A review and prospect of educational research on operation laws in primary school mathematics in China

Based on a search of the CNKI database, this study reviews 230 research articles on operation laws in primary school mathematics in China. The findings indicate that research on the teaching of operation laws has yielded substantial results, with a large number of lesson case studies and instructional designs, reflecting a strong practical orientation. However, most of the relevant literature is authored by frontline mathematics teachers based on practical teaching experience, and thus the academic rigor and scientific quality of the research need to be improved. There remains considerable room for curriculum research grounded in curriculum standards and textbooks; the textbook analysis framework has yet to reflect the disciplinary characteristics of mathematics; and research on teachers and evaluation is lacking. Future research should strengthen theoretical inquiry into operation laws and enhance the systematicity of such research, innovate textbook research methods from the perspective of disciplinary thinking, and integrate curriculum, teaching, learning, teacher, and evaluation dimensions so as to broaden research approaches, optimize practical pathways for teaching operation laws, gradually embody the concepts of the new curriculum standards, and cultivate students’ core competencies.