Dutch didactical approaches in primary school mathematics as reflected in two centuries of textbooks

Abstract

This chapter contains an overview of the most important textbook series used in the Netherlands from 1800 to 2010. We distinguish five time periods, and for each period we highlight the textbook series that are most characteristic. To describe the textbooks that were in fashion in the successive periods we distinguish three categories of textbooks: procedural, conceptual, and dual textbooks. The dual textbooks have elements of the first two. For the procedural textbook series, which are also referred to as ‘mechanistic’, memorisation ofmathematical facts, automatisation on of operational procedures and recognising types of problems are the primary interest. Application is only considered at the very end of the teaching trajectory, and then rarely. Smart, flexible (mental) calculations and estimating are not part of the program. The conceptual textbook series have an opposite approach. In learning mathematical facts and procedures, understanding is highly valued, and applications are included from the start as the basis for this. Number sense, flexible (mental) calculation, and estimation are central, next to algorithmic calculation. Students can design their own problems, develop solution methods and work on their own level. As expected, using different textbook series with different content and teaching methods results in pursuing different goals in mathematics education, which in turn results in different learning outcomes, as has been shown by national evaluations of progress in educational achievement.