American Educational Research Association 2013 Annual Meeting Call for Submissions
Saturday, April 27–Wednesday, May 1, 2013    
Full Call for Submissions and Submission Guidelines here.

Division L: Educational Policy and Politics
Program Chair: Peter Youngs, Michigan State University 

The Division L call for submissions for the 2013 AERA Annual Meeting focuses on relationships between education and different forms of poverty, including moral, intellectual, artistic, technological, and economic impoverishment. This fits in well with scholarship currently undertaken by members of our division. This year Division L invites papers that examine research on the role of poverty in political processes and governing structures; and how current policies in areas such as curriculum, accountability, teacher quality, and market-based reforms impact various types of impoverishment. In addition, the division welcomes submissions for legal, intergovernmental, and fiscal studies as well as research on relationships between educational policy and social policy related to economic development, housing, health care, child care, and/or welfare.

Papers are welcome from a variety of perspectives, including any disciplinary background (political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, history, etc.); qualitative and quantitative methods; and any educational level (early childhood, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary). We strongly encourage submissions that examine how policy addresses issues related to equity and diversity, including the education and life opportunities of racial and ethnic minorities, English Language Learners, GLBT youth, immigrant populations, students with disabilities, religious minorities, and other subpopulations. Division L strongly encourages empirical papers that employ mixed methodologies, are products of interdisciplinary collaboration, and have innovative and rigorous research designs. Analyses of the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies are welcome in all sections. Symposium organizers are strongly encouraged to seek panelists and discussants who represent multiple disciplinary backgrounds.

Division L invites papers dealing with educational policy and politics at the international level, including comparative/cross-national analyses and case studies from countries outside the United States. We particularly encourage empirical papers that focus on the implications and effects of globalization and information technology on educational policy, cross-national policy lending and borrowing, economic development, human capital development, and/or school-to-work transitions.

Proposals that employ interactive formats as well as traditional paper/symposium sessions are welcome. All papers, including symposia, will be reviewed anonymously without author identification, using blinded submissions or summaries.

Proposals will be reviewed by at least two reviewers and evaluated according to choice of research topic, conceptual framework, analytic method, validity of inferences, quality of writing/organization, and overall significance/contribution to the field.

The Division L Program Committee reserves the right to decline to review or accept papers that violate AERA guidelines. This includes adherence to submission guidelines regarding length, content, and timely uploading to the All Academic system.

Accepted papers must be provided in advance to discussants and be made available to conference attendees.
Any general questions about the divisional program should be directed to the Program Chair: Peter Youngs, Michigan State University, pyoungs@msu.edu.

Section 1: Politics and Governance 
This section welcomes submissions that analyze micro- and macro-political processes and governing structures in and/or outside of the United States; international submissions are strongly encouraged. Research on “who governs” may include interest groups, values, media, policy elites, and alliances based on socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, culture, and/or gender. Papers focusing on the tensions between political actors and organizations involved in decision making and implementation are encouraged. Empirical analyses of the effectiveness of governance structures and their consequences for impoverished groups are particularly welcome, as are case studies of recent innovations in governance (e.g., diverse service providers, reform in collective bargaining agreements, and mayoral control). Section Chair: Lisa Garcia Bedolla, University of California, Berkeley, lgarciab@berkeley.edu.

Section 2: Legal, Judicial, and Intergovernmental Issues
This section invites analyses of legal and judicial decisions in the United States and/or other countries, how they shape educational policy and practice, and their consequences for underserved groups; of particular interest are international submissions. This includes legal studies of issues such as school finance, affirmative action, special education and desegregation, and adequacy and equity litigation within a legal, political, and/or intergovernmental context. Studies that focus on the relationships between levels of government in the implementation of policies and court decisions are also welcome. We strongly encourage analyses that consider the implications of legal and judicial decisions for educational equity and diversity. Section Chair: Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Virginia Commonwealth University, gsiegelhawle@vcu.edu.

Section 3: Curriculum, Testing, and Instructional Practice
This section welcomes papers addressing the politics and policies of curriculum, testing, and instructional practice in and/or outside of the United States and their implications for equity and diversity; international submissions are strongly encouraged. This includes studies of national, state, and local curricula and/or assessments, rules governing the language of instruction or the placement of children with disabilities, as well as policies whose main focus is changing instructional practice. In particular, we strongly encourage studies of the impact of curricular, instructional, and/or assessment policies on different types of poverty. Papers that analyze the macro- and micro-level forces that shape the design or implementation of curriculum, testing, and/or instruction policies are also invited. We especially welcome papers that evaluate both the intended and unintended consequences of these policies for students of color, children from low- income backgrounds, English learners, immigrants, and other nondominant groups. Section Chair: Tina Trujillo, University of California, Berkeley, trujillo@berkeley.edu.

Section 4: Market-Based Reforms and Fiscal Issues
This section encourages papers from the United States and/or other countries that focus on market-based reforms such as charter schools and parental choice–based programs, and on economic, fiscal, and resource management issues; of particular interest are international submissions. We welcome analyses of the formation and implementation of specific market-based programs, overall effects on student achievement, and effects on various racial and ethnic groups, language groups, immigrants, children with disabilities, and impoverished children. We also encourage submissions that consider the dynamics of political advocacy in market-based reforms and fiscal issues, including the role of foundations, grassroots community groups, and other intermediary organizations. This section also invites papers that address general issues pertaining to choice and finance, such as instructional practices, governance, school and district racial and socioeconomic composition, the education of linguistic minority and special education students, and resource allocation. We also welcome analyses of resource levels and allocation patterns, their relationships with education outcomes, and their association with education policy. The use of a range of theoretical, disciplinary, and methodological approaches to examining and evaluating education policies and programs is encouraged. Section Chair: Janelle Scott, University of California, Berkeley, jtscott@berkeley.edu.

Section 5: Accountability Policy
This section welcomes papers related to the policy and politics of standards-based accountability at federal, state, and local levels in and/or outside of the United States; international submissions are strongly encouraged. Analyses of the effects of such policies on student outcomes and the distribution of these outcomes for various groups are encouraged. We would especially welcome papers that explicitly examine the ways that accountability policies (a) exacerbate or ameliorate achievement gaps for socioeconomically disadvantaged students, racial minority students, and/or English language learners; and/or (b) lead to changes in the educational experiences of students with cognitive disabilities. Section Chair: Julian Vasquez Heilig, University of Texas, Austin, jvh@austin.utexas.edu.

Section 6: Teacher Policy and Politics
This section invites papers from the United States and/or other countries that focus on formation, implementation, and evaluation of policies that concern teachers; international submissions are of particular interest. This includes policy issues related to preservice training and in-service professional development programs; traditional and alternative certification and routes into teaching; hiring, compensation, and retention; evaluation systems; and working conditions. We welcome studies of policies regarding the recruitment and retention of (a) teachers from traditionally underrepresented groups and (b) teachers for low-performing schools. Encouraged are analyses of attempts to improve teacher quality through various policy instruments, and/or issues related to the measurement of teacher quality. We also welcome papers that address the training, evaluation, hiring, and retention of school administrators. Section Chair: Jason Grissom, Vanderbilt University, jason.grissom@vanderbilt.edu.

Section 7: International Policy and Politics
This section welcomes papers that address the relationship between educational policy and other social policies at the local, state, and federal levels in and/or outside of the United States; international submissions are strongly encouraged. This includes, but is not limited to, policy related to economic development, housing, health care, welfare, and child care. Empirical analyses of the effects of social policy on educational programs, opportunities, and outcomes are invited, as are papers examining the effects of educational policies on broader social outcomes. We strongly encourage papers that consider the effects of educational and social policies on impoverished groups and the implications of such policies for equity and diversity. Analyses of issues related to the measurement of the effects of social policy on educational outcomes are also welcome. Section Chair: Robert Bifulco, Syracuse University, rbifulco@maxwell.syr.edu.

Full Call for Submissions and Submission Guidelines here.