Practitioner Research and the Construction of Knowledge in Mathematics Education

What is research in mathematics education? In this chapter we start from the position that it is the intentionally controlled examination of issues, within and related to the learning and teaching of mathematicsy through a process of inquiry that leads to the production of (provisional) knowledge both about the objects of the inquiry and the means of carrying out that inquiry. We further suggest that research in mathematics education is of limited value unless it affects classroom practice and experience. Thus a criterion for important research is the applicability of outcomes of the research to the classroom. In other words, the most important location for constructed knowledge of mathematics education is within the practitioner, and its most important manifestation is the knowledge-in-action displayed by the teacher in the classroom.