The 2026-2027 Division B Awards 
 
Curriculum Studies

Greetings Good People of Division B,

This is a call for nominations for the 2026-2027 AERA Division B Awards. Please take your invaluable time to identify and nominate worthy candidates for consideration. Below are the descriptions and details of each of the four Division B awards and the procedures for nomination. 

• Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award
• Outstanding Dissertation Award
• Outstanding Book Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award

Please note that the deadline for all the nominations is November 15, 2026.

Looking Forward,
Roland Sintos Coloma
Division B Vice President

Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award 
Due: November 15, 2026

The Ella Baker/Septima Clark Award honors the memory of two giants of the Black Freedom Movement, the founding mother and inspiration behind the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (Ella Baker), and the education director of the Highlander Folk School (Septima Clark). Each was a teacher, community educator, tireless behind-the-scenes organizer, and curriculum maker determined to build the bond between education and human freedom. Education and, more specifically, curriculum in a democracy are powered by the twin engines of enlightenment and freedom, linked to the radical proposition that you can change lives. Regardless of where you have been and what you have done, education promises a new beginning. That promise has a particular resonance and urgency in a democratic society, for democracy assumes the necessity of continual and dynamic revitalization, and demands, then, regeneration as its lifeblood.

In a robust and participatory democratic republic, even in an aspirational democracy, there is a common faith that every human being is of incalculable value and human rights are at the center of its concerns and goals. A democracy, theoretically at least, builds schools to fit children, not the other way around. Schools in and for democracy resist the forceful imposition of standardized ways of learning and knowing. Such schools aim to reflect the powerful principle that the fullest development of all is the necessary condition for the full development of each, and conversely, the fullest development of each is necessary for the full development of all. This is a key democratic injunction and principle. In a vital democracy education, the resistance to and rejection of obedience and conformity paves the way instead for initiative, courage, imagination, and creativity; some of the most desirable qualities for participatory citizenship. A living democracy requires courageous educators.

This annual award honors someone whose accomplishments illustrate the connection between curriculum studies and human rights as articulated, for example, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The accomplishments of the honoree might be behind-the-scenes or public, established or just emerging. They should be cutting edge, bring a positive impact on a community or communities, and echo in the field of curriculum studies broadly. accomplishments resulting from their work or service may include theoretical or technical developments, conceptualizations of curriculum issues, or innovative ideas that have enhanced public understanding of human rights and curriculum or improved the lives of students, educators, or the broader community or communities. possible domains of work include local or national, international, or tribal sites of struggle; community education; k-12 public schooling; curriculum policy, etc.

A nomination must include four items:

• 1-2 page summary of the nature and significance of the nominee’s work and a description of how it meets the criteria outlined above
• artifacts of creative works that exemplify the nominee's contributions
• two letters of recommendation from scholars, practitioners, or policymakers representing the area to which a contribution has been made

Self-nominations are permitted. the four items must be scanned as one single pdf document and emailed to the 2026-2027 Division B Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award chair Helfenbein_rj@mercer.edu no later than November 15, 2026. If the nominator has difficulties in scanning the required items, please email the award committee chair to negotiate for other communication methods. late submissions will not be reviewed.

Chair, 2026-2027 Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award Committee: Rob Helfenbein, Helfenbein_rj@mercer.edu

Ella Baker/Septima Clark Recipients

Outstanding Dissertation Award
Due: November 15, 2026

The AERA Division B outstanding dissertation award committee is seeking nominations for dissertations that make outstanding contributions to the field of curriculum studies. curriculum studies research reflects a wide variety of perspectives and methodologies regarding the nature and improvement of curriculum practice, teaching, theory, and research at local, state, regional, national, and international levels. Broad areas of inquiry include curriculum in classrooms; curriculum as connected to democratic practice and social justice; curriculum theory; curriculum design, evaluation, policy, and reform; curriculum history; and educational diversity. students who have completed and successfully defended their dissertations and/or graduated with their doctorate from January 2026 through December 2026 are encouraged to submit their work. If a dissertation came out at the very end of 2025 and was not considered for last year’s competition, it may be included in the 2026 competition. Nominations may come from either faculty or from students themselves. If the dissertation is self-nominated, the committee requires a letter of faculty endorsement from a member of the student's dissertation committee. to nominate a dissertation, please include the five artifacts listed below. These artifacts must be scanned as one single pdf document and emailed to the 2026-2027 Division B dissertation award chair no later than November 15, 2026. Late submissions will not be reviewed. The five artifacts include:

1. A letter of endorsement or nomination from a faculty member of the student's dissertation committee attesting that the dissertation was completed by the student during the time period specified. The nomination or endorsement letter should include a brief clarification of the purposes, scope, and quality of the student's dissertation research, an explanation of how the dissertation contributes to the field of curriculum studies, and a discussion about why it is deserving of this award. the oral defense date also should be included.
2. A title page for the dissertation (including university/college, name of the professor chairing the dissertation committee, and a complete list of committee members).
3. The abstract of the dissertation.
4. The table of contents from the dissertation.
5. A brief summary of the dissertation (prepared by the student) that gives an overview of the dissertation research project, a description of individual chapters, and a statement that argues for how this research contributes to the field of curriculum studies. The summary should be no more than 5 single-spaced pages. 

2026 Chair: Gabriel Huddleston, Texas Christian University, g.huddleston@tcu.edu

Outstanding Dissertation Award Recipients

Outstanding Book Award

Due: November 15, 2026

Chair— Kyle L. Chong, Ph.D. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (klchong@illinois.edu)

The Division B Outstanding Book Awards Committee invites nominations of books that will be 
considered, on their merits of originality and scholarly strength, as making an outstanding or 
original contribution to the field of curriculum studies— broadly conceptualized. The committee 
encourages books written/edited by authors from all identities, backgrounds, and approaches to 
curriculum studies. We know that the process of writing and publishing a book represents an 
immeasurable amount of love and labor, so thank you for sharing your work with us! 

We invite nominations of books that: 

• Contest what/where/when/how curriculum is defined, conceptualized, framed, or used. 
• Attend to curriculum issues situated in a breadth of educational/geographic contexts. 
• Center inter-/anti-/trans-disciplinarity and/or interepistemic framing(s). 
• Attend to/situate themselves within (educational) histories and social movements. 
• Respond to systems power & oppression, or seek solidarities between communities. 
• Prioritize humanizing approaches to education/curriculum. 
• Advance innovative theoretical perspectives, methodologies, or approaches. 
• Articulate the impact(s) of the work on practice, policy, context, and theory. 
• Address the principles of diversity of Division B as “an interdisciplinary and thriving 
• Area at the forefront of educational innovation, critical reform, and equity and justice”. 

Award Structure (NEW!): 
One award will be given or a single/multi-authored monograph & one for an edited volume. 

Eligibility: 

• Nominated books must have a 2026 publication date, or was published at the end of 2025 and
• was not considered for last year’s award. 
• A book may be nominated by an author, colleague, or publisher (self-nominations welcome!). 
• Concurring or supplementary nomination letters are welcome, but not required. 
• All nominations must be received by 15 November by 23:59 CST. 
• A book may be under consideration for multiple AERA awards simultaneously. 
• Late or incomplete nominations or previously nominated books will not be considered. 

A Complete Nomination Must Include: 

1. A COVER LETTER detailing the book’s contribution to curriculum studies and relationality to curriculum/curriculum theory/curriculum studies, broadly conceived. (.pdf preferred). 
2. ELECTRONIC copies of the book (.pdf or .epub strongly preferred) to klchong@illinois.edu; OR PRINT (at least 7 copies) mailed to: Dr. Kyle L. Chong iSchool at Illinois 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820 USA (allow 2-4 weeks for shipping time). 
   1. Publishers: please provide ten (10) access codes if submitting in a format not listed above. 

Outstanding Book Award Recipients

Lifetime Achievement Award
Due: November 15, 2026

The AERA Division B Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding scholar whose sustained and influential body of work has made a demonstrable difference in curriculum studies. Recipients are distinguished scholars with strong, continuous, and widely recognized records of accomplishment in scholarship, teaching, mentorship, leadership, and service.

Previous recipients include Maxine Greene, Elliot Eisner, O. L. Davis Jr., Michael Apple, William F. Pinar, Janet L. Miller, William H. Watkins, William Ayers, Cameron McCarthy, Petra Munro Hendry, and Gloria Ladson-Billings.

The award recognizes scholars whose sustained and influential work has expanded the intellectual, theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and pedagogical possibilities of curriculum studies. Nominees may be recognized for advancing new forms of inquiry, developing innovative approaches to research and theorizing, reshaping understandings of curriculum and education, and opening the field to diverse, transdisciplinary, international, and historically underrepresented perspectives.

The Division B Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to an individual who meets most of the following criteria:

• Has produced an influential and sustained body of scholarship that explores, provokes, expands, challenges, or otherwise engages ideas, questions, themes, and issues relevant to curriculum studies.
• Has made substantive theoretical, methodological, historical, pedagogical, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary contributions to the field.
• Has mentored students, emerging scholars, and newer colleagues as they entered and developed within academic, educational, and community settings.
• Has demonstrated a sustained commitment to teaching and to inspiring critical engagement with texts, ideas, questions, themes, and issues that advance curriculum inquiry and practice.
• Has provided significant leadership and service to curriculum studies, professional associations, educational institutions, and/or community–university partnerships.
• Has established a national and/or international reputation in curriculum studies or a closely related field of inquiry.

Recognition of lifetime achievement emerges through the collective deliberations of scholars who bring different experiences, locations, and perspectives to the field of curriculum studies. The Lifetime Achievement Award Committee will engage in thoughtful review and discussion as it considers the significance, continuity, reach, and influence of each nominee’s contributions.

Any AERA member may submit a nomination. Each nomination package should include:

• A detailed nomination letter outlining the nominee’s major achievements and contributions in relation to the award criteria.
• A current copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae.
• Letters of support from recognized scholars who can speak with informed and appreciative understanding of the nominee’s body of work and its influence on curriculum studies. (5 maximum)

All nomination materials should be combined into a single PDF and submitted electronically to:

Dr. Nicholas Ng-A-Fook

University of Ottawa, Associate Vice-Provost Postdoctoral and Graduate Studies Chair, AERA Division B Lifetime Achievement Award Committee

Email: nngafook@uottawa.ca

Completed nomination packages must be received no later than November 15, 2026. Late or incomplete submissions may not be reviewed.

The award will be presented during the Division B Business Meeting at the 2027 AERA Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients