The year 2016 is drawing to a close as I write this editorial, and as always I want to acknowledge the dedication, support, and hard work of my colleagues, the associate editors of Educational Studies in Mathematics. Luis Radford, Angel Gutierrez, Elizabeth de Freitas, Arthur Bakker, Vilma Mesa, Wim Van Dooren, and book review editor Gail FitzSimons continued in their roles during 2016. Long serving associate editor Paolo Boero retired at the start of the year and we welcome David Wagner as he takes on this new role. There have also been a number of changes to the Editorial Board as some members have decided to step down, thus creating opportunities for new colleagues to join this group of expert reviewers. I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to maintaining the journal’s high standards—fellow editors, Editorial Board members, the wider community of reviewers, and, of course, the authors who chose Educational Studies in Mathematics as the outlet for their published research. I would also like to thank the Journal Editorial Office and Production Coordinator, and my Editorial Assistant Bronwyn Lacken, for their outstanding efficiency and meticulous attention to detail.

The journal continues to attract a large number of manuscript submissions each year. In 2015 there were 280 submissions, and at the time of writing this editorial (early November) 248 manuscripts had been submitted since the start of 2016. Interestingly, the total number of manuscripts given a final accept/reject decision has increased substantially over the past 3 years: there were 224 decisions recorded in 2013, 275 in 2014, and 319 in 2015. These figures are indicative of the serious efforts of the editors to reduce the turnaround time for handling manuscripts.

One important measure of the journal’s standing is the annual Impact Factor, which is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year. The 2015 Impact Factor, announced on 24 June 2016, was 0.839—our best ever result (Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® 2016). The total number of citations also increased from 903 in 2014 to 1622 in 2015, which is an extraordinary achievement for publications in our specialised field. I am also interested in the geographical reach of the journal, and this can be evidenced in a number of ways. For example, in 2015 manuscripts were received from 50 countries, with the greatest numbers of submissions coming from the US, Turkey, UK, Canada, Sweden, Germany, and Iran. Manuscripts accepted for publication in 2015 came from 27 countries. Although authors of accepted manuscripts most often come from countries where English is the main language, it was pleasing to see published articles from authors in a diverse range of countries such as the Philippines, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Hungary, and Slovenia. In terms of readership, in 2015 31 % of online visits came from the Asia-Pacific region, 27 % from Europe, 24 % from North America, 7 % the Middle East, 6 % Africa, and 5 % Latin America. It is my hope that, over time, we will see manuscript submissions from a greater diversity of countries that better reflect the journal’s international readership.

Special Issues remain a feature of the journal, and two were published in 2016. Communicational perspectives on learning and teaching mathematics, guest edited by Michal Tabach and Talli Nachlieli, was published in March 2016 (Vol. 91, issue 3) and Mathematics education and contemporary theory, guest edited by Tony Brown, Yvette Solomon, and Julian Williams, was published in July 2016 (Vol. 92, issue 3). Special issues currently in progress have the following tentative titles:

  • Research-based interventions in mathematics classrooms: Enhancing students’ learning of proving

  • Scaling up innovative approaches to teaching mathematics.

Educational Studies in Mathematics continues to publish high quality articles that reveal the diversity of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches in our field, with an emphasis on “high-level articles that go beyond local or national interest” (see the online journal description at http://link.springer.com/journal/10649). I urge prospective authors to keep these requirements in mind, and to make clear how their study advances knowledge in mathematics education.

Let me give the final word to three former Editors-in-Chief who are now serving the journal as Advisory Editors. I asked Anna Sierpinska, Tommy Dreyfus, and Norma Presmeg to write a short piece to honour the editorial contribution of Paolo Boero, who retired as an associate editor at the start of 2016. I think that their words capture the sense of history, continuity, and mentorship that characterise Educational Studies in Mathematics.

Paolo Boero, a long-time editor for Educational Studies in Mathematics, decided this year to retire from his function. We would all wish to benefit longer from his broad knowledge, wisdom and kindness with which he handled submissions to the journal, acting more as a mentor than critic towards the authors. But we understand that, after 13 years of service as editor and twice as many as a member of the Editorial Board, he wishes to have more time to explore other horizons of mathematics education research and practice.

We, past and present Editors-in-Chief of the journal, have greatly appreciated Paolo’s enduring commitment to the journal. In his service as an editor, he took the time to read manuscripts assigned to him and reflect deeply on them before making decisions; always the scientific quality of the submitted paper was foremost in his mind. Paolo never chose reviewers for a submission before having carefully read the submission himself, and he selected reviewers who were suitable for the topic, the methodology and the style of the submission. After receiving the reviews, Paolo always read the manuscript again, at least once, forming his own opinion on it, then read the reviews, and devoted thorough reflection over several days or even weeks to his decision. If the decision was that the manuscript should be revised, he carefully composed his recommendations to the authors concerning how to take into account and integrate the reviewers’ as well as his own suggestions, which suggestions to give most weight to, and how to keep the length of the manuscript within the required limits nevertheless. Hence, Paolo’s decision letters to authors often took longer than the authors might have wished, but they always provided a carefully integrated and realistic proposal of how to revise the manuscript. Over the years, we have obtained many author reactions attesting to the depth and helpfulness of Paolo’s decision letters. We have also appreciated Paolo’s input in the annual meetings of the editorial board of the journal. Paolo Boero has been one of the most faithful attendees at these meetings. His engagement in the discussions, and suggestions for improvement of procedures have been of benefit to the journal in several instances.

Paolo Boero was a member of the Editorial Board of Educational Studies in Mathematics from Volume 21, issue 1, in 1990, and editor of the journal from Volume 53, issue 1 in 2003. During his years as editor, he handled over 600 manuscripts and solicited over 1200 reviews from 138 unique reviewers.

We wish him enjoyment of his ongoing scholarship and activities.

Anna Sierpinska, Tommy Dreyfus, Norma Presmeg