As far as six key concepts in linear measurement are concerned, the results of the study indicated that the concept of unit iteration, zero point, and conservation are the concepts mentioned explicitly in the guide. Apart from the concept of partitioning which is embedded in the context of ruler construction task implicitly, we have not seen any implicit/explicit statements related to other important concepts. The absence of transitivity, accumulation of distance, and relationship between measurement and number is considered as the deficiency of the TEMC, since these concepts are essential for a complete understanding of linear measurement. Further, the content devoted to the understanding of ruler structure seems to be quite narrow. To illustrate, the figure below taken from the curriculum guide indicates how second grade students are expected to construct their centimeter rulers. Indeed, there is no opportunity for students to understand how a ruler works, apart from the one presented in the Figure 5 and the example problems mentioned previously (see p. 15). Considering conceptual and procedural knowledge elements included in the length measurement content, although the way the content delivered is dominated with conceptual knowledge elements, the learning objectives which cultivate students’ procedural competencies in linear measurement are outnumbered to those objectives which develop students’ understanding of the concepts. In other words, the length measurement in the TEMC employs conceptually oriented instruction in order to reach procedurally dominated learning expectations. Overall, it can be concluded that in spite of some weaknesses, the length measurement content in the Turkish Elementary Mathematics Curriculum seems to have potential to provide learning opportunities for young children to develop the concepts and skills involved in length measurement. Finally, several suggestions can be drawn from the study. First and foremost, the six key concepts of length measurement should be included explicitly in the content in a spiral manner. Considering the fact that preschool education is not compulsory in Turkey, the increased emphasis on these important concepts is needed. Indeed, it will be better, if these important concepts become learning objectives. Secondly, the learning
and teaching activities for facilitating students’ understanding of measuring processes built into rulers seems to be superficial and inadequate. Therefore, detailed information on how a teacher guides his/her students to understand the underpinnings of a ruler should be provided. In addition, different activities in a variety of contexts (e.g. working on a broken ruler) might be included in the curriculum. Thirdly, the curriculum guide should inform the teacher about common student misconceptions and difficulties in linear measurement as well as research findings. This kind of information might be valuable input for removing the barriers that blocks a student from learning. As a closing remark, it must be noted that a well-written mathematics curriculum is not the only factor influencing students’ understanding.