ALAE SIG Awards

Two awards are offered each year and given out at the annual meeting: the Outstanding Early Scholar Award, for papers authored by scholars within 5 years of completing a doctorate, and the Exemplary Paper, for papers authored by scholars more than 5 years post-doctorate. The Awards Chair is responsible for managing and coordinating submissions for awards each year, and makes the final decision on granting awards, with input from reviewers and SIG officers.

AERA Awards

2026 Early Career Outstanding Scholar Award - Jin Kyeong Jung, College of Education, Texas Tech University

2026 Exemplary Paper Award - Xia Chao, School of Education, Duquesne University 

Early Career Award
Established to honor an individual in the early stages of his or her career no later than 10 years after receipt of the doctoral degree, this award can be granted for study in any field of educational inquiry.

Relating Research to Practice Award
In recognition of outstanding contributions toward increasing the understanding and proliferation of links between education research and enhanced education practice, this award is granted for excellence in Interpretive Scholarship (published works from sources other than peer-reviewed journals or books) or Professional Service (an individual who has effectively established a strong, beneficial relationship between education research and practice through direct involvement with the education community.)

E.F. Lindquist Award
In recognition of outstanding applied or theoretical research in the field of testing and measurement, the award acknowledges a body of research of an empirical, theoretical, or integrative nature rather than a single study. Particular emphasis will be given to research that has advanced the companion goals of greater understanding and improved use of testing and measurement techniques. This award is co-sponsored by The American College Testing Program (ACT).

Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award
This is the premier acknowledgment of outstanding achievement and success in education research. The purpose of the award is to publicize, motivate, encourage, and suggest models for education research at its best. Each year, nominations are invited from AERA members who wish to honor a meritorious colleague, one who is considered by other education researchers to stand out in the profession by meeting the very highest of professional standards of achievement.

Distinguished Contribution to Gender Equity in Education Research Award
Established in 2006, the Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award recognizes individuals within AERA for distinguished research, professional practice, and activities that advance public understanding of gender and/ or sexuality at any level in the education community. This award will be presented to an individual whose professional career has been devoted in substantial part to the study of gender and/or sexuality in education, and who has significantly advanced the field through extraordinary leadership, scholarship, or professional practice.

Social Justice in Education Award
Established in 2004, the AERA Social Justice in Education Award honors an individual who has advanced social justice through education research and exemplified the goal of linking education research to social justice.

Distinguished Public Service Award
This award is granted annually in recognition of an individual who has worked to enact or implement policies that are well grounded in education research, or who has been at the forefront of efforts to increase recognition and support for education research.

Scholars of Color in Education Award
These awards are intended to recognize (a) scholars at different stages in their careers who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues that disproportionately affect minor­ity populations, and (b) minority scholars who have made a sig­nificant contribution to education research and development.

Distinguished Career Contribution
Presented to a senior-level scholar, usually 20 years or more after his or her receipt of the doctoral degree.

Distinguished Scholar
Presented to a scholar in midcareer who is beyond the first level of professional appointment and for whom 10 or more years have passed since receipt of the doctoral degree.

Early Career Contribution
Presented to a scholar who is within the first decade of his or her career after receipt of the doctoral degree.

Outstanding Book Award
The Outstanding Book Award was established to acknowledge and honor the year’s best book-length publication in education research and development.  To be considered for the 2015 Outstanding Book Award, a book must be concerned with the improvement of the educational process through research or scholarly inquiry, must have a research base, and must have a 2013 or 2014 copyright date.

Palmer O. Johnson Award
In recognition of an outstanding article published in 2014 in one of the following AERA journals: American Educational Research Journal (AERJ), Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA), Educational Researcher (ER), or Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics (JEBS).

Review of Research Award
In recognition of excellence in education research publishing, this award is granted each year to the author(s) of an education research review article recognized by those in the field to be particularly outstanding. The article chosen for this designation for 2015 must have been published in the 2014 volume year in Review of Educational Research (RER) or Review of Research in Education (RRE).

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