Call for 2026 Section Award Nominations

Posted 10/30/25 (Expires March 1, 2026)

Information on nominations for our section awards have been posted on the ASA website.

James Coleman Award for Best Article
The American Sociological Association’s Section on Sociology of Education invites nominations for the James Coleman Award for Best Article. The James Coleman Award annually honors the author of the best article in the field of sociology of education published in the preceding two years – 2024 and 2025, in this case, and based on the date of the paper’s journal’s volume-issue. Nominations may be made by either an ASA member or the nominee(s) themselves. Self-nominations are encouraged. We encourage nominations of and from traditionally marginalized authors. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to submit.

• Nominations are due March 1, 2026. Nominations should include a PDF of the article and a letter of nomination that describes the article’s substantive, theoretical, methodological and/or policy contributions to the field of the sociology of education.

• Materials should be sent to Prof. Christina Ciocca Eller, Chair of the James Coleman Best Article Award Committee, at cceller@fas.harvard.edu. Please use subject line: James Coleman Award.

• Committee Members:

  • Christina Ciocca Eller (chair)

  • Peter Francis Harvey

  • Joshua Klugman

  • Deniz Yucel

Willard Waller Award for Lifetime Achievement
The Willard Waller Award for lifetime achievement is awarded biennually (alternating with the Doris Entwisle Early Career Award) to honor a scholar who has made substantial contributions in the field of Sociology of Education. Self-nominations for this award are not accepted. We encourage nominations of traditionally marginalized authors. Nominations of women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged.

• Nominations are due by March 1, 2026 and should include the nominee’s CV and a letter with a detailed description of the nominee’s contributions to the sociology of education.

• Materials should be sent to the committee chair, Prof. Joanne Golann, at j.golann@vanderbilt.edu.

• Committee Members:

  • Joanne Golann (chair)

  • Bailey Brown

  • Erin Michaels

  • Byeongdon Oh

  • Derron Wallace

David Lee Stevenson Best Graduate Student Paper Award
This annual award honors a current graduate student who has written the best published or unpublished sociology of education paper disseminated during the previous year. The paper may be co-authored so long as the first author is a current graduate student and all the authors were graduate students at the time the paper was written. A previously submitted paper cannot be re-submitted. Submissions should approximate the length of a typical peer-reviewed journal article. We encourage nominations of and from traditionally marginalized authors. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to submit.

• Nominations are due by March 1, 2026, and should include a PDF of the paper and a letter of self-nomination that describes the paper’s substantive, theoretical, methodological and/or policy contributions to the field of the sociology of education.

• Materials should be sent to Prof. Tanya Sanbria, Chair of the David Lee Stevenson Best Graduate Student Paper Award, at tsanabr@calstatela.edu.

• Committee Members:

  • Tanya Sanbria (chair)

  • Veronica Lerma

  • Ed Watson

  • Corey Moss-Pech

Bourdieu Best Book Award
The Bourdieu Best Book Award is given annually to honor the best book in the field of the sociology of education published in the preceding two years (e.g., 2024 or 2025 for the 2026 award). Self-nominations are permitted. We encourage nominations of and from traditionally marginalized authors. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to submit.

• A letter of nomination is due by March 1, 2026, and should describe the book’s substantive, theoretical, methodological, and/or policy contributions to the field of sociology of education.

• The individual nominating the book must send the letter of nomination to the Bourdieu Best Book Award Committee’s chair, Prof. Jenny Stuber (jennystuberphd@gmail.com), with “Bourdieu Award Nomination” in the subject line. Please send a copy of the book to each member of the book award committee by March 1, 2026 using the addresses provided on the ASA website.

• Committee Members:

  • Jenny Stuber (chair)

  • Ben Fields

  • Emily Handsman

  • Kaylee Matheny

  • David Rangel

Anna Julia Cooper Award
Established in 2022, The Anna Julia Cooper Award acknowledges exceptional research and/or service in efforts to address racial equity within the field of education. It is awarded annually and will alternate between being an early career award and lifetime achievement award. This year (2025-2026) the award will be an early career award and be awarded to a person who has not yet achieved the status of associate professor. We encourage nominations of and from traditionally marginalized authors. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to submit.

• A letter of nomination is due by March 1, 2026 and should include the nominee’s CV and a letter with a detailed description of the nominee’s contributions to addressing racial equity in the field of sociology of education. Self-nominations for this award are accepted. Materials should be sent to the committee chair, Prof. Daphne Penn, at daphne.m.penn@vanderbilt.edu.

• Committee Members:

  • Daphne Penn (chair)

  • George Wimberly

  • Adrienne Dixson

  • Julio Ángel Alicea

General Information for Section Awards:

Please note that all nominees must be registered members of the ASA to be considered for section awards.

Timeline:

• March 1 – All nominations due

• Mid-April – First round review of nominations

• Mid-May – Second round review of nominations

• Late-May – Final award selection

• June 15 – ASA produces a printed award program

2026 Junior Theorist Symposium Mini-Conference: Call for Précis

The 20th Junior Theorists Symposium (JTS) is now open for submissions. The JTS is a conference featuring the work of emerging sociologists engaged in theoretical work, broadly defined. Sponsored in part by the Theory Section of the ASA, the conference has provided a platform for the work of early-career sociologists since 2005. We especially welcome submissions that broaden the practice of theory beyond its traditional themes, topics, and disciplinary function. We invite submissions from all substantive areas of sociology, and encourage papers that are works-in-progress and would benefit from the discussions at JTS. The symposium will be held as an in-person event on Friday, August 7 prior to the 2026 ASA Annual Meeting in New York City. Précis submissions are due March 20th, 2026 at 11:59pm ET. For more information, visit the ASA Theory section’s website here.

2026 Sociology of Education Annual Meeting

SEA will gather in person for its annual meeting at Asilomar (Pacific Grove, CA) over the weekend of February 20–22, 2026. The theme this year is Schools as Microcosms: Mirrors of Society, Engines of Change, with keynote addresses by Dr. Natasha Warikoo (Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Tufts University) and Dr. Mitchell Stevens (Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology, Stanford University). On the SEA website, you can see the full conference schedule, register for the meeting (which includes SEA yearly membership), and book your room at Asilomar (meals included).

ASA Professional Development Opportunities

Live Webinars for All ASA Members:

• February 26, 2026: Navigating the Current Academic Landscape (more info here)

• March 26, 2026: Best Practices in Data Collection and Management (more info here)

Virtual Proseminars for Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty:

• February 12, 2026: Turning Your Dissertation into a Book (more info here)

• April 9, 2026: Techniques for Conducting Field Interviews (more info here)