%0 Journal Article
%T 2016 AERA Presidential Address: Public Scholarship: Education Research for a Diverse Democracy
%A Jeannie Oakes
%J Educational Researcher
%@ 1935-102X
%D 2018
%R 10.3102/0013189X17746402
%X 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¡ªa 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¡ªone 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
%K education policy
%K historical analysis
%K history
%K policy analysis
%K politics
%K social justice
%K social stratification
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X17746402