I would like to take the opportunity to wish all my readers a happy new year! 2013 is gone now, and a new year with plenty of opportunities lie ahead. For this blog, 2013 was a slow year with little activity. One of my resolutions for 2014 is a revival of the blog, so here we go 🙂

2014 is hardly just begun, but some of the journals I follow have already published their first issue of the year. Educational Studies in Mathematics is one of them, and their Volume 85, Issue 1, January 2014 has been published a while ago. With this issue, Merilyn Goos takes over the responsibility of being editor-in-chief, after Norma Presmeg has finished her term. In her first editorial, she ponders about the past, present and future of the journal, and she reveals some interesting things about the visions of the journal. The journal aims at presenting “new ideas and developments of major importance to those working in the field of mathematical education” (p. 1). This might sound as a rather obvious goal for one of the most prestigious journals in mathematics education. She points at three features of the journal in this connection:

First, in presenting new ideas and developments, the journal is committed to shaping the field of mathematics education in innovative ways. Second, in reflecting a variety of research concerns and methods, it welcomes diverse approaches and does not privilege any particular theories or methodologies. Third, in emphasising high-level articles which are of more than local or national interest, its focus is on quality research that speaks to an international audience (p. 2).

Then she adds a fourth dimension, that I find very interesting: 

Educational Studies in Mathematics, through its editors and reviewers, seeks to mentor both new and established authors towards producing work that is original and significant. I hope that these features of the journal will continue to inspire readers and contributors to advance our field of mathematics education (p. 2).

So, with such encouraging words from the new editor-in-chief of Educational Studies in Mathematics, I encourage all of my readers (including myself!) to sharpen the pencils and start writing new and relevant articles for the advancement of the field 🙂