Reform as an Issue for Mathematics Education Research: Thinking About Change, Communication, and Cooperation

Mathematics education research is a theoretical and practical enterprise. But even in its most theoretical form, it aims ultimately to bring about changes for the better in what we teach, how we teach, and what we hope learners will learn. In this way, mathematics education research, whether theoretical or practical, is never far from the effort to reform mathematics teaching and learning. How fruitful actual reforms will be depends not only on the quality of the particular proposals we make but also on how well we understand the nature and processes of reform. While some of these processes are completely general, others are connected specifically with mathematics education and are distinct enough to warrant giving the investigation of reform in mathematics education a permanent place in the overall program of mathematics education research.