STATISTICAL THINKING AT EARLY PRIMARY SCHOOL LEVELS: CURRICULUM PERSPECTIVES IN UAE TEXTBOOKS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52041/serj.v22i2.447Keywords:
Statistics education research, Statistical thinking, Primary school, Arab world, United Arab EmiratesAbstract
Developing statistical thinking is vital to fostering students’ critical thinking; however, it requires suitable curricula, appropriate textbooks, and well-prepared teachers. For many decades, statistics education was almost absent in the K–12 education in the Arab world. During the past few years, noticeable education reform efforts at all educational levels have introduced advanced curricula that aim to equip students with the skills that would enable them to compete internationally. This study aims to analyze the new statistics curricula in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a leading educational model, and assess their alignment with the best international practices in developing statistical thinking at the primary school levels. Content analysis of the statistics component in mathematics textbooks from Grades 1–4 in UAE is presented in this paper, benchmarking the statistics content with the best international practices. Finally, recommendations on efficient and practical approaches to ensure appropriate development of statistical thinking at early educational stages are showcased.
References
Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. (2022). Charter schools. Department of Education and Knowledge, Abu Dhabi. https://www.adek.gov.ae/en/Education-System/Charter-Schools
Alajmi, A. (2012). How do elementary textbooks address fractions? A review of mathematics textbooks in the USA, Japan, and Kuwait. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 79(2), 239–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9342-1
Alajmi, A., & Reys, R. (2010). Examining eighth grade students’ recognition and interpretation of reasonable answers. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 8(1), 117–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-009-9165-z
Al Gurg, T. (2020, July 8). UAE education system is a role model for other countries. Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/uae-education-system-is-a-role-model-for-other-countries-1.72488846
Alhashmi, M., Bakali, N., & Baroud, R. (2020). Tolerance in UAE Islamic education textbooks. Religions, 11(8), 377. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080377
Alhosani, N. (2022). The influence of culture on early childhood education curriculum in the UAE. ECNU Review of Education, 5(2), 284–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311221085984
Al-Qatawneh, S., & Al Rawashdeh, A. (2019). Gender representation in the Arabic language textbook for the ninth grade approved by the Ministry of Education for use in schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Studies in Educational Evaluation, 60, 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.12.001
American Statistical Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2022). Preparing PK–12 teachers of statistics and data science: A joint position statement of the American Statistical Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. https://www.amstat.org/docs/default-source/amstat-documents/pol-jointasa-nctm-statement.pdf
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2022). Australian Curriculum. Version 9.0. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Backhaus, A. (2020). Common pitfalls in the interpretation of COVID-19 data and statistics. Intereconomics, 55(3),162–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-020-0893-1
Badri, M., & Al Khaili, M. (2014). Migration of P–12 education from its current state to one of high quality: The aspirations of Abu Dhabi. Policy Futures in Education, 12(2), 200–220. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2014.12.2.200
Bargagliotti, A., Franklin, C., Arnold, P., Gould, R., Johnson, S., Perez, L., & Spangler, D. A. (2020). Pre-K–12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education II (GAISE II). American Statistical Association. https://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/GAISE/GAISEIIPreK-12_Full.pdf
Ben-Zvi, D., & Garfield, J. (2004). Statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking: Goals, definitions, and challenges. In D. Ben-Zvi & J. Garfield (Eds.), The challenge of developing statistical literacy, reasoning and thinking (pp. 3–15). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2278-6_1
BouJaoude, S., & Noureddine, R. (2020). Analysis of science textbooks as cultural supportive tools: The case of Arab countries. International Journal of Science Education, 42(7), 1108–1123. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1748252
Burrill, G., & Biehler, R. (2011). Fundamental statistical ideas in the school curriculum and in training teachers. In C. Batanero, G. Burrill, & C. Reading (Eds.), Teaching statistics in school mathematics: Challenges for teaching and teacher education (pp. 57–69). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1131-0_10
Carter, J. A., Cuevas, G. J., Day, R., Malloy, C. E., Altieri, M. B., Balka, D. S., Gonsalves, P. D., Grace, E. C., Krulik, S., Molix-Bailey, R. J., Moseley, L. G., Mowry, B., Myren, C. L., Price, J., Reynosa, M. E., Santa Cruz, R. M., Silbey, R., Vielhaber, K., & Zike, D. (2020a). Mathematics, United Arab Emirates edition, Grade 1, Volume 5. McGraw Hill Education.
Carter, J. A., Cuevas, G. J., Day, R., Malloy, C. E., Altieri, M. B., Balka, D. S., Gonsalves, P. D., Grace, E. C., Krulik, S., Molix-Bailey, R. J., Moseley, L. G., Mowry, B., Myren, C. L., Price, J., Reynosa, M. E., Santa Cruz, R. M., Silbey, R., Vielhaber, K., & Zike, D. (2020b). Mathematics, United Arab Emirates edition, Grade 2, Volume 4. McGraw Hill Education.
Carter, J. A., Cuevas, G. J., Day, R., Malloy, C. E., Altieri, M. B., Balka, D. S., Gonsalves, P. D., Grace, E. C., Krulik, S., Molix-Bailey, R. J., Moseley, L. G., Mowry, B., Myren, C. L., Price, J., Reynosa, M. E., Santa Cruz, R. M., Silbey, R., Vielhaber, K., & Zike, D. (2020c). Mathematics, United Arab Emirates edition, Grade 3, Volume 5. McGraw Hill Education.
Carter, J. A., Cuevas, G. J., Day, R., Malloy, C. E., Altieri, M. B., Balka, D. S., Gonsalves, P. D., Grace, E. C., Krulik, S., Molix-Bailey, R. J., Moseley, L. G., Mowry, B., Myren, C. L., Price, J., Reynosa, M. E., Santa Cruz, R. M., Silbey, R., Vielhaber, K., & Zike, D. (2020d). Mathematics, United Arab Emirates edition, Grade 4, Volume 5. McGraw Hill Education.
Chan, S. W., Ismail, Z., & Sumintono, B. (2016). A framework for assessing high school students' statistical reasoning. PloS One, 11(11), Article e0163846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163846
Chance, B. L. (2002). Components of statistical thinking and implications for instruction and assessment. Journal of Statistics Education, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2002.11910677
da Ponte, J. P., & Noll, J. (2018). Building capacity in statistics teacher education. In D. Ben-Zvi, K. Makar & J. Garfield (Eds.), International handbook of research in statistics education (pp. 433–455). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66195-7_14
Elbehary, S. (2019a). The necessity of revising primary school content of probability in Egypt to enhance students’ probabilistic reasoning. In S. Budgett (Ed.), Decision making based on data. Proceedings of the Satellite Conference of the International Association for Statistical Education, Kuala Lumpur.
https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/sat2019/IASE2019%20Satellite%20130_ELBEHARY.pdf
Elbehary, S. G. A. (2019b). Teacher education of statistics from theory to practice. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 12(5), 857–869. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-06-2019-0141
Engel, J. (2017). Statistical literacy for active citizenship: A call for data science education. Statistics Education Research Journal, 16(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.52041/serj.v16i1.213
Estrella, S., Olfos, R., & Mena-Lorca, A. (2015). Pedagogical knowledge of statistics content among primary school teachers. Educação e Pesquisa, 41, 477–492. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-97022015041858
Fan, L., & Kaeley, G. S. (2000). The influence of textbooks on teaching strategies: An empirical study. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 13(4), 2–9. http://www.mwera.org/MWER/documents/MWER-2000-Fall-13-4.pdf
Fan, L., Zhu, Y., & Miao, Z. (2013). Textbook research in mathematics education: development status and directions. ZDM Mathematics Education, 45(5), 633–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-013-0539-x
Frischemeier, D. (2020). Building statisticians at an early age: Statistical projects exploring meaningful data in primary school. Statistics Education Research Journal, 19(1), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.52041/serj.v19i1.118
Gallagher, K. (2019). Challenges and opportunities in sourcing, preparing and developing a teaching force for the UAE. In K. Gallagher (Ed.), Education in the United Arab Emirates (pp. 127–145). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7736-5_8
Global Media Insights. (2022). United Arab Emirates population statistics 2022. Global Media Insight. https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/uae-population-statistics/
Groth, R. E. (2003). Development of a high school statistical thinking framework (Publication No. 3087867). [Doctoral dissertation, Illinois State University]. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/development-high-school-statistical-thinking/docview/305331903/se-2
Hadar, L. L. (2017). Opportunities to learn: Mathematics textbooks and students’ achievements. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 55, 153–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2017.10.002
Haggarty, L., & Pepin, B. (2002). An investigation of mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German classrooms: Who gets an opportunity to learn what? British Educational Research Journal, 28(4), 567–590. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192022000005832
Hijazi, R., & Alfaki, I. (2020). Reforming undergraduate statistics education in the Arab world in the era of information. Journal of Statistics Education, 28(1), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2019.1705943
Ibrahim, A., & Alhosani, N. (2020). Impact of language and curriculum on student international exam performances in the United Arab Emirates. Cogent Education, 7(1), Article 1808284. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1808284
Jacobbe, T. (2010). Preparing elementary school teachers to teach statistics: an international dilemma. In C. Reading (Ed.), Data and context in statistics education: Towards an evidence-based society. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS8), Ljubljana. https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/icots8/ICOTS8_3B2_JACOBBE.pdf
Jarrah, A. M. (2020a). Elementary schools mathematics and science teachers' perspectives on using English as a medium of instruction. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(4), 473–482. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8446
Jarrah, A. M. (2020b). The challenges faced by pre-service mathematics teachers during their teaching practice in the UAE: Implications for teacher education programs. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(7), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.7.2
Jones, D. L., Brown, M., Dunkle, A., Hixon, L., Yoder, N., & Silbernick, Z. (2015). The statistical content of elementary school mathematics textbooks. Journal of Statistics Education, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2015.11889748
Jones, G. A., Langrall, C. W., Thornton, C. A., Mooney, E. S., Wares, A., Jones, M. R., Perry, B., Putt, I., & Nisbet, S. (2001). Using students' statistical thinking to inform instruction. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 20(1), 109–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-3123(01)00064-5
Jones, G. A., Thornton, C. A., Langrall, C. W., Mooney, E. S., Perry, B., & Putt, I. J. (2000). A framework for characterizing children’s statistical thinking. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 2(4), 269–307. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327833MTL0204_3
Kippels, S., & Ridge, N. (2019). The growth and transformation of K–12 education in the UAE. In K. Gallagher (Ed.), Education in the United Arab Emirates (pp. 37–55). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7736-5_3
Leavy, A. (2010). Teaching statistics at the primary level: Identifying obstacles and challenges in teacher preparation from looking at teaching. In C. Reading (Ed.), Data and context in statistics education: Towards an evidence-based society. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS8), Ljubljana. https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/icots8/ICOTS8_3B3_LEAVY.pdf
Leavy, A. M., & Hourigan, M. (2019). Expanding the Focus of Early Years Mathematics Education: Statistics and Probability. In O. Saracho (Ed.), Handbook of research on the education of young children (pp. 99-112). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429442827
Lindquist, M., Philpot, R., Mullis, I., & Cotter, K. (2017). TIMSS 2019 Mathematics Framework. In I. V. Mullis & M. O. Martin (Eds.), TIMSS 2019 Assessment Frameworks (pp. 11–25). TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. http://timss2019.org/wp-content/uploads/frameworks/T19-Assessment-Frameworks-Chapter-1.pdf
Macintyre, T., & Hamilton, S. (2010). Mathematics learners and mathematics textbooks: a question of identity? Whose curriculum? Whose mathematics? The Curriculum Journal, 21(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585170903558224
Maluch, J. T., & Thomure, H. T. (2021). Shifting paradigms in Arabic pedagogy and policy in the UAE: Opportunities and challenges for teacher education. In N. Bakali & N. Memon (Eds.), Teacher training and education in the GCC: Unpacking the complexities and challenges of internationalizing educational contexts (pp. 39–54). Lexington Books.
Martignon, L. (2011). Future teachers’ training in statistics: the situation in Germany. In C. Batanero, G. Burrill & C. Reading (Eds.), Teaching statistics in school mathematics: Challenges for teaching and teacher education (pp. 33–36). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1131-0_6
Matsumoto, A. (2019). Literature review on education reform in the UAE. International Journal of Educational Reform, 28(1), 4–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056787918824188
Mooney, E. S. (2002). A framework for characterizing middle school students’ statistical thinking. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 4(1), 23–63. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327833MTL0401_2
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics.
Nisbet, S., Jones, G., Thornton, C., Langrall, C., & Mooney, E. (2003). Children’s representation and organisation of data. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 15(1), 42–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217368
Pearce, N., Vandenbroucke, J. P., VanderWeele, T. J., & Greenland, S. (2020). Accurate statistics on COVID-19 are essential for policy guidance and decisions. American Journal of Public Health, 110(7), 949–951. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305708
Peck, R., Kader, G., & Franklin, C. (2008). Shaping K–12 statistics education in the United States. In C. Batanero, G. Burrill, C. Reading, & A. Rossman (Eds.), Teaching statistics in school mathematics: Challenges for teaching and teacher education. Proceedings of the joint ICMI Study 18 and 2008 IASE Round Table Conference. https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/rt2008/T4P7_Peck.pdf
Pfannkuch, M., & Horring, J. (2004). Developing statistical thinking in a secondary school: A collaborative curriculum development. In G. Burrill & M. Camden (Eds.), Curricular development in statistics education (pp. 204–218). International Association for Statistical Education. https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/rt2004/5.1_Pfannkuch&Horring.pdf
Putt, I., Perry, B., Jones, G., Thornton, C., Langrall, C., & Mooney, E. (2000). Primary school students' statistical thinking: A comparison of two Australian states. In J. Bana & A. Chapman (Eds.), Mathematics education beyond 2000. Proceedings of the 23rd annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Fremantle (pp. 519–526).
Reston, E., & Bersales, L. G. (2011). Reform efforts in training mathematics teachers to teach statistics: Challenges and prospects. In C. Batanero, G. Burrill, & C. Reading (Eds.), Teaching statistics in school Mathematics: Challenges for teaching and teacher education, Joint ICMI Study 18 and 2008 IASE Round Table Conference (pp. 41–45). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1131-0_8
Ridge, N., Kippels, S., & Farah, S. (2017). Curriculum development in the United Arab Emirates. Policy Paper, 18(1), 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.18502/aqf.0043
Sahoo, S. (2016, October 6). Education Ministry makes seven-year deal with McGraw-Hill Education for schools’ maths and science. The National. https://www.thenational.ae/business/education-ministry-makes-seven-year-deal-with-mcgraw-hill-education-for-schools-maths-and-science-1.151273
Son, J. W., & Diletti, J. (2017). What can we learn from textbook analysis? In J. W. Son, T. Watanabe & J. J. Lo (Eds.), What matters? Research trends in international comparative studies in mathematics education (pp. 3–32). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51187-0_1
Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi. (2020). Statistical yearbook of Abu Dhabi 2020. Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi. https://www.scad.gov.ae/Release%20Documents/Statistical%20Yearbook%20of%20Abu%20Dhabi_2020_Annual_Yearly_en.pdf
Stohl, H. (2005). Probability in teacher education and development. In: G. A. Jones (Ed.), Exploring probability in school (pp. 345–366). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24530-8_15
The National. (2022, June 6). Top private education groups to run government schools in new model. The National. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2022/06/06/top-private-schools-to-run-some-government-schools-in-new-model/
Törnroos, J. (2005). Mathematics textbooks, opportunity to learn and student achievement. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 31(4), 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2005.11.005
United Arab Emirates Cabinet. (2010). UAE vision 2021. http://www.vision2021.ae/en
United Arab Emirates Government. (2022a). United Arab Emirates fact sheet. UAE Government Portal. https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/fact-sheet/
United Arab Emirates Government. (2022b). Admission to the UAE government schools. UAE Government Portal. https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/education/school-education-k-12/joining-k-12-education/admission-to-uae-government-schools
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2017). Mathematics curriculum standards framework 2017. https://www.MoE.gov.ae/Ar/ImportantLinks/Assessment/Pages/Curriculum-Docs.aspx
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2020). The national educational system. https://www.MoE.gov.ae/En/ImportantLinks/Documents/matrix/MOEducationSystem2020-2021.pdf
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2021). Six years of achievement preparing for the fiftieth (2015–2020). https://www.MoE.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Documents/MoE%20BOOK.pdf
United Arab Emirates University (2022a). Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education: Degree requirements. College of Education: United Arab Emirates University. https://cedu.uaeu.ac.ae//en/programs/undergraduate/bachelor-of-education-in-early-childhood-education.shtml
United Arab Emirates University (2022b). Bachelor of Science in Mathematics: Degree requirements. College of Science: United Arab Emirates University https://www.uaeu.ac.ae/en/catalog/undergraduate/programs/bachelor-of-science-in-mathematics.shtml
Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M., & Elia, I. (2013). The role of picture books in young children’s mathematics learning. In L. English & J. Mulligan (Eds.), Reconceptualizing early mathematics learning (pp. 227–251). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6440-8_12
Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M., Van Den Boogaard, S., & Doig, B. (2009). Picture books stimulate the learning of mathematics. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 34(3), 30–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693910903400305
Weiland, T. (2019). The contextualized situations constructed for the use of statistics by school mathematics textbooks. Statistics Education Research Journal, 18(2), 18–38. https://doi.org/10.52041/serj.v18i2.138
Wild, C. J., & Pfannkuch, M. (1999). Statistical thinking in empirical enquiry. International Statistical Review, 67(3), 223–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-5823.1999.tb00442.x
Zembat, I. O. (2010). Closing the gap between current knowledge level of UAE mathematics teachers and the ideal level. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 2116–2120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.291
Zieffler, A., Garfield, J., & Fry, E. (2018). What is statistics education? In D. Ben-Zvi, K. Makar & J. Garfield (Eds.), International handbook of research in statistics education (pp. 37–70). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66195-7_2