Special Interest Group
The Alternative Education SIG takes the broadest approach to ‘alternative’ that we can. We are interested in all forms of out of school educational provision and with ‘alternative’ approaches within schools. We will facilitate debate, discussion and exploration around the many issues, philosophical, political, pedagogical and ethical, that surround alternative education from PRUs to home education. We aspire for this SIG to be a meeting ground for the education which takes place in museums, libraries, homes and open spaces as well as in alternative schools, democratic schools and flexi schools, and to give a voice to those who realize education and learning differently. We aim to promote network of critical discussion and supportive resources for researchers, practitioners, writers and thinkers. We aim to be lively in our debate and in our SIG activity and to represent a vibrant forum of voices in this important and growing area. Research interests within the SIG are widespread and include, but are not restricted to:
Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies at The Open University
Amber is a lecturer in childhood and youth studies at the Open University and co-convenor of the Alternative Education special interest group. A sociologist by training, her research seeks to give voice to marginalised and excluded communities in...
PhD student at University of Bath
Fadoua Govaerts is a PhD researcher at the University of Bath, in the Department of Education. Her doctoral research project explores the experience of home-educated adolescents, with a special focus on their educational outcomes and social...
Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of Leeds
Stefania is the Educational Leader for the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies (CEES); she is a Fellow of Higher Education, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). She is also a Certified Management and Business Educator (CABS)....
The BERA Conference 2023 was held on the 12th-14th September 2023 at Conference Aston/Aston University. Keynote speakers included: Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith. The conference ended with three...
In the decade before the first Covid-19 lockdown, the numbers of children deregistered from school to begin home education increased annually (ADCS, 2021). Concomitantly – as noted by Ofsted...
Continue reading blog postIn this blog post, I explore the value of infographics beyond their visual aspect for widening participation students. The post draws on my PhD research, which focuses on the value of infographics...
Continue reading blog postGirls’ experiences of being at risk of permanent exclusion
This award celebrates the publication of educational research and is awarded to a scholarly book on education deemed to be high quality, engaging and innovative.
Would you be willing to act as a reviewer for abstracts submitted to the BERA Annual Conference 2023? To be involved, you will need to: be a BERA Member be available to referee abstracts...
Join the Alternative Education SIG annual meeting to network with colleagues, learn about the activities of the SIG over the last year and plans for 2023 This meeting will be hosted online,...
In her recent BERA Blog post Margaret Mulholland (2022) asserts that truly inclusive education involves the ability to think like a detective. To be truly responsive to the needs of children and...
Continue reading blog post
