AERA DIVISION A NEWSLETTER
WINTER 2024
What's New in the Winter Newsletter?
The 2024 Winter Newsletter includes: a message from our current Vice President, Dr. Mariela Rodríguez; Celebrations of AERA 2024 Award Winners; a new Scholar Share Blog about what Division A members are presenting at the Annual Meeting; Highlights of the AERA Annual Meeting; Div A-UCEA Connections and UCEA Reflection from Dr. Carol Mullen; and updates from the Equity, Inclusion, and Action Committee and the Graduate Student Committee.
We hope you enjoy all the features of the Winter Newsletter!
The 2024 Winter Newsletter includes: a message from our current Vice President, Dr. Mariela Rodríguez; Celebrations of AERA 2024 Award Winners; a new Scholar Share Blog about what Division A members are presenting at the Annual Meeting; Highlights of the AERA Annual Meeting; Div A-UCEA Connections and UCEA Reflection from Dr. Carol Mullen; and updates from the Equity, Inclusion, and Action Committee and the Graduate Student Committee.
We hope you enjoy all the features of the Winter Newsletter!
WINTER 2024 Newsletter Features
Vice President's Message
Division A's 2021-2024 Vice President is Dr. Mariela Rodríguez. Dr. Rodríguez is a Professor and Interim Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department Chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
See Dr. Rodríguez's message to Division A members below.
You can also read the messages here: Vice President Messages
PREVIEW 2024 aera ANNUAL MEETING
Division A members and colleagues are looking forward to presenting their scholarly work at the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting: Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action from April 11-14, 2024.
Division A members have submitted their proposals and reviews for papers in the following areas:
- Section 1. Leadership
- Section 2. School Organization and Effects
- Section 3. School and District Improvement
- Section 4. School Contexts and Communities
- Section 5. Leadership Preparation Development
Division A Early Career Mentoring Pre-Conference Session
This early career mentoring session will feature a panel of recently tenured professors who will share their experience of the tenure and promotion process. Small breakout sessions will follow to address the academic job market, third year review, and preparations for tenure and promotion.
Wed, April 10, 1:00 to 5:00pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 116
Learning from Colleagues Taking Action to Dismantle Racial Injustice
This session highlights the work and wisdom of colleagues taking action to dismantle racial injustice in an era of significant legislative pushback on diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The panelists will speak to the legal, policy, activist, and collaborative approaches central to continuing the march toward social justice across P-20+ educational systems. Attendees will gain insights into the strategies being employed to navigate and counter oppressive policies, the cross-collaborative efforts mobilized to challenge hostile legislation, and the resilience displayed by professionals who continue their essential work in these challenging contexts. The session will also provide a unique opportunity to tap into the expertise and perspectives of policy experts who are actively engaged in DEI work.
Thu, April 11, 12:40 to 2:10pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 115A
The Future of Social Justice Action: Claiming Space to Sustain Ourselves Through the Work
Increasingly, politics in education have fueled the proliferation of hostile spaces that create significant detractors to the work of social justice leadership. In this participatory discussion-based session, we take up the question: How do we build on the work of our predecessors to continue the journey towards equity, justice, inclusion, belonging, and power sharing? Participants will have the opportunity to engage with scholars who share how they sustain the work of varied forms of scholarship, including public scholarship, community engagement, and more, to consider the future of social justice and equity work. This session will provide a forum to discuss, strategize, and mobilize for social justice work across different working environments.
Fri, April 12, 9:35 to 11:05am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 115C
This early career mentoring session will feature a panel of recently tenured professors who will share their experience of the tenure and promotion process. Small breakout sessions will follow to address the academic job market, third year review, and preparations for tenure and promotion.
Wed, April 10, 1:00 to 5:00pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 116
Learning from Colleagues Taking Action to Dismantle Racial Injustice
This session highlights the work and wisdom of colleagues taking action to dismantle racial injustice in an era of significant legislative pushback on diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The panelists will speak to the legal, policy, activist, and collaborative approaches central to continuing the march toward social justice across P-20+ educational systems. Attendees will gain insights into the strategies being employed to navigate and counter oppressive policies, the cross-collaborative efforts mobilized to challenge hostile legislation, and the resilience displayed by professionals who continue their essential work in these challenging contexts. The session will also provide a unique opportunity to tap into the expertise and perspectives of policy experts who are actively engaged in DEI work.
Thu, April 11, 12:40 to 2:10pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 115A
The Future of Social Justice Action: Claiming Space to Sustain Ourselves Through the Work
Increasingly, politics in education have fueled the proliferation of hostile spaces that create significant detractors to the work of social justice leadership. In this participatory discussion-based session, we take up the question: How do we build on the work of our predecessors to continue the journey towards equity, justice, inclusion, belonging, and power sharing? Participants will have the opportunity to engage with scholars who share how they sustain the work of varied forms of scholarship, including public scholarship, community engagement, and more, to consider the future of social justice and equity work. This session will provide a forum to discuss, strategize, and mobilize for social justice work across different working environments.
Fri, April 12, 9:35 to 11:05am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 115C
Special Invitation From Dr. Linda Tillman
equity, inclusion & action committee update
The Division A Equity, Inclusion & Action (EIA) committee has been actively working to bring a series of initiatives to fruition. They are excited to invite you to join them at two special AERA sessions that were collaboratively developed and organized by the committee, the Division A Business meeting, and the fourth Literature in Action series.
Click here to read the details of their work through the EIA blog.
Click here to read the details of their work through the EIA blog.
Excellence in Research Award: Dr. Meredith I. Honig (co-awardee)
Meredith Honig is a Professor of Education Policy, Organizations, and Leadership at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she is also the Director of the District Leadership Design Lab (DL2, dl2.education.uw.edu) and an Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs. Her research, teaching, and district partnerships focus on disrupting inequities in school district central offices and transforming core central office work to ensure equitable teaching and learning—that which centers, values, and elevates the knowledge, cultures, and success of students identifying as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, students of color, or living in low-income circumstances. Her work recognizes that barriers to educational equity are fundamental and systemic, that school district central office leaders are in strategic positions to lead fundamental, systemic change for equity, and that research and particular design approaches can support their leadership. Meredith’s findings have been published in such journals as Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and funded by The Wallace Foundation The Spencer Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation, and other sources. Her books include Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach (2020) and From tinkering to transformation: How school district central offices drive equitable teaching and learning (2023), both published by Harvard Education Press. |
Excellence in Research Award: Dr. Muhhamad Khalifa (co-awardee)
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa is a professor of educational administration and Executive Director for Urban Education Initiatives at the Ohio State University. His latest book, Culturally Responsive School Leadership (2018, Harvard Education Press) is a top-seller and is being used in leadership preparation programs across the US and Canada. Through the Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute, he and colleagues have developed academies, equity audits, and learning modules that will help schools and leaders and systems become culturally responsive (crsli.org). He recently launched a non-profit that recruits and trains teachers primarily in the communities in which they serve (teeching.org). Dr. Khalifa has served as an educator and administrator in Detroit and has engaged in school leadership reform in African and Asian countries, including a recent U.N. project in East Africa. Dr. Khalifa is currently writing on culturally responsive instructional leadership. |
Excellence in Research Award: Honorable Mention: Dr. Sarah Diem
Dr. Sarah Diem is a professor and chair in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. She is also a Faculty Affiliate in the Harry S. Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and the Qualitative Inquiry Program in the College of Education & Human Development. She researches the social, political, and geographic contexts of education, focusing primarily on how the politics and implementation of educational policies affect outcomes related to racial equity and opportunity within public schools. She is also interested in the ways in which school leaders are prepared to address racism in their school communities. Dr. Diem received her Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from The University of Texas at Austin. Her most recent co-authored book (with Anjalé D. Welton, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Anti-racist Educational Leadership and Policy: Addressing Racism in Public Education, challenges school leaders to question the racial implications of the policies they design and implement. In 2020, their book received the Taylor and Francis “Outstanding New Textbook” Award in Behavioral Sciences and Education, and in 2021 it received the AESA Critic’s Choice Book Award. |
Emerging Scholar Award: Dr. Osly J. Flores (co-awardee)
Osly J. Flores is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research agenda focuses on two strands of inquiry: (1) race-conscious leadership in K-12 schools and (2) the persistence of graduate students of color in navigating higher education. In the race-conscious leadership strand, he examines three themes: (a) equitable leadership practice, (b) leadership ethics, and (c) school leaders of color. Overall, his work examines how school leaders’ decisions to center or ignore race influence their actions and practices. Specifically, spotlighting asset-based procedures while also interrogating deficit-oriented routines has been the guiding principle of his racial equity inquiry. His research has been published in journals such as The Urban Review, Urban Education, Teachers College Record, Journal of School Leadership, AERA Open, and International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. |
Emerging Scholar Award: Dr. Jeff Walls (co-awardee)
Dr. Jeff Walls’s (he/him/his) is an assistant professor of educational leadership at Washington State University, and prior to that worked as a school district administrator and high school math teacher. His research is focused on the intersection of organization and ethics in education, and particularly on the tensions, tradeoffs, and contradictions experienced by leaders and educators as they try to build educational spaces characterized by care and belonging. His research has been published in Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Educational Administration, Educational Policy, AERA Open, and other outlets. In 2022, he was recognized as the Fullan Emerging Scholar in Professional Capital and Community. He earned his PhD at the University of Minnesota. |
Outstanding Dissertation Award: Dr. Meghan Comstock
Meghan Comstock is an Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies, she studies the implementation and politics of equity-oriented K-12 education reforms related to teaching, leadership, and cultural responsiveness. Her current work examines implementation of district-level curriculum and professional learning initiatives, state-level teacher licensure and teacher diversity policies, and district-level equity leadership. Comstock earned her PhD in Education Policy in May 2023 from the University of Pennsylvania. |
Outstanding Dissertation Award: Honorable Mention: Dr. Racquel Armstrong
Dr. Racquel Armstrong is a Presidential Postdoctoral Scholar at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. She formerly served as a school administrator in both urban and suburban schools at the elementary and secondary levels. Her research focuses on self-care as a leadership practice as well as the intersection of carceral logics and schools. She is a 2021 Barbara Jackson Scholar and the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence from The Ohio State University. She holds a B.A. from Wellesley College, a M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.B.A. from the Fisher College of Business, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. |
Outstanding Dissertation Award: Honorablre Mention: Dr. Kimberly M. Sterin
Kimberly M. Sterin, Ph.D., has worked as a public school teacher, researcher, and policy analyst within and in partnership with school districts, higher education institutions, and advocacy organizations. As a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Drexel University, she coordinates the qualitative data collection for a large-scale mixed-methods longitudinal study, and as the Research Operations Manager for the Justice-Oriented Youth (JoY) Lab, she supports multiple community-university project teams through the research process. Her research interrogates the ways power is leveraged across the K-12 school finance and resource landscape with a focus on educational justice for historically marginalized groups.
Kimberly M. Sterin, Ph.D., has worked as a public school teacher, researcher, and policy analyst within and in partnership with school districts, higher education institutions, and advocacy organizations. As a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Drexel University, she coordinates the qualitative data collection for a large-scale mixed-methods longitudinal study, and as the Research Operations Manager for the Justice-Oriented Youth (JoY) Lab, she supports multiple community-university project teams through the research process. Her research interrogates the ways power is leveraged across the K-12 school finance and resource landscape with a focus on educational justice for historically marginalized groups.
scholar share
In the Winter 2024 edition of Scholar Share, we asked Division A members to share what they are presenting at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Please check out the Scholar Share Blog page to learn more about what your colleagues are researching and sharing at the meeting. We hope to see many of you at these sessions!
About Scholar Share: The Division A Scholar Share is intended to highlight new, exciting, and important scholarly endeavors and provide critical insights into relevant topics in the field of educational leadership. Scholar Share offers Division A members opportunities to engage in ongoing learning, professional development, and to connect with other scholars and practitioners in the field. We invite you to share one project, research grant, leadership initiative, publication, and/or other important scholar-practitioner endeavor with Division A members. Please use this link if you would like us to post your work!
About Scholar Share: The Division A Scholar Share is intended to highlight new, exciting, and important scholarly endeavors and provide critical insights into relevant topics in the field of educational leadership. Scholar Share offers Division A members opportunities to engage in ongoing learning, professional development, and to connect with other scholars and practitioners in the field. We invite you to share one project, research grant, leadership initiative, publication, and/or other important scholar-practitioner endeavor with Division A members. Please use this link if you would like us to post your work!
The AERA Div A-UCEA Connection
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So many Division A members are lucky to have two academic homes--AERA and the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). Newsletter editors, Drs. Darrius Stanley, Elizabeth Gil, and Amie Cieminski caught up with colleagues in November in Minneapolis.
Also, AERA Division A member, Dr. Carol Mullen from Virginia Tech also served as the University Council for Educational Administration President from November, 2022 to November, 2023. Since so many Division A members are also involved with UCEA, we wanted to share Dr. Mullen's reflections on the UCEA Conference. |
graduate student COMMITTEE update
As we prepare for the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting, we would like to encourage graduate students to follow @AERA_grads and @DivisionAGSC on Twitter, as well as any other SIGs or divisions they belong to, for up-to-date information about planning for the meeting, special receptions, and other gatherings.
Our Graduate Student Committe team is busy planning a virtual event to discuss how to navigate the AERA Annual Meeting as a graduate student. We’ll announce the date soon, so please be looking for an announcement on social media and the graduate student listserv.
We would like to thank applicants for the Foster-Polite scholarship. Our selection committee is currently reviewing applications. We will contact awardees in the coming weeks.
Our Graduate Student Committe team is busy planning a virtual event to discuss how to navigate the AERA Annual Meeting as a graduate student. We’ll announce the date soon, so please be looking for an announcement on social media and the graduate student listserv.
We would like to thank applicants for the Foster-Polite scholarship. Our selection committee is currently reviewing applications. We will contact awardees in the coming weeks.
Division A officers
Click here for more information about the Division A Officers.
Check our more about the Program Committee Section Chairs and Equity, Inclusion, & Action Committee members
Check our more about the Program Committee Section Chairs and Equity, Inclusion, & Action Committee members
NEWSLETTER EDITOrial team
Greetings, Division A! It's our honor to serve as the 2023-24 Division A Newsletter editorial team. We welcome Dr. Jennifer Watters from UT-Tyler to our team to finish out the 2023-24 academic year.
Drs. Darius Stanley and Amie Cieminski are the Co-Editors of the Newsletter, and Drs. Elizabeth Gil and Jennifer Watters are the Associate Editors. We welcome your feedback, input, and ideas! We invite all viewers to share our community newsletter widely! If you have announcements or updates, please email them to Darrius Stanley at dstanley@umn.edu to be featured in our next newsletter.
To learn more about the Division A Newsletter editors, click here.
Drs. Darius Stanley and Amie Cieminski are the Co-Editors of the Newsletter, and Drs. Elizabeth Gil and Jennifer Watters are the Associate Editors. We welcome your feedback, input, and ideas! We invite all viewers to share our community newsletter widely! If you have announcements or updates, please email them to Darrius Stanley at dstanley@umn.edu to be featured in our next newsletter.
To learn more about the Division A Newsletter editors, click here.
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