Latin American research on mathematics education: a narrative review

Abstract This article offers a narrative review of Mathematics Education research in Latin America. Rather than attempting an exhaustive or thematically homogeneous account, the review seeks to highlight key theoretical contributions, regional engagements, and contributions to global frameworks, as well as developing areas of inquiry that reflect the diverse and situated nature of research in the region. Drawing on the collective expertise of the guest editors of this special issue, we synthesized major lines of work, including Ethnomathematics, Socioepistemology, and the Humans-with-Media framework, and we discussed how Latin American researchers have contributed to and expanded international models such as Action, Process, Object, and Schema (APOS) theory, the Ontosemiotic Approach (OSA), the Mathematical Working Spaces (MWS) framework, and the Mathematics Teacher’s Specialized Knowledge (MTSK) model. In addition, the review outlines emerging trends in mathematics teacher education and mathematical modeling, as well as research addressing issues of equity and inclusion in marginalized populations. The article aims to amplify Latin American voices and foster dialogue with global Mathematics Education communities, foregrounding the region as a space of conceptual innovation and educational transformation.