“EXPLORING STUDENTS’ PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITY IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW”

Abstract

This systematic literature review explores problem-solving abilities in mathematics education and their impact on the learning process. The study analyzes 40 review articles from the ERIC and Scopus databases published between January 2020 and January 2024 to address three research questions. The results indicate that research on problem-solving is distributed across six continents: Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. The United States has the highest number of publications, g-index, and h-index, making it the most productive country. The majority of research focuses on its relevance to teachers and prospective teachers, with 15 published articles. The remaining articles address mathematical problem-solving abilities related to students at different educational levels. There are 5 publications related to the elementary school level, 5 publications for the junior high school level (n = 5 articles), 5 publications for the senior high school level (n = 5 articles), and 9 publications for the higher education level. Additionally, the researcher identifies factors influencing students' mathematical problem-solving abilities. It is found that these abilities are influenced by factors originating from individuals (internal factors) and factors originating from outside individuals (external factors). This research is crucial for recommending effective learning methods to enhance students' mathematical problem-solving abilities by considering the influencing factors.