General Facts About AERA

• AERA was founded in 1916 and currently has approximately 25,000 members.
• AERA has 12 Divisions. Those divisions, and the year in which each was established, are as follows: Division A—Administration, Organization, & Leadership (1964), Division B—Curriculum Studies (1964), Division C—Learning and Instruction (1964), Division D—Measurement & Research Methodology (1964), Division E—Counseling & Human Development (1964), Division F—History & Historiography (1968), Division G—Social Context of Education (1970), Division H—Research, Evaluation, & Assessment in Schools (1970), Division I—Education in the Professions (1978), Division J—Postsecondary Education (1980), Division K—Teaching & Teacher Education (1984), and Division L—Educational Policy & Politics (1996).
• Currently, two-thirds (66%) of AERA’s members are women, up from 30% in 1975-76 when AERA first started tracking membership by demographics. 
• Nearly two-thirds (63%) of AERA’s members have a Ph.D. or an Ed.D. degree.
• Among AERA’s members who are employed, three-quarters (75%) work for a college or university.
• Students comprise 32% of AERA’s members.

The following tables show trends in total AERA membership and the demographics of AERA’s members. The tables on member demographics only include those AERA members whose gender or race/ethnicity was known. See table notes for information about how gender and race/ethnicity data collection changed over time. Click the PDF links beside the tables to download them in PDF form.

Table 1. Total AERA Membership by Member Type, 2010 to 2020 (PDF)

Table 2. AERA Trends in Membership by Gender, 1975-76 to 2020 (PDF)

Table 3. AERA Trends in Membership by Race/Ethnicity, 1975-76 to 2020 (PDF)

Table 4. AERA Membership by Gender and Division, 2014 and 2020 (PDF)

Table 5. AERA Membership by Race/Ethnicity and Division, 2014 and 2020 (PDF)