Special Interest Groups (SIGs) 2025-2026
This directory of AERA SIGs is in alphabetical order. Websites & email addresses,
when available, are listed. Although we check this page for errors frequently if
you should notice a non-working link please let
us know. If your SIG is interested in creating or moving its webpage to
the AERA website, please let us know.
SIGs: | A–G | H–Q | R–Z | All | A–G
Access, Detracking, and Tracking (SIG #163)
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Purpose:
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To engage teachers, administrators, teacher educators, researchers, policymakers, and community members in dialogue about K-12 student access to educational opportunities, college and career preparation, and the tracking and detracking practices that perpetuate or address educational inequities. We aim to serve as a clearinghouse to disseminate relevant research that addresses the structures that perpetuate educational inequities as well as to exchange ideas and information on strategies and best practices for detracking schools. Our vision for K-12 schools ensures that all students, regardless of background, have access to high-quality educational opportunities and the structural supports needed to succeed.
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Contact:
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Constance Clark, Rutgers University - Newark, Bloomfield, NJ, constance.m.clark@rutgers.edu
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Access, Detracking, and Tracking
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Accreditation, Assessment, and Program Evaluation in Education Preparation (SIG #174)
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Purpose:
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The purpose of the SIG is to accumulate and interpret research associated with accreditation, state review processes, or assessment and evaluation of educator preparation programs.
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Contact:
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Todd McCardle, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, todd.mccardle@eku.edu
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Accreditation, Assessment, and Program Evaluation in Education Preparation
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Action Research (SIG #2)
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Purpose:
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The Action Research SIG builds community among those who are engaged in action research and those who teach others to do action research. This is accomplished through dialog about professional development strategies, educational practices and theory, and methods of action research.
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Contact:
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Catherine A. Lammert, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, catherine.lammert@ttu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Action Research
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Adolescence and Youth Development (SIG #3)
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Purpose:
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To bring together educators, researchers, and youth advocates interested in examining ways to improve upon the experiences, behaviors, and perceptions of adolescence and youth as they develop over time. This SIG includes a cross section of researchers interested in diverse topics associated with adolescence and youth development.
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Contact:
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Marie-Anne Suizzo, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, msuizzo@austin.utexas.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Adolescence and Youth Development
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Adult Literacy and Adult Education (SIG #4)
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Purpose:
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Dedicated to research development, policy, and practice in adult literacy and adult education. This SIG takes an interdisciplinary, lifespan perspective on learning and instruction among diverse populations.
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Contact:
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Elizabeth Tighe, Georgia State University, Decatur, GA, etighe@gsu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Adult Literacy and Adult Education
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Advanced Studies of National Databases (SIG #6)
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Purpose:
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To advance knowledge of the contexts and practices of education through facilitating awareness and understanding of the rigorous research methods required for valid and reliable analysis of national and state level databases.
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Contact:
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Anica G. Bowe, Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ, anica.bowe@rutgers.edu
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Dues:
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$6.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Advanced Studies of National Databases
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Advanced Technologies for Learning (SIG #7)
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Purpose:
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To design new technologies that structure educational environments and transform educational practice, and to help the AERA community understand and influence the use of advanced technologies.
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Contact:
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Tingting Li, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, tingting.li1@wsu.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Advanced Technologies for Learning
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/SIGATL
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Arts and Learning (SIG #8)
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Purpose:
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Recent themes include: arts performance and process in curriculum; arts integration, assessment, and criticism; cultural issues; semiotics creative process; aesthetic education; alternative research methodologies; and constructivism.
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Contact:
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Matt Omasta, Miami University (OH), Oxford, OH, matt@mattomasta.com
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $7.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Arts and Learning
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Biographical and Documentary Research (SIG #13)
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Purpose:
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To explore methodological issues in biographical and documentary research.
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Contact:
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Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, sdowell@lsu.edu
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Biographical and Documentary Research
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Bourdieu in Educational Research (SIG #185)
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Purpose:
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To provide a space for those interested in Bourdieu’s oeuvre where we explore and reflect on the use of his theories and concepts.
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Contact:
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Guanglun Michael Mu, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia, michael.mu@unisa.edu.au; Frederick de Moll, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany, frederick.demoll@uni-bielefeld.de
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Bourdieu in Educational Research
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Career & Technical Education and Workplace Learning (SIG #187)
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Purpose:
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To explore career and technical/vocational education, workplace learning, career development, human resource development, career issues in the schools (Grades K-12), postsecondary education, adult and lifelong learning, and workforce education at schools and workplaces with the intention to strengthen educational policy and to transform work-based learning.
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Contact:
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James E. Bartlett, II, Old Dominion University, Cary, NC, drjamesbartlett@gmail.com
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Career & Technical Education and Workplace Learning
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Caribbean and African Studies in Education (SIG #86)
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Purpose:
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To encourage, conduct, coordinate, and disseminate research on education within and between Caribbean and African countries.
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Contact:
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Laurette Maria Stacy Bristol, University of the West Indies - Cave Hill, St Michael , Barbados, laurette.bristol@cavehill.uwi.edu; Mercy Agyepong, New York University, New York, NY, mercy.agyepong@nyu.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Caribbean and African Studies in Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/aeraCASE/
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LinkedIn:
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/54098197/admin/
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Catholic Education (SIG #175)
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Purpose:
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To support, promote, and disseminate information, research, and evaluation of Catholic education written from a diverse set of perspectives, including interdisciplinary and international issues.
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Contact:
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John L. Beltramo, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, jbeltramo@scu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Catholic Education
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Charters & School Choice (SIG #142)
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Purpose:
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To promote and disseminate information, research, and evaluation of charter schools written from a diverse set of perspectives.
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Contact:
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Charisse A. Gulosino, University of Memphis, Aptos, CA, cglosino@memphis.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Charters & School Choice
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Classroom Assessment (SIG #18)
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Purpose:
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The purposes of the SIG are to promote student learning through improved classroom assessment practices; to assist teachers in improving their classroom assessment practices and understand why it is essential to do so. To achieve these purposes, the SIG includes among its goals the promotion of quality research into classroom assessment practices, using all legitimate research approaches and methods, and the active collaboration with other SIGs and AERA divisions who share an interest in promoting research into classroom assessment.
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Contact:
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Dustin Sonny James Van Orman, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, vanormd2@wwu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $7.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Classroom Assessment
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Cognition and Assessment (SIG #167)
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Purpose:
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To promote research on educational assessment merging two traditionally distinct fields - cognition and psychometrics
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Contact:
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Kaiwen Man, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, Mankaiwen@hotmail.com
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Cognition and Assessment
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Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Education (SIG #171)
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Purpose:
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The purpose of the SIG is to bring together individuals who share a common interest in in-depth, cross-cultural, international dialogue on how Confucianism and Taoism in both classical and contemporary schools of thought can inform educational theory and practice.
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Contact:
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Dengting Boyanton, Sino-American Educational Research Association, Stone Mountain, GA, dengting.boyanton@yahoo.com
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/410128165526933/?rdid=vfHuSCs8PlgCLTUW&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fg%2F19LJ1CtPqe%2F
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Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research and Practice (SIG #26)
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Purpose:
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To exchange information about current research, theory, and improvements in implementation of cooperative learning procedures; to provide a structured forum for discussions related to cooperative learning.
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Contact:
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research and Practice
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Critical Educators for Social Justice (SIG #144)
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Purpose:
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Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism centered on cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities. A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society.
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Contact:
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Shamaine Bertrand, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, bertrans@tcnj.edu; Fatima M. Brunson, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, fatimab06@gmail.com
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Critical Educators for Social Justice
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/CESJSIG
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Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in Education (SIG #27)
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Purpose:
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To promote the integrated study of race, ethnicity, social class, and gender as lenses for performing critical analyses and evaluations of prevailing theory and practice on education.
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Contact:
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Janice A. Byrd, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, byrdjanice91@gmail.com
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Dues:
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$20.00 (1 yr); students $15.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/120611961292065/
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Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies (SIG #28)
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Purpose:
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To support and promote transdisciplinary research of education as experience. The SIG de-stabilizes commonly held boundaries of educational research beyond contemporary curriculum discourses. Members pursue curriculum inquiry using critical perspectives, and performative, auto-ethnographic and conceptual approaches to ask sociocultural, political, and theoretical questions.
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Contact:
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Ganiva Reyes, Miami University (OH), Oxford, OH, reyesg@miamioh.edu
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Dues:
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$7.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/125036057513372/
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Critical Peace Education (SIG #74)
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Purpose:
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To create a global forum for scholars from diverse backgrounds and with varied perspectives to report and critically explore educational research and promote constructive changes in the areas of peace keeping, peace making, peace building, peace education, nonviolent conflict resolution, reconciliation, mediation, and more.
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Contact:
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Raul Olmo Fregoso Bailón, University of Nevada - Reno, Reno, NV, rfregosobailon@unr.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Critical Peace Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/Peace-Education-SIG-AERA-401061593955408/
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Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood Education (SIG #29)
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Purpose:
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The purpose of this SIG is to foster research on and critical analyses of issues in early childhood education and childhood studies and to encourage the development of alternative perspectives and curriculum in early childhood education.
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Contact:
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Oona Fontanella-Nothom, California State University - Dominguez Hills, Burbank, CA, oona.ece@gmail.com
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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https://sites.google.com/site/cpecesig/home
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Critical Quantitative Methodologies (SIG #186)
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Purpose:
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To promote new approaches and foster best practices for conducting and evaluating critical quantitative research; train quantitative researchers how to use these innovative, equity-centered perspectives and research methods to question models, measures, and analysis techniques; and build a scholarship community for critical quantitative researchers.
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Contact:
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Kamden Strunk, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, strunkk2@vcu.edu
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Dues:
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$5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Critical Quantitative Methodologies
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Cultural Historical Research (SIG #30)
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Purpose:
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Focuses on human action, agency, and development as mediated by culture, history, and activity in the tradition of Vygotsky, Luria, Leont’ev, Bakhtin, Mead, and others.
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Contact:
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Shirin Vossoughi, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, shirinvossoughi@gmail.com
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Dues:
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$12.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Cultural Historical Research
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/156178274407466/
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Decolonial, Postcolonial, and Anti-Colonial Studies in Education (SIG #153)
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Purpose:
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The Decolonial, Postcolonial, and Anti-Colonial Studies in Education SIG is an international SIG devoted to the study of education in and as effects of postcolonial, transnational, and globalization contexts.
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Contact:
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Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, jairo.funez@ttu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Decolonial, Postcolonial, and Anti-Colonial Studies in Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/Postcolonial-Studies-and-Education-Special-Interest-Group-AERA-198817803522052/
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Democratic Citizenship in Education (SIG #150)
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Purpose:
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To promote democratic citizenship-development research in K-12 classrooms, and to foster an interdependence among citizenship-democratic researchers.
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Contact:
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Ellen Middaugh, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, ellen.middaugh@sjsu.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Democratic Citizenship in Education
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Disability Studies in Education (SIG #143)
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Purpose:
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Supports the development of disability studies, a series of interdisciplinary modes of critical advocacy scholarship, among educational researchers.
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Contact:
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Phillandra Samantha Smith, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, psmith06@pitt.edu; Kathleen M. Collins, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, Kmc40@psu.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Disability Studies in Education
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/356215848207216
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Districts in Research and Reform (SIG #156)
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Purpose:
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To bring together researchers, central office administrators, reform support organization leaders, and others interested in key questions of system-wide improvement and leadership.
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Contact:
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Jennifer R. Cowhy, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, jcowhy@uark.edu; Debbie Kim, NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, kim-debbie@norc.org
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Districts in Research and Reform
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Educational Statisticians (SIG #37)
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Purpose:
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To increase interaction among educational researchers interested in the theory, applications, and teaching of statistics in the social sciences.
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Contact:
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Xinya Liang, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, xl014@uark.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Educational Statisticians
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Elliot Eisner (SIG #177)
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Purpose:
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The purpose of the Elliot Eisner SIG is to promote scholarship that applies, extends, critiques, and reinvents Eisner’s scholarship. The SIG will act as a catalyst for the development, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum built upon the foundation that Eisner established. The SIG will provide the opportunity to continue conceptualizing educational criticism and connoisseurship with an eye towards various forms of representation; will encourage new forms of evaluation based on Eisner’s ideas; will provide a home for the continuation of research into discipline-based art education and arts-integration; will continue to look at ways to conceptualize schooling (formal and informal) from arts-based perspectives; and will be a place of mentorship for young scholars of curriculum, school evaluation, qualitative research, the arts, and/or school reform.
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Contact:
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Jennifer Bartee, University of the District of Columbia, North Potomac, MD, Jennifer.bartee@udc.edu
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Elliot Eisner
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Facebook:
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https://www.facebook.com/Eisner-SIG-488895484598608
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Instagram:
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https://www.instagram.com/eisnersig/
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Faculty Teaching, Evaluation and Development (SIG #42)
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Purpose:
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To investigate, promote, and support research and development on college teaching and learning, issues related to faculty evaluation and development, and student ratings of teaching.
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Contact:
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Lisa A Lambert Snodgrass, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, lsnodgra@purdue.edu
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Dues:
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$12.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Faculty Teaching, Evaluation and Development
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Family, School, Community Partnerships (SIG #43)
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Purpose:
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To engage with and promote rigorous and innovative research exploring the nature and impact of partnerships between families, schools, and diverse communities, and to encourage evidence-based practices and policies that influence children's learning and development.
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Contact:
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Shana J. Haines, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, shana.haines@uvm.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Family, School, Community Partnerships
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Fiscal Issues, Policy and Education Finance (SIG #44)
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Purpose:
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To provide a forum for research in educational finance and its impact on policy for all levels and aspects of education.
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Contact:
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Dues:
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$10.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Fiscal Issues, Policy and Education Finance
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Graduate and Postdoctoral Education across the Disciplines (SIG #168)
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Purpose:
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To identify and support doctoral education as a distinct area of research in higher education; questions to be addressed include the following: How is "doctoral education" or "research education" conceived? What key changes are occurring in doctoral and research education? What opportunities do these changes present for challenging previous pedagogies and developing new ones?;
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Contact:
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Deniece Dortch, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, dortch@gwu.edu
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Dues:
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$20.00 (1 yr); students $10.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Graduate and Postdoctoral Education across the Disciplines
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Instagram:
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https://www.instagram.com/aerasig168/
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Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing for Educational Justice (SIG #172)
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Purpose:
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To advance research on community and youth organizing, particularly in low income communities and communities of color. We will work to build a research community that engages with practitioners in organizing groups, educational institutions and policy-making circles. We seek to foster research that examines the ways in which organizing efforts affect school improvement and educational equity, youth development, community/democratic revitalization and social justice.
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Contact:
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Ana Carolina Fernandes de Bessa Antunes, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, ana.antunes@utah.edu
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Dues:
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$15.00 (1 yr); students $5.00 (1 yr)
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Website:
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Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing for Educational Justice
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