Problem solving in mathematics textbooks

Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyse how mathematical problem solving (MPS) is represented in mathematical textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis comprises dominating Swedish textbook series, and relates to uncovering a) the quantity of tasks that are actually mathematical problems (MPs), b) their location in the chapter, c) their difficulty level, and d) their context. Based on an analysis of 5,722 tasks from the area of calculus, it is concluded that the textbooks themselves contain very few tasks that can be defined as MPs, and that those that are MPs are found at the end of a chapter at the most difficult level, and are presented in a pure mathematical context. Implications are discussed.