Introduction to the Special Issue on Advocacy for Change in Mathematics and Science Education/Introduction à ce numéro spécial pour un changement en enseignement des mathématiques et des sciences

Abstract

[Extract] When the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC) established the centres for Research in Youth, Science Teaching and Learning (CRYSTAL) in 2004 it was responding to concerns about improving the quality of the science and mathematics experience provided for Canadian students. The focus of the University of Manitoba CRYSTAL was to understand the multisystem influences on the learning experience provided for students and, in turn, respond with actions that would improve the quality of these experiences. In the October 2007 issue of the Canadian Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (CJMSTE) we introduced readers to several of the contexts in which our CRYSTAL research was situated and the research being initiated in these contexts. Although the contexts of our 17 research projects were diverse, the common theme among them, as illustrated by some of the projects in that issue, was that any improvements in experience provided for students needed to begin by listening to the current experiences of participants and, in turn, responding to their voiced concerns.