Real-life connections in Japan and the Netherlands : National teaching patterns and cultural beliefs

Abstract

The TIMSS 1999 Video Study revealed that Japan had the lowest (of the seven participating countries) amount of real-life connections in the eight grade mathematics classrooms, whereas the Netherlands had the highest amount of connections with real life. This article examines more closely how these ideas were actually implemented by teachers in these two countries. A comparison of the national teaching patterns and the cultural beliefs concerning real-life connections indicate that Japanese teachers might actually follow some of the ideas and principles of the Dutch tradition of Realistic Mathematics Education to a stronger degree than Dutch teachers.