The role of theory

Although MER was aptly characterized less than 15 years

ago by Kilpatrick (1992) as largely

of recent articles in major MER journals reveals that

references to theory are commonplace. In fact, Silver and

Herbst (2004) have noted that expressions such as

“theory-based,” “theoretical framework,” and

“theorizing” are commonly used by reviewers of

manuscripts submitted for publication in the

Research in Mathematics Education

or five years. Silver and Herbst insist that manuscripts

are often rejected for being atheoretical. I suspect the

same is true of proposals submitted to other MER

journals.

But, what does it mean for research to be theory based?

In what follows, I argue that the role of theory should be

determined in light of the research framework one has

adopted. So, before proceeding further, let me discuss the

broader notion of Journal forduring the past fourresearch framework and then situatetheatheoretical, a perusal