To begin, I wish to express a heartfelt thanks to Division G members for electing me to the office of Vice President.  I am humbled and honored to serve the division in this capacity.  I look forward to collaborating with you in the next three years as we anticipate great things to accomplish together.  To new members: welcome to Division G. 

The United States and other parts of the world are experiencing important shifts, some of which have been radical.  Many of these changes impact education directly and are felt in profound ways by educators, researchers, and students.  It may be debatable to call our predicament a “crisis” point, but many people wouldn’t be wrong if they felt this way.  Something significant has happened domestically and internationally, whose complexity we have inadequate tools for understanding and are in the process of developing.  The task is to name this shift, document it, and produce knowledge that summons all of our talents and insights.  

Division G’s intellectual and practical commitments are well suited to study, understand, and when possible intervene in these dynamics.  In this situation, our work continues as it always has, in the interstices of problems and promises that research represents for both perennial dilemmas as well as new developments.  I am proud and comforted to be associated with a division that welcomes interdisciplinary research with deep concerns rooted in socially relevant perspectives, rigorous methods, and thoughtful theories about education.  In short, Division G is a critical context for the production of educational knowledge.  These are serious times and Division G is equally serious about investigating it.  To that end, we continue our longstanding tradition of embracing equity in our work, valuing difference in all its forms, and producing impactful research that matters. 

Many of you are familiar with Division G’s administrative structure.  The following links provide an overview of the five sections that make up the division’s thematic organization.

Section 1: Local Contexts of Teaching and Learning
Section 2: Multicultural Contexts of Education within and across Subject Areas
Section 3: Social Contexts of Multiple Languages and Literacies
Section 4: Social Contexts of Educational Policy, Politics, and Praxis
Section 5: Social Context of Research in Schools and Communities

If you haven’t already joined, please do.  More information is available on our blog (http://aeradivg.wordpress.com/), our Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/AERADivG), and on our Facebook page.  If you are already a member, then please consider volunteering your time to serve as a reviewer or committee member as these deadlines approach.  

I look forward to working with you these next three years.

Zeus Leonardo
UC Berkeley
Vice President, Division G