You don’t understand us!
'You don’t understand us or the subject!’ This is a frequent cry heard by me, as a university research ethics chair, from educational researchers trying to get ethics approval for research...
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The BERA Blog was established in 2015 to provide research-informed content on key educational issues in an accessible manner.
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Is written informed consent always required for educational research?
While informed consent is important, obtaining written consent from participants can be problematic.
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How do material properties and designed form indirectly influence learning activity?
Motivated by a desire to increase participatory forms of teaching and learning, the case study we present in the new special section of the British Journal of Educational Technology on ‘future...
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Teacher mediation of curriculum making: The role of reflexivity
The organic, complex and multilayered relationship between teachers and curriculum has been discussed for decades. However, that relationship has been rendered more crucial in recent years by new...
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What is ‘variation’ in early years mathematics?
As we near the end of our year-long project into what effects five- and six-year-olds’ ability to count-on when adding, here we reflect upon our journey. What led us to this topic was the recent...
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Personal, social, health and economics education in initial teacher education : Why bother?
With the recent changes to legislation in relationship education and health education being announced as statutory within primary schools in England from September 2020 (Children and Social Work...
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Should arts learning be ‘left to the community’? How the experiences of homeschoolers are shining a light on classroom arts learning
Although there exists a significant body of empirical evidence that demonstrates the value of the arts in education (Bamford, 2006; Ewing, 2010; Unesco, 2010), they nevertheless continue to be...
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Practical and useful research? First, sort out the theory
Researchers need to begin by examining their theories to enable them to control their research, and avoid the risk of being misled by unexamined beliefs.
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Mental health and wellbeing among trainee teachers
There is growing concern regarding the mental health and wellbeing of teachers in the UK. The charity Education Support Partnership recently published the Teacher Wellbeing Index 2018, which found...
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