ZDM Mathematics Education (2012) 44:175–187
DOI 10.1007/s11858-012-0399-9
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics
textbooks: an exploratory comparison between South Korea
and the United States
Rae Young Kim
Accepted: 19 March 2012 / Published online: 12 April 2012
Ó FIZ Karlsruhe 2012
Abstract As an exploratory investigation, this study aims
to analyze non-textual elements in some Korean and US
mathematics textbooks using a conceptual framework
whose components include accuracy, connectivity, con-
textuality, and conciseness. By analyzing three US text-
books and three Korean ones, the study not only shows
patterns in the use of non-textual elements in mathematics
textbooks in different contexts but also provides insights
into how to assess the quality of non-textual elements in
mathematics textbooks, which I hope will contribute to the
provision of more meaningful and productive learning
opportunities to school children. Overall, the results from
this study show that there is significant difference across
topics and textbooks, which implies different opportunities
to learn through non-textual elements. This study makes a
unique contribution to the conceptualization of non-textual
elements in mathematics education and has implications
for textbook analysis and curriculum development.
Keywords Non-textual elements
Mathematics
education
Textbook analysis
Curriculum development
1 Introduction
More pictures, illustrations, and diagrams have been used
in recent textbooks than in the past (Bazerman 2006;
Boling et al. 2004; Evans et al. 1987). According to
Woodward (1993), this is due to the assumptions that such
R. Y. Kim (&)
Department of Mathematics Education,
Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil,
Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, South Korea
e-mail: kimrae@ewha.ac.kr
visual representations may attract students’ attention and
generate educational effects. In fact, these assumptions
have been supported by many studies (e.g. Evans et al.
1987; Levie and Lentz 1982; Levin and Mayer 1993;
Pettersson 1990), while other researchers have reported
that visual images may not help students improve their
understanding and may even contribute to misunderstand-
ing of the text (Watkins et al. 2004). Such contradictory
findings about visual representations have been debated
mostly in literacy and science textbooks. However, these
arguments have not been carefully tested in mathematics
textbooks.
In reading and science textbooks, Levin and Mayer
(1993) find five functions of visual images: decorational,
representational, organizational, interpretational, and
transformational. However, although the findings are useful
for seeing the roles of pictures and illustrations in reading
and science textbooks, they are not enough to understand
visual representations in mathematics textbooks. Unlike
typical pictures and illustrations in reading and science,
visual representations in mathematics textbooks can serve
not only as informative agents but also as ‘‘tools for
thinking’’ (Cuoco 2001) with which students manipulate
and experiment in their minds and with their hands. Con-
sidering ‘‘representation refers both to process and prod-
uct—to the act of capturing a mathematical concept or
relationship in some form and to the form itself’’ (National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2000, p. 67), it is
important to see how representations are used in mathe-
matics textbooks because ‘‘representation is more than a
process; it is a way of teaching and learning mathematics’’
(Fennell and Rowan 2001, p. 288).
However, previous studies have generally failed to
capture the analytical significance of understanding the
roles of pictures, illustrations, and diagrams in mathematics
123
176
textbooks for teaching and learning. Although drawings,
graphical displays, and diagrams are all representations that
present mathematical concepts (Stylianou 2010), most
studies on visual representations in mathematics textbooks
have focused mostly on mathematical representations such
as graphs and abstract figures while pictorial representa-
tions such as photos and illustrations are often regarded as
decoration and part of visual design (Levin and Mayer
1993). Notwithstanding both visual mathematical repre-
sentations and pictorial representations, called non-textual
elements in this study, are parts of mathematics textbooks,
systematic research on their overall quality in mathematics
textbooks has not been conducted yet. Although many
studies have analyzed visual representations in mathemat-
ics textbooks, most of them have focused on how specific
topics or tasks are represented (e.g. Li et al. 2009; Stigler
et al. 1986) or on general features of visual representations
such as size, quantity, and layout (e.g. Valverde et al.
2002). Little is known about how non-textual elements are
used in mathematics textbooks in different topics and how
well such non-textual elements represent mathematical
concepts and ideas.
A non-textual element in this study denotes a visual
representation that is comprised of components that are not
purely verbal, numerical, or mathematical symbolic rep-
resentations (Kim 2009c). For instance, the equation
a2 ? b2 = c2 used in the Pythagorean Theorem is not a
non-textual element because it consists solely of symbolic
notations. However, if it is explained by a picture of a right
triangle where necessary symbols and marks are used, the
picture is a non-textual element since even though it has
some symbols and marks, it is not a purely symbolic rep-
resentation. Non-textual elements thus include, for exam-
ple, graphic representations including photos and pictorial
illustrations/pictures which portray objects in the real
world, and mathematical visual representations including
graphs and abstract mathematical figures.
As an exploratory investigation, this study aims to
analyze non-textual elements in some Korean and US
mathematics textbooks using a conceptual framework
informed by both theoretical and practical perspectives
(Kim 2009b, 2009c). By doing so, the study not only
shows patterns in the use of non-textual elements in
mathematics textbooks in different contexts but also
provides insights into how to analyze the quality of these
elements, which I hope will contribute to the provision of
more meaningful and productive learning opportunities to
school children. Since non-textual elements in textbooks
are easily recognized and apprehended without any lin-
guistic knowledge, their interpretation may be influenced
by preconceptions, knowledge, and experiences generated
in particular contexts because ‘‘people bring their cultural
histories into the classroom and interpret and reconstruct
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R. Y. Kim
the various messages’’ (Bishop 1992, p. 185). From this
perspective, although some regard mathematics as an
objective global language that has been taught across time
and place as a core subject (Kamens et al. 1996), it would
be important to investigate how non-textual elements in
mathematics textbooks are constructed and used in dif-
ferent contexts. In particular, there are big gaps between
Asian and American students’ representational compe-
tence (Brenner et al. 1999). This calls attention to the
need to investigate what opportunities to learn by non-
textual elements in mathematics textbooks are provided in
different contexts such as South Korea and the United
States where substantial differences are observed in their
student achievement (Schmidt et al. 2001). As a mediator
between planned and enacted curriculum, textbooks are
‘‘components of opportunities to learn school subjects and
have their own characteristic impact on instruction’’
(Valverde et al. 2002, p. 10). Therefore, by scrutinizing
the characteristics of non-textual elements in mathematics
textbooks in different contexts, this study may offer a new
way of understanding ‘‘the nature of the provided edu-
cational opportunities’’ (Blömeke and Paine 2008,
p. 2036).
This study is an attempt to address the following
research questions: How are non-textual elements actually
used in mathematics textbooks? Specifically, how are the
non-textual elements in current mathematics textbooks
used for particular topics (angle, slope, and prime factor-
ization) in terms of accuracy, connectivity, conciseness,
and contextuality? What kinds of variation or commonality
are found in the non-textual elements in current mathe-
matics textbooks both within and across countries (i.e.
South Korea and the United States) in terms of these four
aspects?
To answer these questions, I begin with the conceptual
framework used for the analysis of non-textual elements in
mathematics textbooks. Then, with explanation of the data
and methodology, I describe the results from the textbook
analysis which shows the patterns of non-textual elements
in some Korean and US textbooks. A discussion of
implications for non-textual elements in mathematics
textbooks will follow at the end.
2 Conceptual framework
Existing research has emphasized the importance of
mathematical representations in teaching and learning,
including verbal, visual, and symbolic representations
(Abrams 2001; Arcavi 2003; Brenner et al. 1997; Duval
2006; Herman 2007; Pape and Tchoshanov 2001). The
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
proposes representations as an integral component of its
The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks
standards that all students are expected to meet in school
mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathemat-
ics 2000). Since representations are related to both content
and process in learning mathematics, it is widely believed
that representations, as ‘‘tools for thinking’’ (Cuoco 2001),
play important roles in one’s creation of ‘‘concept image’’1
(Tall and Vinner 1981), communication with others, and
mathematical reasoning. Visual representations, in partic-
ular, allow us to see what is not easily seen only from texts,
such as patterns, visualized objects and images that can be
manipulated and experimented with, and tendencies of data
which allow us to predict the future (Arcavi 2003). Since
visual representations provide students with concrete and
concise images of related concepts, they help improve
students’ understanding of the contents (Levin and Mayer
1993).
Despite the importance of visual representations in the
teaching and learning of mathematics, little effort has been
made to specify in any systematic way the characteristics
and roles of non-textual elements in mathematics text-
books. Most studies on visual representations in mathe-
matics have mainly focused on their cognitive and
psychological effects on students’ mathematical learning,
such as how students generate their own concept images
mentally (i.e. internal representations), how students
express their mental images to communicate with others
(i.e. external representations), and how students interpret
‘‘presented’’ representations (Goldin and Shteingold 2001).
However, they have mainly analyzed the artifacts students
created or interaction with others in classrooms through
representations.
In order to obtain more systematic understanding of
non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks, I have
developed a conceptual framework which has emerged
not only from theoretical ideas and scholarly debates but
also from practitioners’ (teachers and curriculum devel-
opers) points of view (Kim 2009a, 2009c). The important
aspects of non-textual elements in the conceptual frame-
work are: accuracy, connectivity, contextuality, and con-
ciseness. Each conceptual aspect in the framework is
grounded in the basis of a diverse body of research on
mathematics education, semiotics, metaphor theory, visual
rhetoric, and information design. The concepts of accu-
racy, connectivity, and contextuality mainly draw on the
NCTM standards (2000) that emphasize the importance of
using appropriate representations (accuracy) with inter-
connection among mathematical ideas (connectivity)
1
Concept image means ‘‘the total cognitive structure that is
associated with the concept, which includes all the mental pictures
and associated properties and processes’’ (Tall and Vinner 1981,
p. 151). Students often create their own concept image, think about
mathematical concepts and solve problems, and communicate with
others through representations.
177
applied to various contexts (contextuality). In South
Korea, such ideas can be found in the most recent
national curriculum, the 2009 revised curriculum, that
students should solve problems in various contexts (con-
textuality), find relations among fundamental mathemati-
cal concepts, skills, principles, and rules (connectivity),
and use appropriate representations (accuracy) (Ministry
of Education Science and Technology 2011). Further, I
added conciseness to the framework as a result from the
interview analysis with 21 teachers and seven curriculum
developers from the two countries. Most of the intervie-
wees argued that even a simple non-textual element could
be more effective for student learning than a complicated
non-textual element to explain a particular concept (Kim
2009c). Based on the results from a student survey (29
middle school students and seven graduate students from
the two countries) and from interviews with practitioners
(21 secondary mathematics teachers and seven curriculum
developers from the two countries), this framework has
been developed and tested with iterative textbook analysis
(Kim 2009c). More detailed descriptions about each
aspect follow.
Accuracy indicates mathematical clarity and rigor of
non-textual elements by definition of a concept. In other
words, it measures how non-textual elements represent
concepts and ideas clearly and correctly in mathematical
ways. Obviously, it is important to communicate the con-
cepts and contents without misunderstanding. If an illus-
tration offers unclear or wrong information, a student may
have more confusion and difficulty in solving the related
problem. Since it is not easy to objectify mathematical
concepts (Sfard 1991), an unclear illustration could be an
impediment to constructing concept images (Zazkis and
Liljedahl 2004). Further, if the student creates a concept
image with flaws from the illustration, it could impede his
or her future learning. For example, Fig. 1 shows examples
of accuracy. Both photos show real situations, but they
have different levels of accuracy. Although Fig. 1(1) is
used to show parallel lines, such an inaccurate picture can
mislead students to conclude that any two curvy lines can
be parallel if they do not meet or parallel lines can meet
somewhere if they are extended further. In fact, the results
from the student survey with 29 middle school students and
seven graduate students who have teaching experience in
K-12 schools and have majored in mathematics education
show that some of the middle school students misunder-
stood the concept of parallel lines from the picture while
the graduate students understood the concept appropriately.
This implies that, unlike teachers who already know the
concept very well, young students may be easily misguided
by an inaccurate picture, especially when learning a new
concept. In contrast, Fig. 1(2) shows an example of an
angle in a real-life situation appropriately in terms of the
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178 R. Y. Kim

Fig. 1 Examples of low (1) and

high (2) levels of accuracy. (1)
Source: CMP Shapes and
Designs (p. 38). (2) Source:
Daekyo Middle School Soohak 1
(p. 184)

definition of angle, ‘‘a pair of rays with a common end-

point’’ (Mitchelmore and White 2000).
Connectivity means how closely non-textual elements
are related to the mathematical content embodied in the
texts. It is crucial to analyze non-textual elements to
understand how they convey the meaning because students,
especially young children, may be influenced by non-tex-
tual elements in their learning (Bazerman 2006). Braden
(1983) coins the terms ‘‘visual–verbal symbiosis’’ and
‘‘visual–verbal discontinuity’’ for describing the relation-
ship between visual and verbal elements. Visual–verbal
symbiosis means well-connectedness and supportiveness to
each other between visual and verbal elements, while
visual–verbal discontinuity indicates disconnection
between visual and verbal representations. Many studies
have found that a symbiotic connection between verbal and
visual literacy helps improve student achievement when
the two are united (Braden 1983; Dwyer 1988; Herbel-
Eisenmann 2002; Levin and Mayer 1993). Since visual
representations can serve as models to show what students
cannot see in texts and symbols (e.g. patterns and concrete
images) and as tools to solve problems (Arcavi 2003), it is
very important to have close connection between verbal
and visual representations to support students’ learning. In
fact, as each student may not have the same level of textual
literacy as of visual literacy, students who have difficulty in
reading and understanding texts may get more information
from, and better understand, visual representations. Winn
(1987) asserts that graphical representations have, often but
not always, more influence on improving performance of
students with low ability than on those with high ability.
This suggests that visual representations also can provide
some students with opportunities to learn mathematics
which they cannot understand only from textual represen-
tations. Figure 2 shows an example of connectivity.
Although students are asked to decide if an avalanche is
likely for Hotdog Hill, the picture of a skier is not well
connected with the text while the red mountain is well
connected by showing how the hill looks. Although the
problem in the text is about the relationship between ava-
lanche and slope of the hill, the picture of a female skier
Fig. 2 An example showing high (upper right) and low (lower right)
levels of connectivity. Source: CMP Moving Straight Ahead (p. 77)
may lead to a misconception by simply associating the
mathematical concept of slope with the surface of a hill for
skiing, which is also the meaning of slope in everyday
language. In other words, when the picture of a skier is
given, ‘‘slope’’ can be understood as the surface of a hill,
especially a ski slope, which is different from the degree of
tilt in mathematics.
Contextuality denotes presentation of mathematical
ideas in realistic context(s). NCTM standards (2000)
emphasize the importance of students’ mathematical
experiences in a context because ‘‘using mathematics in
applied situations leads to deeper understanding’’ (p. 93).
Lesh and English (2005) argue that students develop their
knowledge in the process of modeling and are able to apply
their mathematical knowledge to the situations which they
experience. Considering that non-textual elements can
provide contexts that facilitate the students’ modeling
process, it is thus important to examine what kinds of sit-
uations are provided in mathematics textbooks and how
they represent mathematical concepts and ideas in varying
situations. Wiggins (1993) asserts that the compartmen-
talization of knowledge and the decontextualization of
knowing are problematic because competency requires
both context and reasoning. This claim is consistent with

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The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks
Fig. 3 Examples of varying levels of contextuality
the results from Ferratti and Okolo’s research (1996) that
students’ thinking skills and attitudes are enhanced when
they collaborate in the solution of authentic problems.
Contextuality is not only a matter of texts and problems.
Contextual non-textual elements may influence students’
understanding and learning through links between mathe-
matics and real life. Such experiences in the textbooks give
students an opportunity to think about mathematics in
contexts and deepen their understanding (National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics 2000). Figure 3 shows exam-
ples of contextuality. However, even though realistic con-
texts are helpful for students to understand mathematics,
simply giving realistic contexts does not makes it mathe-
matics (Freudenthal 1991). Although both a and b in Fig. 3
show real objects (i.e. scissors), they play different roles in
terms of mathematization. While students may have diffi-
culties in finding mathematical ideas from Fig. 3(1), they
may easily see the usefulness of mathematics in Fig. 3(2)
because it shows how the real object can be used to
understand the concept of angle. In other words, Fig. 3(1)
shows just a real object while Fig. 3(2) gives ideas about
how to use the object in mathematical ways. Figure 3(3)
shows an example of a non-textual element without con-
textuality. In other words, it does not have any realistic
contexts to explain the concept. Although Fig. 3(3) has a
high level of mathematical connectivity, it does not have
contextuality because it is not represented in a realistic
context.
Conciseness implies mathematical succinctness in a
non-textual element. Conciseness suggests how a non-
textual element is concise and neat in presenting a concept
or problem without any redundant, unnecessary or dis-
tracting factors. Pettersson (2001) argued that ‘‘too many
details and too much complexity reduce the interest for the
content in the visual. Too few details or too little com-
plexity makes it impossible to understand the picture’’
179
Fig. 4 Examples of high (1) and low (2) levels of conciseness. (1)
Source: CMP Thinking with Mathematical Models (p. 35). (2) Source:
Didimdol Middle School Soohak 2 (p. 120)
(p. 241). This becomes more important when a new con-
cept is introduced because a simple non-textual element
can convey the meaning and idea clearly and effectively.
Simple non-textual elements might allow students to better
understand the core ideas of the concept as well as find
connections among the related concepts if reiterated
through related ideas. Since mathematics is a remarkably
precise subject, ambiguity from complicated non-textual
elements may hinder students’ understanding of the con-
cept (Goldin and Shteingold 2001). Figure 4 shows two
graphs of linear functions. Figure 4(1) shows a linear
function and two points on the line so that students can
easily recognize which line they should pay attention to.
However, Fig. 4(2) shows too many lines and the lines are
not clear enough to read, so it is not easy to find which lines
students should focus on even though two equations for the
lines are written.
3 Data and methodology
In order to find the patterns of non-textual elements used in
mathematics textbooks in different contexts—South Korea
and the US—I analyzed non-textual elements in the lessons
of angle, slope, and prime factorization in three US sec-
ondary mathematics textbook series and three South Kor-
ean ones. In terms of the content area, the three topics were
examined to see if non-textual elements are used similarly
or differently across the concepts. Angle is one of the basic
ideas in geometry while prime factorization is one of the
topics in algebra. Slope is an important idea in both algebra
and geometry. Although angle, slope, and prime factor-
ization are fundamental topics in mathematics, many
studies have reported that students have a hard time
applying mathematical ideas to realistic contexts as well as
constructing mathematical ideas from realistic situated
problems (e.g. Freudenthal 1991; Meyer 2001; Woleck
2001). With regard to the lack of research on the relationship
between mathematical and pictorial representations in
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180 R. Y. Kim

Table 1 Information about the textbooks selected for analysis in this Table 2 Coding scheme for textbook analysis
study Aspect of non- Score Description
Country Textbook series Year Publisher textual elements
published
Accuracy 2 An NTE correctly shows the definition
South Middle School Soohak 2008/ Didimdol of a concept, or it is accurate to show a
Korea (K1) 2009 concept based on its definition
Middle School Soohak 2008/ Daekyo 1 An NTE makes sense in terms of the
(K2) 2009 definition or meaning of a concept. But
it does not show every required
Middle School Soohak 2008/2009 Doosan Donga
mathematical condition (e.g. some
(K3)
requisite notations are missing or
USA Connected Mathematics 2006 Pearson Prentice misleading) or some attributes are not
Project (CMP) (U1) Hall appropriate to explain a concept
Holt Middle School 2004 Holt, Rinehart 0 An NTE is inaccurate in terms of the
Math (U2) and Winston definition of a concept (e.g. it has an
MathThematics (U3) 2006 McDougal Littell obvious error). Or an inappropriate
realistic object is used to present a
concept. There is a major error or
concern to use the realistic object or
mathematics textbooks, it is necessary to investigate how context for a concept. Or there is no
these concepts are described. In addition, these three topics mathematical concept in the NTE
are more comparable across the country contexts than other Connectivity 2 An NTE is explicitly and fully
associated with the mathematical
topics because they are taught at similar grade levels in content in the text. It directly shows a
both countries. concept or problem
The selection of the textbooks for this study was done by 1 An NTE is partly related to the
a purposive sampling strategy. All the selected textbooks mathematical content in the text. There
were among the most popularly used textbooks in each is some missing or irrelevant
information in an NTE. It shows the
country. All Korean textbooks are written based on the
content but it does not explicitly show
2007 revised national curriculum and are those most how it is connected with the content
recently published. Student workbooks were excluded from 0 An NTE has nothing to do with the
the analysis. Two of the US textbooks (U1 and U3) are content mathematically. It can give
standards-based textbooks and one (U2) is a conventional some clue about contexts in texts (e.g.
river when the problem is about length
textbook. Although they are not representative of all text-
of river)
books in each kind, it would be a useful exploration to see
Conciseness 2 An NTE is straightforward to show a
if there is any notable pattern in their use of non-textual concept or problem without any
elements. Table 1 gives the information about the selected distracting or other factor
textbooks. 1 An NTE is straightforward to show a
A coding scheme was developed according to the con- concept or problem with some other
ceptual framework for analyzing the four aspects of non- factors that might be helpful for the
concept
textual elements (see Table 2). Each aspect was coded to
0 An NTE has distracting or other factors
make the score range from zero for the lowest degree to that are useless in addition to factors
two for the highest degree in terms of the extent to which a needed to show a concept or problem
given non-textual element has characteristics of an aspect, Contextuality 2 A realistic object or context is used in an
so that every non-textual element can have a distinct score NTE with mathematical connection
for each aspect (see Kim 2009b). 1 No mathematical ideas or concepts exist,
In order to check inter-rater reliability and take into but there is some realistic contextual
information (that is used to provide
account cultural differences, three coders who had different contexts or objects in the problem or to
national backgrounds and experiences with textbooks facilitate related activities)
participated in coding the textbooks. When the coders 0 Neither realistic object nor realistic
disagreed, the median of the three coders’ code for a non- context is included in an NTE
textual element was used as its final code. An inter-rater
reliability analysis using the Kappa statistic was performed
to determine consistency among the raters. The inter-rater (American) and C (Korean), Kappa = .75 (p \ .001), and
reliability for the raters A (researcher) and B (American) for the raters A and C, Kappa = .93 (p \ .001). That is, the
was found to be Kappa = .77 (p \ .001), for the raters B overall Kappa coefficients found in this study can be

123
The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks
interpreted as indicating a substantial or outstanding level
of inter-rater reliability. In order to find patterns of non-
textual elements, the data were analyzed and compared in
terms of topics, textbook, and country.
4 Results
4.1 Overall patterns of non-textual elements
in the selected textbooks
The number of non-textual elements coded in this study
was 297 from a combined total of 107 pages from South
Korean and US textbooks. The average numbers of non-
textual elements per page used in each topic in each
country context were calculated as shown in Table 3. In
comparison between the two countries, South Korean
textbooks have more non-textual elements per page than
their US counterparts for each topic. However, general
patterns in the use of non-textual elements in each topic are
similar between South Korea and the United States. The
greatest number of non-textual elements is used in lessons
about angle, and the least number in lessons about prime
factorization in both South Korean and US textbooks.
Around 50 % of the total number of non-textual elements
is used in angle in both South Korean and US textbooks.
Since angle is one of the basic ideas in geometry for
understanding of geometric shapes and structures as well as
for analyzing their relationships, this is not surprising. In
the process of reasoning, it is evident that representations
in geometry are crucial to developing geometric ideas.
Since the concept of slope can be found in formulas and
equations in algebra, in graphs in geometry, and as the
tangent of an angle in trigonometry (Stump 2001), slopes
are sometimes explained with only verbal representations.
Noticeably, non-textual elements in prime factorization are
not used as often as in the other two topics.
Considering that a code of two points means the full
score for each aspect, the mean scores for each aspect show
that non-textual elements in the textbooks are by and large
accurate, well connected and concise: accuracy
(mean = 1.49, SD = .71); connectivity (mean = 1.73,
SD = .59); and conciseness (mean = 1.58, SD = .69).
However, the mean score for contextuality (mean = .53,
Table 3 Number of non-textual elements used in each topic and the
average number per page
Angle Slope Prime factorization Overall
n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean
Korea 71 5.5 59 2.3 26 1.9 156
USA 82 3.9 43 2.0 16 1.2 141
181
Table 4 Descriptive statistics of the three aspects of non-textual
elements: mathematical representations and pictorial representations
Mathematical Pictorial t p-value
representations representations (2-tailed)
(n = 202) (n = 95)
Mean (SD) Mean (SD)
Accuracy 1.78 (.43) .86 (.79) 10.59 \.001
Connectivity 1.97 (.17) 1.23 (.80) 8.85 \.001
Conciseness 1.94 (.59) .80 (.68) 15.87 \.001
SD = .81) is somewhat lower than those for other aspects.
This implies that non-textual elements in mathematics
textbooks are likely not to use realistic contexts to explain
concepts across topics. In fact, only 95 out of 297
(approximately 32 %) non-textual elements have realistic
contexts. They are all pictorial representations such as
photos and illustrations. Further, it is noticeable that around
56 % of them are used as decorational (those without
relation to texts) or representational (having to do with
parts of texts, e.g. a picture of ships is used for a problem to
get the distance between two ports) (Levin and Mayer
1993). Table 4 shows that pictorial representations in
mathematics textbooks are relatively lower in terms of
accuracy, connectivity, or conciseness compared with
mathematical representations.
4.2 Patterns of non-textual elements by topic
Overall, as shown in Fig. 5, mathematical representations
are more often used than pictorial representations across
topics in both Korean and US textbooks. Interestingly, even
though there is the smallest number of non-textual ele-
ments in the lessons of prime factorization, the proportion
of pictorial representations such as photos and illustrations
in the topic is larger than in the other topics. This means
that prime factorization as an algebraic topic is taught by
many non-textual elements with realistic contexts in the
textbooks. However, around 71 % of them have no math-
ematical ideas or concepts. In other words, they are used as
decorational. For instance, a picture of a sundial is included
without any mathematical idea. There is no significant
difference between the two countries with regard to the
proportion of such decorative non-textual elements. This
implies that even though many non-textual elements with
realistic contexts are used for prime factorization, most of
them are not likely to contribute to students’ mathematical
understanding.
2.9
In addition, slope is taught by either mathematical visual
non-textual elements as an important mathematical concept
2.6
to understand linear functions or contextual non-textual
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182 R. Y. Kim

Fig. 5 Proportions of mathematical representations and pictorial representations by topic and country

elements as understanding of steepness in real life. As
shown in Fig. 5, the concept of slope is likely to be taught
using abstract mathematical representations in South Korea
while it is taught using contextual non-textual elements in
the US as often as is the concept of angle.
Table 5 presents means and the results for the four
aspects of non-textual elements used in mathematics text-
books by topic. Connectivity and conciseness of non-tex-
tual elements are significantly different across topics,
especially between angle and prime factorization, while
accuracy and contextuality are not significantly different
across topics. This implies that non-textual elements in the
lessons of prime factorization are not well connected with
the concept and are more complex than those in the lessons
on angle. Considering that the total number of non-textual
elements in the lessons of prime factorization is much
smaller than in other topics, this calls special attention to
the need for well-connected and concise non-textual ele-
ments to be developed for prime factorization.
In order to see if there is any difference in aspects of
non-textual elements among topics in different contexts, I
calculated mean differences in the four aspects in the
selected South Korean textbooks and US textbooks by
topic as shown in Tables 6 and 7. While accuracy,

Table 5 Mean differences in the four aspects of non-textual elements Table 6 Mean differences in the four aspects of non-textual elements
in textbooks, by topic in the selected South Korean textbooks, by topic
F test Scheffe’s test F test Scheffe’s test

n Mean (SD) F A–B B–C C–A n Mean (SD) F A–B B–C C–A

Accuracy Accuracy
Angle (A) 153 1.543 (.639) .954 Angle (A) 71 1.73 (.63) 2.646
Slope (B) 102 1.441 (.739) Slope (B) 59 1.53 (.63)
Prime 42 1.405 (.885) Prime 26 1.42 (.86)
factorization factorization
(C) (C)
Connectivity Connectivity
Angle (A) 153 1.837 (.465) 5.889** * Angle (A) 71 1.87 (.48) 4.136* *
Slope (B) 102 1.667 (.635) Slope (B) 59 1.75 (.54)
Prime 42 1.524 (.773) Prime 26 1.50 (.81)
factorization factorization
(C) (C)
Conciseness Conciseness
Angle (A) 153 1.647 (.590) 3.481* * Angle (A) 71 1.63 (.64) 2.631
Slope (B) 102 1.569 (.725) Slope (B) 59 1.73 (.52)
Prime 42 1.333 (.874) Prime 26 1.38 (.85)
factorization factorization
(C) (C)
Contextuality Contextuality
Angle (A) 153 .569 (.864) .536 Angle (A) 71 .54 (.84) .652
Slope (B) 102 .461 (.779) Slope (B) 59 .39 (.72)
Prime 42 .524 (.707) Prime 26 .54 (.71)
factorization factorization
(C) (C)

* p \ .05; ** p \ .01 * p \ .05

123
The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks 183

Table 7 Mean differences in the four aspects of non-textual elements Table 8 Descriptive statistics of the four aspects of non-textual
in the selected US textbooks, by topic elements in the selected South Korean and US textbooks
F test Scheffe’s test South Korea United t p value
(n = 156) States (n = 141) (2-tailed)
n Mean (SD) F A–B B–C C–A
Mean (SD) Mean (SD)
Accuracy
Angle (A) 82 1.39 (.62) .097 Accuracy 1.60 (.68) 1.37 (.73) 4.53 \.01
Slope (B) 43 1.35 (.84) Connectivity 1.76 (.58) 1.70 (.60) 2.92 .374
Prime 16 1.31 (.95) Conciseness 1.63 (.64) 1.51 (.75) 3.03 .171
factorization (C) Contextuality .48 (.77) .57 (.86) 1.51 .325
Connectivity
Angle (A) 82 1.79 (.49) 2.801
Slope (B) 43 1.58 (.70) Table 9 Descriptive statistics of the four aspects of non-textual
Prime 16 1.50 (.73) elements in the South Korean textbooks, by textbook
factorization (C)
Textbook F-test
Conciseness
Angle (A) 82 1.63 (.62) 2.869 n Mean (SD) F
Slope (B) 43 1.37 (.87)
Accuracy
Prime 16 1.25 (.93)
K1 50 1.62 (.64) .120
factorization (C)
K2 58 1.62 (.70)
Contextuality
K3 48 1.56 (.71)
Angle (A) 82 .60 (.89) .097
Connectivity
Slope (B) 43 .56 (.85)
Prime 16 .50 (.73)
K1 50 1.78 (.58) .065
factorization (C) K2 58 1.74 (.58)
K3 48 1.77 (.59)
Conciseness
conciseness, and contextuality in the South Korean text- K1 50 1.66 (.63) .200
books are not different across topics, connectivity is sig- K2 58 1.59 (.62)
nificantly different, especially between angle and prime K3 48 1.65 (.70)
factorization. This means that non-textual elements used Contextuality
for prime factorization are not well connected with texts K1 50 .50 (.79) .107
compared with those for angle in Korean textbooks. K2 58 .50 (.78)
In the US textbooks studied, however, there is no sig- K3 48 .44 (.77)
nificant difference in each aspect across topics. Even
though there are significant differences in connectivity and
conciseness across the textbooks (see Table 5), such dif- for the four aspects. The results from the t tests show that
ferences are not observed in different topics (see Table 7). the mean difference in the scores of accuracy between the
In other words, although connectivity and conciseness vary two countries is significant. This seems to be consistent
across the selected textbooks, there are no significant dif- with the results from the report that many errors were
ferences in connectivity and conciseness across topics. This found in many US secondary mathematics textbooks
implies that such differences do not come from the nature (National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2008).
of different topics. ANOVA was used to analyze variations in the use of
non-textual elements across textbooks and explore the
4.3 Patterns across the selected US and South Korean patterns of these elements in different types of textbooks.
textbooks Textbooks K1, K2, and K3 are South Korean textbooks and
textbooks U1, U2, and U3 are US textbooks. While there is
Table 8 presents descriptive statistics for the scores of the no significant difference in the mean scores of the four
four aspects of non-textual elements between South Korea aspects of non-textual elements across the selected South
and the United States. Except for contextuality, the mean Korean textbooks as shown in Table 9, the US textbooks
scores of all the aspects of non-textual elements in the studied have more variation in non-textual elements across
selected South Korean textbooks are higher than their US textbooks as shown in Table 10. The Korean textbooks are
counterpart. However, the standard deviations for the US thus more uniform in terms of the four aspects of non-
textbooks are greater than those of the Korean textbooks textual elements across textbooks.

123
184 R. Y. Kim

Table 10 Descriptive statistics of the four aspects of non-textual 5 Conclusion and discussion
elements in the US textbooks, by textbook
F-test Scheffe’s test Overall, the results from this study show that non-textual
elements in the selected textbooks are by and large accu-
n Mean (SD) F U1–U2 U2–U3 U3–U1
rate, well connected and concise. However, pictorial rep-
Accuracy resentations which are highly contextualized tend not to be
U1 70 1.29 (.78) .910 accurate, well connected, or concise enough. Such repre-
U2 21 1.43 (.60) sentations are not likely to contribute to students’ mathe-
U3 50 1.46 (.71) matical understanding (Zazkis and Liljedahl 2004).
Connectivity Although pictorial representations are part of mathematics
U1 70 1.56 (.65) 4.112* textbooks, people usually assume that they are used only
U2 21 1.90 (.30) decoratively or motivationally so that they may not affect
U3 50 1.80 (.57) students’ mathematical understanding. However, many
Conciseness studies have already revealed the influence of pictorial
U1 70 1.33 (.79) 4.680* * representations on student learning (e.g. Misailidou and
U2 21 1.81 (.51) Williams 2003; Peeck 1993; Stylianidou 2002). In addi-
U3 50 1.64 (.72) tion, since pictorial representations can be used as tools for
Contextuality thinking by providing realistic contexts or images related to
U1 70 .93 (.95) 14.250*** ** *** problems or situations, it is important to ensure that they
U2 21 .29 (.72) are accurate, well connected, and concise enough to help
U3 50 .20 (.49)
students develop mathematical knowledge.
Considering the importance of understanding of math-
* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001 ematics within contexts, this calls attention to the devel-
opment of non-textual elements with not only contextuality
but also accuracy, connectivity, and conciseness. Also,
Compared with the South Korean textbooks, the US when curriculum developers and publishers choose a non-
textbooks studied have more variation in non-textual ele- textual element with realistic contexts, they should pay
ments across textbooks. Table 10 shows that there are more attention to which non-textual element could be the
significant mean differences in connectivity, conciseness, most appropriate one to explain the related concept with
and contextuality across textbooks. Unlike the South Kor- regard to accuracy, connectivity, and conciseness.
ean textbooks, the sampled US textbooks vary in terms of Regarding the variation of non-textual elements across
the four aspects of non-textual elements. For example, the topics, the results show that connectivity and conciseness
degree of mathematical connectivity of non-textual ele- of non-textual elements are significantly different across
ments differs across textbooks. In the lessons about angle, topics, especially between angle and prime factorization,
slope, and prime factorization, textbook U1 has more while accuracy and contextuality are not significantly dif-
complicated non-textual elements while textbook U2 has ferent across topics. In particular, significant difference is
simpler non-textual elements. The mean scores of con- observed in the Korean textbooks, especially between
ciseness between the two textbooks are also significantly angle and prime factorization. This means that non-textual
different. In terms of contextuality, textbook U1, a stan- elements in the lessons of prime factorization are less
dards-based textbook, is significantly different from text- concise and more disconnected with the concept compared
books U2 and U3. Considering that U2 is a conventional with those of angle. The greatest number of non-textual
textbook and U3 is a standards-based textbook, this shows elements is used in lessons about angle, and the least
that there is a variation not only between standards-based number is used in lessons about prime factorization in both
textbooks and the conventional textbook but also between South Korean and US textbooks. However, the result
the standards-based textbooks. Even though standards- indicates that there are few well-connected and concise
based textbooks are assumed to have more mathematical non-textual elements for prime factorization. In fact, only
problems embedded in real contexts, the extent of use of one type of mathematical representation, a tree graph, is
non-textual elements in realistic contexts can vary across found in the lessons of prime factorization. Even when it
different textbooks. Overall, whereas the South Korean comes to pictorial representations, around 71 % of them
textbooks studied are not significantly different in terms of are used as decorational. The rest of them are used as
aspects of non-textual elements, the US textbooks in the informative, for instance a picture of Eratosthenes with a
sample have significant differences in terms of all the sieve, which can hardly be used as a tool for thinking. Such
aspects of non-textual elements except accuracy. patterns of non-textual elements are not only a matter of

123
The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks
type of representations but also reflect opportunities to
learn mathematics.
This study offers a range of important implications.
First, it shows one possible way to assess the quality of
non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks and other
educational materials. Recently, increasing numbers of
non-textual elements have been incorporated into mathe-
matics textbooks to attract students’ and teachers’ atten-
tion. However, there has been no analytic framework or
tool to examine those non-textual elements. The results
from this study analyzing the selected South Korean and
US textbooks cannot be generalized. Yet, as an exploratory
investigation, the study provides not only an example of
how to analyze non-textual elements but also some
meaningful ideas about their current status. For instance,
there is significant difference between the Korean and US
textbooks in terms of accuracy. In addition, significant
differences are found not only between conventional and
standards-based textbooks but also among the standards-
based textbooks in terms of connectivity, conciseness, and
contextuality. Such comparison using the framework
allows us to get information about characteristics of each
textbook as well as to determine which aspect of non-
textual elements should be improved.
Additionally, even though realistic contexts are useful
for students in learning mathematics, this cannot be an
excuse for inaccurate, disconnected, or complicated real-
istic contexts being used in textbooks. Many pictorial
representations are used as merely decorational or infor-
mative, especially for prime factorization, as reported in
this study. Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen (2001) warns that
only giving realistic contexts which do not have any
mathematical connection does not mean that students can
do ‘‘mathematization’’ (Freudenthal 1991) in which stu-
dents re-create mathematics by solving problems in real
life. Reflecting on the results from the study, we need to
reconsider the quality of non-textual elements that are
contextualized as well as to find effective ways of
enhancing their quality.
Furthermore, with regard to mathematical conceptuali-
zation, we should introduce both contextual and mathe-
matical non-textual elements in teaching and learning.
Through different approaches, textbooks offer different
opportunities to learn mathematical ideas. For example,
whereas the South Korean textbooks are likely to use
abstract mathematical non-textual elements to explain the
concept of slope, the US textbooks tend to use contextual
non-textual elements to explain it. Such different approa-
ches may provide students in each country with different
opportunities to conceptualize the concept. For example,
slope can be explained as an algebraic idea that is rate of
change or as a geometric idea that is steepness (Battista
185
2007; Mitchelmore and White 2000). It could be hard for
students to understand the connection between the two
different approaches as well as the connection between the
concept of slope and its real-world application (Wagener
2009). While steepness of a hill can be recognized intui-
tively from our lives, rate of change in a graph may be hard
for students to understand. The different way of using non-
textual elements means not merely using different types of
non-textual elements. It is more related to mathematical
concepts. Considering that students should understand the
two different ideas together to learn advanced algebra and
geometry, it would be important to give opportunities to
learn from both approaches.
International comparative studies may allow us to see
students’ opportunities to learn in different countries as
well as to find alternative ways beyond our local discourse
and practice (Blömeke and Paine 2008, p. 2036). Many
comparative studies have found substantial gaps between
Korean and US students’ performance (e.g. Mayer et al.
1995; Schmidt et al. 2001; Stigler 1990; Stigler et al. 1982)
as well as similar gaps between Korean and American
teachers’ mathematical content knowledge (Schmidt et al.
2007). Differences in opportunities to learn mathematics
through non-textual elements could be one more explana-
tion for the gaps. The mean scores of all the aspects in the
South Korean textbooks are higher than those in the US
textbooks. However, while the South Korean textbooks do
not differ in terms of accuracy, connectivity, or concise-
ness, there are significant variations among the selected US
textbooks in terms of all the aspects but accuracy. This
could be also related to opportunities to learn mathematics
provided in classrooms. In addition, by looking at different
approaches of non-textual elements in mathematics text-
books across contexts, one can learn from the other to find
alternative ways to use and improve the quality of non-
textual elements in its own mathematics textbooks.
Lately, in order to attract students’ interest, many
mathematics textbooks in both countries have included
more non-textual elements than before. However, the
impact of such movement on students’ learning remains
unknown. Further discussions and policy debates on how to
develop and use non-textual elements in appropriate ways
in textbooks and other curriculum materials should be held.
In addition, further systematic analyses from practice
remain to be done, such as how non-textual elements have
been used historically in mathematics textbooks, how non-
textual elements in mathematics textbooks are actually
used in classrooms, and how non-textual elements have
been used in other topics and textbooks. This study makes a
unique contribution to the literature on non-textual ele-
ments in mathematics education and provides implications
for textbook analysis and curriculum development.
123
186
Acknowledgments This paper evolved out of a part of my doctoral
dissertation. I would like to thank Punya Mishra, Lynn Paine, Ralph
Putnam, Sharon Senk, and Nathalie Sinclair for their useful comments
and constructive suggestions. I also want to thank Sung Je Cho,
Gabriele Kaiser, and Oh Nam Kwon for their thoughtful consideration
and substantial support.
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