  This chapter takes a historical view of the development of mathematics
education, from its initial status as a business mostly managed by
mathematicians to the birth of mathematics education as a scientific field of
research. Starting from the acknowledgement that research in mathematics
education demands more than the traditional focus on discussing curricular
options at distinct grade levels, we identified several specialized clusters,
debating specific issues related to mathematics education at an international
level. We grouped the clusters into three main areas: relationships with
psychology, the study of social, cultural and political dimensions, and the
relevance of a theory for mathematics education.
