Internationally, questions about the perceived utility of university mathematics for teaching school mathematics pose an ongoing challenge for secondary mathematics teacher education. This special issue is dedicated to exploring this topic and related issues in the preparation of secondary mathematics teachers--by which we mean teachers of…

We study the ideas about teaching and learning mathematics that undergraduate students generate when they encounter tasks designed to embed approximations of teaching practice in mathematics courses taken by a general population of students. These tasks attend to the dual goals of developing an understanding of mathematics content and an…

One of the challenges of university mathematics courses in secondary teacher preparation is incorporating pedagogical discussions. The focus in a mathematics course is--and should be--on mathematics. But research also suggests that without addressing pedagogical implications these content courses are not meaningful to secondary teachers' future…

Mathematics teacher education programs in the United States are charged with preparing prospective secondary teachers (PSTs) to teach reasoning and proving across grade levels and mathematical topics. Although most programs require a course on proof, PSTs often perceive it as disconnected from their future classroom practice. Our design research…

Advanced mathematics is seen as an integral component of secondary teacher preparation, and thus most secondary teacher preparation programs require their students to complete an array of advanced mathematics courses. In recent years, though, researchers have questioned the utility of proposed connections between advanced and secondary…

This paper examines how different approaches in mathematics education conceptualise the relationship between school mathematics and university mathematics. The approaches considered here include: (a) Klein's elementary mathematics from a higher standpoint; (b) Shulman's transformation of disciplinary subject matter into subject matter for…

We report on a group theory activity in which learners explored dihedral symmetries through a tangible geometric model. This approach has historical roots in the work of Felix Klein's Erlangen Program and his "Elementary Mathematics from an Advanced Standpoint." We situate our study with respect to this history as well as current…

Tertiary mathematics has a central place in teacher education, yet in recent years there is growing evidence that realizing its potential affordances in secondary mathematics teaching is far from trivial. Research suggests that utilizing tertiary mathematics in secondary teaching requires interweaving it with knowledge for teaching secondary…

Intending to counteract Klein's second discontinuity in teacher education, we explored and applied the innovation of "interface ePortfolio" in the context of a geometry course for preservice teachers (PSTs). The tool offers the possibility of implementing the design principle of "profession orientation." In the article, we…

This study focuses on the potential of university mathematics courses to advance teachers' knowledge regarding an important component of knowledge about the nature of mathematics as a scientific discipline, namely the mutual contribution between mathematics and various fields: mathematics contributes to solving problems in different fields, and…

A tertiary course in Quantitative Reasoning (QR) has the potential to develop key practical and intellectual skills for citizenship, such as critical thinking, problem solving, quantitative literacy, and oral and written communication. In this article, we present research conducted on four instructors of such a QR course for students enrolled in a…

This paper revisits and reanalyses data from a study carried out in the further education and training sector in the Republic of Ireland to investigate (1) how adults access and participate in numeracy courses and (2) how adult numeracy provision might support active citizenship. We analysed 45 interviews with adult education providers, adult…

Our current multicultural societies require that education addresses diversity and promotes cultural awareness and intercultural learning. Mathematics and science education can also contribute to this aspect of citizenship education and create a culture of belonging for all students. Professional development that integrates intercultural learning…

Much of the mathematics that children experience in school neglect the skills increasingly needed for citizenship, particularly the power of complex data to investigate and make sense of the world. We draw on the relatively new field of data science as a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate problems through analysis of massive, non-standard,…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions at all levels closed their doors and began to operate remotely. In this paper, we analyze the educational experiences of preservice mathematics teachers (PMTs) enrolled in mathematics teacher education programs from three South American universities, as the pandemic was unfolding. An…