ABSTRACT
This handbook was initiated in response to a number of recent global catalysts that have had an impact on mathematics education and mathematics education research. In proposing the book, I made two fundamental claims. First, I noted-not surprisingly-that many nations are experiencing a considerable challenge in their quest to improve mathematics education for their students, the future leaders of society. Second, I claimed that mathematics education research was static for much of the 1990s and currently is not providing the much-needed direction for our future growth. In connection with the latter point, I argued that the most important questions are not being answered. Other researchers expressed similar sentiments in the late 1990s. Bauersfeld (1997), for example, likened development in mathematics education research to “a mere change of recipes” (p. 615), claiming that “too often, the choice of a research agenda follows actual models, easily available methods, and local preferences rather than an engagement in hot problems that may require unpleasant, arduous, and time-intensive investigations” (p. 621). More recently, Lesh and Lovitts (2000) com-mented that the mathematics education research community is often perceived to be “driven by whims and curiosities of researchers rather than by an attempt to address real problems” (p. 52).
