Dear Dewey Studies SIG Colleagues:

I know when I first joined AERA in 1993, it felt overwhelming. It is a huge conference with thousands of attendees from all over the world. Exciting but also intimidating. Through the years and participation in various Divisions, sub-divisions, and SIGs I formed the most important professional relationships of my life. My affiliation with AERA changed my life in that sense and provided a community of colleagues I treasure. It also allowed me to play with ideas and expand my boundaries beyond what I ever could have done otherwise. This is what I would hope members of the Dewey SIG get from membership both in the SIG and in AERA.

In the 30 years since I joined AERA, the institution and the world has also changed. Awareness of issues of social justice—race, class, gender, power, privilege, and oppression, and the fragility of democracy in the US and across the globe—has intensified. How is Dewey still relevant in the face of these forces? It is a question I think the SIG has to grapple with. In response, our call this year reflects a desire to engage in these questions.

A SIG lives and dies by bringing in new members, particularly graduates students. If you are a graduate student, welcome! It is my intention that the SIG provide graduate students with opportunities to actively participate in the SIG and form relationships with each other and with senior scholars. Stay tuned. Please feel free to contact me, Jiwon Kim (the SIG Program Chair), or Matt Livingston (our ad hoc graduate student representative) with ideas or questions.

If you have not already signed up to be a proposal reviewer or discussant, please do so! Graduate students, this is a great way to hone your proposal writing skills. We encourage you be active in the SIG on all levels—reviewing proposals, submitting proposals, attending SIG sessions, and providing support for SIG presenters. Equally important is attending the SIG business meeting (which, if all goes well, will be in person in 2023) and taking part in the activities hosted by the SIG.

Once again, we welcome you to the SIG and look forward to working with you. The SIG exists, in large part, to continue the relevance and legacy of John Dewey, a legacy that we as SIG members are responsible for realizing in education and society.

Respectfully,

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