2022 AERA conference draws more than 80 presentations from
​School of Education faculty, students

School of Education faculty and students participated in the 2022 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, offering more than 80 presentations to 15,000 attendees from 90 countries during the six day dual-component conference, with on-site and virtual sessions. The theme was "Cultivating Equitable Education Systems for the 21st Century." The conference included a program of Presidential and AERA sessions; Division and SIG paper/symposium, roundtable, and poster sessions; and professional development courses, and off-site visits.

This year was the first place-based AERA conference since 2019. "Not only did I find it a welcome change from all of the Zoom meetings we had for the past several years, meeting in person at AERA provided opportunities to reconnect with past colleagues and meet new ones in a more natural way," said Huy Chung, director of research for the UCI Writing Project. 

Acacia Warren (right) and her team presented "Educators’ Perceptions of Middle Level Education in a State without a Middle Level Teacher Credential" at AERA.

"Attending one of, if not, the largest gathering of educational researchers and practitioners is quite motivating and inspiring," Chung said. "Each session, symposium, or presentation we attend is grounds for new ideas or validation that we are contributing to the efforts to improve our educational system."

Professor Rossella Santagata and Assistant Professor Emily Penner agreed. "The energy at AERA this year was palpable. People were visibly excited about being in community again and learning from each other’s research," Santagata said.

Penner added, "This AERA was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends after a long hiatus. It was a great reminder of the benefits of being present with a community of researchers and the privilege we have to be doing this work together."

"A highlight for me at AERA this year were our students and recent Ph.D.s: they gave outstanding presentations and represented so well all the great work happening in our School," Santagata said.

(Left to right) Postdoctoral Scholar (UCLA) Chris Wegemer, Ph.D. student Lora Cawelti, Assistant Professor Adriana Villavicencio, and Professor Rosella Santagata.

"I was proud to see our students represent the work that we're doing here in the School of Education to the broader education community," said Assistant Professor Andres Bustamante.

Assistant Professor Adriana Villavicencio added, "Dr. Santagata and I co-authored a paper with two graduate students about the conditions that supported teachers' professional growth and innovation, even amid pandemic-related challenges. We were proud to have our students present this work; mentoring younger scholars is a critical piece of how we engage in research."

The paper, titled "Teacher Professional Growth and Innovation during COVID-19", was one of two sessions Villavicencio took part in. "Both of my sessions at AERA 2022 were focused on research related to educators' experiences during COVID-19 and what we've learned from local school and district partners.

"I was also honored to be invited to participate in a Presidential Session on what we have learned as K-12 school districts grapple with the upheaval of the last two years. I was able to speak to the barriers local schools and families faced as a result of COVID-19 and the steps leaders are taking to effectively support their communities during the pandemic and beyond." The title of Villavicencio's Presidential Session paper is "K-12 Education Decision-Making in the Context of Covid-19."

Professor Elizabeth van Es (fourth from left) from a cross-UC campus symposium she co-chaired focused on study and improvement of teacher education. The two UCI talks were titled "Learning to respond: The journey of one teacher preparation program’s efforts to support preservice teachers through social, cultural, environmental and political events" and "Learning to Improve: An investigation into teacher education design to advance social and racial justice".

Ph.D. student Jose Mendez presents "Noticing in and learning through emotional spaces" at AERA.

A list of School of Education AERA presentations can be found here.