BERA’s Publications Committee is seeking an individual or team (of up to three people) to guest edit issue 161 of Research Intelligence on the theme of teacher education.

Research Intelligence is BERA’s quarterly magazine, available to all members in print and digital formats. It carries announcements and news, as well as articles and features on a variety of topics related to education research. The magazine operates a guest editor system, whereby for each individual issue a different editor or team of editors commissions a set of articles that address a particular theme.

For issue 161, BERA’s Publications Committee has selected the theme of teacher education. 2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of the conclusion of an inquiry run jointly by BERA and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce (RSA) looking at the contribution research can make to improve the quality of teaching. The inquiry commissioned seven background papers and published a final report that set out principles for self-improving, research-rich education systems. The report also offered recommendations for teacher education in each of the UK’s four nations. The background papers and final report are available here.

It is for the guest editor(s) of issue 161 of Research Intelligence to define the precise scope of the issue and the focus of the individual articles to be featured within the theme of teacher education. However, for this issue, the committee is specifically seeking proposals that engage with the BERA–RSA inquiry and reflect on developments in teacher education across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since the project concluded in 2014.

The role of guest editor involves commissioning a set of articles that address the theme of the issue, editing the articles, and writing an editorial to introduce and contextualise the issue and its theme. For more information, please refer to the proposal form, which can be downloaded at the link below.

Applicants must be available to work to the following issue schedule.

Early June 2024: Themed articles to be commissioned
5 September 2024: Deadline for themed articles to be submitted to BERA for copyediting
19 September 2024: Deadline for authors to check copyedits and resolve any queries from the copyeditor
23 October 2024: First typeset proofs out for review
30 October 2024: Deadline for first proof feedback/corrections
20 November 2024: Issue to print
Publication: c.30 November 2024

To apply, please complete the attached proposal form and send it to publications@bera.ac.uk by 2 May 2024. The proposal form requires a short abstract detailing how you intend to define the scope of the issue within the theme of teacher education. Please also make clear how your proposal engages with the BERA–RSA inquiry. You will need to provide a proposed list of article topics to be featured in the special issue, with potential authors if possible. (Note that it is not a requirement for you to have approached the potential authors in advance of submitting your proposal form.)

Proposals received in response to this call will be considered by BERA’s Publications Committee and a decision will be made about which proposal to take forward. Applicants will be notified in May 2024.