AERC scholars showcase research at AERA 2026
The Assessment & Evaluation Research Centre (AERC) proudly recognises the contributions of its scholars at the 2026 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, held from 8–12 April in Los Angeles, USA.
Among those presenting were Professor Janet Clinton and Graduate Researcher (GR) Laura Dainton Smith, whose work featured in a highly competitive symposium representing Australian educational research on the global stage.
The symposium, titled “Realizing a New Vision for Wellbeing: Education Driving Impactful Professional Learning Through Research-Practice Partnerships,” was led by Professor Mathew A. White (Principal Fellow in the Faculty of Education) and selected by the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) to highlight leading Australian scholarship. The symposium also featured Faculty of Education Fellow Dr Ruth Aston, and Associate Professor Ronnel B. King from The Chinese University of Hong Kong as Discussant.
The symposium, titled “Realizing a New Vision for Wellbeing: Education Driving Impactful Professional Learning Through Research-Practice Partnerships,” was selected by the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) to highlight leading Australian scholarship. AARE also supported the delegation’s participation in the conference.
Within the symposium, AERC scholars contributed two presentations:
- Ms Laura Dainton Smith — Informing a thriving future: Understanding teacher readiness to support student mental health and wellbeing
- Professor Janet M. Clinton — Constructing a multidimensional hierarchical model of wellbeing literacy: Re-envisioning wellbeing education research
(Pictured: Associate Professor Ronnel B. King, Dr Ruth Aston, Laura Dainton Smith, Professor Janet Clinton, and Professor Mathew A. White)
In addition, Laura Dainton Smith was awarded an International Travel Award by AERA, providing supplementary funding to support her conference participation.
AERC congratulates Professor Clinton and Ms Dainton Smith on this significant achievement and their ongoing commitment to advancing educational research and practice.