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Using examples such as AERA’s stance on transphobia and broader responses to controversial education issues, it highlights perceived bias, tolerance of flawed or fraudulent work, and the consequences of aligning research with political factions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-politicization-of-education-research-and-the-aera/588206/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-politicization-of-education-research-and-the-aera/588206.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Aditya","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does the text emphasize objectivity in education research?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It argues that investigators should not be diverted by personal beliefs or hoped-for social effects; research must allow unfavorable outcomes rather than predetermine results through advocacy.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the text characterize AERA’s early role compared with later decades?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It describes AERA’s early history as hosting objective research in teaching and learning, while later decades are portrayed as increasingly ambitious and aligned with protecting professional autonomy or pursuing grand social change.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What example does the text use to illustrate AERA’s politicization?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It cites AERA leaders’ April 2021 statement encouraging members to use research, platforms, and networks to eradicate transphobia and pursue justice for transgender and non-binary persons.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},588206,1792316742,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":107,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962085564549,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Acad. Quest . (2021) 34.3 DOI 10. 51845/34 .3.11  \nThe Politicization of Education Research and the AERA  \nRichard Phelps  \n“When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out? Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe or by what you think would have beneficial social effects if it were believed. Look only and solely at: what are the facts?”  \n—Bertrand Russell, To Our Descendants1  \nA story line in one of my favorite television shows—a courtroom drama—concerns a rogue judge caught tipping the proverbial scale of justice toward his own personal biases. At his disciplinary hearing, the presiding judge says to him matter-of-factly,“You’re not supposed to care who wins, remember?”  \nAs it is supposed to be with judges in the U. S. court system, so it is supposed to be with academic research faculty. As Bertrand Russell implored, objective scientific inquiry requires that investigators not be diverted by what they wish to believe, or think would have beneficial social effects if it were believed. If not genuinely disinterested, objective scientists should at least conduct their research such that unfavored outcomes are possible. Otherwise, outcomes are predetermined, and the activity is not research, but advocacy. If research is performed for the sake of advocacy, that fact should be made transparent.  \nTo the casual observer, the name of the century-old American Educational Research Association (AERA)—a professional organization largely comprising education school professors—might sound like any academic society, such as the American Historical Association or the Association for Psychological  \n1 “Bertrand Russell -Message to Future Generations,” [Youtube.com](Youtube.com), May 21, 2021, [https://www.youtube](https://www.youtube). com/watch?v=ihaB8AFOhZo.  \nRichard Phelps is founder of the Nonpartisan Education Review ([http://www. nonpartisaneducation.org](http://www. nonpartisaneducation.org)); [mail@nonpartisaneducation.org. His most](mail@nonpartisaneducation.org. His most) recent books are Defending Standardized Testing (Psychology Press, 2005), Standardized Testing Primer (Peter Lang, 2007), and Correcting Fallacies about Educational and Psychological Testing (American Psychological Association, 2009) . Phelps appeared in AQ in summer 2021 with “In Defense of Sandra Stotsky.”  \nScience. Indeed, that juxtaposition fools many who naïvely assume the AERA tobe a comprehensive resource for objective expertise.  \nIn its early days, a century ago, the AERA hosted objective research in the teaching and learning of subject matter knowledge and skills. That was before the creation of graduate schools of education, back when most education researchers were either psychology professors or state or local agency program evaluators, and teachers were trained in apprenticeship-like programs at“normal schools.” AERA’s current mission statement hints at this legacy.  \nThe American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. 2  \nIn more recent decades, however, the actual mission of education schools has grown more ambitious, with research expected to either support grand social change or, in what one might describe as “rearguard actions,” to protect the profession against threats to its autonomy: research finding fault with school choice or standardized tests is generally welcomed and, to my observation, AERA tolerates poorly designed, transparently biased, and fraudulent research that meets these objectives.3  \nWearied of the double standard, I let my AERA membership lapse years ago. At the time, I thought its prevailin","cbCairxZBxf1S2ca","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairxZBxf1S2ca","pdf",249553,"English","# The principle of objective research\n# AERA’s origins and mission\n# Shifts toward politicized education research\n# AERA statements on transphobia","[{\"question\":\"Why does the text emphasize objectivity in education research?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that investigators should not be diverted by personal beliefs or hoped-for social effects; research must allow unfavorable outcomes rather than predetermine results through advocacy.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text characterize AERA’s early role compared with later decades?\",\"answer\":\"It describes AERA’s early history as hosting objective research in teaching and learning, while later decades are portrayed as increasingly ambitious and aligned with protecting professional autonomy or pursuing grand social change.\"},{\"question\":\"What example does the text use to illustrate AERA’s politicization?\",\"answer\":\"It cites AERA leaders’ April 2021 statement encouraging members to use research, platforms, and networks to eradicate transphobia and pursue justice for transgender and non-binary persons.\"}]","The Politicization of Education Research and the AERA | PDF",1792064749,18]