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Online in-depth interviewing: Covid-induced challenges

Lived experiences do not vanish into thin air like a mirage. They can be revisited under certain conditions using a relevant qualitative method. Simply asserting that a one-to-one in-depth...

The BERA Blog: Highlights of 2021

BERA Blog end of year highlights

Yuletide greetings and festive cheer to all our readers and authors, wherever you may be. In these challenging times we thank all of you for your continued support of and engagement with the BERA...

Becoming a playful academic: A personal story

Throughout my life I have been exposed to an increasingly stressful and demanding expectation to perform, dictated not only by society (cultural pressures) but also through beliefs deeply...

Playful praxis: A student’s perspective

Now in my fifth year of higher education (HE), I am in the unfortunate position to have more years as an undergraduate to reflect on than most, yet still have more to look forward to. Yes, I am a...

Connection and creativity despite Covid-19: Playful learning at university during the pandemic

Over the past decade, interest in play and playful learning in higher education (HE) has grown significantly (James & Brookfield, 2014; James & Nerantzi, 2019). Publications, conferences and...

Editorial: The playful academic

Imagine a place of learning where progressive failing, building resilience, and developing individual and collective skills, values and creativity are not only thought about as a theoretical...

The playful academic

This special BERA Blog series, edited by Maarten Koeners, explores how play and playfulness can facilitate learning in higher education – from the points of view of educator, researcher,...

A scholarly sojourn in autoethnography, or just navel gazing?

Autoethnography is a qualitative research approach that has been creating ripples within the contemporary academic context for some time, revealing a mixture of excitement and suspicion but also...

Learning to be alone: How positive solitude can benefit international students

International students experience loneliness regularly when living and studying abroad (Wawera & MacCamley, 2020), and the situation appears to have worsened during the pandemic. Since loneliness...

Considering teacher wellbeing and commitment to teaching in the event of a ‘firebreak’ lockdown this autumn

There are reports that an October lockdown might be used as a ‘firebreak’ if cases of the Covid-19 virus rise too high with the return of schools and universities (Mason & Davis, 2021). As...

Childhood bereavement: A call for national policy that considers young people’s views

This blog reflects on a study recently published in Review of Education that investigated teachers' perspectives on supporting bereaved children in British primary schools (Abraham-Steele &...

Neuromyths in schools

In recent years, much interest has been focused on the application of neuroscience in daily lessons and pedagogies (Canbulat & Kiriktas, 2017; Dekker et al., 2012). As a result, the new concept of...