Call for Proposals
We are pleased to announce a call for proposals for our Annual Conference, which will be held March 19–21, 2026, at the Swissôtel in Chicago, IL. Submissions will be accepted from Monday, August 18th through Monday, October 6th at 11:59pm PT.
Our community has faced extraordinary challenges this year. Many AEFP members have experienced disruptions to their work due to federal funding changes, staffing cuts, and broader shifts in the education policy landscape. In a moment marked by political polarization, financial uncertainty, and increased scrutiny of public institutions, AEFP’s mission—to promote research and partnerships that inform education policy and finance and improve educational outcomes—is more important, and more difficult, than ever.
The 2026 conference theme, Sustaining Education Research and Evidence in a Turbulent Era, speaks both to the challenges many of us are facing across research, policy, and practice, and to the continued commitment we share to this work. We invite proposals from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners that address a wide range of topics and offer new opportunities for learning and dialogue.
- What do we know about education policies and practices aimed at addressing urgent problems, including persistent educational inequalities? How can data, research, and evidence inform, support, and challenge education systems in times of considerable uncertainty?
- How do we build and sustain meaningful research-policy-practice connections—especially amid shifting priorities, limited resources, and rising pressure?
This year’s conference will offer the traditional conference sessions and poster session as well as “Meeting the Moment: Spotlight Policy Dialogues” which are sessions that bring together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and other policy stakeholders to address especially pressing issues facing education policy and our community. We are also introducing Conversation Groups, a new submission type to create opportunities for members with shared interests in specific policy areas, research methods, or professional development topics to come together for conversation (and snacks!).
Paper and Poster Proposals
We welcome paper and poster proposals on any topic in education finance or education policy in any context. We will review proposals under 13 topic areas. Many proposals can reasonably fit into more than one topic area; authors should choose the topic area that fits the proposal best.
- Early childhood
- Educator labor markets (e.g., compensation, pensions, mobility, supply and demand)
- Educator preparation, professional development, performance, and evaluation
- K-12 interventions (academic and non-academic)
- K-12 school choice
- K-12 school finance
- K-12 school politics, governance, leadership, and organizations
- K-12 student outcomes (e.g., engagement, absenteeism, assessment, curriculum)
- Post-secondary institutions and systems: Finance, governance, and accountability
- Post-secondary student access (e.g., admissions, college choice) and financial aid
- Post-secondary student outcomes (e.g., credit accumulation, persistence, performance, and competition)
- Data systems and methodological perspectives
- Intersections of education and society (e.g., health, employment, civic life)
- Background/Significance
- Research Questions
- Data Sources
- Methods
- Findings
A strong proposal should:
- provide context for the study and describe its contribution;
- include clearly stated research questions;
- describe data sources and methods in sufficient detail; and,
- explain its results and substantiate conclusions. If findings are preliminary at the point of proposal submission, please note that more complete findings are expected two weeks prior to the conference presentation.
- Supplemental tables and figures may be uploaded, but do not upload a working paper in place of a proposal.
- Submit only one paper as the presenter; i.e., you may present only once, but you may be an author on other proposals.
- In addition to a paper/poster, you may submit one “Spotlight Policy Dialogue” and/or one “Conversation Group.”
Meeting the Moment: Spotlight Policy Dialogues
These sessions are designed to address especially pressing or timely issues in education policy, research, and practice. Meeting the Moment: Spotlight Policy Dialogues bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to engage in cross-sector conversation on topics that demand urgent attention or collective reflection. These are not traditional research paper sessions and are not intended for typical presentations of new research. Instead, they should prioritize dialogue, exchange, and connection across roles and perspectives.
Sessions must include at least two policymakers, practitioners, or policy influencers as participants. We welcome submissions that focus on current policy debates, emerging challenges, or areas where evidence and practice are evolving rapidly. These sessions may include a range of formats including panels, moderated conversations, Q&As, debates, or more informal discussions.
Proposals for Spotlight Policy Dialogues should not exceed 1,000 words and must include the following:
- Background/Significance in the current moment
- Policy or Practice Topic Addressed
- Description of Session Format
- Session Participants and Expected Contributions
Conversation Groups
New this year, Conversation Groups are informal, lightly facilitated meetups that bring together AEFP members with shared interests—whether in a specific policy issue, methodological approach, or professional development topic—for informal conversation and snacks. These sessions are designed to foster connection, networking, mentorship, and exchange across career stages and roles.
Successful submission will include at least two participants who are committed to being part of the conversation. At least one (but ideally more) participant must be a midcareer or senior AEFP member.* These sessions are not panels or formal presentations; they are meant to create space for candid discussion, shared learning, and community building in a more informal setting. Conversation Groups will provide an opportunity for students, early-career, and more seasoned members of the AEFP community to reflect on topics of shared interest and build new connections.
We welcome proposals to organize a Conversation Group around a particular topic or theme.
Proposals should be no more than 300 words and include:
- Topic or theme - this could be a substantive policy issue, a methodological approach, or a professional development topic
- Brief description of why this topic would benefit from a group conversation as well as prompts for discussion
- Names of two or more facilitators or committed participants, including at least one mid-to-senior participant
*For the purpose of this call, we define midcareer as five years post degree. We want to encourage Conversation Groups that include members at all career stages.