2016 AERA Presidential Address: Public Scholarship: Education Research for a Diverse Democracy

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Abstract
AERA’s centennial provides an opportunity to reinvigorate the aspirations that gave rise to our research community in the United States: hope and determination that research can strengthen public education, society’s most democratic institution. The first AERAers sought to produce scientific knowledge to improve large, increasingly diverse urban school systems—a pursuit that continues today. Yet over the century, we’ve learned that achieving equity in our diverse democracy is as much about public perceptions and politics as it is about science. Research-based knowledge and practices to make education equitable are often overpowered by cultural norms and politics. As present-day inequalities bear uncanny resemblances to those of 1916, we must heed a vital (though often ignored) precept of John Dewey’s—one that calls on researchers to act as public scholars. Engaging with publics to raise awareness of common problems is a central charge for researchers, one that holds great promise for fostering democratic, public problem solving.

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