The first century of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (1908-2008). Reflecting and shaping the world of mathematics education

This volume contains the proceedings of the International Symposium «The First Century of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction. Reflecting and Shaping the World of Mathematics Education» held in Rome from 5 to 8 March 2008 (http://www.unige.ch/math/ EnsMath/Rome2008/). Taking as a point of departure the analysis of the principal themes connected to the activities of ICMI in the course of its hundred-year history (reforms in the teaching of the sciences, training of teachers, relationships between mathematicians and researchers in education, etc.), it attempts to identify the future directions of research in education and possible initiatives for improving the level of mathematics culture in the various countries. The papers gathered here touch on a wide variety of themes: the origins of the ICMI and the roles played by Klein and Smith; its rebirth at the end of the 1960s and the emergence of a new field of research; the dialectic between rigour and intuition in mathematics teaching; the relationships between pure and applied mathematics; the interactions between research and practice; the comparison between centres and peripheries of the world; the relationships between mathematics and mathematics teaching; the training of teachers; and the relationship of mathematics education to technology, society and other disciplines.