Panel on Doctoral Programs in Mathematics Education
Shandy Hauk, University of Northern
Colorado
Hollylynne Lee, North Carolina State University
Karen Marrongelle, Portland State University
Keith Weber, Rutgers University
In September 2007, 150 mathematics educators from 92 institutions met in Kansas City for the conference, Doctoral programs in mathematics education: Progress in the last decade. The goals of the conference were to exchange information and develop plans for improving the quality of mathematics education doctoral programs. In this panel session, we will facilitate a discussion on issues from the conference relevant to the RUME community. In particular, we will discuss challenges that RUME doctoral programs face and raise questions that might be useful topics for future investigation. For example, one finding from the research leading up to the conference was that the majority of mathematics education doctorates do not take university jobs (e.g., some take jobs in K-12 teaching and administration, in governmental agencies, or educational assessment and publishing). Open questions to consider: What do RUME doctorates do? What percentages take research positions in mathematics departments? …in education departments? …teach at community colleges? …do other work? And, what consequences does this have for how we design programs to prepare students for their futures?