Exploring modes of engagement within reform-oriented primary mathematics textbooks in India

Abstract

In India, a curriculum reform inspired by critical perspectives has sought to transform primary mathematics teaching and learning. It is aimed at strengthening socio-cultural-political connections between school mathematics and students’ life experiences, thereby challenging traditional textbook culture. At the same time, this initiative has retained the textbook as a vehicle of reform while seeking to subvert many of its established conventions. Guided by Remillard’s idea of modes of engagement, this paper analyses the innovative Math-Magic textbooks associated with the Indian National Curriculum Framework. It investigates how these textbooks represent and communicate the framework ideas, focusing on key curricular elements and on the teacher as reader. Analysing the ‘voice’ and ‘structure’ of the textbooks as well as the ‘contexts’ used, it is revealed that they use a radically unique voice to introduce school mathematics while also attempting to use authentic and socially relevant contexts within their tasks. However, they have limited structural support to communicate these ideas clearly to the teacher-reader. The paper has implications for studying reformed textbooks in primary school mathematics in the Global South, where they remain the main teaching resource for teachers. Further, by focusing on ‘context’, the notion of modes of engagement within textbooks is extended through socio-cultural perspectives.