Analysis of negative expressions in the 2022 Revised Mathematics Curriculum: A comparative study with the U.S., U.K., Canada, Singapore, and Australia

This study aims to analyze the instances of negative expressions found in the 2022 Revised Mathematics Curriculum documents and to explore their implications for mathematics education. To this end, a qualitative content analysis was con ducted, and comparisons were made with mathematics curriculum documents from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. The findings revealed that the 2022 Revised Mathematics Curriculum contained a high fre quency of negative expressions, whereas the curriculum documents of the comparison countries were primarily framed using positive expressions, with negative expressions appearing only in a very limited manner. In particular, the most frequently occur ring negative expression in the 2022 Revised Mathematics Curriculum, “should not covered,” was found to potentially constrain teachers’ instructional practices and restrict students’ opportunities for exploratory learning. Based on these findings, this study suggests that not only mathematics curriculum documents but also mathematics education policy more broadly should shift from negative expressions toward positive and open-ended language, thereby ensuring teachers’ autonomy and supporting students’ opportunities for inquiry.