The mathematical basis of science education in middle school textbooks: A comparison of the 1950s, 1980s, and 2020s educational periods

This study conducts a comparative analysis of Turkey's national middle school science textbooks published in 1954, 1984, and 2024, examining how the mathematical foundations embedded in science curriculum materials have evolved over a seventy-year period. Using MAXQDA-assisted qualitative content analysis, all explanatory examples, problem contexts, and thematic emphases were coded according to six subcategories of mathematical foundations: (1) numerical and proportional reasoning, (2) measurement and unit/dimensional analysis, (3) algebraic modeling and functional thinking, (4) geometric and spatial reasoning, (5) data analysis with statistics and probability, and (6) rate of change with calculus. Frequency tables and visualizations were generated to track shifts in the distribution and contextualization of these elements across time. The findings reveal a clear transition from the fact-oriented and canonical problem structures of the 1954 text toward the inquiry-based, real-world, and interdisciplinary applications that characterize the 2024 materials. The content of the 1984 edition occupies an intermediate position, showing that science teaching increasingly requires a mathematical language, but that this language has not yet been fully integrated. This shift reflects broader transformations in educational philosophy, curricular priorities, and pedagogical design within science education. The study contributes to a historical understanding of mathematics–science integration and provides valuable insights for curriculum developers, textbook authors, and education historians.