The first ever BERA Early Career Researcher (ECR) Conference in May 2023, The ECR Journey: From inspiration to impact, celebrated the journey of ‘becoming’ an educational researcher. It was an opportunity to celebrate and disseminate small and large successes in the journey of ECRs from research students to independent thinkers.

In this special issue of the BERA Blog, a select few presenters from the conference showcase their research inspiration and potential impact. Each blog post covers one area of key importance to the researcher with the intention of inspiring discourse and informing policy and practice.

The contributions in the issue explore:

• the intricacies of how trans students navigate and negotiate their school lives
• the impact of China’s ‘double reduction’ policy, which is intended to address ever-increasing educational inequalities stemming from the growth of a shadow education system in China
• the promotion of tolerance and mutual respect in the implementation of teacher standards to report on how educators can best navigate the shifting educational landscape of emerging policies and strategies
• challenges around teacher retention and how establishing more concrete professional teacher identities can contribute towards teacher resilience and counteract teacher attrition
• headteacher agency in the context of performativity pressures that often appear to suppress teacher values and pedagogy.

This special issue is being released ahead of the second BERA ECR Conference, ‘At crossroads of becoming’, to be held on 5 June 2024 at the Cloth Hall Court, Leeds. Register now at this link.