Primary School Teachers and Students’ Opinions of the First-Grade Mathematics Curriculum in a Turkish Context

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the opinions of teachers and students in-depth regarding the primary-school first-grade mathematics curriculum in a Turkish context. This study was designed in accordance with a mixed research method to achieve this goal and to examine the situation that emerged during the implementation of a curriculum. The data collection tools were the “Mathematics Curriculum Evaluation Scale,” semi-structured teacher and student interviews, and an observation form. The thoughts of teachers and students regarding the primary school mathematics curriculum were determined in-depth, and the situations that emerged during the implementation of the program were examined. The research population comprised first-grade teachers working in primary schools in central districts of Turkey. Descriptive statistics and content analyses were used for the data analysis. Based on the results, it was concluded that the general structure and objective of the mathematics curriculum were sufficient.