Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to compare the elementary school mathematics textbooks of grade 1-6 between Thai and Japan. The comparative study was conducted in 3 perspectives: (1) Content consisted of performance expectations and affective domain. (2) Presentation of content consisted of types of problems, type of exercises and types of presentation of content and (3) Format. The findings were as follows: 1. In terms of the content in the elementary school mathematics textbooks of grade 1-6 of Thailand, addition, substraction, multiplication and division were found to be presented most. In grade 5, measurement, area and volume were found to be presented most. In terms of the content in the Japanese elementary school mathematics textbooks of grade 1-3, addition, substraction, multiplication and division were also found to be presented most. In grade 4, decimal was found to be presented most. In grade 5-6, measurement, area and volume was emphasized most. In terms of the performance expectations for mathematics of grade 1-6, understanding was emphasized most in Thai and Japanese textbooks. According to affective domain on mathematics of grade 1-6, the Japanese textbooks emphasized both promoting interest in mathematics and cultivating an inquiring mind more than mathematics textbooks of Thailand. 2.In terms of types of problems presented in Thai textbooks of grade 1-6, drill exercises were found most. Types of problems presented in the Japanese textbooks of grade 1-5, drill exercises were emphasized most. However in grade 6, simple translation problems were emphasized most. In terms of types of exercises, filling numbers or finding answers were found most in the Thai elementary school mathematics textbooks of grade 1-5. In grade 6, algorithm and solving equation were emphasized. Types of exercises in the Japanese textbooks of grade 1-6, filling numbers or finding answers were emphasized most. According to types of presentation of content in both Thai and Japanese textbooks of grade 1-6, exercises were found most. 3.In terms of format, the Thai textbooks of grade 1-6 were found larger and thicker than her counterpart. Front cover and back cover of all grades were made of art paper while the front cover and back cover of Japanese textbooks of grade 1-6 were made of card paper. Title page and text paper of Thai textbooks of grade 1-6 were made of proof paper but Japanese textbooks of all grades were made of bond paper.