Distinguished Paper Award
Each year NRMERA presents the Distinguished Paper Award at the annual conference. Anyone whose proposal was accepted to be presented at that year’s conference — and who will be attending to present the paper — may enter their related full, complete research paper for consideration. (Proposals, incomplete research papers, or non-research papers are not accepted.) Papers must be in APA 7th Edition format.
This is NRMERA’s opportunity to acknowledge excellence in research in the region and to support the dissemination of research at a national level.
There are three incentives for submitting a paper for consideration. In addition to a certificate to honor their award, the author of the winning paper will receive:
- Automatic acceptance to present the paper at the next annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) within the Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations (SRERA) sessions.
- $500 grant to help offset travel expenses to attend AERA (must attend AERA to receive the grant)
- Priority consideration for publication in the NRMERA journal, Educational Research: Theory and Practice.
The Distinguished Paper Award Committee is chaired by the immediate past-president of NRMERA, and consists of a range of past-presidents. The committee selects the top three finalists prior to the NRMERA conference, and the winner is selected by attending past-presidents after the paper presentations at the conference.
2026 Distinguished Paper Award Submissions
All NRMERA members who have been accepted to present a paper at the annual conference may submit their complete research paper for consideration.
Selection Committee Co-Chairs: Melanie Reaves & Suzanne Beasterfield
Selection Committee Members: Past-presidents of NRMERA registered to attend the 2026 conference
This 2026 Distinguished Paper Award Rubric will be used to evaluate submissions. Please review it prior to submitting
The deadline for submitting a paper for consideration of this award is August 31.
Submissions should be sent electronically as a PDF file to Melanie Reaves.
Past Award Recipients
| Year | —— | Distinguished Paper Award Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kathleen Mohr — Utah State University Hsiaomei Tsai — Utah State University & Cache County School District Utah Teachers’ Perceptions of Mandarin Matrix curriculum for Chinese Dual Language Immersion Programs | |
| 2022 | Peter D. Weins — University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jori S. Beck — Old Dominion University KaaVonia Hinton — Old Dominion University Abigail Moyal — University of Nevada, Las Vegas The Complex Web of Teacher Leadership: Examining the Relationships between Instructional Support, Shared Leadership, and Teacher Satisfaction | |
| 2020 | No Awards — Conference Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | |
| 2019 | Kate Olson, Katie Lannan, John Cumming, Heather MacGillivary, Kevin Richards | |
| 2018 | Idalis Villanueva, Marialuisa Di Stefano, Laura Gelles, & Katherine Youmans | |
| 2016 | Holly Roof & Lillian Chumura | |
| 2015 | David H. Khaliqi & Joseph Taylor | |
| 2013 | Kala Lougheed | |
| 2010 | Jayne Hellenberg, Margaret Hudson, Kim Miller, and Liann Brenneman | |
| 2009 | Taylor Jensen | |
| 1998 | Kevin Michael Carr | |
| 1996 | Loretta J. Heuer | |
| 1995 | Johanna Nel | |
| 1994 | Richard A. King & Margaret Gomez | |
| 1993 | Ray E. Wong | |
| 1992 | Janet Martin | |
| 1991 | Carla W. Hess, Lynae S. Winther, & Richard G. Landry | |
| 1990 | Patricia A. McClurg | |
| 1989 | Stephanie A. Salzman | |
| 1988 | Amalya Nattiv | |
| 1987 | D. Ray Reutzel & Paul M. Hollingsworth | |
| 1986 | Peter R. Denner & William J. McGinley |