Enhancing students' functional literacy through authentic problems in equations and inequalities
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Date
2026
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
SDU University
Abstract
This study examines the effect of authentic problems involving equations and inequalities on Grade 6 students’ mathematical literacy. A quasi-experimental quantitative design was employed with 26 students: 13 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group. Both groups completed a pre-test and a post-test. The experimental group learned through authentic real-world problems involving equations and inequalities, while the control group received traditional procedural instruction. Since the sample size was small and visual inspection showed some deviations from normality, non-parametric tests were used. The results showed that both groups improved after instruction. However, the Mann-Whitney U test indicated that the experimental group had significantly higher gain scores than the control group. In addition, the large effect size for the gain score comparison showed that this difference was practically meaningful. Therefore, authentic problems involving equations and inequalities can be considered a promising approach for supporting Grade 6 students’ mathematical literacy.
Description
Keywords
functional literacy, mathematical literacy, authentic problems, equations
Citation
Mataibayeva A / Enhancing students' functional literacy through authentic problems in equations and inequalities / SDU University / Department of Pedagogy of Natural Sciences