Argumentation in K-12 Mathematics and Science Education: A Content Analysis of Articles

Abstract

The current study employed a content analysis approach to analyze and compare argumentation research in K-12 mathematics and science education published on top five academic journals with the highest impact factor from 2010 to 2019. It includes 9 research articles in the field of mathematics education and 77 research articles in the field of science education. The objectives of this study are to examine the similarities and differences in number of articles, contributors by nationality, method and design, subject, model, setting, and research topics. The results show that despite the argumentation research trend in both contexts tends to decrease, there are more researches related to argumentation on science subject compared to mathematics at K-12 level. These results have an impact on the increasingly diverse categories of argumentation studies in K-12 science. The implications of this research can obviously provide insights to the study of argumentation for mathematics education, science, and education researchers.