A Comparative Textbook Analysis on Measures of Center in Selected School Mathematics Textbooks of Australia and Turkey

Measures of center have a central role in statistics education. There, however, is not much research on textbook analysis on measures of center, especially at the international level, which is crucial to keep up with the changes in a data-driven globalised world. This study aimed to investigate how selected school mathematics textbooks of Australia and Turkey present the concepts of measures of center to support students' learning. The content analysis was based on three dimensions: (1) the organization and sequence of the concepts of measures of center across grades, (2) conceptualization of measures of center from mathematical and statistical aspects, and (3) the use of context, visual displays, and technological tools regarding measures of center. The first major finding was that the order of presentation of concepts was different in the two countries' selected textbooks. Selected textbooks of both countries introduced measures of center formally rather than starting with an understanding of clump notion (informal understanding of measures of center). The second major finding was that both countries' textbooks focus more on the mathematical aspect of measures of center. Selected Australian textbooks also focus more on the statistical aspect of measures of center than those of Turkey. The third major finding was that the use of context, visual displays, and technological tools also differ. Australian textbooks often used a context with research scenarios about daily life, used a technological package, and related measures of center with a variety of graphs. Findings contribute to our understanding of the differences among countries with different backgrounds in statistics education, pointing to the ways of developing curriculum materials such as textbooks.