The Origins of the JRME: A Retrospective Account

Abstract

This article presents a hitory of the origins of the Journal for Research in Marhematics Education (JRME) published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Written by three of the many persons responsible for initiating the journal, this account is based on minutes of meetings, notes from files, and personal recollections of the events and persons involved in the deliberations over a quarter of a century ago. David C. Johnson, then at the University of Minnesota, was the first editor of the JRME (Volumes 1 to 4). Thomas A. Romberg was chair of NCTM's Research Advisory Commillee, which wrote the proposal arguing-that a research journal was both needed and an appropriate publication for NCTM to undertake. Joseph M. Scandura was the editor of Research in Mathematics Education, a special NCTM publication designed to determine the feasibility of publishing a research journal. We are confident that this retrospective account in general captures the issues and events leading to the decisions to publish the JRME.

How Manuscripts Can Contribute to Research on Mathematics Education: An Expansive Look at Basic Research in Our Field

“…The expression "basic research" was an important element of the language used at the time of the founding of JRME to argue for why a new journal was needed. In their reminiscences 25 years after the founding of JRME, Johnson et al (1994) noted that "product-oriented studies were prevalent in the mid 1960s" (p. 569) because curricula developed out of the "new math" reform required evaluation studies to document their effectiveness. Against that background, a set of articles edited by Scandura (1967) as a pilot for the new journal made a distinction between information-based research (taken as a synonym for basic research) and product-development research; Scandura noted that both kinds of research were needed because they complemented each other.…”

“…In their reflections, Johnson et al (1994) noted how the midcentury mathematics education community felt "the need to link work with that of the behavioral sciences and the importance of 'conceptual models ' and 'theory development'" (p. 563). JRME was established in part to be a home for basic research studies that could contribute to theory development.…”

Chapter IX: Mathematics Education in the Twentieth Century

“…many leaders in the Council were unsure that the organization should sponsor activities for a 'special interest' group of its members. 51 The story continues as follows. In 1965, NCTM formed the Committee on Research in Mathematics Education.…”