February 2022

AERA Executive Board and Council recently approved several petitions to support and advance the work of special interest groups (SIGs) within the association. At its February 4–5 meeting, AERA Council unanimously approved the transition of four SIGs-in-Formation to full SIG status. SIGs approved for formation by AERA Council are in an “in-formation” status for their first three years. At the end of that time period, the AERA SIG Executive Committee reviews each SIG-in-Formation to determine whether to recommend to Council a transition to full SIG status. The four SIGs recently approved for transition from SIG-in-Formation to SIG are:

• Bourdieu in Educational Research
• Improvement Science in Education SIG
• Montessori Education SIG
• Socio-Political Issues in Mathematics and Science Education SIG

In addition, Council unanimously approved a petition from the Postcolonial Studies and Education SIG to change its name to Decolonial, Postcolonial, and Anti-Colonial Studies in Education. The name change is intended to better reflect the shifting terminology and focus of this growing field of education research focused on critical engagements with colonization in its many forms.

At its February 3 meeting, the AERA Executive Board unanimously approved seven petitions from SIGs to establish new awards. All SIG award petitions are first reviewed by the AERA SIG Executive Committee and then advanced to the Executive Board, which has responsibility for the approval of all SIG and division awards. The recently approved SIG awards are as follows:

• Advanced Studies of National Databases SIG, Lifetime Achievement Award
• Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies SIG, Critical Engagement in Curriculum and Cultural Studies Mid-Career Award
• NAEP Studies SIG, Outstanding Publication Award
• Science Teaching and Learning SIG, Civic Action and Social Engagement Best Paper Award
• Semiotics in Education: Signs, Meanings, and Multimodality SIG, Gunther Kress Social Semiotics in Education Scholar Impact Award
• Semiotics in Education: Signs, Meanings, and Multimodality SIG, Outstanding Book Award
• Semiotics in Education: Signs, Meanings, and Multimodality SIG, Outstanding Graduate Research Paper Award

SIGs are important research communities within AERA. SIGs are intra- or cross-divisional in nature and seek to increase the exchange of knowledge within research arenas of special interest. There are currently 152 SIGs in AERA. For more information about SIGs, please view the SIG Directory. AERA members may add a SIG to their membership at any time by visiting their “My AERA” page on the AERA website and then selecting “Purchase Additional SIG Memberships.”