To learn more about our flagship spring conference, see below!
2026 Annual Conference
February 20–22, 2026
Asilomar Hotel & Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, CA
REGISTER HERE
The Sociology of Education Association will gather in person for its annual meeting at Asilomar over the weekend of February 20–22, 2026. Our theme this year is Schools as Microcosms: Mirrors of Society, Engines of Change, organized by Program Chair Dr. Daphne Penn. View the full Call for Papers here and the exciting program here.
Book your room with the conference block here!
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Natasha Warikoo, Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Tufts University
Dr. Mitchell Stevens, Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology, Stanford University
Theme: Schools as Microcosms: Mirrors of Society, Engines of Change
To describe schools as microcosms is to recognize that society’s struggles and aspirations have always been etched into their walls. From battles over segregation and integration to contemporary debates over diversity, equity, and inclusion, schools often reflect the defining conflicts of their times. They reveal, in concentrated form, the inequalities and hierarchies that structure social life beyond the classroom, mirroring the tensions that roil our politics and communities more broadly. To see schools as microcosms, then, is to understand them not simply as institutions of learning but also as arenas where the values, conflicts, and contradictions of society are made visible, contested, and, at times, transformed.
Even as they mirror broader injustices, schools have also provided footholds for progress. At their best, they are engines of change that widen access, model inclusion, or nurture the imaginations of young people to see beyond the limits of the present. Beyond that, schools can be spaces to forge solidarity, experiment with new practices, and pilot ideas that ripple outward.
This call invites you to wrestle with this tension by sharing research that not only reflects how schools mirror societal dynamics but also offers a window into schools as sites where new ideas, possibilities, and practices can take root. To that end, we seek submissions that:
• Illuminate how schools reflect broader social patterns (e.g., inequality, migration, neighborhood change, shifting cultural norms).
• Analyze the mechanisms through which policy, curriculum, finance, and accountability reproduce or disrupt inequality.
• Examine immigration and demographic change, boundary-making, and belonging in school communities.
• Trace organizational processes (e.g., culture, leadership, isomorphism, metrics) that shape everyday life in schools.
• Center student, educator, and family agency—coalitions, counterpublics, and solidarities that reimagine schooling.
• Advance theory or methods that help us see schools as both mirrors and engines (comparative, mixed methods, novel data).
The Sociology of Education Association (SEA) invites proposals for its 2026 meeting that explore these and related topics in educational contexts broadly defined. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions and encourage submissions across data sources, levels of analysis, and research traditions.
All presenters and attendees must pay a registration fee, which includes SEA membership for one year beginning with the start of the conference.
Want to register for the conference? Register here. We look forward to seeing you!
Image of the beach by Asilomar conference grounds, the location of the annual meeting of the Sociology of Education Association, taken by Sharon and Rick on Flickr.
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