Key science and research policy officials at U.S. federal agencies will speak on the current state of education research policies and priorities at the Annual Meeting. Sessions featuring leadership at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Education are among several that will focus on emerging topics in education and social science research.

John Q. Easton, director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) will address “IES, the Continuous Improvement Initiative, and Having Research Matter,” on April 28, 10-35 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Jack Buckley, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing education data and statistics in the current budget and political climate. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, head of NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources, will address national research emphases and priorities, on Monday, April 29, from 10:35 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.

Additional sessions will feature other speakers from NSF, the Education Department, and National Institutes of Health, including symposia on federal funding opportunities for education research (Monday, April 29, 2:45 to 4:15 p.m.), common standards for research and development proposals (Tuesday, April 30, 8 to 10 a.m.), and interdisciplinarity and knowledge diffusion in STEM education research (Tuesday, April 30, 2 to 3:30 pm.).

Three other sessions will focus on recently released reports by the National Research Council on K-12 STEM education (Sunday, April 28, 10:35 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.), life and job skill development (Sunday, April 28, 12:25 to 1:55 p.m.), and undergraduate science and engineering education (Sunday, April 28, 2:15 to 3:45 p.m.).