College of Education
an illustration of los angeles with palm trees in the foreground

AERA Annual Meeting

2026 Meeting Details

Theme: "Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures: Constructing a New Vision for Education Research"

Date: Wednesday, April 8 – Sunday, April 12, 2026

Location: Los Angeles, California

2026 Schedule of Presentations


2026 AERA Award Recipients

Idalia Nuñez
Early Career Award, Bilingual Education Research SIG

Monica González Ybarra
Early Career Award, Latina/o/x Research Issues SIG

Paul Bruno
Outstanding Reviewer Award, AERA Open and Educational Researcher

Justin Kern
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics

Oliver Tapaha
2026 Bobby Wright Award for Early Career Contributions to Research in Indigenous Education, AERA Indigenous Peoples of the Americas SIG

Devon Hedrick-Shaw
Outstanding Dissertation Award (Third Place), Bilingual Education Research SIG

Leslie Ellis
Foster-Polite Scholarship, Division A

Aigul Rakisheva
Travel Award, Environmental Education SIG

Alumni who received awards:

Chezare Warren, '05 C&I
2026 AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award

Royel Johnson, Ed.M. '11 EPOL
2026 Division E Trueba Award for Research Leading to the Transformation of the Social Contexts of Education

Elise McCarren, Ph.D. '24 EPSY
AERA-NSF Research Grantee

Taiylor Rayford, Ph.D. '25 EPSY
2026 Division E Outstanding Dissertation Awardee in Human Development

Destiny Williams-Dobosz, Ph.D. '25 EPSY
2026 Outstanding Dissertation Award, Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender SIG

Jiadi Zhang, Ph.D. '25 C&I
2026 Outstanding Dissertation Award, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Education and Research SIG

 


AERA Newly Elected Positions

Rochelle Gutiérrez
AERA Council Member-At-Large, 2026-2029

Yoon Pak
AERA Division F (Historical Inquiry in Education) Vice President, 2026-2029

 


AERA Fellows

James D. Anderson

Richard C. Anderson

Debra D. Bragg

Hua-Hua Chang

Anne Haas Dyson

Jennifer C. Greene

Rochelle Gutiérrez

Lilian G. Katz

William T. Trent


AERA Division Officers & Committee Leadership

Jon Hale

  • AERA Council Member, 2023-2026
  • Vice President, AERA Division F (Historical Inquiry in Education)

Paul Bruno

  • Editorial Board Member, AERA Open Journal
  • Editorial Board Member, American Educational Research Journal
  • Editorial Board Member, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Journal

Jessica Gladstone

  • Program Co-Chair, Division C, Section 2a

Gloriana González

  • Chair, Lesson Study Special Interest Group
  • Editorial Board Member, Review of Educational Research Journal

Hanna Kim

  • Communications Team Newsletter Editor & Graduate Student Representative, International Studies SIG

Jennifer Nelson

  • Co-Chair, Awards Committee, Organizational Theory SIG

 


NCME Division Officers & Committee Leadership

Justin Kern 

  • Co-chair, Educators of Measurement SIG

Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown

Join us at our AERA Reception!

Saturday, April 11, 2026
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Hotel Indigo Downtown LA
Olympic Terrace, 4th Floor
899 Francisco St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017



Related News

Zhang Wins Outstanding Dissertation Award from AERA AAPI-ER SIG

by communications@education.illinois.edu (Communications Office)  /   Mar 27, 2026

Jiadi Zhang, Ph.D. '25 C&I, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Education and Research (AAPI-ER) SIG of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Zhang was recognized for her dissertation, which is a three-year ethnography examining translanguaging pedagogies and literacy practices among Chinese American bilingual teachers, students, and parents in a community-based Chinese heritage school.

She is currently an assistant professor of Educator Preparation and Leadership at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Zhang will be honored at the AERA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 8-12.

College of Education
1310 S. Sixth St.
Champaign, IL 61820-6925
Phone: 217-333-0960
Apply Contact Give

Explore:

Connect:

Apply to the College

Congratulations! You've taken the first step to becoming a student of the College of Education. The application process is different for undergraduate and graduate studies.

Send Our Office a Message

Thanks -- we will get back to you in 24 hours.