AERA Division A Newsletter: Summer 2026
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It’s time to renew your AERA membership for 2027.
Your membership keeps you connected to the Division and Special Interest Group (SIG) communities where many members say they experience AERA most directly. It also supports AERA’s journals and career resources. And it gives you access to the broader AERA network, including the 2027 Annual Meeting.
Scholar Share submissions are open. Scholar Share highlights members' achievements in the upcoming fall 2026 newsletter issue. Any submissions included on or before 9/30/26 will be included in the fall 2026 issue.
We encourage members to submit recent publications, presentations, grants, awards, promotions, and other professional accomplishments so we can celebrate and recognize their scholarly contributions in the newsletter.
We are pleased to share this call for proposals for a special issue focused on critically examining how recent federal administrative actions - particularly those targeting public education, immigration, and civil rights protections - have directly and indirectly harmed students with disabilities, their families, and their communities at the intersection of other salient identities such as race, gender, and economic vulnerability.
Exceptional Children invites submissions for a special issue titled “Intersectional Disability, Displacement, and Federal Retrenchment: Reckoning with Harm and Reimagining Disability Educational Justice," guest edited by Dr. Cristina Santamaría Graff and Dr. Alexandra Aylward.
The Special Issue seeks scholarship that illuminates the effects of recent federal administrative actions across the educational ecosystem as well as the powerful forms of resistance to oppression including counter-movements, solidarities, and coalition-building that are emerging in response to intensified federal actions targeting disabled communities with intersecting identities.
Intended for policymakers, educators, families, and interdisciplinary scholars, this issue welcomes a range of submissions— including original research articles, case studies, conceptual papers, historical, or theoretical reflections—that reimagine disability justice in education. Authors should follow Exceptional Children submission guidelines and contribute to advancing equity and civil rights for students with disabilities in the current sociopolitical climate.
New Extended Deadline: January 17, 2027
Call for Papers: Race, Identity, and Educational Opportunity
A special issue of Genealogy is seeking interdisciplinary scholarship exploring the relationships among race, identity, and educational opportunity across historical and contemporary contexts. Potential areas include educational access and pathways, structural and institutional conditions, leadership and learning environments, racialization, identity formation, belonging, and global or transnational perspectives. Historical, theoretical, qualitative, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approaches are welcomed. Call for Abstracts.
Learn more: https://www.mdpi.com/si/290901
If you are planning on attending the UCEA Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, PA from November 18-21, there are still rooms available at the Omni William Penn Hotel.
The hotel is a seven-minute walk to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and boasts an opulent lobby which is perfect for networking with fellow Convention attendees.
Click here to make your reservation!
Are you an early-career faculty member looking for support on your academic journey? Join us at the UCEA 2026 Annual Convention in Pittsburgh for the Early Career Faculty Success Mentoring Workshop.
This interactive session focuses on navigating the administrative and political landscapes of tenure and promotion. Following a short presentation on key best practices, participants will split into small breakout groups to discuss research, teaching, and service with experienced mentors.
Registration: Early Career Success at UCEA 2026
Date & Time: Thursday, November 19 | 10:00 AM – 11:50 AM
Location: David L. Lawrence Convention Center (Level 4, Room 409)
Facilitators: Anjalé Welton, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Linda C. Tillman, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Mentors:
AERA Open invites submissions for a special topic collection on “Extending Educator Diversity: Impacts, Barriers, and Strategies for Change Across the Workforce.” The collection welcomes scholarship examining educator diversity, barriers to recruitment and retention, the experiences of historically marginalized educators, and policies and practices designed to strengthen diversity across the educator workforce. We particularly encourage interdisciplinary and innovative work that expands how we understand educator diversity across roles, career stages, and contexts.
Abstracts of up to 500 words are due February 1, 2027. Please share this opportunity with colleagues who may be interested.
View the full call for abstracts.
Education Sciences invites submissions for a special issue on Broadening Horizons for Educational Data Use: Learning and Leading from Classroom to Community,” guest edited by Jo Beth Jimerson (Texas Christian University), Kara Lasater (University of Arkansas), Ellen Mandinach (WestEd), and Kathleen Kyzar (Texas Christian University). This issue will provide a platform for scholarship related to innovative approaches to or expanded conceptions of leading and learning through DDDM that are grounded in human-centered approaches, flourishing and relationships in PK-12 contexts.
To submit to this special issue, please start by sending a proposal (article title, abstract, keywords, authorship and affiliations) through the journal’s submission platform. Proposals that are appropriate to the scope and topic of the Special Issue will receive further instructions, and full manuscripts can then be submitted before the deadline of November 1, 2026.
For more information, or potential topics, see the attached flyer or read the full call for submissions at the special issue’s journal page here.
Research Topic: Leading Inquiry-Focused Continuous Improvement
Topic Editors:
Due dates have been extended:
The USC Race and Equity Center is hosting an equity book talk event next month (11/17) on Zoom with authors Zak Foster and Lauren Irwin to discuss their book Disrupting White Noise: Challenging Beliefs about Race on Campus. The PDF attached includes a registration link and promo code to purchase the book.
We are pleased to introduce the Journal of Applied Educational Research and Evaluation (JAERE), a newly launched scholarly journal dedicated to advancing rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship that advances educational research, informs practice, and contributes to policy development across diverse educational contexts.
We invite scholars, researchers, evaluators, and practitioners to engage with the journal by submitting scholarship for publication and serving as peer reviewers.
Call for Manuscripts
Journal of Applied Educational Research and Evaluation (JAERE) welcomes original scholarly manuscripts that contribute to educational research, evaluation, policy, and practice. We encourage submissions representing diverse educational contexts, populations, theoretical perspectives, and methodological approaches, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research.
As an open-access journal, JAERE is committed to making high-quality scholarship accessible to researchers, educators, practitioners, policymakers, and other members of the educational community.
We invite you to consider JAERE as a publication venue for your current and future scholarship and to share the journal with colleagues whose work aligns with its scope.
Become a Peer Reviewer
As we build the journal and its scholarly community, we are also expanding our pool of peer reviewers. We welcome scholars and professionals with demonstrated research or professional expertise relevant to the journal's scope and experience conducting, reviewing, or evaluating educational research.
Peer reviewers are selected based on the alignment of their substantive and methodological expertise with the manuscript under consideration. In identifying reviewers, the editorial team considers relevant scholarly or professional expertise, methodological knowledge, research and publication experience, and, when applicable, prior peer-review experience. Reviewers must also be independent of the authors, disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and the peer-review process.
If you are interested in joining our peer reviewer pool, please provide the following:
Educating in Dangerous Times: A Call to Re-envision Public School in America , a new edited volume that published by Beacon Press August 2026, aims to seed public conversations about the K-12 schools our students need in a moment characterized by the erosion of civil rights, book bans, and attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities. The co-editors of the book, George Theoharis and John Rogers, feature prominent educational leadership scholars as chapter authors (as well as a host of other distinguished education scholars). These include: Michelle Young, Judy Alston, Muhammad Khalifa, Julian Vasquez Heilig, Vincent Cho, Carrie Sampson, Mollie McQuillan, and Kevin Henry. The chapter authors name the threats facing public education, imagine more equitable, inclusive, and democratic schools, and help us chart a path to get there. The intent of the book is to galvanize attention on the dangers facing our students and our schools and initiate public conversations around the question: How should we reenvision public schools and collectively create the public schools we need? Available now from bookstores everywhere. Order from Beacon and use the code BE30 for 30% off.
Drs. Steven L. Nelson (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and Timberly Baker (Arkansas State University) invite proposals for an edited volume on the intersection(s) of law, education, and blackness. The edited volume, Black Education v. the United States: A Critical Legal Indictment seeks chapters based on/in critical race frameworks that analyze how law and law-like systems impact the advancement or regression of educational justice for Black peoples. Proposals are due October 16, 2026. Questions may be directed to steven.nelson@unlv.eduand tibaker@astate.edu. We look forward to reading your abstract. Thank you in advance for your support of this project.
Literature In Action Series
You are invited to participate in the Division A Literature in Action series hosted by the Equity in Action committee. This Fall, we are featuring Dr. Patricia M. Virella’s book, Crisis as Catalyst: Equity-oriented school leadership during difficult times. The first 25 registered participants can receive a free digital copy of the book!
Our Literature in Action series brings together educators, leaders, researchers, professors, and community advocates for an engaging book talk workshop. The author will lead us through key sections of the book to transform our reading into action. Each session will guide us through a deep dive into book topics such as Resource Allocation and Advocacy for Radical Change. The author will share a tool as a diagnosis to know where to start one’s work in one’s school community. Each session will provide time for participants to talk in small groups, share best practices, discuss key parts of the book, and learn key strategies necessary for leading schools towards equity in today's socio-political contexts. Our intention is to create a safe professional environment to talk openly and directly about how best to advance this work at this time. The meeting will not be recorded, only registered participants will be permitted in the Zoom room, and the chat will be actively monitored.
Sessions will be held over two Wednesday afternoons: October 14, and October 28, 2026 at 3-4:30 pm EST / 12-1:30 pm PST. Registration is open to Division A members, practitioners, and community advocates.
Series editors, Colleen A. Capper and Kevin Lawrence Henry, Jr., invite book proposals for Routledge's Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity Series. They are currently soliciting book proposals on topics ranging from the superintendency to AI and technology in educational leadership to school finance and resource allocation, among others.
Proposals are due November 2, 2026. Please direct questions to Drs. Colleen A. Capper and Kevin Lawrence Henry, Jr. at ed.ldrship4equitydiversity@gmail.com. See the attached flyer for additional information.
Established in 2023 by co-chairs Daniel Liou and Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, the Division A Mid-Career Mentoring Committee addresses the critical "pipeline problem" by supporting associate professors as they navigate the path to full professorship. The committee’s primary goal is to create a dedicated space for mid-career scholars to achieve long-term career objectives, strengthen the post-tenured faculty pipeline, and foster a culture of mentorship within Division A. New leaders will serve a two-year rotation. Interested individuals should communicate their interest to the committee chairs or Division A VP.
Save the date for an upcoming professional development opportunity offered by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Urban Education Leadership (CUEL)!
Webinar: Beyond Traditional Focus Groups: A Culturally Responsive Approach
When: October 26th, 2026 at 12:00-2:00pm CST
Cost: $60 (faculty, researchers, etc.) $35 (graduate students only).
Join CUEL Faculty Affiliate, Dr. Jori Hall, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Dr. Nia Mitchell – incredibly accomplished qualitative research experts – for this interactive Zoom webinar!
This webinar is ideal for program evaluators, qualitative researchers, and students.
Learn how to design, implement, and moderate focus groups that honor participants’ perspectives and cultural contexts. Through practical strategies and real-world examples, participants will explore how culturally responsive approaches can strengthen the quality, ethics, and relevance of focus groups.
Registration is now open! Learn more about the webinar and register here.
The organizing committee for the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) 2027 invites you to submit proposals for the annual conference.
ICSEI 2027 will take place in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from January 4–8, 2027, and is being hosted by the University of Calgary. The Congress theme is: Be Well, Learn Well: Strengthening Belonging, Well-Being, and Academic Growth. We aim to bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, graduate students, and educational leaders from around the world to explore questions related to educational improvement, wellbeing, belonging, leadership, equity, and system change.
The proposal process for ICSEI is intentionally designed to be relatively accessible and straightforward. Proposal submissions are brief (approximately 500 words maximum). Proposals are still being accepted.
The AERA Division A Newsletter team is seeking applications for two Co-Associate Editors. Co-Associate Editors serve a total of two years on the Newsletter team, beginning their first year under the guidance of the current Co-Editors and then taking on the Co-Editor role in their second year. This two-year term begins April 2026 and ends July 2028. Responsibilities include gathering and authoring content, interfacing with other Division A and Executive Committee members, and meeting monthly during the academic year as an editorial team. This is an excellent opportunity for early career and tenure-track academics to build their networks and understandings of AERA governance. Interested applicants should complete the following application by March 8, 2026. For any questions, please contact the current Co-Editors, Alison Wilson (aswilso6@central.uh.edu) and Meagan Richard (meagan.richard@umb.edu).