The theme of the 2015 PME-NA Conference is Critical Responses to Enduring Challenges in Mathematics Education.

This theme is intended to encourage discussion and reflection on the enduring challenges for the field of mathematics education, with attention to different ways these challenges are conceptualized and addressed in theory, research, and practice. Our hope is that the conference will catalyze collective reflection, collaborative inquiry, and discussion about various means for responding to and addressing these, and other, challenges.

Examples of research aligned with the Critical Responses to Enduring Challenges in Mathematics Education theme include: (1) synergistic work between one or more theoretical perspectives, perhaps from outside the field of mathematics education, to conceptualize an enduring challenge; (2) studies of innovative programs or interventions designed to address an enduring challenge within and among contexts and K-16 grade levels; and (3) extensive reviews of existing literature to conceptualize new directions for the field in addressing an enduring challenge while acknowledging historical trends. These are only examples – we encourage creative interpretations of the theme as a way to propel the field forward in making strides to address enduring challenges in mathematics education.