The effect of everyday life problems used in mathematics education on mathematical literacy, anxiety, motivation and achievement

In this study, the aim was to investigate the effect of everyday life problems used in mathematics education on mathematical literacy, anxiety, motivation, and achievement. The research employed a semi-experimental design using a pre-test-post-test matched control group design. The study group consisted of 123 students from the 10th grade of an Anatolian high school affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Adıyaman center during the 2020-2021 academic year. The students in the study group were divided into two groups by equating two branches with the closest academic achievement from four branches, and the instruction was carried out through distance education via the Education Informatics Network. One of these groups was determined as the experimental group through random selection, while the other group was designated as the control group. Prior to the experimental procedures and after the implementation, a 20-item multiple-choice achievement test developed by the researcher, the PISA (2006) mathematical literacy test, the mathematics anxiety scale, and the motivation scale related to mathematics were used. Within the scope of the research, literature related to everyday life problems, as well as national and international exams, were examined, and expert opinions were taken into account to plan teaching activities related to everyday life problems used in a 7-week mathematics instruction for the 10th grade. Students in the control group received regular lessons based on the Ministry of Education (2018) curriculum. According to the findings, there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group in terms of the final test scores of both the control and experimental groups, function unit achievement scores, self-efficacy sub-dimension of the mathematics motivation scale, function unit achievement test attainment scores, and mathematical literacy attainment scores. While there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the final test scores of the experimental group in terms of the function unit achievement test and mathematical literacy scores between the pre-test and post-test scores, it was concluded that there was a significant difference in favor of the pre-test for the anxiety scores related to mathematics exams and the expectation sub-dimension of the mathematics motivation scale. In the control group, there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the final test scores of the function unit achievement test, and it was concluded that there was a significant difference in favor of the pre-test for the anxiety scale, the scores related to mathematics exams, and exam evaluation anxiety scores. Based on the results obtained from the research, some recommendations were provided to researchers and practitioners interested in this field.