AERA 2026: Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures: Constructing a New Vision for Education Research

April 8-12, Los Angeles, California

We are looking forward to a great program for AERA 2026 in Los Angeles, CA! Our Division C program and section chairs have assembled an outstanding selection of papers, posters, and roundtables demonstrating the groundbreaking work that our members do.

Session Highlights

Division C at the AERA Annual Meeting 2026

The Division C Program & Communications Committees have compiled this day-by-day guide to direct you to invited*, highlighted, and networking sessions for the 2026 AERA Annual Meeting. We also share information about Curated Strands and graduate student- focused sessions.

Access the 2026 Division C Session Highlights Guide here.

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Div C and APA Div 15 Opening Social

Join us at the AERA Div C and APA Div 15 Opening Social!

Click here to open directions to the event in Google Maps or Apple Maps.

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Division C Shark Tank: Graduate Students Pitch Equity and Inclusion–Focused Research Designs for Funding

Your input is needed!

This January, we received numerous outstanding research proposal pitches from Division C graduate students. From these submissions, five finalists were selected to present their research to a panel of "Sharks" (Division C scholars serving as judges) at the 2026 AERA Conference in Los Angeles. These outstanding scholars have produced equity-focused research proposals that preserve and celebrate our commitment to research on Learning and Instruction. Along with mentorship opportunities, these finalists are competing for seed grants for their research.

Here's where you come in! Two seed grants will be awarded at the Shark Tank Session on Thursday, April 9th, 2026 (4:15 to 5:45pm PDT, Westin Bonaventure, Floor: Lobby Level, Beaudry B. The Shark Tank judges will determine an Overall Winner to be awarded a $1,500 seed grant. The People's Choice Winner will be decided by YOU and receive a $1,000 seed grant.

Our People's Choice Voting Portal is now OPEN! We will be accepting votes (one vote per person) from now until the end of the Shark Tank Session on Thursday, April 9th, 2026.

To vote, please do the following:
1. Visit the Shark Tank 2026 Polling website at https://blackandbelonging.com/polls
2. Sign up for a free account or log in using your Google credentials.
3. View the Shark Tank Finalist videos.
4. Vote for your favorite research proposal!