Debbie Dailey, a UALR graduate student in Educational Administration with an emphasis in gifted education, has been honored by the Measurement and Research Methodology Division of the American Education Research Association (AERA) for her paper, “Interim Effects of Implementing a STEM Initiative on Elementary Teacher Perceptions and Concerns about Science Teaching and Learning.”

Twenty-eight papers were selected from a national pool and submitted to an expert panel of research methodologists earlier this year. Dailey was honored as a finalist during an AERA luncheon in New Orleans at the group’s annual meeting recently.

Her paper, displayed at the AERA’s Division D Research Gala, was awarded third place in the national competition. The paper will be featured next year at the 2012 AERA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“The AERA honor is the second national recognition Debbie has received this year for her research. It is wonderful to see a young scholar contribute to our understanding of STEM education in the schools,” said Dr. Ann Robinson, professor in the Department of Educational Leadership.

“Debbie’s paper was chosen from among a remarkably sophisticated group of methodological studies with a heavy emphasis on cutting edge statistical applications. We are thrilled for her and thrilled for UALR.”

Dailey is the science curriculum coordinator for Project STEM Starters in the Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education at UALR.