A Letter From the Editors: The Past,Present,and Future of Educational Researcher

Abstract

It is both an honor and a privilege to take the helm of Educational Researcher (ER), one of the leading journals in the field of education research. As we assume leadership and step into our new roles, we wish to extend our deepest gratitude to the former editors—Thurston Domina, Andrew McEachin, Dana Thompson Dorsey, and Sarah Woulfin—whose service and commitment have been key to maintaining the journal’s influence and high standards. Our thanks also go to all those who have served as associate editors and members of the editorial board and the numerous scholars who have authored articles in the journal.

It is not lost on us that as we transition into our roles as editors, we are at an inflection point in our nation’s history and in the education community in particular. There are pronounced assaults on access to knowledge—as seen in the banning of books and educational materials that are inclusive of the voices and perspectives of people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities—and efforts to distort historical and scientific truth. These actions have serious implications for the way in which we educate future generations, and they pose risks to the very fabric of our democracy.

Despite these challenges, we are firmly committed to preserving the intellectual integrity of ER. Indeed, our goal is to ensure that it remains a reliable and rigorous source for field-shaping scholarship. We will continue to bring to the fore research that provides deep insights into the most pressing issues confronting education today—research and scholarship that not only inform policy and practice but also shape discourse at every level of education and beyond. We will dedicate ourselves to upholding the standards of excellence that have long been the hallmark of ER.

We have taken deliberate steps to achieve a diverse editorial leadership for the journal. Our diversity as editors—in expertise, experience, and background—we believe strengthens our collective ability to understand and promote a wide array of scholarly work. When crafting this team, we took considerable care to achieve a complementary balance of content, methodologies, and perspectives that align with those represented within ER. Our expertise covers a broad range of topics, including teaching and learning; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); college access, choice, and enrollment; educational leadership; educational policy; equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice; race, racism, and systemic inequities; organizational change; student experiences and outcomes; teacher experiences and outcomes; and quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. We have graduate training not only in education but also in psychology, sociology, and computer technology.

Moreover, we have purposefully diversified our associate editors and editorial board, bringing in a range of voices to represent a wide range of perspectives and methods in education research. Indeed, we recognize that it is important to consider not only what we publish but also who is shepherding the work from submission to publication. And we have been thoughtful about the representation of colleagues from diverse institutions, including minority-serving institutions and regional colleges, aiming to disrupt intellectual siloing by providing voice to groups that are often less heard in academic discourses.

Directions for the Journal

After reviewing previous editors’ statements, we echo their sentiments about inviting high-quality work that addresses critical issues and informs professional and public discussions about education. For our stewardship of ER, we reiterate the broad and inclusive scope of the journal’s mission because we hope to receive papers that speak to a wide range of topics and content areas from across the entirety of the education spectrum, whether these pertain to K–12, postsecondary, K–20, or adult education contexts. We encourage manuscripts that explore the multiple conceptions and approaches to education research through various approaches in methods and methodologies.

A key point from past editors pertains to publishing works composed of many orientations—from disciplinary perspectives (e.g., economics, political science, sociology, psychology) to specific areas such as ethnic studies, gender studies, and critical analysis—and we plan to continue this fruitful tradition. We will continue encouraging submissions around central topics that have helped make ER a highly influential journal. At the same time, we encourage authors to submit papers that reflect relevant content and topics that have not been as prevalent in ER or that reflect our changing society (e.g., technology and artificial intelligence in education, school violence and safety, student mental health).

We recognize that ER has not always served as the most inclusive space for underrepresented voices and topics. Heeding calls from several of the recent past AERA presidents, we are committed to making ER a home for critical examinations of race, gender, social class, sexuality, and disability (among other social identities), along with the intersections among these and their relationship with educational equity. Thus, we invite your consequential education research that challenges deeply entrenched disparities and advocates for just educational practices and policies.

We believe that a key strength of Educational Researcher comes from the heterogeneity of articles that it publishes (see https://journals.sagepub.com/aims-scope/edr), under several categories: Feature Articles, Reviews/Essays, Briefs, and Policy Forum. Feature Articles generally take an approach that is found in many journals, in which a novel empirical study is situated within a discussion of relevant educational context, prior literature, and theory. Reviews/Essays generally do not involve presenting new data, and they may take a variety of forms and serve various purposes. Recent articles in this category have proposed a reconceptualization of an important issue or construct (e.g., Trinidad, 2023), offered a novel theoretical framework (e.g., Sobti & Welsh, 2023), or called for changes to advance research on a particular topic (e.g., Leo, 2023). In general, Reviews/Essays provide innovative perspectives and advance knowledge on important educational topics of interest.

Briefs involve novel data analyses that provide insight into educational issues that do not require an in-depth discussion of relevant literature or theory. These articles contain up to 1,000 words of main text; they provide detailed methodological information and the results of any supplementary analyses in an online appendix. This short form helps facilitate analyses of recent and timely topics, such as educator attrition and mobility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Bastian & Fuller, 2023) and the impact of virtual and hybrid learning on educational inequity (Liu, 2023).

Policy Forum offers an opportunity for articles that narrate pressing policy issues for a wide-reaching education scholar audience. These are categorized as commentaries; they detail an intersection between research and policy within 1,000 to 2,000 words of main text. Authors can introduce a topic, present an argument, and outline how researchers and policymakers can address concerns. This type of commentary is a powerful tool to draw attention to current problems across education and suggest how we can collectively move forward. Past Policy Forum articles have represented timely topics that interest substantive groups of education researchers, such as the definition of minority-serving institutions (Nguyen et al., 2023), federal education funding during crises (Shores & Steinberg, 2022), data on the principal pipeline (Perrone et al., 2022), and lawsuits challenging bias response teams (Garces et al., 2022). Indeed, we hold it as a privilege to advance education research that has robust theory, strong empirical grounding, and meaningful implications for practice and policy.

In closing, our commitment to ER extends beyond the mere preservation of the journal’s established legacy; we are equally dedicated to broadening its reach and influence. We are actively interested in engaging with new ideas, perspectives, and methodologies as well as ensuring that our work connects meaningfully with those who can benefit most from it. Education research, practice, and policy are continually changing and evolving, and our intent is that ER will respond and be adaptable to the needs of the field. Your suggestions, insights, and contributions to this endeavor are not only welcome but essential.

Footnotes

ORCID iDs

Nicholas A. Bowman

Olusola O. Adesope

Brian P. An

Royel M. Johnson

Angela Urick

Anjalé D. Welton

Authors

NICHOLAS A. BOWMAN, is the Mary Louise Petersen Chair in Higher Education, professor of educational policy and leadership studies, senior research fellow in the Public Policy Center, and director of the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education at the University of Iowa. His scholarship uses a social psychological lens to explore key topics in higher education, including student success, diversity and equity, rankings, admissions, and quantitative methodology. Bowman’s work has appeared (or is currently in press) in over 100 journal articles, over 25 book chapters, and nearly 150 peer-reviewed conference presentations. This research has been published in various prestigious outlets, including AERA journals.

OLUSOLA O. ADESOPE, is the Boeing Distinguished Professor of STEM Education and the associate dean for research and external funding in the College of Education at Washington State University. His current research focuses on the investigation of instructional principles and assessments in STEM education, cognitive and pedagogical underpinnings of learning with computer-based multimedia resources, and the use of systematic reviews and meta-analyses for advancing evidence-based practices. Adesope’s scholarship is mostly funded by the National Science Foundation and often appears in top peer-reviewed journals. He has over 150 published journal articles, book chapters, and proceedings.

BRIAN P. AN, is associate professor of educational policy and leadership studies and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education at the University of Iowa. Before taking his position at Iowa, An was postdoctoral research associate for the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity at the University of Notre Dame. Broadly, An’s research focuses on issues regarding entry into and outcomes within postsecondary education, such as college choice, college access, student persistence, the impact of college on students, and degree attainment. His research has been published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Social Science Research, Social Science Journal, and elsewhere.

ROYEL M. JOHNSON, is an associate professor of education and social work at the University of Southern California, where he serves as chair of the School of Education’s PhD program. He is also director of the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates at the USC Race and Equity Center and is a faculty member at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. His research critically examines issues of educational access and success for marginalized groups and campus climate and culture change for racial equity. His more than 50 publications appear in outlets like the Journal of Higher Education, Peabody Journal of Education, and Teachers College Record. Additionally, he has edited three books, including Racial Equity on College Campuses: Connecting Research and Practice (SUNY Press).

ANGELA URICK, is an associate professor in the School of Education, Department of Educational Leadership, at Baylor University. Her research interests examine school improvement through principal and teacher leadership and school conditions, which she uses to inform policy and address student equity and access to learning opportunities. She is best known for her expertise in advanced statistical methods and large databases. This methodological expertise has led to collaborations and leadership across research centers and involvement with externally funded projects. Her research has appeared to a variety of audiences, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers through presentations, media, books/book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles across such journals as Educational Administration Quarterly, Education Policy Analysis Archives, Social Science Research, and Research in Comparative and International Education, among other outlets.

ANJALÉ (AJ) WELTON, is the Rupple-Bascom Professor of Education and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her scholarship examines how educational leaders both dialogue about and address race and racism in their school communities. She is currently engaged in several research-practice partnerships where PK–12 educational leaders use participatory and codesigned research methods to interrogate problems of practice around racial equity in their schools. Her research has been published in AERA Open, Educational Administration Quarterly, Educational Policy, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and many other leading journals.

References

Bastian

K. C.

Fuller

S. C.

(2023). Educator attrition and mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational Researcher, 52(8), 516–520. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231187890

Garces

L. M.

Ambriz

Pedota

(2022). Legal challenges to bias response teams on college campuses. Educational Researcher, 51(6), 431–435. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221088307

Leo

(2023). Toward a class-conscious approach to cultural responsiveness. Educational Researcher, 52(4), 230–237. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221149975

Liu

(2023). School disruptions exacerbated inequality in high school completion. Educational Researcher, 52(6), 394–397. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231167152

Nguyen

M. H.

Ramirez

J. J.

Laderman

(2023). What counts as a minority-serving institution? Toward the utilization of a standardized and uniform definition and typology. Educational Researcher, 52(3), 174–179. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221105861

Perrone

Young

M. D.

Fuller

E. J.

(2022). A call for data on the principal pipeline. Educational Researcher, 51(6), 423–430. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221075767

Shores

Steinberg

M. P.

(2022). Fiscal federalism and K–12 education funding: Policy lessons from two educational crises. Educational Researcher, 51(8), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221125764

Sobti

Welsh

R. O.

(2023). Adding color to my tears: Toward a theoretical framework for antiblackness in school discipline. Educational Researcher, 52(8), 500–511. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231191448

Trinidad

J. E.

(2023). Rethinking school improvement organizations: Understanding their variety, benefits, risks, and future directions. Educational Researcher, 52(6), 377–384. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231179116