March 2016
One of numerous publications and initiatives marking AERA’s Centennial is a special issue of Educational Researcher, one of the Association’s flagship journals. “A Living Lens: AERA Past Presidents Reflect on 100 Years of Education Research” appears in the March edition (vol. 45, no. 2) of the journal and includes the contributions of 14 AERA past presidents.
The issue, with toll-free links, is available on the AERA website. Complimentary print copies will be made available for a limited time at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
AERA past presidents Marilyn Cochran-Smith (Boston College), Gloria Ladson-Billings (University of Wisconsin–Madison), and Lorraine McDonnell (University of California–Santa Barbara) served as guest editors.
They invited 11 AERA past presidents to write on topics in their areas of expertise—including curriculum theory, teaching and teacher education, and research methods, among others—and to draw on the presidential addresses of three or more past AERA presidents for historical context.
The authors situated these addresses in their intellectual and social times to consider what they say about the progress and challenges of education research in those periods and to discuss implications for contemporary researchers. Thirty-six past presidents and senior scholars peer-reviewed the articles anonymously, as is standard for AERA publications; they are acknowledged at the end of the special issue.
The contributors are listed here alphabetically with their topics:
As AERA celebrates its history and looks forward to its next one hundred years, this special issue provides insight into the evolution of the field of education research and suggests directions for further study.