The Leadership for Social Justice SIG Awards were established in 2009 in order to recognize individuals whose work advances the understanding and practice of social justice in school leadership. The LSJ SIG presents three awards yearly at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. The 2014 Annual Meeting will be held April 3 – 7 in Philadelphia, PA. The LSJ Awards and their respective criteria are as follows:
I. Social Justice Teaching Award in Educational Administration
Description: This award recognizes outstanding social justice teaching by a professor or instructor in the field of educational leadership.
Selection/Eligibility Criteria: Nominee must have been a teacher or instructor of record in a leadership preparation/development program affiliated with a university or school district during the previous academic year (2012-2013 for the 2014 award).
Nomination requirements: Nominees should demonstrate social justice teaching that promotes equity, diversity, inclusion, and social reconstructionist education by providing a syllabus from a course taught within the past two years, submit a cover letter of no more than three pages describing their teaching philosophy as it relates to social justice, and supply a letter of support from a student and/or faculty colleague. Nominations, including self-nominations, should include a blind and original copy to the LSJ SIG Awards Committee Chair by Sunday, January 5, 2014. The SIG chair will notify the award recipient by February 1, 2014.
Award: A plaque presented at the LSJ-SIG Business Meeting at the 2014 AERA Annual Meeting, and recognition on the LSJ-SIG website.
II. Social Justice Dissertation Award
Description: This award recognizes an exceptional dissertation that expands our knowledge of the complexity of social justice issues, whether in postsecondary, K-12, community-related, and/or social policy-related, is the focus of this award. We are looking for unpublished dissertations by graduate students. This award is to recognize the outstanding research of our graduate students. This award will also encourage early scholars to join LSJ SIG and grow the scholarship in the area of social justice.
Selection/Eligibility Criteria: Dissertations must be completed within the previous three years from the award date. For example, a dissertation award presented at AERA annual meeting 2014 must have been completed by 2011 or later.
Dissertations considered for the LSJ SIG Dissertation Award should:
1. Be completed within the previous three years of the award date. Dissertations completed prior to 2011 will not be considered.
2. Be submitted by a LSJ SIG member or the student of a LSJ SIG member
3. Align with the LSJ SIG mission
4. Seek to address significant research question(s)
5. Contribute to the literature on leadership for social justice
6. Be methodologically rigorous
7. Relate significant findings
8. Discuss the applicability of findings to practice and theory
Nomination requirements: Nominations, including self-nominations, should include a blind and original copy of a six page abstract of the dissertation to the LSJ SIG Awards Committee Chair by Sunday, January 5, 2014. The SIG Chair will notify the award recipient by February 1, 2014.
Award: A cash award of $250 presented at the LSJ-SIG Business Meeting at the 2014 AERA Annual Meeting, and recognition on the LSJ-SIG website.
III. “Bridge People” Award
Description: Inclusion and community are cherished values of the LSJ SIG. In their chapter, “Bridge People: Civic and Educational Leaders for Social Justice,” Shoho & Merchant (2006) describe individuals who “were committed to creating a bridge between themselves and others, for the purposes of improving the lives of all those with whom they worked. As such, they functioned as ‘Bridge People’ in the fullest sense” (p. 86). This award is meant to recognize individuals or groups whose work “creates a bridge between themselves and others” through scholarship and research.
Selection/Eligibility Criteria: Potential recipients for this award should demonstrate work that has created a bridge between themselves and others through scholarship and research. Nominees may include but are not limited to, individuals, groups, or organizations whose recent work or body of work have been a catalyst for bridging people or organizations, especially when those people or organizations historically have not been connected.
Nomination requirements: Nominations, including self-nominations, should include a description (maximum 3 pages) of the individual or group. Nominations, including self-nominations, should include a blind and original copy to the LSJ SIG Awards Committee Chair by Sunday, January 5, 2014. The SIG Chair will notify the award recipient by February 1, 2014.
Award: A plaque presented at the LSJ-SIG Business Meeting at the 2014 AERA Annual Meeting, and recognition on the LSJ-SIG website.
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Direct any questions and email all awards nomination materials by Saturday, January 5, 2014 to LSJAwards@gmail.com