AERA Past President Linda Darling-Hammond Awarded Yidan Prize for Education Research
AERA Past President Linda Darling-Hammond Awarded Yidan Prize for Education Research
 
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September 2022

AERA Past President (1995–96) Linda Darling-Hammond has been named the 2022 Yidan Prize Laureate for Education Research. This prize is one of the most prestigious awards worldwide in the field. The news was announced on September 29 by the Yidan Prize Foundation in Hong Kong. Darling-Hammond is an AERA Fellow and recipient of the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award and the AERA Relating Research to Practice Award.

In its announcement, the foundation stated that Darling-Hammond’s “impact has crossed boundaries—from teaching, academia, to policymaking. She has shaped standards for school leader preparation, professional evaluation, teaching methods, assessment and accountability systems, and school design—all of which strengthen educators’ ability to reach and support diverse learners.”

Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommum Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and the president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute. Her more than 500 publications include award-winning books such as The Right to Learn, Teaching as the Learning Profession, and Preparing Teachers for a Changing World. She received her EdD from Temple University. Among her many accolades, Darling-Hammond is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education. She led the Obama education policy transition team in 2008 and the Biden education transition team in 2020.

Andreas Schleicher, head of the Yidan Prize for Education Research judging panel, and director for the OECD’s Directorate of Education and Skills, emphasized that “Linda is the rare researcher who has developed a deep understanding of how diverse children learn, how they can be effectively taught, and how teaching and learning can be supported by effective organizational designs and policy strategies to make excellent education equitably available.” AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine serves on the Yidan Prize judging panel.

The 2022 Yidan Prize for Education Development was also announced. The recipient was Yongxin Zhu, founder of the New Education Initiative and a professor of education at Soochow University. The foundation lauded him for “changing how teachers approach professional development and how students learn in classrooms and at home.”