April 2013

Since fall 2012, seven proposals have been selected to receive funding under the auspices of AERA’s Research Conferences Program. Almost all of these conferences are scheduled to take place later in 2013. With the new awards, the program has funded 20 conferences since 2010.

Initially approved by Council in 2009, the program awards grants of up to $35,000 for conferences intended to break new ground in substantive areas of inquiry, stimulate new lines of study on issues that have been largely unexplored, or develop innovative research methods or techniques that can contribute more generally to education research. In February 2013, Council reviewed the program and voted to continue it for an additional four years. AERA’s Research Advisory Committee serves as the selection committee for the Research Conferences Program.

“Through the Research Conferences Program, AERA seeks to foster the accumulation of knowledge of the highest quality about education and learning and to enhance the dissemination of that knowledge,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Council’s recent reauthorization of the program for an additional four years signifies the importance placed by the Association on undertaking projects and programs that advance education research as a field.”

The seven research conference awards are:

Seeking Common Ground: A Multidisciplinary Examination of Critical, Analytical Thinking in Learning and Development
Primary Investigators: Patricia A. Alexander (University of Maryland), Kevin N. Dunbar (University of Maryland), and Kathryn R. Wentzel (University of Maryland)
Expected Conference Date: Fall 2013

Evolutionary Perspectives on Educational Research, Policy, and Practice
Primary Investigators: Daniel B. Berch (University of Virginia), David C. Geary (University of Missouri), and Jerry Miller (The Evolution Institute)
Expected Conference Date: Fall 2013

A Condition or a Process? Researching Race in Education
Primary Investigators: Adrienne D. Dixson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) and Gloria J. Ladson-Billings (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Expected Conference Date: Fall 2013

Sociopolitical Development, School Engagement, and Psychological Well-Being: Defining Terms and Assessing the Evidence Base
Primary Investigators: Ben Kirshner (University of Colorado, Boulder), Carlos Hipolito-Delgado (California State University, Long Beach), and Shelley Zion (University of Colorado, Denver)
Expected Conference Date: Spring 2013

Developing a Framework for Professional Conduct and High Quality in Design-Based Research: Perspectives From Two Educational Design Fields
Primary Investigators: Theodore J. Kopcha (University of Georgia), Cory Buxton (University of Georgia), and Kevin Moore (University of Georgia)
Expected Conference Date: Fall 2013

Beyond Reflexivity and Advocacy: Exploring the Ontological Turn in Educational Research
Primary Investigators: Jerry L. Rosiek (University of Oregon) and Lisa A. Mazzei (University of Oregon)
Expected Conference Date: Summer 2014

Undermatching to Postsecondary Education: A Conference Exploring the Scale, Scope, Causes, and Consequences
Primary Investigators: Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj (Seton Hall University) and Elaine Walker (Seton Hall University)
Expected Conference Date: Summer 2013

The call for research conference proposals for the fall review cycle will be posted on the AERA website in May and will also appear in a future issue of AERA Highlights.