Mathematics education community in Japan has continuously and extensively developed 'mathematical thinking' as an educational value. In this paper, the historical review was conducted on mathematical thinking in terms of its evaluation and educational method, textbook change, and research on treatment of diversifi ed mathematical thinking. Th is approach can provide methodologically an important perspective to grasp, clarify and make relative the values in mathematics education in diff erent times of each culture. Values here mean those attitudes which lay at the back of the intention, judgment, and selection of teaching-learning activity exhibited by primary teachers. As a result of this research, it is learnt that the theme in mathematics education research does refl ect values held by the primary mathematics teachers. Th ey, in turn, have held central ideas and value utilizing children's diversifi ed mathematical thinking, letting them subjectively and extensively construct mathematical ideas in the lesson. Th e major characteristics of Japanese Mathematics education is the open-ended approach, which has been developed as an evaluation and educational method of mathematical thinking. Th is is available as translated version of "Th e Open-Ended Approach: A New Proposal for Teaching Mathematics" (Th e original version (Shimada) is in Japanese published in 1977).
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