Professor Jianping Shen receives national award for educational leadership research

KALAMAZOO, MI—Dr. Jianping Shen, professor of educational leadership at Western Michigan University, where he holds the John E. Sandberg Professorship of Education and currently serves as the Gwen Frostic Endowed Chair, has received the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division A Excellence in Research Award.

AERA Division A supports examination of sources and types of leadership in schools and districts, as well as the effects of leadership on educational institutions, their staff and student learning outcomes. The award is given by AERA Division A in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of administration, organizational theory, or leadership.

"He exemplifies so well the nature and quality of the work on leadership and school improvement which Division A has always aspired to and supported," wrote Dr. Kenneth Leithwood, emeritus professor at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, in his support letter for Shen. 

Shen has been published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles on educational leadership and (co)authored or (co)edited seven books. He has also directed and co-directed large, externally funded projects totaling about $60 million.

Notably, Shen and his colleagues developed the theory of bifurcated educational system and the school renewal (vs. reform) model. The model has four key theoretical constructs supported by empirical studies (i.e., the theory of bifurcated educational system, the win-win leadership theory, the mechanism and effect of teacher and principal leadership, and the school as a critical unit for change), and leads to better outcomes for schools in funded projects. His book titled “School Renewal in the Bifurcated Educational System” is in press with Cambridge University Press. 

"Shen's approach to building the school renewal model is a remarkable demonstration of the sustained theoretical, empirical and applied effort required to make the kind of difference to research and practice in our field that Division A can be immensely proud of," wrote Leithwood.

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