Basic Criteria for Research in Mathematics Education

Abstract

Those who are employed in education in the 1990s feel, quite rightly, that they are blamed for the world’s ills. The shortcomings of the education system of a country are often high on the political agenda, and they are given considerable media space. In the United Kingdom, there have been 14 major educational ‘reforms’ in the last 14 years. Central to these changes is the belief of the Government that education is too important to leave to the professionals or those who have qualifications in education, and that decisions should be made by the representative of the person in the street. Governors of schools now have considerable power, and lessons in those schools are by law inspected every four years. Both governors and inspectors do not need to have educational qualifications — by government design, not because of a grave shortage of qualified personnel. In such a climate when the education workforce is de-professionalized, it is import­ant that those doing research in mathematics education state the criteria by which they work and take decisions worthy of a profession.