Epistemological Obstacles in the Process of Learning Mathematical Abstraction: A Systematic Literature Review

This study aims to analyze students’ mathematical abstraction abilities as epistemological obstacles in mathematics learning over the past ten years (2015 2024). A total of 65 articles were collected from the ERIC, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, of which 27 employed a didactical design research approach. The most commonly encountered learning obstacles were epistemological (55%), followed by didactical (24%) and ontological obstacles (21%). The main difficulties experienced by students included challenges in understanding concepts, performing mathematical representations, applying procedures, and solving problems. Epistemological obstacles in the process of mathematical abstraction were identified through students’ tendencies to unconsciously reduce levels of abstraction. These reductions occurred in three interpretations of abstraction levels: the relationship between the thinker and the object of thought, the dual nature of objects and processes, and the complexity involved in understanding mathematical concepts. The findings highlight the critical need to address abstraction-related difficulties to support effective mathematics learning.