• Awards

    VERA presents several awards each year to recognize the work of doctoral students, educational researchers or evaluators who have made a significant contribution to the field, as well as a distinguished paper award.

Awards and Recipients

Charles Clear Research Award

The Charles Clear Research Award is given annually to the individual, group, or organization that has made a sustained contribution to educational research or evaluation in the Commonwealth of Virginia or the nation. Dr. Charles Clear was a prominent educator in Virginia who contributed to the early development of the Virginia Educational Research Association.

He promoted educational research and evaluation through his position in the Virginia Department of Education. Dr. Clear died in the late 1970s, and the Virginia Educational Research Association created the Charles Clear Research Award as a memorial.

Recent recipients include:

2016 – Dr. Carol A. Mullen, Virginia Tech

2013 – Dr. James McMillan, Virginia Commonwealth University

2011 – Dr. Christopher Gareis, The College of William and Mary

2010 – Commonwealth’s Special Education Endorsement Programs, Old Dominion University

A call for nominations for the Charles Clear Award will be issued in Spring 2022.

Brenda Loyd Outstanding Dissertation

The Brenda Loyd Outstanding Dissertation Award is awarded annually to the individual who has produced a dissertation that makes an outstanding contribution to the education literature. Brenda Loyd was a prominent educator in Virginia who contributed to the early development of the Virginia Educational Research Association. The Association created this award as a memorial for her achievements.

Recent recipients include:

2016 – Dr. India M. Harris, The Achievement Gap and Students Living in Poverty: The Role of Core Self-Evaluation and Transformational Leadership in Teachers

2015 – Dr. Katina Otey, Virginia Tech, Perceived Factors that Affect the Performance of Refugee Student in Central Virginia

2014 – Dr. Emily Ely, University of Virginia, Use of Instructional Technology to Improve Teacher Candidate Knowledge of Vocabulary Instruction

2013 – Dr. Laura M. Martinez-Hicks, The George Washington University, A Exploration of How Elementary School Principals Approach the Student Retention Decision Process

2012 – Dr. Joseph Salmon, Virginia Tech, A Case Student of Grade-Level Meetings and Coaching Conversations

2011 – Dr. Kimberly Erwin, Virginia Tech, The Experiences and Perceptions of African American Males and Their Elementary Teachers

2010 – Dr. Randy Bachmeier, Regent University, Breaking the Discrepancy Code: A Meta-analysis of the SLD Literature

The 2022 dissertation awards committee will be accepting nominations for this award in Spring 2022.

The Distinguished Paper Award

The Distinguished Paper Award is given annually to the outstanding paper presented at the annual conference. Paper submissions are reviewed by the Research Awards Committee. The award winner(s) has an opportunity to present their paper at the State and Regional Educational Research Association’s sessions at the annual American Educational Research Association conference.

Recent awardees include:

2022 – Dr. Marya Runkle, Virginia Tech, Case Study of the Factors Contributing to Graduation From a Secondary Dropout Prevention Program

2015 – Dr. Gail McEachron, Unemployment, and Homelessness: What Do the Textbooks Say?

2013 – Dr. Tracy Walker and Dr. Justina Osa, Virginia State University, Development of a Science of Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Confidence (PCKC) Survey for Use with Pre-Service Elementary Teachers.

2012 – Ms. Eileen Merritt, University of Virginia, The Contributions of Standards-Based Teaching Practices to Fourth Grade Mathematics Achievement for High- and Low-Achieving Classes

2011– Dr. Lisa Abrams and Dr. James McMillan, Virginia Commonwealth University, Teachers’ Views on Benchmark Testing Practices

2010 – Ms. Faiza Jamil, University of Virginia, Associations of Pre-service Teachers’ Performance, Personality, and Beliefs with Teacher Self-Efficacy at Program Completion

2009 – Dr. Samuel Smith and Dr. John Pantana, Liberty University, Second-Career Teachers in a Blended Online-Residential Preparation Program: Profiling Characteristics and Motivations

All presenters will be invited to submit their paper for consideration after the conference.