Assessing Middle School Students' Grasp of Definitions and Postulates in Euclid's Elements Volume I

Many junior high school students lack exposure to the fundamental definitions and postulates of Euclid's Elements, leading to gaps in their understanding of basic geometric concepts. This research addresses the need to assess students' comprehension levels of Euclid's Elements in mathematics education. This research is qualitative and uses case study methods. The case study was conducted on eight junior high school students(six females and two males), from Padang, Indonesia. The instruments used in this research were open interviews and written tests related to the definition and postulates of Euclid's Elements Volume I. The data analysis was analyzed using Categorization Analysis (Content Analysis). The results assess the extent of junior high school students' knowledge and understanding of the definitions and postulates in Euclid's Elements Volume I. The findings of this research highlight the need to strengthen the teaching of Euclid’s definitions and postulates in junior high school curricula to improve students' understanding of basic geometric concepts. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of historical mathematical texts in education and suggests further studies on effective instructional methods to enhance students' comprehension and reasoning skills.