Rita Kohli, a professor in UC Riverside’s School of Education, has been named editor for two forthcoming volumes of a leading education research journal, where she will help curate the nation’s most rigorous scholarship on how racism shapes the U.S. education system.

Kohli will serve as editor of the Review of Research in Education, published annually by the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In her role, Kohli will also seek to highlight research that advances racial justice in education.

“We are living in a moment where discourse about racism—its history, legacy, and current manifestations—is being repressed across schools, universities, and educational research,” Kohli said. “Because understanding racialization processes is a necessary foundation to visioning possible futures and realizing a more just world, now, more than ever, it is important to turn to scholarship that explores how racism operates across various spheres of our education system.”

Kohli will be joined by editors Justin Coles of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Dolores Calderón of Western Washington University to oversee Volumes 51 and 53 of the journal, scheduled for publication in 2027 and 2029.

The 2027 volume, “Sitting with the Problem: Reviews of Racialization Processes and Racism in Educational Research,” will focus on in-depth examinations of how racism and racialization shape educational systems and experiences. The 2029 volume, “Visioning Possible Futures: Reviews of Research on Advancing Racial Justice in Education,” will explore research that imagines more equitable educational futures.

Published by AERA, the journal features comprehensive analytical reviews of critical education topics. Each volume is dedicated to a theme of broad significance, synthesizing existing research to promote scholarly understanding and guide future inquiry. 

A former middle school teacher in Oakland, Calif., Kohli has been a professor at UCR since 2014. Her research explores how race, power, and inequity intersect in K–12 schools and teacher education programs.

Her scholarship has earned national recognition, including the AERA Division G Early Career Award, the Division K Mid-Career Award, and the Division K Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education Award. Kohli is also the author of “Teachers of Color: Resisting Racism and Reclaiming Education,” published by Harvard Education Press.

“I feel honored to lead this journal with such esteemed colleagues, centering such a vital issue,” Kohli said.