Eileen Parsons, professor of science education, has been elected to serve as president-elect of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
Parsons will assume the role of president-elect in April, serving in that position for one year before becoming president of NARST. After serving for one year as president, she will serve for another year as immediate past president.
“I am pleased and honored to serve as the next president-elect of NARST, the premier national and international organization for science education research,” Parsons said. “I am excited to be a part of the leadership team and I am enthusiastic about working with others over the next three years in the capacities of President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President to better position NARST to enact its mission and broaden its meaningful impact.”
NARST is a worldwide association that works to promote improvement of science teaching and learning through research. NARST works to promote research in science education and the communication of knowledge generated by that research, with the goal of helping all learners achieve science literacy.
Parsons has been a member of NARST for 22 years and has been active with the organization, serving as a conference coordinator, on various NARST committees and recently as a member of NARST’s Board of Directors.
Parsons also recently served on a committee for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Board of Science Education that issued a report making recommendations for improvements in science education. The report included a focus on the need for more deliberate and effective work to provide equitable access for students from groups that have been excluded or marginalized in the past, one of the areas of research interest and advocacy for Parsons.
Parsons, who studies the influences of socio-cultural factors, specifically race and culture, on learning in STEM subjects, has also served as a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.