The AERA Educational Change SIG adopts an interdisciplinary and international approach to understanding many aspects of educational change, including large-scale reform, school-initiated change, school improvement, and classroom-level change.

Bi-Weekly Announcement May 14, 2025

Dear Educational Change SIG Members,

We are excited to share with you the latest member accolades celebrating the outstanding scholarly contributions within our community. Please take a moment to read about the recent publications, editorial achievements, and exciting calls for submissions from your colleagues.

In addition, we are currently seeking enthusiastic graduate student representatives to join our SIG leadership team. This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved, network with peers, and help shape the future of our SIG. Graduate student representatives play a vital role in advancing graduate student engagement and supporting special projects within the SIG.

Please see checkout the AERA Educational Change SIG - Graduate Representative Call and submission form   for details on how to apply or nominate yourself. We encourage all eligible graduate students to consider this rewarding leadership opportunity.

Thank you for your continued participation and contributions to our vibrant SIG community!

Cheers,

Dr. Patricia Virella, Ph.D.

Chair, Educational Change SIG

🎉 Member Accolades & Announcements

Celebrating the Achievements of Our Educational Change SIG Members!

Matthew McCluskey
Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, University of Vermont
matthew.mccluskey@uvm.edu

• Recent Publications:
  • Reform for “these” kids: Neoliberal reform, theorized target populations, and spatial injustice (with M. Narayanan & E. Milne), published in Educational Policy (2025).
  • Signifying improvement: Reform symbols as discursive practice in school improvement plans (with M. Narayanan), published in Educational Administration Quarterly (2025).

Taylor Strickland
PhD Student, University of Connecticut
taylor.strickland@uconn.edu

• Call for Submissions: Neag School of Education Journal
  • The UConn Neag School of Education Journal, an editor-reviewed, open-access, annual journal run by graduate students, is now accepting submissions for its Spring 2026 issue!
  • The journal welcomes research articles, essays, literature reviews, and personal research reflections from graduate students and early-career scholars. It offers a supportive, developmental review process.
  • Submission deadline: June 3, 2025.
  • Learn more and submit your work through the Neag School of Education Journal website.

Kathryn Hayes
Associate Professor, California State University East Bay
kathryn.hayes@csueastbay.edu

• Special Issue Editor: Science Education
  • Dr. Hayes, along with Carrie Allen, co-edited a special issue of Science Education focused on how science teacher learning is situated within organizational contexts. The issue features empirical and conceptual articles examining the influence of sociocultural and historical institutions on teacher learning and practice.
  • Explore the list of articles featured in this special issue 

Andy Hargreaves
Professor, Boston College
hargrean@bc.edu

• Book Honors & New Release:
  • Received Honorable Mentions from the Society of Education Professors in April 2025 for his most recent books: Leadership from the Middle (2024) and, with Dennis Shirley, The Age of Identity (2023).
  • His latest book, The Making of an Educator, which explores becoming a teacher and academic during the rise of populism and its implications for today, will be released in July 2025.

👏 Join us in congratulating these members for their outstanding contributions to educational change! If you have news or accolades to share, please contact us to be featured in the next SIG announcement. 👏_______________________________________________________

Dear Educational Change SIG Members,

Thank you for your active participation and engagement with AERA and our SIG community. Your dedication is what makes our group so vibrant and impactful.

To improve our communication flow, I will now be sharing announcements every two weeks. This will help keep everyone informed and connected with the latest updates, opportunities, and events. 

We are always looking for new ideas for programming, mentorship, and other initiatives-so please don’t hesitate to reach out to SIG leadership with your suggestions!

Additionally, we want to celebrate and publicize the incredible work you are doing. If you have news, accomplishments, or projects you’d like to share, please submit them using this link: https://forms.gle/XooQrXrBd3C17K1u8. We look forward to highlighting your achievements with our community.

Thank you for being an essential part of the Educational Change SIG!