Illusion of linearity: comparison of German and Croatian high school students

Marković, Martina. (2016). Illusion of linearity: comparison of German and Croatian high school students. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology. [mentor Pavlin-Bernardić, Nina].

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare Croatian and German high school students in relation to type of school, gender and age. A total of 238 students of second and fourth grades were given a list of 15 mathematical word problems (5 linear problems, 5 non-linear area problems, 5 non-linear volume problems). Results show that students of Croatian mathematical-informatics grammar school solved non-linear problems most successfully, followed by students from German grammar school of general profile, while Croatian general grammar school students were least successful in solving non-linear tasks. This finding can be partially explained by the comparison of curricula in both countries and by examining teaching practices in Germany (Bayern) and Croatia. Also, this finding emphasizes a serious problem regarding teaching methods in problem solving area. Boys outperformed girls in both general profile grammar schools, while girls and boys were equally successful in mathematical-informatics grammar school where also expectations of each student regarding mathematics performance are very high. Older students’ performance on non-linear problems was better than younger students' performance in German sample and also in a sample of students from Croatian mathematical- informatics grammar school.

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