Praxeology review: Comparing Singaporean and Indonesian textbooks in introducing the concept of sets

Abstract

Singapore has successfully implemented mathematics textbooks as a widely referenced part of the curriculum. Nevertheless, not all countries can fit into the offered concept. There are gaps and other interesting factors to investigate, especially regarding the comparison with Indonesia. This study aimed to compare the concepts of Singaporean and Indonesian textbooks on a more specific topic, namely the concept of mathematical sets. The comparative study was conducted on two official handbooks of the two countries, which were reviewed in praxeology (T, τ, θ, and Θ). The research data were limited to the topic of the concept of sets in the two books, ignoring other material as part of the depth of the study. Qualitative research with a hermeneutic phenomenology approach was chosen as an alternative method, and this study is a study at the prospective stage of the entire series of Indonesian versions of didactical design research. The data showed a uniqueness, characterizing the textbooks’ quality from each perspective. The similarity and specialization of the textbooks were indicated by the type of task regarding the definition of sets (T1) and the form of the praxis block. There were striking differences in the complexity of task design in influencing the perceptual, memorial, introspective, and a priori.<i> </i>The characteristics of material presentation considered the students’ culture and character in each country, making these textbooks worthy of reference. Although studying math topics was quite tricky, a praxeological study of textbooks from both countries provided a new perspective on how task design played an essential role in making material presentation more acceptable to students.