Political Science Educator: volume 29, issue 2
Dear PSE Colleagues,
Happy New Year to all! By the time this is published, I’m hoping this finds everyone well rested and rejuvenated from the winter holiday, ready to tackle the demands of winter/spring terms.
As a reminder, the proposal submission deadline for the Annual Meeting (September 3- 6, Boston, MA) is January 14, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific. The Section’s panel allocation is in part based on the number of submissions received, so I hope everyone will consider submitting a proposal this year. The theme is “Democracy Under Threat: How to Understand, Protect, and Rebuild”—a theme to which our Section has much to contribute! You can learn more about the submission process here: https://connect.apsanet.org/apsa2026/#
Our Division Co-Chairs this year are Dan Mallison, Penn State, Harrisburg and Petra Hendrickson, Northern Michigan University (thank you again, Dan and Petra!), and you will find the Division call here: https://connect.apsanet.org/apsa2026/2026-division-calls/.
As noted there, our Division (Division 10) “welcomes paper, full panel, and roundtable proposals on all topics related to political science education and the research of teaching and learning. Research on all levels of higher education, from community college to four-year institutions and graduate programs, is encouraged. Proposals focused on this year’s conference theme are especially encouraged, but all pedagogy-related topics, such as civic education, active learning, research methods instruction, professionalization, internships, extra- and co-curricular offerings, and technology are welcome. Work that employs empirical evidence, whether qualitative or quantitative, to make and assess different pedagogical practices is encouraged.” So please submit a proposal, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Dan, Petra, or me.
In other news, our inaugural Pedagogy Fellows (Kelly Bauer, Generalist; Megan Becker, Undergraduate Research; Edward Kammerer, Belonging and Accessibility; and Jennie Sweet-Cushman, Civic Engagement) will complete literature reviews of their respective areas of expertise in late January, and we expect these will be published in JPSE by late spring. Online modules for each area are scheduled to “go live” in June, and Fellows will provide either in-person or synchronous short courses at APSA 2026, or at TLC in Feb. 2027, or they may provide a stand-alone virtual/synchronous course at another time during next academic year. So please be on the lookout for these. More detailed information can be found here: https://educate.apsanet.org/certification-in-political-science-education
A reminder that the submission deadline for our two new PSE awards (Best New Undergraduate Textbook and Best New SoTL Book) is January 1, 2026. You will find detailed eligibility and submission information here: https://apsanet.org/membership/organized-sections/section29/
Finally, we have exciting news that Pi Sigma Alpha has generously offered to support the Section’s Craig L. Brians Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Mentorship >at the level of $250 for the next two years (2026, 2027). You will also find detailed eligibility and submission information at the link above.
Wishing everyone a joyous, fulfilling, and productive New Year!
With all best wishes,
Maureen Feeley
Teaching Professor
Department of Political Science
UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA<
PSE Section President, 2024-26
Published since 2005, The Political Science Educator is the newsletter of the Political Science Education Section of the American Political Science Association. As part of APSA’s mission to support political science education across the discipline, APSA Educate has republished The Political Science Educator since 2021. Please visit APSA Educate’s Political Science Educator digital collection.
Editor: Matt Evans (Northwest Arkansas Community College)
Assistant Editor: Colin Brown (Northeastern University)
Submissions: editor.PSE.newsletter@gmail.com
