Situating Research on Curricular Change.

Abstract

Research on curricular choices has attracted widespread attention and merits increased investment by the research community. Multiple studies, publications, conferences, and a multicampus center (The Show-Me Project, n.d.) speak to the need to discuss what is taught in our classrooms and to whom, how, and when. For example, the January 2007 issue of JRME focused on research related to the development, implementation, and evaluation of curricula (NCTM, 2007). Williams (2007) commented that one of the challenges we face as a field is determining what questions of practice are worth asking and how research on those questions can help advance the field. Since the 1990s, with the creation of Standards-based curricula, practitioners have had to choose between new and traditional curricula. In addition, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has put pressure on schools to use curriculum materials that are research based and approved by the U.S. Department of Education (n.d.). These two milestones related to mathematics education justify making curricula issues an area that warrants the attention of both the research community and practitioners. The purpose of this article is to highlight advances related to curricular research; pose questions that require further investigation; and describe related, emerging subfields. First, we begin with a brief history of the events that have led us to our current state of curricular affairs. We will also explore a report released by the National Research Committee (NRC) in 2004 that challenged the research community to consider research on curricula issues differently than has been done in the past. Second, we discuss a recent study that illustrates the promise of new methodologies. Third, the Research Committee examines evidence on how the Standards-based curricula have impacted diverse groups of students, since a major goal of the Standards documents was to ensure that all students were provided access to highquality mathematics curricula. Fourth, as another example of progress in curriculum-