Exciting research in mathematics education is taking place around the country. Below is a compilation of what is currently ongoing at the respective higher education institutions.

University of Borås
The University of Borås is active in research and teaching in mathematics education with a focus on mathematics teaching in schools and preschools. Several research projects are currently underway in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg, addressing teaching and learning of basic arithmetic as well as strategies for using mathematical activities in preschool to support children’s learning. The research also explores learning processes among children and students and identifies effective strategies for mathematics teaching. Researchers at the University of Borås are engaged in interdisciplinary research groups within the institution and participate actively in several mathematics education groups at other universities.
Contact person: Selma Music (selma.music@hb.se)

Dalarna University
The research conducted in mathematics education at Dalarna University is both practice-oriented and theory-developing. The group brings together researchers, teacher educators, and doctoral students with an interest in mathematics education issues. The studied practice ranges from preschool class to teacher education. Examples of research focus include communication, assessment, feedback, and instructional design with an emphasis on planning, algebra, and equitable mathematics education. The practice-oriented and theory-developing approaches mean that the research is connected to several other research fields, such as educational practice, pedagogy, philosophy, sociology, and psychology.
Contact person: Lotta Wedman (lwd@du.se)

University of Gävle
At the University of Gävle, research in mathematics education has been conducted since 2006. Initially, the focus was on practice-oriented research and learning difficulties in mathematics. Today, the research covers several areas, such as teachers’ professional knowledge and how it develops and is disseminated, particularly in structured problem solving; teacher educators’ professional knowledge in mathematics education for teaching in teacher education courses; the transition of knowledge between upper secondary school and university; possibilities for course development in subject teacher education through collaboration between mathematicians and mathematics educators; linguistic perspectives on school mathematics, with a focus on algebra and mathematical generalization; lesson design for discussing and developing reading strategies for digital and analogue teaching materials; and visualization in mathematics and the use of different forms of representation to express knowledge and develop conceptual understanding.
Contact person: Yukiko Asami Johansson (yuoasn@hig.se)

University of Gothenburg / Chalmers University of Technology
In Gothenburg, there is the MERGOT network, a collaboration between different research groups at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology, all working with research on teaching and learning in mathematics. Among those included in MERGOT is a group at the Department of Education, Communication and Learning focusing on young children’s mathematics.
Contact person: Camilla Björklund (camilla.bjorklund@ped.gu.se)

At the Department of Education and Special Education, research and teaching in mathematics education are conducted by a group of around 20 people, including professors, senior lecturers, doctoral students, and lecturers. Research mainly focuses on school mathematics teaching and classroom-based didactical studies. Ongoing projects address, for example, teaching and learning of basic arithmetic, verbal and written communication in the classroom, and learning statistics. Practice-developing subject didactics research conducted together with teachers, for example through learning studies or longer intervention projects, is also central.
Contact persons: Angelika Kullberg (angelika.kullberg@gu.se) and Ola Helenius (ola.helenius@gu.se)

At the joint Department of Mathematical Sciences (Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg), there is the research group Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. Areas of interest include teacher education, algebraic concepts, history of mathematics, and teaching competences. The group is also part of the Akelius Math Learning Lab, where digital learning materials for ages 12–18 are developed and researched, mainly in the global South and refugee camps.
Contact person: Samuel Bengmark (samuel@chalmers.se)

Halmstad University
At Halmstad University, the School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, research is conducted within the areas of digitalisation, learning and social change. Read more here. Research in mathematics education is practice-oriented. The part of the subject didactics research that concerns digital learning is organised through the research programme Learning in a Digital Society (LeaDS), whose research questions concern how digitalisation changes the conditions for teaching and learning. Contact person for mathematics education is Ana Fuentes, ana.fuentes@hh.se.

Jönköping University
The mathematics education group, the MER group, at Jönköping University, has as its main focus to study mathematical thinking and mathematics teaching. In collaboration with teachers, we work to develop teaching by mapping and understanding students’ mathematical thinking, studying how teaching can enable mathematics learning, and designing such learning situations. In several studies, the mathematical content is central. We have, for example, studied numbers and number relations, arithmetic calculation processes, as well as proportionality and rate of change as a basis for the concept of derivative. Our studies span a wide area and include both teachers’ planning of mathematics teaching in preschool and students’ mathematics support outside school.

Our studies include different forms of schooling and students of different ages, including preschool, preschool class, the early years of compulsory school, lower secondary school and upper secondary school. We have projects based on a French teaching programme and implemented together with teachers. Several of us have experience of using Learning Study as a method. Variation theory of learning and “Teaching with variation” (Bianshi) are two central theoretical frameworks, although other theories and models are also used. Several members of the group also work with the international consortium ICSE.eu, which constitutes a collaborative arena for EU-funded projects within the STEM field.

The group comprises around ten researchers and constitutes a complete academic environment in which researchers, lecturers, international collaboration partners, active mathematics teachers and student teachers are involved. Read more here. Contact person is Robert Gunnarsson, robert.gunnarsson@ju.se.

Karlstad University
The research conducted in mathematics education at the department is practice-oriented and focuses on learning and teaching of children, young people and adults. The projects have different focuses such as the digitalization of mathematics teaching, problem solving, as well as teachers’ and student teachers’ professional development. Researchers at the department collaborate in interdisciplinary groupings within the institution as well as in well-established national and international collaborations and with practitioners in schools. Read more here and here. Contact person is Yvonne Liljekvist, yvonne.liljekvist@kau.se.

Kristianstad University
At Kristianstad University, the School of Education and Environment, research in mathematics education is conducted with a focus on, among other things, arithmetic in early ages, concept development, the role of mathematics in other subjects, mathematics teacher identity, linguistic aspects in mathematics, assessment and problem solving in mathematics. We are part of a research group called Learning in Science and Mathematics Education (LISMA). Read more here. Contact person is Jenny Green, jenny.green@hkr.se.

Linköping University
At Linköping University, research in mathematics education is conducted at the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL) and the Department of Mathematics (MAI), focusing on teaching and learning in mathematics at all levels of schooling as well as adult learning and teacher education. Ongoing research concerns, among other things, students’ encounters with mathematics in preschool class, arithmetic facts in compulsory school, fraction teaching in middle school, online mathematics coaching, mathematics teaching in vocational programmes, problem solving with Fermi problems, mathematical modelling as content and method, Socratic lectures, and statistics teaching in grades 7–9 and upper secondary school with the help of ICT and informal statistical reasoning. Read more here. Contact persons are Joakim Samuelsson (IBL) joakim.samuelsson@liu.se and Jonas Bergman Ärlebäck (MAI) jonas.bergman.arleback@liu.se.

Linnaeus University
The research environment in mathematics education includes both theoretical and applied research. We offer education leading to Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees in mathematics education.

Through research projects and conferences, we participate in both national and international research collaborations. The research is united around practice-oriented research with extensive collaboration with practicing mathematics teachers at all levels.

Within the research environment there are four overarching research directions:

• Communication and learning. The direction has a strong connection to mathematical content. Within this direction, studies are conducted on how teaching in mathematics can support students’ communication, reasoning and knowledge in relation to mathematical structures, models, procedures and concepts within, for example, statistics, algebra and programming.
• Mathematics teachers’ identity and professional development. Within this direction, studies are conducted on multilingual mathematics teachers’ identity development, teacher knowledge and teaching in relation to students’ participation in mathematics, student teachers’ ways of reasoning in mathematics, and how teacher education can connect to and make use of mathematics teacher students’ different experiences.
• Young children’s learning in mathematics. Within this direction, teaching and learning in mathematics in preschool, preschool class and early school years are studied. Specific focuses include problem solving as a starting point in early mathematics teaching, what happens and what becomes possible when digital tools are used in preschool and school teaching, and how play-responsive mathematics teaching can be planned and carried out in preschool.
• Digitally enhanced mathematics teaching. This direction studies learning and teaching in the interaction between analogue and digital learning resources. The research is design-oriented with the aim of understanding learning in mathematics and how digital resources can be used to support learning in mathematics in authentic teaching contexts.

Read more here. Contact person is Per Nilsson, per.g.nilsson@lnu.se.

Luleå University of Technology
Mathematics and learning in Luleå conducts research within the following: the main areas consist of empirical research in the form of international comparative classroom studies, curriculum research, discrepancy between content and requirements in mathematics teaching at different levels, success in school mathematics in relation to students’ gender, socio-economic and cultural background, and development of teacher competence in connection with national reform initiatives.

Mathematics and learning in Luleå is responsible for courses in mathematics subject didactics, and partly mathematics, within teacher education in several specialisations, within the Master’s programme in Educational Sciences with a specialisation in Mathematics and Learning, as well as within doctoral education. The group also conducts educational development work focused on mathematics teaching in collaboration with several nearby municipalities. Read more here. Contact person is Maria Johansson, maria.l.johansson@ltu.se.

Lund University
Research in mathematics education at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at Lund University focuses on the university level and education of mathematics teachers. Key areas include the impact of programming on teaching practice, integration of mathematics in other disciplines, and active learning strategies. Research areas:

Programming in mathematics teaching: Investigates how programming affects teaching and research, as well as how institutional change to implement curriculum changes can be achieved. Collaborations include the University of Oslo and Oregon State University, as well as the Erasmus+ project “Computational Thinking makes sense of Mathematics”, which is a collaboration between NTNU, LU, UiO, DTU, Aalborg University and Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Conceptual understanding and integration in other disciplines: Explores students’ and student teachers’ conceptual understanding within areas such as calculus and the role of mathematics in physics teaching. Collaborates with the Department of Physics at Lund University and Uppsala University. Other interests include communication in group work and high-achieving students in mathematics.

Active learning strategies: Focus on implementing and evaluating active learning methods, including flipped classrooms. This work involves collaboration between department members.

Contact person is Jan-Fredrik Olsen, jan-fredrik.olsen@math.lu.se.

Malmö University
At Malmö University, the Department of Natural Science, Mathematics and Society, research in mathematics education is conducted with a focus on teaching and learning in mathematics at all levels of schooling as well as in teacher education. At present, two professors, two associate professors, four senior lecturers and five doctoral students are working with research in mathematics education. This research includes national and international collaborations, research with teachers, as well as different theoretical perspectives such as critical, socio-political, sociocultural and variation-theoretical. Ongoing research concerns, among other things, special educational needs in mathematics, epistemological dimensions of mathematics learning and mathematics teaching, multilingualism and mathematics, mathematical dialogue, mathematical literacy, in(ex)clusion in mathematics, assessment in mathematics, mathematics in vocational programmes, learning studies in teacher education, mathematics in relation to societal challenges, and more. Read more here. Contact person is Lisa Björklund Boistrup, lisa.bjorklund.boistrup@mau.se.

Mid Sweden University
At Mid Sweden University, research is conducted within several areas of mathematics and science education. Extensive collaboration exists with researchers and universities in Sweden, the Nordic countries and the rest of the world. The subject didactics research environment is organised through the Network for Subject Didactics Research in Mathematics and Science (NÄMN). Read more here. Contact person is Helena Johansson, helena.johansson@miun.se.

Mälardalen University
At Mälardalen University there is today a dynamic research environment in mathematics education with two professors, four research-active senior lecturers and four doctoral students active within mathematics education. An additional four senior researchers are closely affiliated with the activities, and several lecturers are engaged in development projects. Research is conducted, among other things, on issues related to large-scale improvement of mathematics teaching, classroom research, teaching materials in and outside Sweden, and research-based mathematics teacher education. Several larger projects form the basis of the research activities: Räkna med Västerås, Theorizing Teachers’ Tool Use, Effects of Teachers’ Professional Development, Same programme, different outcomes, Future Research-Based Teaching Materials and mathematical reasoning and test-based learning. In addition, a project is ongoing to create a more practice-based teacher education, linked to the graduate school REMATH. Contact person is Iben Christiansen, iben.christiansen@mdu.se.

Stockholm University
The mathematics education division at Stockholm University is a large group of researchers, consisting of professors, associate professors, senior lecturers, lecturers and doctoral students who are mainly funded by municipalities or the faculty. At the division there are also three graduate schools funded by the Swedish Research Council: RelMaS, ReMath and ASSESS. The mathematics education division also includes PRIM, whose activities focus on developing, constructing, evaluating and researching national and international tests in mathematics. There are several research groups: MARCU (includes several perspectives where the main focus is mathematics), SOCAME (socio-cultural and social perspectives on mathematics education), PRIM (assessment and measurement), LUGN (mathematics teacher education) and Comparative studies (comparative studies in mathematics).

Read more about the section here. Contact person is the subject responsible professor Lovisa Sumpter, lovisa.sumpter@su.se

Södertörn University
The subject mathematics with a didactical orientation at Södertörn University conducts research and teaching in mathematics and mathematics education. The research in mathematics education has an interdisciplinary character with a focus on transformations and modification of mathematical concepts in school mathematics teaching, where the mathematical meaning is an essential component. The core of the research is the didactical content of teaching, its design and sequencing, and how students learn this content with a focus on continuity. The research is linked to a development of theoretical and methodological approaches that are decisive for the content of teaching, to create an appropriate variation of the content, as well as to the relationships between the content of teaching and students’ knowledge development in mathematics.

Internationalisation and international work with reviewing peer-reviewed scientific articles ensure the quality and development of the research.

Contact person is Natalia Karlsson, natalia.karlsson@sh.se.

Umeå University
Umeå Research Centre for Mathematics Education (UFM) at Umeå University aims to support and develop research and doctoral education in mathematics education at the university, through interdisciplinary collaborations at the university and with actors nationally and internationally. UFM is a research environment with approximately 30 researchers within several different areas, where the largest research groups are within formative assessment, learning through problem solving, and language and communication. The research also largely has a practice-oriented approach where UFM collaborates with several schools and school authorities.

Read more about UFM on their website https://www.umu.se/umea-forskningscentrum-for-matematikdidaktik/. Contact person is Torulf Palm, torulf.palm@umu.se.

Uppsala University
The mathematics education research group at Uppsala University studies teaching and learning within mathematics. The research interest concerns educational levels from preschool to university, both historically and in the present. This includes studies of policy documents, professional development projects, teaching materials and tests – including their interrelationships – and classroom interaction. The group studies didactical aspects of, among other things, algebra, geometry, problem solving, programming and digital tools. Theories and methods are drawn from the field of mathematics education, but also from, for example, sociology, psychology and linguistics. Research projects within the group concern, among other things, students’ interaction with multimodal texts, implementation research in mathematics education, and the intersection between computational and algebraic thinking. Read more here. Contact persons are Johan Prytz, johan.prytz@edu.uu.se and Olov Viirman, olov.viirman@edu.uu.se.

Örebro University
We are a research group united around our interest in practice-based research on learning and teaching in mathematics and we collaborate in most of our projects directly with practicing teachers. The focus of our research is on characterising and understanding learning processes and teaching in mathematics, but we also focus on what means are needed to support a development of mathematics teaching. Our empirical research interests are relatively broad and include, among other things, communication (both written and oral), reasoning and problem solving, and assessment in mathematics. We also investigate computational thinking, programming education and digitally enhanced mathematics teaching, as well as teachers’ collegial work to develop their mathematics teaching. In concrete terms, our collaboration involves joint seminars where we present and work on our own texts as well as new and exciting ideas in other mathematics education research. We strive to expand our exchange and collaboration with other research environments in mathematics education both nationally and internationally. Read more here. Contact person is Anna Teledahl, anna.teledahl@oru.se.