Theories That Gyre and Gimble in the Wabe<product> <article-title>Mathematics Education as a Research Domain: A Search for Identity</article-title> <contrib-group><contrib> <name index="Sierpinska, Anna"> <given-names>Anna</given-names> <surname>Sierpinska</surname> </name> </contrib></contrib-group> <contrib-group><contrib> <name index="Kilpatrick, Jeremy"> <given-names>Jeremy</given-names> <surname>Kilpatrick</surname> </name> </contrib></contrib-group> </product>

Most mathematicians consider themselves, at least to some degree, to be both educators and researchers. Yet few embrace or even respect the subject at the intersection of these fields: research in mathematics education. Mathematicians rarely apply their own logical acumen to assessment of teaching and learning, nor do they often read the vast and growing literature in educational research. They are conflicted about evaluating the professional work of researchers in mathematics education and often resist pressure to publish (or even review) educational research in mainstream professional journals. Few look to educational research for insight when seeking to improve their own teaching. Why is this? Many researchers in mathematics education believe their field is the victim of prejudice by a conservative old guard who reject anything that does not fit the paradigm of classical scientific research. Mathematics departments have a long history of resisting new interdisciplinary fields (e.g., statistics, operations research, applied mathematics, computer science). Indeed, according to a recent NSF review committee, mathematicians still disdain connections with outside fields, even when such isolation hurts their self-interest. Research in mathematics education may well be just the latest victim of mathematicians' hubris. On the other hand, perhaps the phrase "research in mathematics education" is simply a pretension, if not an oxymoron. Is mathematics education even susceptible to research? What might be the aims of such research? What are the objects of study? What are the chief questions? What are the main theories? What are the key results? What are the criteria? What are the important applications? Critics of research in mathematics education point to the paucity of answers to these questions as evidence that what we are dealing with here is more like a political movement than a scientific discipline. In response to these and related concerns, the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) convened experts in mathematics education research from around the world and asked them to clarify the identity of their discipline. The purpose of this study conference, held in May 1994 at the University of Maryland, was not to describe the state of the art but to identify perspectives, goals,