The Seventh South East Asian Conference on Mathematics Education was held on 3-7 June, 1996, at Hanoi University of Technology. The emphasis of the conference was on mathematics education in upper secondary schools, in universities and for mathematics teachers. There were 135 participants from 17 countries. The chair of the International Programme Committee was Professor Lee Peng Yee of the National Institute of Education, Singapore.
There were 8 plenary lectures. Lee Peng Yee (Singapore) proposed a new mathematics curriculum at the National Institute of Education for the preparation of school teachers. Bernard Hodgson (Canada) stressed the role and responsibilities of the mathematician in school teacher education in mathematics. Alan Bishop (Australia) explained how mathematics teaching in modern technological societies should relate to cultural values. Hoang Tuy (Vietnam) reported on the experience of special classes for mathematically gifted students in Vietnam. Shigeru Iitaka (Japan) offered a view on new trends of mathematics education in Japan at college level. Anthony Ralston (USA) proposed a zero-based approach to school mathematics for the 21st century. Zhang Dianzhou (China) featured some characteristics of mathematics education in East China by some data and tests in China. Jean-Pierre Kahane (France) gave a survey of typical mathematical competitions organised in some countries.
Furthermore, there were two lectures, by Toshio Sawada (Japan) on some problems of students' achievement and attitude in mathematics in Japan, and by Claude Comiti (France) on new trends in French teacher education. Also, there were 52 presentations at the working groups and topic groups.
Nguyen Dinh Tri, Hanoi University of Technology Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi VIETNAM