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:

• Eva Baker—testing and assessment
• James Banks—equity and diversity
• Marilyn Cochran-Smith—teaching and teacher education
• Larry Cuban—educational and school reform
• Linda Darling-Hammond—teaching and teacher education
• Gene Glass—state and history of education research
• Joyce King—education and society research
• Gloria Ladson-Billings—curriculum history, theory, and research
• Carol Lee—learning, learning sciences, and psychological studies
• Lorraine McDonnell—educational policy and politics
• Barbara Schneider—research methods
• Alan Schoenfeld—curriculum history, theory, and research
• Lorrie Shepard—testing and assessment
• Catherine Snow—state and history of education research

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.