Alimzhanova Zh.2026-03-122026-03-122025Alimzhanova Zh / Improving Student Engagement and Academic Achievement Through Real-Life Applications of Proportion / SDU University / Department of Pedagogy of Natural Scienceshttps://repository.sdu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/2521This study investigates the impact of incorporating real-life tasks in the teaching of proportions on student engagement and academic performance. It is grounded in constructivist and situated learning theories and employs a quasiexperimental design. The intervention was carried out in a public school in Kazakhstan, involving 24 sixth-grade students in a single experimental group without a control group. The results demonstrated that real-life contextual problems enhance students’ motivation, functional mathematical literacy, and critical thinking skills. The research also includes a comparative analysis of Kazakhstani and Singaporean mathematics textbooks. Findings reveal that Kazakhstani materials emphasize formal procedures over real-world problem-solving, whereas Singaporean textbooks integrate contextual tasks more extensively. This highlights a need for curriculum modernization to better reflect practical applications and build essential competencies in mathematics education. The experimental phase involved a proportion unit designed around real-life scenarios such as calculating discounts, adjusting recipes, working with scale models, and budgeting. Students worked individually and collaboratively, completed pre- and post-lesson questionnaires, and took a summative assessment. The comparison of results before and after the intervention showed a clear improvement in both academic outcomes and student engagement.enengagementacademic achievementreal-life problemsproportionmathematics educationArticle