The Early Education and Child Development Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to advancing knowledge about early education and child development, and to encouraging scholarly inquiry that has implications for theory, policy and practice related to early education and development in the diverse contexts serving children from birth to age eight. 

Bylaws

Our statement on Equity and Justice.

The Early Education and Child Development SIG is committed to equity and justice for all children and families regardless of their backgrounds including race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, language, nationality, religion, class, or age. We fully embrace the diversity and inclusiveness of our society through our research, teaching, and service to the early childhood community. 

Message from SIG Chair

    

Welcome to the AERA Early Education/Child Development SIG. We are a group interested in research, theory, policy, and practice related to early childhood education and child development for children from birth to age eight. The SIG currently has over 425 members, making it among the largest within AERA. Our members include professors, researchers, and administrators, policy makers, teacher educators, and graduate students from a variety of scholarly disciplines. Our shared focus is the lives, well-being, and education of young children, their families, and the professionals who work with and for them. 

During the AERA Annual Meeting, the SIG offers a wide variety of papers, round tables, posters and symposia to interact with, as well as opportunities for networking with colleagues from all over the world. We normally have a business meeting, social gatherings, guest speakers, and award presentations, as well as opportunities for professional development. We seek to offer both in-person and face-to-face opportunities for our members. Between conferences we communicate with members via our listserv, with this website, our newsletter, our FaceBook site (https://www.facebook.com/groups/earlyeducationandchilddevsig), Twitter handle @AERA_EECD_SIG and Instagram 2023 AERA Moment: EECD SIG Board Meeting | Instagram. Please pay close attention to our listserv, website, newsletters and social media for calls for papers, calls for nominations for a variety of awards, elections for board members, and invitations to review proposals for the annual conference, etc. Job postings are disseminated on our listserv and social media and posted on the website. All members are welcomed to post celebrations, awards, and news pertinent to early childhood and child development on our FaceBook site and social media, and to participate in writing groups, mentoring workshops, and other opportunities during the year.

We want to continue to make early childhood and child development research a vital part of AERA. As such, please remember to renew your membership each year and consider submitting your conference proposal(s) to the EECD SIG.

Thank you for your continued membership and participation in the EE/CD SIG and for all you do for young children and families!

Melissa Sherfinski, Ph. D.

Associate Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, West Virginia University

EECD SIG Chair