Since I started serving as chief editor for The Mathematics Educator (TME) in July 2006, I have been frequently asked some general questions about this journal by our readers, authors, and other colleagues who are interested to submit their work to TME for possible publication. In this editorial, I shall try to summarize these questions and offer my brief answers.

The first question is about the review process for TME, that is, how long does it take and who are the reviewers?

For each manuscript TME receives, the whole review process is expected to take about two to six months under normal circumstances, though there could be exceptions. All the manuscripts accepted were blindly peer reviewed by two to four individual reviewers, excluding the editor. In addition to TME editorial board members, some other well-established scholars and experts in mathematics education or other relevant areas (e.g., psychology) are also invited from time to time to serve as reviewers for the journal. All of these reviewers invited hold doctoral degrees in mathematics education or other relevant areas. The names of these reviewers invited for one volume of TME will appear in the second issue of the volume for acknowledgment.

The second question is about the positioning of TME. Is it an international research journal? A related question is: does it focus more on issues about mathematics education in Singapore and Southeast Asia?

Judging from the fact that our editorial board members, authors and contributors, reviewers, and readers are from many different parts of the world, as its editor I would certainly say that it is an international research journal.

Admittedly, as it is the only research journal in mathematics education published in Singapore, many readers of TME would naturally expect it to serve as a primary source of information about mathematics education research carried out in Singapore and to a degree Southeast Asia, which is undoubtedly an essential mission of TME. Moreover, it is also in TME’s plan to present general trends, issues, and developments in mathematics education, which should benefit both local and international readers. In that sense, contributions from both local and international researchers and educators are equally welcome.

The third question is relevant to the future development of TME, that is, will there be an online version of TME?

The answer is, yes, I hope so. As the first step in this direction, the abstracts of all the articles published, starting from this issue, will be made available online at TME’s website at http://math.nie.edu.sg/ame/matheduc.htm, which also provides useful information about some other issues that I did not address above (e.g., how to order the journal). It is hoped that the online version of each complete issue will be made available for readers to access electronically in the near future.

I notice that my introduction above is general. If you have further specific questions or suggestions about TME, you are always welcome to write me or just drop me a note by email at lianghuo.fan@nie.edu.sg.

On behalf of the editorial board I would like to thank Prof. Douglas Edge, TME’s immediate past chief editor, for the highly commended and appreciated service he had provided for the journal over the last few years. I also wish to thank Douglas personally for the great help he has offered to me during the transitional period of the editorship of the journal.

Finally, as the editor I hope you will enjoy reading the six articles published in this issue and I welcome your comments and feedbacks about this issue of TME.