Education research is woefully disconnected from the needs of teachers and students. A new paper by academics from Auburn and Newport Universities in the US is the latest to detail the problem of bias in education research.

The study analysed themes across 25,000 presentations at the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) annual meetings between 2021 and 2025. Topics related to equity, identity, and social justice appeared at twice the rate of any other research area. Yet these priorities were completely disconnected from the concerns of the more than 260 teachers they surveyed.

Teachers were focused on “more immediate and practical” issues, such as managing student behaviour, maintaining discipline, and improving teacher retention. When practical matters like school discipline were addressed, AERA presentations often emphasised restorative justice approaches, which have failed to hold up under rigorous evaluation.

The AERA is purportedly the most prestigious organisation for education researchers in the United States. But a quick look at its homepage reveals the ideological bubble it inhabits. The association highlights a presentation by a University of Washington, Seattle professor who blames “White racism and nationalism” for opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This argument disregards concerns that DEI initiatives compelled speech and promoted their own forms of discrimination. Another announcement calls for funding dissertations by “underrepresented minorities,” focusing on immutable characteristics rather than the quality of the research itself.

AERA’s approach reflects a broader problem of bias and misallocation of funds in education research. My own investigations into US Department of Education research grants found that the federal government has funded projects promoting “equity” in AP Computer Science and racial considerations in teacher hiring, and evaluated the racial diversity of research teams when awarding grants. Education consultants promote “Critical Race English Education”, conduct “equity audits” to reduce suspensions along racial lines, and endorse “ethnomathematics”.

The politicisation of education research has recently drawn intense scrutiny from the federal government. Unfortunately, the Trump administration indiscriminately targeted both effective and ineffective research programmes, though some of those decisions were later reversed following lawsuits. Many education researchers, however, seemed unaware of why their once-invincible institutions were vulnerable to such cuts. Rather than addressing concerns about politicisation and mission drift, they doubled down, insisting that their work was improving student outcomes even as national test scores in reading and math declined.

In the context of declining nationwide academic performance, the disconnect between education research and the everyday realities of teachers is particularly dangerous. Education research shapes school practices and policy decisions, but when it’s detached from the needs of school stakeholders, it leads to misguided reforms that make schools ineffective. The field already struggles to hold itself accountable: only one in every 1,000 education studies even attempts to replicate prior findings. As it grows increasingly insular and self-reinforcing, this lack of humility is contributing to real-world failures in student learning and teacher safety.

Good education research has an essential place in improving American schools. But those who push ideological agendas under the guise of scholarship are doing the field a profound disservice, and ultimately hurting the very students and teachers they claim to serve.

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Neetu Arnold is a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute and a Young Voices contributor. Follow her on X @neetu_arnold

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