Professional Organizations in Education

This week I received a great question regarding professional organizations available to students in Education.  As with any profession, there are often several organizations to choose from so I strongly recommend scanning their websites to determine if their mission and the services they provide align with your objectives.  Furthermore, as a student I’m always interested in how they support our group in providing opportunities to network, publish, and apply for grants and scholarships.

In regards to professional dues, some organizations offer a discounted student rate and some do not.  In those circumstances, I would recommend contacting the membership department and inquiring about a lower rate based on your student status.  In the past, I’ve been successful on a number of occasions in acquiring a reduced due.

Also, there are a number of professional organizations that are geared towards those interested in specific methodologies, such as the International Visual Sociology Associatiion (IVSA), Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), and the Qualitative Research Association (QRA), to name a few.

The following list below highlights some of the larger and well known professional organizations in Education:

American Education Research Association (AERA): strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.

Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE): promotes collaboration among its members and others engaged in the study of higher education through research, conferences, and publications.

Canadian Education Association (CEA): is a network of passionate educators advancing ideas for greater student and teacher engagement in public education.

Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE): to facilitate and promote, by means of comprehensive partnerships and programs, the creation, dissemination and application of research of exemplary quality in postsecondary education in Canada.

EDUCAUSE: a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

International Association of Universities (IAU): aims at giving expression to the obligation of universities and other higher education institutions as social institutions to promote, through teaching, research and services, the principles of freedom and justice, of human dignity and solidarity, and contributes, through international cooperation, to the development of material and moral assistance for the strengthening of higher education generally.

Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE): an international 
learned society concerned to advance 
understanding of higher
 education through the insights, perspectives and knowledge offered by systematic research.

For additional Canadian-based educational professional organizations, please visit here. The Institute for Higher Education Policy, based out of the U.S., also provides an extensive list of professional organizations here.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Jacqueline