Special Interest Group

Educational Effectiveness and Improvement

The Educational Effectiveness and Improvement SIG is concerned with sharing, developing and disseminating research that explores, informs and improves outcomes in education. We are interested educational effectiveness and improvement in any education sector, in any country and at a system or individual level (pupil, teacher, leader).

The aims of the SIG are to:

Provide an inclusive and accessible forum for PhD students, early career researchers, established educational researchers and educators, to discuss issues relating to educational effectiveness and improvement;
Share, stimulate and support high quality research and raise awareness of this research;
Create opportunities through events to disseminate findings from research both with and without of the academic community;
Influence government(s) educational policy, funding agencies and key stakeholders through the dissemination of robust research on issues relating to educational effectiveness and improvement;
Collaborate with other SIGs to promote interdisciplinary opportunities with a common purpose of improving educational outcomes;
Collaborate with comparable groups within educational research associations internationally (such as EERA, AERA and AARE) to promote international research on common issues relating to educational effectiveness and improvement.

SIG Convenors

Tanya Ovenden-Hope, Professor

Professor of Education at Plymouth Marjon University

Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope is Professor of Education and strategic lead for Marjon University Cornwall. Tanya is working to develop opportunities for new partneships with sector stakeholders, both nationally and internationally. An innovative...

Upcoming Event

Small schools, big issue? Exploring the future for small schools in England
30 Aug 2019

The BERA SIG for School Effectiveness and Improvement, in partnership with Plymouth Marjon University, the National Association of Small Schools and the Diocese of Truro, invites school leaders, educational researchers and interested stakeholders to a one day conference on ‘Small schools, big issue? Exploring the future for small schools in England.’

Small schools have been championed for the value they bring to their typically rural communities. The future of small schools in England is in question due to policy changes and austerity for public services funding (the National Funding Formula not offering the significant increases in funding needed by small schools). Some Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) tried to set a minimum pupil number for schools to remain viable and run at an ‘acceptable cost’.

In 2016, the White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ was clear that small schools must come together in formal collaborations, preferably MATs, in order to survive. However, the financial challenges of small rural schools can make them unattractive for academy chains or multi-academy trusts (MATs).

There is no nationally agreed definition of what constitutes a small school, with categories ranging from fewer than 210 pupils on roll to fewer than 101. Research on small schools has also been limited since 2000, with a need evident for more large scale, peer reviewed and funded investigations. This conference will explore the future for small schools and attempt to establish a manifesto to influence thinking about the difference small schools make to education in England.

More information and to register