Top Science Policy Officials Headline Sessions
Top Science Policy Officials Headline Sessions
 
April 2, 2012
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Key science and research policy officials at U.S. federal agencies will speak on the current state of education research policies and priorities at the 2012 AERA Annual Meeting. Sessions featuring top policy advisors at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and in the U.S. Department of Education are among 15 that will focus on emerging topics in education and social science research.

Two leaders of NSF directorates will speak at key sessions. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), and Myron Gutmann, who heads the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), will address research emphases, priorities, and cross-directorate cooperation at NSF on Saturday, April 14, at 2:15 p.m. Gutmann will also speak on the challenges and opportunities associated with the inclusion of social and behavioral sciences in K–12 STEM education on Saturday, April 14, at 4:05 p.m.

Special education research is a featured topic in this year’s series of research and science policy symposia. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education, and Deborah Speece, Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), will offer a candid overview of special education policy and research on Monday, April 16, at 10:35 a.m.

Jack Buckley, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is featured in two sessions. The first, focused on the development of the P–20 Common Education Data Standards, will take place Saturday, April 14, at 12:25 p.m. In the second, he will report on education statistics, data priorities, and challenges facing NCES in light of available resources. This symposium takes place on Sunday, April 15, at 2:15 p.m.

John Easton, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), will speak at two research and science policy symposia cosponsored with Divisions L (Educational Policy and Politics) and J (Postsecondary Education), respectively. The first, on the Regional Educational Laboratories, takes place on Saturday, April 14, at 8:15 a.m. The second, on Monday, April 16, at 12:25 p.m., addresses funding support for higher education research. Other private and public funding leaders will also present at this session.

The other symposia in this series also deal with key research policy issues and offer presentations and comments from leading scholars. Three of these sessions focus on recently released reports by the National Research Council on incentives and test-based accountability (Sunday, April 15, 10:35 a.m.), improving adult literacy instruction (Monday, April 16, 10:35 a.m.), and successful STEM education (Monday, April 16, 2:15 p.m.).

All 15 sessions are prominently displayed on the 2012 Annual Meeting page on the AERA website and in the print program.