ABSTRACT

From 2006, Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) has included a Thematic Working Group on applications and modelling (WGAM). Since then, the WGAM has been part of the infrastructure of the international research community on the teaching and learning of mathematical modelling and applications. Returning to the need for a more systemic approach to the integration of applications and modelling in mathematics education as pinpointed by W. Blum, the authors note that in many European countries secondary education serves both the purpose of general education for citizenship in a democracy and the purpose of preparation for further education and professions. The WGAM contributions display a broad shared understanding of the basic notions and the research achievements, although the field is still being researched within different theoretical frameworks and perspectives. In many European countries, applications and modelling is already part of the mathematics curricula, especially at the secondary level, and in several other countries there is a quest for reforms.