Aproach to the research on Didactics of Mathematics

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the young researcher who intends to initiate he/her specialization in Didactics of Mathematics. This approach is based on the philosophy of science, the sociology of science and the research methodology. Among the structural components that experts usually consider are: the language, structure, knowledge, meaning and method. This paper presents a reflection on the Didactics of Mathematics based on these components. Mathematics education, community of mathematics educators, work areas, researching, and others are the terms that describe the discipline and express their fields of action. To argue the scientific nature of Didactics of Mathematics and clarify the status of its research, we develop some principles to organize and show its structure. We discuss the meaning of some notions and we conclude with a review of theoretical and methodological contributions for the discipline.