Mission and Goals
- Establish an educational researcher’s hub for those who are interested in and committed to improving education for all students in the national, international, and global communities through advancing scientific research in education and its practical application.
- Create opportunities for and nurture the environment of scholarly discourse, production, and collaboration among the members to advance scientific research and discovery in education.
- Support professional learning and growth opportunities
- Nurture and support the next generations of Korean-American educational researchers.
- Hosting annual conferences on wide variety of topics in broadly defined education.
- Providing workshops to professionals and students. Topics include preparing for career, writing grants, publishing research in peer reviewed journals.
- Publishing periodic publications, entitled Research Forum covering a wide range of topical issues in education (Four issues have been published and one issue is currently in the process of publication).
- Disseminating current and updated information about the organization and its members’ accomplishments in Spring and Fall newsletters.
- Providing scholarships to junior scholars and graduate students (for five years, more than 30 promising scholars and students are honored to receive the scholarships).
- Maintaining the organization’s Facebook and Blog as a way to communicate, not only among members but also with general audience and public who are interested in Korean and Korean-American education issues.
- Organizing cooperative projects such as conducting research and publishing books (e.g., Educational Measurement 5th edition published in Korean (NCME & ACE, 2006).
Presidential Greetings
Dear colleagues,
As President, I extend a warm welcome to all our members, collaborators, and partners. It is an honor to lead such a dedicated and passionate community of educators and researchers committed to advancing the frontiers of knowledge in the field of education. As we navigate the ever-changing landscape of education, our collective efforts play a pivotal role in shaping the future of learning and pedagogical practices.
In this regard, KAERA will strengthen mentoring services for graduate students and early career scholars and expand grant and scholarship opportunities. The executive group members and the board of directors will endeavor to enhance internal and external cooperation, aiming to establish ourselves as an association of educators. Additionally, we will actively listen to the voices of Korean-American educational researchers and strive to address their needs and concerns.
I encourage you to register for our membership and actively engage in the diverse opportunities our association offers, including conferences, workshops, and awards. Your insights and contributions fuel the growth of our field and inspire positive change in education, both locally and globally. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Your willingness to share your experience and passion for education with KAERA is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jongpil Cheon
President of KAERA
Board of Directors
Kyung (Chris) T. Han
Affiliation: Graduate Management Admission Council
AERA Division:
D: Measurement and Research Methodologies
Kyung (Chris) T. Han is Head of Test Development and Psychometrics at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMACTM), overseeing the entire test development and psychometric research for test programs at GMAC, including the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Executive Assessment (EA), and NMAT exam. Han received his doctorate in Research and Evaluation Methods from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He received several awards from the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), including the Alicia Cascallar Award for an Outstanding Paper by an Early Career Scholar (2012), the Jason Millman Promising Measurement Scholar Award (2013), and the Annual Award (2017). Chris authored/co-authored numerous book chapters, published articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, and technical reports on various topics including but not limited to: computerized adaptive testing (CAT) designs, multistage testing (MST) on-the-fly practices, item parameter drift, IRT models, standard setting, test decision accuracy, and test score reliability. He also has developed several psychometric software programs including WinGen, IRTEQ, MSTGen, and SimulCAT, which are used widely in the measurement field.
Sohyun An
Affiliation: Kennesaw State University
AERA Division:
K: Teaching & Teacher Education
Sohyun An is a professor of social studies education at Kennesaw State University. She received B.S. and M.S. degrees in social studies education from Seoul National University in South Korea, and Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a social studies teacher educator and curriculum scholar, her teaching and research center on K-12 Asian American studies, anti-racist social studies curriculum, critical race pedagogy, and critical war studies. She has contributed to Smithsonian and PBS curriculum projects and had her research cited in many media outlets, including CNN, Time, New York Times, Reuters, Time and USA Today. Dr. An has been actively involved in teacher professional development and curriculum writing for teaching Asian American histories in K-12 schools in GA and other states. She received many awards including Early Career Faculty Award, Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Research Award, and Distinguished Professor Award from her university as well as Distinguished Researcher Award from American Educational Research Association’s SIG Research on the Education of Asian Pacific Americans.
Nicholas D. Hartlep
Affiliation: Berea College
AERA Division:
B, G, K
Sig: REAPA, CESJ
Nicholas D. Hartlep (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) is the Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair in Education at Berea College where he chairs the Department of Education Studies. Before coming to Berea College Dr. Hartlep Chaired the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Metropolitan State University, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in St. Paul, Minnesota. While there he also served as the Graduate Program Coordinator. Dr. Hartlep has published 22 books, the most recent being (2020) Racial Battle Fatigue in Faculty: Perspectives and Lessons from Higher Education which was published by the Routledge. He has received several awards, such as the John Saltmarsh Award for Emerging Leaders in Civic Engagement Award (2018) from the Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) granted, and the Community Engaged Scholarship Award (2017) and the President’s Circle of Engagement Award (2017) from the Metropolitan State University.
Saahoon Hong
Affiliation: Indiana University
AERA Division:
H: Research, Evaluation, & Assessment in Schools
Saahoon Hong is an Assistant Research Professor at the Indiana University School of Social Work. His ongoing projects involve utilizing the integrative data system of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration-Division of Mental Health and Addiction to enhance quality improvement initiatives. Dr. Hong's research interests primarily revolve around equity and racial/ethnic disparities in education and behavioral health services. Prior to joining the IU School of Social Work, Dr. Hong held positions as a Research Associate at the University of Minnesota, a Research Professor at Kongju University, and an Evaluation Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education. He completed his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota in 2005.
Jongpil Cheon
President
Affiliation: Texas Tech University
AERA Division:
C: Learning and Instruction
SIGs: Instructional Technology & Computer and Internet Applications in Education
Jongpil Cheon is an associate professor in the Instructional Technology program at Texas Tech University. He is a director of the Center for Innovation in E-Learning. His research interests involve implementing immersive online learning environments and investigating advanced technologies for interactive learning. Specific research issues include multimedia learning, mobile learning, technology adoption, computational thinking, and online learning readiness. His research competence has been integrated into service, community outreach and engagement with various partners, and research findings have appeared in Computers and Education, Educational Technology Research and Development, Computers in Human Behavior, Distance Education, and other decent journals. He has received numbers of research and development awards from his university and professional organizations, such as AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) and AERA (American Educational Research Association). He has been elected as an assistant chair of information technology council in SITE (Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education).
Young Ah Lee
Affiliation: Ohio State University
AERA Division:
K: Teaching & Teacher Education
Young Ah Lee is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning at the Ohio Sate University, Lima. She is a former Head of Education department. She is a recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award from the Ohio State University, Lima. His primary teaching responsibilities include Early and Elementary Education Pedagogy, Equity and Diversity in Education, Diverse Literature and Comprehension, and Ethics and Professional Context of Teaching. Her scholarship has focused on examining and developing innovative teacher education pedagogy and programs that are democratic and socially just. Using qualitative research, specifically participatory action research, self-study, and case study, her goal is to search for meanings underlying varied educational events and to reveal the untold stories of researchers and teacher candidates regarding issues of equity and diversity in education.
Kyung Hwa Lee
Affiliation: University of Georgia
AERA
Division:
G: Social Context of Education
SIGs: Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education; Early Education and Child Development
Kyunghwa Lee is a Professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia. Her areas of research include ethnographic studies of teaching and learning, critical disability studies, childhood studies, and project/inquiry-based pedagogy in early childhood education. She has served on KAERA’s Board of Directors (2011-2014, 2020-present) and Mentoring Committee (2011-2014, 2020-present). More information about her can be found at kyunghwalee.net.
Moon-Heum Cho
Affiliation: Syracuse University
AERA Division:
C: Learning and Instruction
SIGs: Instructional Technology & Computer and Internet Applications in Education
Moon-Heum Cho earned his Ph.D. in the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is interested in designing theory-based learning activity and transforming learning environments to enhance student learning experiences. His research focuses on understanding and supporting student engagement in challenging learning environments (e.g., online learning, project-based learning, and interdisciplinary collaborative learning) through instructional design, development, technology, and evaluation. Using diverse learning theories including social cognitive theory, constructivism, self-directed learning, epistemic beliefs, motivation, cognition, and emotion as a theoretical lens, he empirically examines, intervenes, interprets, and expands understanding about human learning in diverse contexts.
His research has been published in research journals such as Educational Technology Research & Development (ETRD), Internet and Higher Education, Interactive Learning Environments, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Educational Psychology, and Social Psychology of Education. In addition, he has served on editorial boards in well-respected journals, including Internet and Higher Education and Distance Education.
Seungho Moon
Affiliation: Loyola University Chicago
AERA Division:
K: Teaching & Teacher Education
Dr. Seungho Moon is a Professor of Curriculum Studies at Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Moon has been an active member of KAERA since 2013 and a recipient of the Michael B. Salwen Scholarship. Before joining KAERA with a Board of Director, Dr. Moon served on KAERA's Award Committee and reviewed KAERA conference proposals annually. As a Curriculum Studies scholar, Dr. Moon conducts cutting-edge research agenda foregrounds the unique values of indigenous knowledge. He promotes multiple perspectives on curriculum discourse, the nature of important knowledge, and those within socio-political systems who decide whether knowledge is important. Dr. Moon is an international board member for Educational Philosophy and Theory and associate editor for Multicultural Education Review. Currently, Dr. Moon is an Executive Board of Society of Professors of Education (SPE), one of the prestigious education studies organizations started in 1902. He was the chair of AERA's Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in Education (CTBE) SIG in 2020-2023. Dr. Moon has published three academic books and more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and other scholarly work. Dr. Moon earned his doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2011.
Executive Officers
Jongpil Cheon
President
Affiliation: Texas Tech University
AERA Division:
C: Learning and Instruction
SIGs: Instructional Technology & Computer and Internet Applications in Education
Jongpil Cheon is an associate professor in the Instructional Technology program at Texas Tech University. He is a director of the Center for Innovation in E-Learning. His research interests involve implementing immersive online learning environments and investigating advanced technologies for interactive learning. Specific research issues include multimedia learning, mobile learning, technology adoption, computational thinking, and online learning readiness. His research competence has been integrated into service, community outreach and engagement with various partners, and research findings have appeared in Computers and Education, Educational Technology Research and Development, Computers in Human Behavior, Distance Education, and other decent journals. He has received numbers of research and development awards from his university and professional organizations, such as AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) and AERA (American Educational Research Association). He has been elected as an assistant chair of information technology council in SITE (Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education).
Junghwan Kim
Vice-President
Affiliation:Texas A&M University
AERA Division:
G: Social Context of Education
SIGs: Adult Literacy and Adult Education; Workplace Learning
Junghwan Kim, Ph.D., is an associate professor and the chair of the Workforce, Adult, & Lifelong Education (WALE) program at Texas A&M University. He studies various topics and areas in lifelong learning, adult education, and workforce development. For KAERA, Dr. Kim was a co-chair for KAERA conferences (2015-2017) and served on the KAERA’s Mentoring Committee (2021-2023). He also provided national leadership as the president of the Korean-American Academy of Lifelong Education (KAALE, 2019-2021) and the steering committee of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC, 2017-2019). Dr. Kim earned his Ph.D. in Adult Education (currently Lifelong Learning & Adult Education) at the Pennsylvania State University and M.A. in Education, B.A. in Education, and B.A. in Political Science and Diplomacy at Yonsei University.
Hyesun Cho
Conference Co-Chair
Affiliation: University of Kansas
AERA Division:
G: Social Context of Education
SIGs: Second Language Research & Critical Educators for Social Justice
Hyesun Cho is an Associate Professor of TESOL in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at the University of Kansas. She is the founder and faculty director of a study abroad program in which American student teachers travel to Korea and work with Korean secondary school students in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. Her research interests include critical literacy, language teacher identity, heritage language education, EFL education, and teacher education for social justice. Her recent books by Routledge focus on (1) Korean as a heritage language in the global context (co-edited with K. Song) and (2) identity negotiation of international students in TESOL graduate programs (co-authored with R. Al-Samiri and J. Gao).
MinSoo Kim-Bossard
General Administrator
Affiliation: The College of New Jersey
AERA Division:
G: Social Context of Education
SIG: Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education
Dr. MinSoo Kim-Bossard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at The College of New Jersey.
Her current project examines the experiences of Asian American teachers in P-6 classrooms to learn more about how the teachers negotiate multiple sets of values, assumptions, and
expectations in both personal and professional realms in the midst of the heightened racial tension during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the support of the 2019 Korea Foundation Fellowship for Field Research, Dr. Kim-Bossard carried out an ethnographic interview study on the relationship between Filipina migrants and the English language in contemporary Korea. As the PI of Community Art in Trenton: Engaging Future Teachers through the Arts, supported by the 2019 NJM Insurance Group Urban Innovation Award from The College of New Jersey, she is committed to engaging teacher candidates in artmaking processes, as well as opportunities to reflect on the roles the arts can play in their own classrooms, local communities, and the lives of young children. In 2017, Dr. Kim-Bossard was awarded the Council on Anthropology and Education Early Career Presidential Fellowship within the American Anthropological Association.
Dr. Kim-Bossard received her doctorate from the Pennsylvania State University in Curriculum and Instruction (emphasis in Early Childhood Education) and Comparative and International Education.
Elena Son
Communication Director
Affiliation: Juniper Christian School
AERA Division:
C: Learning and Instruction
Elena Son is a middle and high school science teacher at an international school in South Korea (Juniper Christian School). She received her doctorate in Educational Psychology and Research Methods from the University of Southern California. Her research interest focuses on students’ academic motivation, particularly of second language learners, second language learning, and the bridge between theory and practice.
Soon-young Oh
Student Representative
Affiliation: Michigan State University
AERA Division:
A: Administration, Organization and Leadership
L: Educational Policy and Politics
SIGs: Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning;
Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning; Qualitative Research
Soon-young Oh is a doctoral student in K-12 Educational Administration at
Michigan State University. Her research interests align with culture and
technology leadership in schools and principals’ responsiveness to the needs
of minority children across international contexts. She is a graduate assistant
for the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) and also
assists on the internal editorial team of Educational Administration Quarterly.
Before joining Michigan State University, she worked as an elementary school
teacher in Korea for six years.
Haeju Lee
Student Representative
Affiliation: University of North Carolina Greensboro
AERA Division:
D: Measurement & Research Methodologies
SIGs: Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education; Early Education and Child Development
Haeju Lee is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Research Methodology at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests include differential item functioning, linking, equating, and computerized adaptive testing.
Minhyeong (Mina) Lee
Treasurer
Affiliation: Cambium Assessment
AERA Division:
D:
Measurement & Research Methodologies
Mina Lee is a psychometrician at Cambium assessment, supporting multiple statewide science assessments according to the Next Standard Science Standards (NGSS). She is interested in applications of measurement models, analysis of large educational data, and innovative quantitative methods in educational research.
Dabae Lee
Conference Co-Chair
Affiliation: Kennesaw State University
Dabae Lee, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Instructional Technology at Kennesaw State University. She received a M.S. and Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and a M.S. in Inquiry Methodology at Indiana University. She has received several awards, the Young Researcher Award, Emerging Scholar Award, and Outstanding Presentation Awards, and Best Practice Award from the Association of Educational Technology and Communications and the President Research and Creativity Award from her previous institution. Her research interests center around how to create effective, efficient, and engaging personalized yet collaborative learning environments enhanced by technology in various modes of learning including face-to-face, online, and hybrid.
Won Fy Lee
Webmaster
Affiliation: Stanford University
AERA Division:
H: Research, Evaluation, & Assessment in Schools
Won Fy Lee is a senior researcher at Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) of Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His research aims to understand factors contributing to enhanced learning outcomes in the context of school innovation and organizational changes.