Call for papers: thematic issue 2026

2026-03-16

Contributions of Mathematics Education Research to Sustainable Development

Editors:

Hans Stefan Siller, University of Würzburg, Germany

Hélia Oliveira, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Susana Carreira, University of Algarve, Portugal

Sustainable development is among the most urgent challenges of our time, and education has a vital role to play in addressing it. In this context, mathematics education research can offer valuable perspectives by investigating how learners develop the knowledge, dispositions, and capacities needed to understand, analyze, and critically reflect on complex societal, ecological, and economic issues.

For this special issue in 2026 (Volume 35, Issue 2), on the theme “Contributions of Mathematics Education Research to Sustainable Development”, Quadrante invites submissions that explore the multiple ways in which mathematics education research can contribute to sustainable development. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and conceptual papers that examine how mathematics teaching and learning can engage with pressing global challenges and support more critical, informed, and responsible citizenship.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Theoretical approaches: conceptual frameworks, theory networks, and critical perspectives on the relationship between mathematics education and sustainable development.
  • School and university mathematics curricula: research on curriculum design, assessment, and policy that integrates sustainability, including case studies, international comparisons, and studies of implementation and impact.
  • Task design: the design, implementation, and analysis of tasks, projects, or curricular units that connect mathematics teaching and learning with sustainability-related themes such as climate, energy, social justice, consumption, mobility, or health.
  • Digital technologies: the use of digital tools, including simulations, data visualizations, programming environments, online platforms, and digital resources, to foster quantitative literacy and critical thinking about sustainability issues.
  • Student learning and engagement: research on how students understand, experience, and engage with mathematics in sustainability-related contexts, including studies on 21st-century skills, critical awareness, motivation, classroom interaction, and learning outcomes.
  • Teacher education: studies on pre-service and in-service mathematics teacher education and professional development that address real-world problems aligned with the SDGs, including mathematical modelling with authentic data, interdisciplinarity, integrated STEAM education, project-based learning, and the pedagogical challenges posed by ambiguity and controversial issues.
  • Research methodologies: contributions that address the methodological, ethical, and epistemological challenges of researching mathematics education for sustainable development, including action research, design-based research, longitudinal studies, and school–community partnerships.

This special issue seeks to open a space for dialogue on how mathematics education research can respond to contemporary global challenges and help shape more sustainable futures.

 

Manuscript submission information:

Articles, whether of theoretical or empirical nature, should be original and within the scope of the thematic issue. The manuscript may be written in Portuguese, Spanish, English or French, with a maximum length of 8000 words and complying with the publication norms of Quadrante:

https://quadrante.apm.pt/index.php/quadrante/about/submissions.

Manuscripts will go through a double-blind peer-review process. Submissions for the thematic issue are open.

Submission deadline: July 1, 2026.