Investigating Learning Tasks in the Century of Turkey Education Model 5th Grade Mathematics Textbook: Financial Literacy Education and Cognitive Demand Level

Abstract

The Century of Turkey Education Model, introduced in 2024, emphasizes developing critical thinking and analytical skills, with the Mathematics Curriculum. This curriculum integrates literacy skills in learning objectives, particularly financial literacy, to empower students in making informed economic decisions and managing resources effectively. Research highlights the strong link between cognitive skills and financial literacy, noting that individuals with higher cognitive abilities excel in financial literacy and make better financial decisions. Since mathematics textbooks, play a crucial role in fostering these skills by incorporating tasks that enhance cognitive and analytical abilities, this study investigates financial literacy related tasks in the 5th-grade mathematics textbook and assesses requested cognitive demand to complete these tasks. These tasks were identified based on the PISA Financial Literacy Framework’s content dimension. The findings indicated that learning tasks related to financial literacy are primarily concentrated under the ‘Numbers and Quantities’ theme. Moreover, in the ‘Geometric Shapes’ or ‘From Data to Probability’ themes, learning tasks could not be categorized under any subcategories of content dimension. On the other hand, regarding the PISA financial literacy content dimension, the learning tasks were mostly related with the ‘Money and Transactions’ subcategory. Additionally, in terms of cognitive demand levels, most tasks were categorized as requiring ‘High-Level Cognitive Demand’, with only a few tasks involving ‘Low-Level Cognitive Demand’ like memorization. This imbalance suggests a need for greater diversity in task types and cognitive demand levels to ensure more comprehensive and inclusive approach to financial literacy education.