2026 Review of Research Award

• In Event: 2026 AERA Awards Ceremony and Luncheon

Abstract

The 2026 Review of Research Award is presented to Drs. Rebecca A. Cruz, Catherine M. Kramarczuk Voulgarides, Allison R. Firestone, Logan McDermott, and Zhihui Feng for their article, “Is dis-ability a foregone conclusion? Research and policy solutions to disproportionality?” published in the December 2024 issue of Review of Educational Research. Cruz, Voulgarides, Firestone, McDermott, and Feng’s manuscript is a masterful contribution to the field based on a meta-ethnographic analysis of 88 peer-reviewed studies. The article elucidates the relationship between researchers’ assumptions about disability and the policy recommendations they generate, and how these are aligned with the assumptions embedded in federal policy. The authors conclude with recommendations for future research aimed at fostering policy reform that moves beyond medical and deficit models of dis-ability.

Authors

• Rebecca A. Cruz, Johns Hopkins University

• Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides, Hunter College - CUNY

• Allison Firestone, San Francisco Unified School District

• Logan McDermott, Oregon State University

• Zhihui Feng, Johns Hopkins University

• Antonio L. Ellis, American University