Marybeth Gasman will colead “Educational Researcher,” bringing national distinction to Rutgers and amplifying its impact on equity-centered education scholarship
Marybeth Gasman, associate dean for research at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, has been appointed co-editor of Educational Researcher, the premier journal of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education and Distinguished Professor will oversee the publication alongside co-editor Andrés Castro Samayoa of Boston College for the 2027-2029 editorial term, with work beginning July 1.
“I truly love research and writing, and to lead the Educational Researcher editorial team brings those loves together,” Gasman said. “I have dedicated much of my career to supporting scholars in their research paths and providing transparency when it comes to publishing. This role will give me a larger opportunity to do this kind of work.”
Gasman was nominated by the AERA Publications Committee and selected following a competitive proposal process. As part of her proposal, she chose Castro Samayoa, a former doctoral advisee who is now a tenured professor and the doctoral degree program director in higher education at Boston College, as her co-editor. The two have collaborated for years and have a forthcoming book, In Community, We Can: Why Latine Graduate Students Succeed Together and How Academia Needs to Change, with Princeton University Press.
“Working with Andrés is something that brings me joy,” Gasman said. “We have been working together for nearly 15 years on all types of projects, and coming together on the journal will have a substantial impact and be a lot of fun for us.”
To support the journal’s work, Gasman and Castro Samayoa selected 20 associate editors from throughout the United States. Among them are two faculty members from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education: Clark Chinn, Distinguished Professor in Educational Psychology, and Alice Ginsberg, associate director for research and grant development from the school’s Samuel D. Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice.
“We want to showcase the depth of knowledge among education researchers and ensure that the research can have an impact in schools, colleges and universities, communities, among policymakers, and beyond,” Gasman said. “Public-focused scholarship is vitally important to me, and we want to bring increased national and international attention to the journal.”
Educational Researcher reaches widely across education research and aligned fields, publishing original research from multiple disciplines, theoretical orientations, and methodologies. It offers broad accessibility for major programmatic research and new findings of general significance to the education research community.
During their term, Gasman and Castro Samayoa aim to more fully embrace methodological diversity, including historical and archival research, ethnography, portraiture, participatory and community-based approaches, design-based research and interdisciplinary work drawing on sociology, history, economics, public health, and the humanities. They said Educational Researcher is well-positioned to shape the field’s engagement with generative artificial intelligence, encouraging research that examines how these technologies intersect with equity, labor, assessment, and institutional decision-making.
“This team brings a remarkable depth, range, and vision to Educational Researcher at a pivotal moment for the field," said Tabbye M. Chavous, executive director of AERA. "I have every confidence they will push the journal in generative directions."
The editors have committed to more consistently featuring research from rural communities, Indigenous educational contexts, and Global South settings—a term referring to economically disadvantaged nations that have historically faced colonization and industrialization challenges, spanning regions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and beyond. The two also are planning for two special issues: one examining Minority Serving Institutions with attention to governance, leadership, finance, student success strategies, faculty work, community engagement, and policy context; and one foregrounding the contributions of historical methods to understanding today's educational landscape, at a moment when debates about learning, governance, academic freedom, access and equity are often framed as novel or unprecedented.
“For the Graduate School of Education to serve as the home of AERA’s flagship journal is more than an honor, it is a powerful affirmation of its national and global leadership,” said Christopher M. Span, dean of the school and a Distinguished Professor. “This moment elevates Rutgers University-New Brunswick's visibility while reflecting the deep confidence placed in Dr. Marybeth Gasman’s editorial vision. Under her leadership, the journal will not only build on a distinguished tradition of scholarship but also advance a bold and necessary commitment to excellence and equity in education.”
Gasman and Castro Samayoa will begin accepting new manuscripts on July 1 and officially assume the journal masthead on Jan. 1.
