<![CDATA[Purpose: This study examined whether the “Mathematics Around Us” strategy, an adaptation of Realistic Mathematics Education that treats students’ everyday surroundings as a deliberately designed non-digital learning medium, was associated with gains in mathematical literacy, numeracy, and student engagement among primary students in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Method: A quantitatively prioritized convergent mixed-methods design was used. The quantitative strand employed a pretest–posttest non-equivalent control-group quasi-experiment with 60 grade-V students purposively sampled from six intact classes in three public schools (30 experimental, 30 control) over six weeks. The qualitative strand drew on classroom observations and interviews with 18 students and six teachers and was integrated with the quantitative findings at the interpretation stage. Because treatment was allocated at the class level and only six classes were involved, inferential results are interpreted as exploratory. Findings: The experimental group showed larger gains than the control group in mathematical literacy, numeracy, and overall engagement. Between-group Hedges’ g values were 1.87, 1.54, and 1.62, respectively, and covariate-adjusted mean differences were 20.8, 19.9, and 12.8 points. Qualitative themes highlighted contextual relevance, reduced mathematics anxiety, deeper conceptual understanding, collaboration, teacher creativity, and preparation workload. Significance: The findings provide preliminary evidence that the everyday environment can be deliberately designed as a mathematics learning medium, while also indicating that teacher readiness and preparation demands are important conditions for implementation.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
