Advancing STEM Education Through Data-Driven Research

Overview

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Grants Program seeks proposals for Research Grants. The AERA Grants Program provides Research Grants to faculty at institutions of higher education, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral level scholars. The aim of the program is to advance fundamental knowledge of relevance to STEM education policy, foster significant science using education data, and build research capacity in education and learning. The program supports highly competitive studies using rigorous quantitative methods to examine large-scale, education-related data. Since 1991, this AERA Program has been vital to both research and training at early career stages.   

The Grants Program encourages the use of major data sets from multiple and wide-ranging sources. It emphasizes the advanced statistical analysis of data sets from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other federal agencies. The program also supports studies using large-scale international data systems (e.g., PISA, PIRLS, or TIMMS) that benefit from U.S. federal government support. In addition, statewide longitudinal administrative data systems (SLDS), other data systems (e.g., school district level), or national studies (e.g., ABCD Study) supported by or enhanced through federal grants are also eligible for consideration. Federal or state administrative information that further expands the analytic capacity of the research is appropriate for inclusion. The thrust of the analysis needs to be generalizable to a national, state, or population or subgroups within the sample that the dataset represents.

The Grants Program is open to field-initiated research and welcomes proposals that:

1. Support fundamental research using extant data and quantitative methods on STEM learning and learning environments;
2. Cultivate rigorous scientific research using big data and data linkages, with an emphasis on big administrative and other federal, state longitudinal data system (SLDS) and local record systems;
3. Promote the use and study of machine learning and artificial intelligence in STEM research; or
4. undertake replication research of major findings or major studies using large-scale, federally supported or enhanced data.

The Grants Program encourages proposals across the life span and contexts of education and learning of relevance to STEM policy and practice. The research may focus on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to such issues as student achievement in STEM, analysis of STEM education policies, contextual factors in education, educational participation and persistence (pre-kindergarten through graduate school), early childhood education and development, postsecondary education, and the STEM workforce and transitions.

An applicant may submit only one proposal to the AERA Grants Program for review at any one time. Due to the large volume of applications received, the AERA Program is unable to provide individual feedback on unfunded proposals. 

Research Grants are available for faculty at institutions of higher education, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral level scholars. Proposals are encouraged from the full range of education research fields and other fields and disciplines engaged in education-related research, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, demography, statistics, public policy, psychometrics, and discipline-based education research (DBER). Applicants for this one-year or two-year, non-renewable award must have received their doctoral degree at the start of the award. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. Non-U.S. citizens affiliated with a U.S. university or institution are also eligible to apply. 

Researchers who have previously received Research Grants through the AERA Grants Program (as a PI or CoPI) may not apply for a Research Grant. However, applicants who have received an AERA Dissertation Grant are eligible to apply for a Research Grant. Dissertation Grant recipients must complete the Dissertation Grant before applying for a Research Grant.

Awards for Research Grants are up to $25,000 for 1 year projects, or up to $35,000 for 2 year projects. In accordance with AERA's agreement with the funding agencies, institutions may not charge indirect costs or overhead on these awards.

Informational Webinar: Applicants are encouraged to attend the informational webinar to learn more about the AERA Grants Program and discuss the application process. It will be held on Wednesday, September 10, at 2:00pm ET. A recording will be available shortly after the webinar.