April 2024
The 2024 AERA Annual Meeting featured 13 invited sessions in the Research and Science Policy Forum that included conversations with leaders of federal education research agencies and discussion on emerging education research issues and priorities. The forum engages meeting attendees in important issues at the intersection of education research and science policy.
Conversations with Federal Education Research Agency Leaders
The series featured two sessions, with remarks and conversations, with leaders of two federal agencies that support education research and data infrastructure, the National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM Education (EDU) Directorate and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
EDU Assistant Director James L. Moore III discussed his vision and priorities in a conversation with Adam Gamoran (William T. Grant Foundation). Moore highlighted several priorities, including rural STEM education, artificial intelligence, and developing partnerships and collaborations with other federal agencies and with the philanthropic community. Moore also encouraged attendees to communicate with policymakers about the important impacts of NSF-funded education research and how science and innovation can improve human life.
A separate session featured a conversation led by Bridget Terry Long (Harvard University) with the IES commissioners: Elizabeth Albro, National Center for Education Research (NCER); Peggy Carr, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); Nathan Jones, National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER); and Matthew Soldner, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) and current acting director of IES. Each commissioner provided a brief overview of how their centers are addressing three areas—activities that are on the horizon, supporting learning and development, and engaging communities—followed by a conversation with Long and with attendees on priority areas.
In addition to these sessions, Carr participated in a session with former NCES commissioner Jack Buckley and Long, chaired by AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. They focused on priorities within NCES and on NCES initiatives, including the planned implementation of Statistical Policy Directive 15 across the federal statistical system.
Two sessions included Kei Koizumi, principal deputy director for policy with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Koizumi took part in discussions on two key science policy priorities of the Biden-Harris administration: (a) public access to federally funded scientific publications and their underlying data, and (b) the federal evidence agenda on LGBTQI+ equity that encompasses the development and implementation of indicators related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).
The session on public access included an overview by Koizumi on the OSTP memorandum “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research,” and remarks from Albro and Leher Singh, program director, behavioral and cognitive sciences at NSF, on how their agencies are implementing the provisions of the memo while also ensuring equity. The session on SOGI indicators highlighted the importance of those data points for better understanding the experiences of students and researchers in the scientific workforce.
Funding Opportunities
Two sessions covered federal funding opportunities in agencies that support education research. One session offered AERA attendees the opportunity to connect with program officers from the NSF EDU Directorate and from NCER and NCSER within IES. A second session offered helpful tips and information about broad funding opportunities in IES, NSF, and the National Institutes of Health. Speakers included Allen Ruby and Sarah Brasiel from IES, Jolene Jesse from NSF, and Jim Griffin from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
An additional session highlighted research funding and fellowship opportunities for graduate students and early career scholars, featuring an overview of AERA opportunities from George L. Wimberly, AERA director of professional development. Additional speakers provided details on programs at the Spencer Foundation, the National Academy of Education (NAEd), and the William T. Grant Foundation.
Sessions Focusing on Future Research Directions
This year’s Research and Science Policy Forum featured discussion of findings and recommendations of several recent reports and conversation on research directions by commentators. Sessions included overviews and comments on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report Reducing Intergenerational Poverty, the NAEd report Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs, and the AERA/National Council on Measurement in Education/Women in Measurement report State of the Field: Gender and Racial Equity in Educational Measurement.
Two sessions also provided an opportunity for discussion of the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (most recent edition, 2014), with one session providing an update of the process with members of the Joint Committee on the revision and an opportunity for member input, and the second session highlighting the importance of fairness and equity.
AERA Honorary President Edmund W. Gordon Series
Co-sponsored by the AERA Research and Science Policy Forum were four sessions that comprised the AERA Honorary President Edmund W. Gordon Series. Featuring research leaders from academe, the federal government, and the private sector, these sessions addressed pressing issues in education research and policy. Topics included inclusive R&D infrastructures; assessment, data, and artificial intelligence practice and technology; the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities in research infrastructures & STEM talent systems; and the Triple Quandary Framework.
The Research and Science Policy Forum is a longstanding component of the AERA Annual Meeting. Additional information on these sessions is available on the AERA website.