urbanization was not the same; however, in all types of schools and in all types of locations the achievements of pupils learning from the textbook Matematika Tau were higher than of those who were learning from the old textbook Matematika ir pasaulis. The comparison of learning results according to 4 education content areas has showed that the learning results were higher in 2 areas – in statistics and geometry – in those pupils who were learning from the textbook Matematika Tau (the differences were statistically significant). While the comparison according to capacity groups has demonstrated higher results in both capacity groups in those pupils who were learning from the new textbook (the difference in group “Taikymas ir mąstymas” (Application and Thinking) was statistically significant). The impact of alternative textbooks on the pupils’ attitudes has been discovered to be insignificant. In many cases, the teachers favoured the new textbook, in particular by emphasizing higher possibilities to apply it to the needs of the pupils of different capacities. However, the research results revealed that only in the areas of statistics and geometry the learning results were higher in pupils in all the levels of achievements. In other areas, the new textbook was favourable only to the pupils of basic level of achievements. The research results should contribute to the critical evaluation of textbooks, as well as to applying them better to the learning needs of pupils.

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