Journal of Research in Instructional
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Research in Instructional

Integration of socio-cultural digital teaching materials to enhance problem-solving and self-efficacy in elementary school mathematics

Nurlaela Nurlaela (Universitas Negeri Malang)
Slamet Arifin (Universitas Negeri Malang)
Siti Faizah (Universitas Negeri Malang)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study developed and evaluated socio-cultural digital teaching materials for elementary mathematics and examined their validity, practicality, and effectiveness in improving students’ problem solving and self-efficacy. We employed a Research & Development design (Borg & Gall; 7 modified stages). A one-group pretest–posttest field try-out was conducted with Grade-5 students (n = 45). Instruments included a Polya-based problem-solving test and a self-efficacy questionnaire (5-point Likert); expert validation covered content, media, and language. Analyses comprised descriptive statistics, Shapiro–Wilk, paired t-test, N-Gain, effect size (Cohen’s dz), reliability (Cronbach’s α) and inter-rater agreement (Cohen’s κ), and Pearson correlation. Findings indicate very high validity (mean 91.1%) and high practicality (teachers 90.2%; students 88.0%; on-task observation 86.4%). Problem-solving performance rose from 55.3 (SD 11.2) to 76.8 (SD 10.1) with N-Gain = 0.48 (moderate), t(44) = 8.75; p < .001; dz = 1.30; the largest gains appeared in understand and look back. Self-efficacy increased from 3.10 (SD 0.52) to 3.78 (SD 0.49) with t(44) = 7.36; p < .001; dz = 1.10. Changes in self-efficacy correlated moderately and positively with problem-solving N-Gain (r = 0.41; p = 0.005). The results support the combined use of local cultural contexts, multimedia-learning principles, and Polya-based strategy scaffolding as a feasible and impactful approach to strengthening mathematical competence and self-belief in elementary students.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jri

Publisher

Subject

Description

Journal of Research in Instructional is an Open Access Journal published by the Universitas Papua. Journal of Research in Instructional is regularly published bi-annually. By publishing bi-annually: June and December Journal of Research in Instructional is intended to communicate original researches ...