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:
Researcher at University of Bath
Fadoua Govaerts is affiliated with the University of Bath in the Department of Education and is the founder of RE-KnoX (Research in Education – Knowledge Exchange), an initiative through which she organises international conferences in the...
Senior Lecturer at University of the West of England
Sarah Gillie is a former primary school teacher whose research interests relate to inclusion in education across and beyond ‘compulsory’ schooling. Family diagnoses of neurodivergence have only strengthened her conviction that inclusive...
Assistant Head of Teaching & Learning: Outcomes at Tute, VL and Research Associate at University of Chester
Sharon Smith is a Visiting Lecturer and Associate Researcher at the University of Chester. Sharon completed her PGCE (2006) and MA in Teaching and Learning (2010) at Manchester Metropolitan University, before completing her Doctorate at The...
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)....
We warmly invite members of the BERA Alternative Education SIG—and anyone with an interest in alternative education—to join us online this November for our upcoming Meet and Discuss session....
Emily Dobrich was awarded best presentation for Alternative Education at the 2024 BERA/WERA conference for her presentation: An Embodied Educational Research Project to Build Solidarity and...
What could learning spaces in prison be like? This question has guided our reflective research process, prompting us to reflect critically on existing practice and to create an emerging framework...
Continue reading blog postResearch Intelligence issue 164: Education in prisons: Generating hope, escaping stereotypes
Place-Responsive Pedagogy in Educational Research and Practice
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.
2025 marks 10 years of the BERA Blog, and we’re so proud of all that it has accomplished! Thank you to all those who have contributed to the Blog, whether as authors, editors, or readers. The...
This award, introduced for the 2024 volume, recognises the highest quality and most original and impactful articles published in Research Intelligence. Guest Editors of issues published in 2024...
