Eleven projects were selected in February to receive awards through AERA’s Education Research Service Projects (ERSP) initiative. ERSP is designed to encourage education researchers to offer their pro bono expertise to educational organizations, institutions, or other community groups that have identified and expressed a need for such assistance. The selected awardees receive small grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to defray direct costs involved in these projects.
“The projects funded in 2015 embrace the spirit of service that is central to the ERSP initiative and respond to deep and significant needs at 11 diverse and deserving educational entities,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “At invited symposium poster sessions at the 2014 and 2015 AERA Annual Meetings, recent awardees shared the results of their ERSP projects, providing evidence of the positive impact of those projects for the organizations being served.”
The vision for the ERSP initiative was brought to AERA’s Council by then-President Arnetha Ball who saw the initiative as a way to help shape a commitment among AERA members to serve the public good and to reinforce the value of pro bono service in the field of education research. The concept was embraced by AERA Council and unanimously approved in April 2012 for an initial three-year period. In 2015, Council reauthorized the initiative for an additional three years.
With this year’s awards, a total of 32 projects have now been funded through the ERSP initiative. In 2013, the inaugural call for proposals resulted in the selection of 12 projects to receive awards, and an additional nine projects were funded in 2014.
The ERSP selection committee, a subcommittee of AERA Council, chose the following 11 projects to receive awards in 2015:
Professional Development Needs of Special Educators to Fully Implement the Mathematics and Language Arts Florida Standards for Students with Disabilities Principal Investigator: Elizabeth D. Cramer (Florida International University) Educational Entity: Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Refugee Teens as Successful Agents: Leveraging Refugees’ Agentive Choices to Improve Academic Support in After-school Programs Principal Investigator: Shannon M. Daniel (Vanderbilt University) Educational Entity: Journey
Portraits of Prison-Connected Youth: Analyzing the Impact of Support Programs for Children of Incarcerated Parents Principal Investigator: Alyssa Hadley Dunn (Michigan State University) Educational Entity: Foreverfamily, Inc.
The GYO Community Voices Project Principal Investigator: Conra D. Gist (University of Arkansas) Educational Entity: Grow Your Own Teachers Illinois
Sustaining Navajo Knowledge for Navajo Youth and Communities Principal Investigator: Tiffany S. Lee (University of New Mexico) Educational Entity: The Navajo Studies Conference, Inc.
Initiatives Adopted by School Leaders in New York City Public Schools to Promote the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: A Family Focus Principal Investigator: Srikala Naraian (Teachers College, Columbia University) Educational Entity: Parents for Inclusive Education
Developing Strategies for Using Early Warning Indicators to Improve College Readiness in St. Louis Public Schools Principal Investigator: Takako Nomi (Saint Louis University) Educational Entity: St. Louis Public Schools Foundation
Examination of Do the Write Thing Challenge Program in El Paso, TX Principal Investigator: Sarah Peterson (University of Texas at El Paso) Educational Entity: Do the Write Thing Challenge Program – El Paso
Literacy Instruction for Juvenile Offenders: Meeting the More Rigorous Standards of the Revised GED Principal Investigator: Deborah K. Reed (Florida State University) Educational Entity: Twin Oaks Juvenile Development, Inc.
Understanding Social Processes that Foster Authentic Inquiry and Youth Development: An Analysis of the Chicago Metro History Fair Principal Investigators: Charles Tocci, Leanne Kallemeyn, and Ann Marie Ryan (Loyola University Chicago) Educational Entity: Chicago Metro History Education Center
Serving Emerging Bilingual Elementary Students in a Small Urban Community: An Evaluation of a Literacy-Based After-School Program Principal Investigator: William T. Trent and Victor H. Perez (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Brief abstracts of all ERSP projects funded from 2013 to present are available on the AERA website. Results and findings of these ERSP projects will continue to be disseminated at the AERA Annual Meeting and through the AERA website.
The call for proposals for the next ERSP submission and review cycle will come out later this year, with a December 2015 deadline.