Minutes of the ICMI General Assembly, July 8th Seoul 2012.
Response to the ICSU draft Strategic Plan (Section 4.4 on Science Education) - February 2011
ICSU SURVEY ON ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES IN SCIENCE EDUCATION
Report of the ICSU Ad-hoc Review Panel on Science Education
"Effective and stimulating science education is fundamental for both the future of science and the ongoing developmentvof our global knowledge society. Yet there is concern in the majority of countries that the overall level of scientific literacy is poor and that children are not being attracted to scientific studies and eventual careers as scientists. Given its missionvof strengthening international science for the benefit of society, science education is an area of obvious interest for the International Council for Science."
"The meaning of science and scope of the report
We understand and use the word science as the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the universe through observation and experiment.
We acknowledge that the mathematical sciences play a foundational role within education in the sciences in general. However, it was felt not within the scope of the Report to review the status of mathematical education per se; we would refer the reader to the excellent work of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) through its International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). Equally, the Panel decided that its Terms of Reference did not extend to the coverage of technology and engineering education."
Reference: ICSU (2011). Report of the ICSU Ad-hoc Review Panel on Science Education. International Council for Science, Paris.
Founded in 1931, the International Council for Science (ICSU) is a non-governmental organization representing a global membership that includes both national scientific bodies (121 National Members representing 141 countries) and International Scientific Unions (30 Members). The ICSU ‘family’ also includes more than 20 Interdisciplinary Bodies—international scientific networks established to address specific areas of investigation. Through this international network, ICSU coordinates interdisciplinary research to address major issues of relevance to both science and society. In addition, the Council actively advocates for freedom in the conduct of science, promotes equitable access to scientific data and information, and facilitates science education and capacity building. [www.icsu.org]
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organization, with the purpose of promoting international cooperation in mathematics. It is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) is a commission of the International Mathematical Union.
Report of the IMU/ICIAM Working Group on Journal Ranking (June 2011)
The International Mathematical Union and the International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) jointly constituted a Working Group to study the issue of whether and (in the affirmative case) how both organizations should go forward with a Ranking of Mathematical Journals. After discussing the report at ICIAM 2011 in Vancouver IMU and ICIAM decided to start a blog on mathematical journals which became operational on November 18, 2011.
Best Current Practices for Journals (August 2010)
CEIC produced in 2004 a document, see below, listing various recommendations relating to the changing environment of peer-reviewed journals. This document returns to the subject and offers more details on how journals can best serve the mathematical community and it focusses on how a good mathematics journal should be organized and managed.
Citation Statistics (June 2008)
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) has released, in cooperation with the International Council of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), the report "Citation Statistics" which analyzes the use and misuse of citation data in the assessment of scientific research. The report discusses, in particular, the impact factor, the h-index, and variants of these that are often employed to rank not only journals but also individuals, departments, or whole institutions.