Mathematical Modelling of a Social Problem: Pension Tax Issues

Abstract

Problems in students’ social world, the natural world and built environment have proved to be fruitful sources of tasks for junior high school students in the past. Pension tax issues were taken up as a teaching material for mathematical modelling, and an educational experiment for junior high school students was conducted. Students were asked to think about the mathematical solution of the prefecture tax rate on the basis of the data about Osaka Prefecture. A proportion model for the 7th grade students and a linear function model for the 9th grade students were used in this experiment. As a result of the teaching experiment, the percentage of students who felt that mathematics was useful for solving real-world problems increased. Students showed high interest in the task context but only 50–60 % indicated a desire to find other solutions than the first one.