The ICMI Representative for Switzerland is the chair of the ICMI sub-commission within the Swiss Mathematical Society (the IMU adhering organization). The delegates to this commission represent the linguistic diversity of Switzerland.
Switzerland is a small country, a confederation of 26 cantons (18 German speaking, 4 French speaking, 3 bilingual G/F and 1 Italian speaking). Each canton has its own teaching system but there is some harmonization within each linguistic area, and an alignment of the main learning goals at national level with the Harmos agreement (2007).
The German-speaking part of Switzerland (Deutschschweiz) is close to the German community in Didactics of mathematics, and researchers there collaborate within the Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik Schweiz (GDM Schweiz) which is the Swiss version of the German GDM. It holds an annual two-day research seminar and is linked to two Masters programs in didactics of mathematics in Zürich and Basel.
The French-speaking part of Switzerland (Suisse romande) has links with the French Association pour la Recherche en Didactique des Mathématiques (ARDM). A group of mathematics educator/researchers has an annual 2-day seminar and is linked to center for research in didactics that offers a Masters degree in didactics.
In the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (Svizzera italiana), the main group of mathematics educators/researchers is affiliated to the Competence center for mathematics teaching (DDM) of SUPSI’s Department of education and learning / Alta scuola pedagogica. It offers a Masters degree in mathematics education. The main research and dissemination projects of the DDM center are accessible at the following platforms: https://www.matematicando.supsi.ch/, https://mama.edu.ti.ch/ and https://www.mateval.ch/. The DDM center has links with the Italian Associazione Italiana di Ricerca in Didattica della Matematica (AIRDM) https://www.airdm.org/
A journal at the crossroads of research and professional development in mathematics education Revue de Mathématiques pour l’École is published online open access. An overview of the research community of didactics of mathematics in Suisse romande is accessible at the bottom of this page of the ARDM: .
The German-speaking community contributes to the GDM research journal Journal für Mathematik-Didaktik, the French-speaking community to RDM , Petit x, Grand N, Repères IREM the Annales de Didactique et de Sciences Cognitives and Epidemes (see description for France). The Italian-speaking reasearch group DDM edits an open access scientific journal called Didattica della matematica – Dalla ricerca alle pratiche d’aula.
The education of mathematics teachers varies, depending on each canton or grouping of some cantons. In most of them, this education is given in specific tertiary education Institutes comparable to Teacher Education Colleges (Pädagogische Hochschule /Haute École Pédagogique/ Alta scuola pedagogica), with notable exceptions where this training is embedded in Universities (Geneva, Fribourg). Primary school teachers are generalists. They obtain a Bachelor degree after their high school diploma, usually differentiated for the two cycles of primary schools (Cycle 1: age 4 to 8, Cycle 2: age 8 to 12) or, as it happens in the Canton of Ticino, one for Pre-school education (age 3 to 5) and one for Primary school education (age 6 to 10). Middle-school (age 13 to 16, in the Canton of Ticino age 11 to 14) teachers must have a Masters degree, taken either after a disciplinary Bachelor degree (not related to teaching) or as an integrated Bachelor-Masters degree specific to teaching. They usually teach 1 to 4 subjects. High school teachers usually complete a Master of Advanced Studies after a Masters degree in one subject. However, there are exceptions to this subdivision (e.g., Geneva has one single diploma for middle and high school teachers). These are double diplomas: one teacher certification delivered by the canton and recognized in the whole of Switzerland and an academic BA / MA / MAS recognized internationally.
In the Teacher Education Colleges, some mathematics educators are involved in research activities and may have a mandate for research in the scope of their job. Teacher Education Colleges, like other universities of applied science in Switzerland, don’t have the ability to deliver PhD programs. Therefore, professors in these institutions might co-supervise PhDs in collaboration with a university professor, and the PhD will be delivered by that university.
A central body responsible for national coordination of education and cultural policy in Switzerland is the “Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education”: known as EDK in German, CDIP in French, CDPE in Italian and CDEP in Rumantsch (the only Swiss native language spoken in some small areas, but an official language taught in some schools). Its website is in the 4 languages, with some pages in English. It provides a graphical representation of the Swiss education system.
The school programs, unified for each linguistic region, are accessible online:
· For German-speaking Switzerland.
· For French-speaking Switzerland.
· For Italian-speaking Switzerland.
- Status June 2025 -