Research Article

Voice of Middle School Students: Illuminating Their Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge in Fractions

Volume: 10 Number: 2 December 25, 2025
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Voice of Middle School Students: Illuminating Their Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge in Fractions

Abstract

This study explored sixth- and seventh-grade students’ conceptual and procedural fractional knowledge. The participants comprised 30 purposely selected students (aged 12-13) from a private middle school in Istanbul. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design; first, a well established fractions test was utilized to assess the students' conceptual and procedural understanding; this was followed by classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed a statistically significant correlation between conceptual and procedural knowledge, and high-achieving students exhibited a combination of these knowledge domains, while low-achieving students relied predominantly on procedural knowledge. This study underscores the importance of fostering a balanced acquisition of both conceptual and procedural knowledge in fractions to enhance mathematical understanding and skills among middle school students.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research was not supported.

Ethical Statement

We received ethical approval from the MEF University Ethics Committee, numbered MEF-13052019.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Mathematics Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

December 25, 2025

Submission Date

October 3, 2025

Acceptance Date

November 26, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 10 Number: 2

APA
Birgili, B., & Saralar, İ. (2025). Voice of Middle School Students: Illuminating Their Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge in Fractions. Ihlara Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 10(2), 233-250. https://doi.org/10.47479/ihead.1796702

Dear Colleagues,
We are very pleased to announce that the latest issue of IHEAD (Vol. 10- Iss. 2) has been released. We kindly want to express our speacial thanks to the editorial board members, reviewers, and authors for their invaluable contribution to this issue. Also, we are delighted to announce that the next issue (Vol. 11- Iss. 1) of the IHEAD will be available online in June, 2026. As of January, 2024, IHEAD has been accepting submissions in English along with Turkish. Handling your papers within the scope education for the next issue will be a great pleasure for us. Many thanks in advance for your contributions.
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