The volume Italian Research in Mathematics Education: 1988-1995 has been prepared, together with the volume Educational System and Teacher Training in Italy, on the occasion of the International Conference ICME 8 (Seville 1996). These two publications constitute an ideal continuation of the volumes Mathematical Education In Italy (ICME 6, Budapest, 1988) and The Italian Research in Mathematics Education: Common Roots and Present Trends (ICME 7, Québec, 1992), in the second of which, beside other questions, the main historical moments and the preminent choises in mathematical education in Italy from its Unification (1861) to present time are delineated.
The volume Italian Research in Mathematics Education: 1988-1995 intends to give the most realistic image possible of Italian studies in Mathematics Education and to document its present state. It is composed of a series of essays on specific themes, each of which offers an outline of studies carried out between 1988-1995 on the topic examined, and tries to frame them within an international context.
This work should not be considered only as a service offered to our foreign colleagues, but also to our Italian colleagues. Indeed, it has been an occasion of confrontation and reflection on the different styles of work and on the various topics dealt with in the realm of Mathematics Education. The papers examined range from materials for teacher training to advanced research, such as those concerning the processes of teaching-learning and their modelization or other theoretical studies.
We hope that this volume helps publicize the features of Italian research, its peculiarities, its cultural roots and its main trends. And, above all, that it helps put in focus the breadth and quality of Italian research, which is usually quite difficult to achieve because of the fact that the Italian language is so rarely spoken and read abroad.