Preface
The first doctorates in mathematics education in the United States were awarded in the early years of the twentieth century. By the end of the century, more than 100 U.S. institutions were offering such doctorates, and between 50 and 100 doctorates were being awarded annually with mathematics education as their major area. In some instances, an institution offered a specific doctoral program in mathematics education, but in most, the program was more general. Mathematics education might be only one of several specialties within such programs as general education, curriculum and instruction, or mathematics. Some of the mathematics education doctoral programs were located in departments of mathematics–particularly in institutions that had begun as teachers colleges–but the great majority were to be found in schools or colleges of education.
As the century ended, employment opportunities in mathematics education expanded, and there was a severe shortage of qualified applicants for new faculty positions. University mathematics departments were seeking mathematics educators not only to teach courses in mathematics or mathematics education for teachers but also to conduct research into the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. School districts and state departments of education were seeking mathematics educators who could lead staff projects in curriculum development, professional development, and assessment. The question of what preparation a doctoral program in mathematics education could and should provide candidates for these new positions was becoming increasingly knotty.
As a field that straddles the liberal arts and the professions, mathematics education has always had a blurred institutional identity. It is not surprising, therefore, that doctoral studies in the field take many forms. Although from time to time, particularly in the last three decades, surveys have been conducted of U.S. doctoral programs in mathematics education, there has been little in the way of up-to-date, substantive information on those programs and no information on proposed new or redesigned programs.
To begin the process of examining, discussing, and guiding doctoral programs in mathematics education, a National Conference on Doctoral Programs in Mathematics Education was held in October 1999 at Lake Ozark, Missouri. It was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and was preceded by a year of preparation that included a comprehensive survey of programs.
Both the survey and the conference were designed and conducted under the direction of an organizing committee. The committee met in Atlanta in October 1998 to provide ideas for the survey and suggestions for the conference themes and speakers. Members of the committee were F. Joe Crosswhite, Ohio State University (emeritus); Elizabeth Fennema, University of Wisconsin (emerita); Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Michigan State University; Martin Johnson, University of Maryland; Jeremy Kilpatrick, University of Georgia; Mary Lindquist, Columbus State University; Pat Thompson, Vanderbilt University; and James Wilson, University of Georgia. The survey was conducted in the spring of 1999 by Robert Reys, Bob Glasgow, Gay Ragan, and Ken Simms, all at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The conference was designed to provide a dialogue regarding
the nature of current doctoral programs in mathematics education,
ways of strengthening such programs, and
suggestions and guidelines for faculty engaged in restructuring an existing program or creating a new one.
The conference was by invitation only. Invitations were sent to one faculty member from each of the institutions identified by the survey as among the 30 largest U.S. producers of doctorates in mathematics education. Faculty from 43 institutions were represented, and these institutions accounted for about 60% of the doctorates in mathematics education awarded during the last 20 years. Invitations were also extended to faculty members involved in establishing new doctoral programs in mathematics education at their institutions, individuals with first-hand knowledge and perspectives on non-U.S. programs, and others representing organizations involved with the teaching of mathematics, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, the Mathematical Association of America, the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, and the National Science Foundation. A complete list of participants is provided in appendix A.
Before the conference, the participants were sent a draft of the survey results. One conference session was devoted to a discussion of those results and their implications. Other conference sessions focused on the genesis of U.S. doctoral programs, major program components, the match between preparation and employment, challenges in developing new and revising existing programs, doctoral programs from an international perspective, and actions to be taken as a consequence of the conference. Groups of participants discussed preparation in research, in mathematics, in mathematics education, and in teaching. Discussions were also held on the changing nature of dissertations, program features beyond course work, distance learning, and recruiting and funding doctoral students. In addition to scheduled presentations, the conference was organized to encourage and facilitate informal discussions. Appendix B contains the agenda for the conference.
At the closing session, participants identified several prevalent themes that surfaced during the conference. There was clear consensus on the need for more information about doctoral programs in mathematics education. A more controversial issue related to the need for and value of guidelines for such programs. Although no consensus was reached, there was agreement that this issue was important and needed further deliberation. Conference participants were invited to share their personal reflections on the conference, and their papers are included in this publication.
This volume, the first organized collection to focus specifically on doctoral programs in mathematics education, contains both papers prepared for the conference and papers submitted afterward. The collection is arranged in sections dealing with background information on programs, core components of programs, issues and reactions concerning program organization, and ideas for future action.
To all the conference participants, we express our gratitude for the many thoughtful ideas and suggestions they proposed. This publication allows much of that information to be communicated to a broader audience. We are especially grateful, therefore, to those participants who contributed to the papers in this collection. We recognize the many demands on their time and appreciate their willingness to share their knowledge and experience on the sometimes controversial questions surrounding our topic.
Finally, we thank the National Science Foundation for providing financial support for the project and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics for making the conference papers available through this publication. We hope these papers will stimulate discussion and prove useful to anyone involved in preparing future doctoral candidates in mathematics education.
R. E. R & J. K.