AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine; Mark Vieth, CRD Associates; AERA Government Relations Director Gerald Sroufe (speaking)

September 2014

AERA’s Organization of Institutional Affiliates (OIA) held its annual Fall Policy Meeting on September 14 and 15 in Washington, D.C. Representatives of more than 50 graduate schools and education and research organizations were in attendance. Participants met with top research policy experts to examine the challenges facing key federal education programs and discuss research policy issues receiving attention within their organizations.

Attendees gave considerable attention to the reauthorization of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine, AERA Government Relations Director Gerald Sroufe, and AERA consultant Mark Vieth of CRD Associates described the issues at stake for federal education research and statistics in the Strengthening Education through Research Act (SETRA).

John Q. Easton, Former Director of IES

Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Assistant Director for the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF), discussed trends in and opportunities for research funding at EHR. Ferrini-Mundy described EHR’s core programs as well as EHR’s role in STEM education and research. She urged OIA participants to find examples of NSF research that amplifies the need for research in education.

Several sessions at the OIA Fall Policy Meeting focused on the outcomes of schools of education:

• Thomas Brock (National Center for Education Research), James Griffin (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development), Edith Gummer (West Ed), and V. Darleen Opfer (The RAND Corporation) discussed the development of graduate students to conduct research and preparation for the workforce.
  
  

• Sarah Reckhow, Michigan State University

  Sarah Reckhow of Michigan State University discussed the role of the top 15 foundations in funding education and the nature of its strategy over the past decade. Wanda Blanchett of Rutgers University and Alfredo Artiles of Arizona State University commented on the implications of Reckhow’s research for schools of education.
  
  
• Michael Allen of Teacher Preparation Analytics previewed a report, “Building an Evidence-Based System for Teacher Preparation,” that focuses on developing effectiveness indicators for the assessment of teacher preparation programs. Hardin Coleman of Boston University and Ron Marx of the University of Arizona responded, noting that context needs to be considered.

The OIA Executive Committee, elected by OIA member representatives, is tasked with developing the content for the annual Fall Policy Meeting. The 2015 meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 20–22 in Washington, D.C.