Advancing Research about Mathematics Specialists and Mathematics Teacher Leaders

Abstract

The need for mathematics specialists has been well documented (e.g., Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, 2013; Dossey, 1984; Fennell, 2006; Gojak, 2013; Lott, 2003; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000; Nickerson, 2009/2010). However, research has not yet caught up to practice and the role, responsibilities, and impact of mathematics specialists for teachers and learning are still underinvestigated (Herbst et al., 2021; Hjalmarson & Baker, 2020). In recent years, there has been an increase in journal and conference submissions that focus on mathematics specialists (Baker, Saclarides, et al., 2021; Hjalmarson et al., 2020; Saclarides et al., 2020). Yet, the largest mathematics specialist submission spikes seemed to follow the implementation of key national educational events and policies (Saclarides et al., 2020). It is also important to note that although key policies and events that have advocated for mathematics specialists have spanned four decades, there are only 36 peer-reviewed research articles that address school-based mathematics specialists (Baker et al., 2021), including, at this writing, four within Investigations in Mathematics Learning (Nickerson, 2009/2010) and, more recently, Baker et al. (2022), Saclarides (2022), and Baker et al. (2022). This is of concern as state and local policies and related decisions regarding the impact, work, and responsibilities of mathematics specialists and mathematics teacher leaders are being made with little research to guide the decision-making that greatly influences the daily work, roles, and impact of the specialists on mathematics teaching and learning. Grounding practice-based decisions in research is essential as school districts’ external funding for continued support of mathematics specialists and mathematics teacher leader positions is not guaranteed. While we recognize the importance and contributions of research related to interest in, advocacy for, and the establishment of programs for mathematics specialists, this special issue of Investigations in Mathematics Learning seeks to address and illuminate a number of the gaps in the research regarding policy, leadership, professional learning, and the impact of the mathematics specialist (Campbell et al., 2017; Fennell et al., 2013; Hjalmarson & Baker, 2020; Sun et al., 2014). As editors, we recognize the role and influence of mathematics specialists and mathematics teacher leaders at the elementary and secondary level to be a critical element of schooland district-based professional learning opportunities for teachers and ultimately students’ learning experiences. We believe the manuscripts selected for this special issue validate, challenge, and advance perspectives related to the influence and impact of mathematics specialists.