Linking School Mathematics to Out-of-School Mathematical Activities: A Study of Belief and Action at Secondary Schools in Gedio Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The current study investigated the extent of integrating secondary school mathematics to real-world connection in Ethiopia. In particular, the study analyzed teachers’ beliefs, instructional practices, and textbook content in Gedeo Zone Administrative region. Through a descriptive survey design involving 83 mathematics teachers selected from ten schools, a structured questionnaire was completed measuring their beliefs, practices and perceived barriers. In addition to this a content analysis of Grades 9–12 mathematics textbooks categorized review problems into pure versus contextual tasks to determine the level of real-world representation. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used to explore relationships between beliefs and practices for quantitative data. The result showed that mathematics teachers have shown strong beliefs in the importance of real-life mathematical applications, however the actual implementation is at moderate level. Which is reported in weak positive correlation (r = 0.37) between teachers’ beliefs and their reported practices, suggesting that systemic constraints weaken the translation of beliefs into action. Moreover, the textbook analysis indicated that more than 85% of problems across all grade levels are abstract, disconnected from real-world or not culturally grounded contexts. A study concluded that what is being taught in Ethiopian secondary school mathematics classrooms is no different from international difficulties of making mathematics relevant and applicable where structural and curricular constraints prevent teachers’ practice despite strong beliefs. Bridging this gap and making mathematics relevant requires systemic changes in the learning materials, teacher development, and assessment to support real-world mathematics learning.