The changing landscape of post-apartheid education in South Africa has seen significant reform in the mathematics curriculum and marked growth in the community of researchers investigating mathematics education. The editors of this collection argue that a new agenda is required in mathematics education research in order to better understand the connections between research on the one hand, and curriculum reform, policy and practice on the other. Themes explored by the contributors include issues of language, assessment, ethnomathematics, aspects of radical pedagogy and progressive classroom practice, teacher education, and mathematics education research in South Africa in the context of international developments in the field.