The Adhering Organization of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) in Latvia is the Latvian Mathematical Society . This society also serves as the official body nominating Latvia’s country representative to the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI).
In Latvia, the mathematics education community is supported by several professional and academic organizations that play a key role in fostering development, collaboration, and policy engagement. The Latvian Mathematics Teachers’ Association (LMSA), established in 1994, brings together mathematics teachers from all regions of the country. It serves as a professional platform for organizing seminars, conferences, and experience-sharing events, while also contributing to national education reform discussions.
Mathematics as a scientific discipline is represented by the Latvian Mathematical Society which includes not only researchers but also individuals engaged in mathematics education. Here it should also be mentioned that the Department of Mathematics at the University of Latvia hosts the Aivars Liepa Correspondence Mathematics School (https://www.nms.lu.lv) which actively supports talented and motivated students by organizing mathematics olympiads and contests, preparing learning materials, and offering extracurricular clubs and enrichment programmes.
Since the 2023/2024 academic year, Latvia has been developing a new national system of pedagogical support through the project “Development of a Professional Support System for Teachers”, implemented by the State Education Development Agency (VIAA). The project establishes a structured framework of subject-based coordinators, including national mathematics experts and municipal-level mathematics coordinators, who offer ongoing support to schools. Their tasks include organizing professional development, assisting in curriculum implementation, and strengthening local teacher networks.
In Latvia, mathematics education research takes place across multiple higher education institutions, among which the University of Latvia is especially prominent. Its Faculty of Exact Sciences and Technology houses the Interdisciplinary Centre for Educational Innovation which for years has led scientific projects aimed at improving mathematics teaching, methodological support, and fostering pupils' interest in STEM and mathematics. For example, the Centre has published a methodology book “Matemātikas metodika 1.–6. klasei” for lower grades, and currently is working on developing support systems for numeracy learning based on assessment data. In addition, the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology also carries out similar research. One recent study from this faculty is “Prospective Teachers’ Views on Mathematics Education” , examining how preservice early childhood teachers perceive the 2019 curriculum reform in preschool mathematics (content, assessment, teaching strategies).
There is currently no dedicated national academic journal in Latvia that focuses exclusively on mathematics education research. However, mathematics education researchers from Latvian universities regularly publish their work in international peer-reviewed journals.
Mathematics teachers in Latvia are primarily prepared at the University of Latvia , Riga Technical University , and also Daugavpils University. These institutions offer full teacher education programmes that integrate mathematics content studies with pedagogy, teaching methodology, psychology, and extensive in-school practice. Graduates receive professional qualifications to teach mathematics at primary and/or secondary education levels.
For professionals with higher education in mathematics, science, or related fields but no prior pedagogical training, the “Mācītspēks” work-based teacher education programme offers a pathway into the teaching profession. Coordinated by the University of Latvia in collaboration with Daugavpils University and RTU Liepāja Academy, the programme enables participants to teach in schools while simultaneously completing pedagogical studies over one to two years, depending on prior experience.
Qualified teachers of other subjects may also expand their credentials to include mathematics teaching by completing subject methodology programmes at universities. According to national regulations, this requires a minimum of 160 contact hours of coursework to gain qualification to teach an additional subject.
Since the 2020/2021 school year, Latvia has been implementing a revised national curriculum under the reforms of the Basic Education Standard and General Secondary Education Standard which are part of the School 2030 initiative. The new standard phases in across grades and emphasizes competency-based learning, clearer learning outcomes, and better alignment of mathematics content with real-life problem solving, mathematical language, and reasoning. In mathematics, the curriculum is organized around core content domains — such as numbers and operations, algebra and functions, geometry, data and statistics — and integrates transversal skills like critical thinking, communication, and the ability to apply knowledge in novel contexts. The national curriculum in Latvia is regulated by law through the education standards, which define compulsory learning outcomes at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. In practice, schools and teachers widely use the sample programmes as a guideline, although they are allowed to flexibly adapt them to local needs, provided the standard requirements are met.