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Time for educational researchers to take their place in the sun?

Covid-19, education and educational research

As recent posts on the BERA Blog have demonstrated, in the quiet chaos of lockdown a range of taken-for-granted assumptions (Courtney et al., 2020), competencies (Zhou & Wolstencroft, 2020) and...

Opportunities missed: Then the rains came down and washed the writing away

Covid-19, education and educational research

Discussion among researchers at the moment is mostly punctuated with references to Covid-19. From across the various fields that my research cross-sections – primary English, children’s...

Teacher identity in a performative age: Coming to research through autoethnography

What is it to be a teacher? In 2014, five years into my career as a primary school teacher, I would have answered that question with a story of early promise as a trainee and professional success...

Going beyond the evidence: Research and the media

Covid-19, education and educational research

In a previous blog (published yesterday) I reflected on the danger of researchers going beyond the evidence in presenting policy-relevant findings: putting forward empirical conclusions as cogent...

Is educational research evidence-based?

One issue raised in the debate over evidence-based policymaking and practice has been what should count as evidence. I was prompted to think further about this by a recent paper in the British...

What do we know, so far, about the best ways to help users use good research evidence?

Research evidence is considered important, contributing to improvements in education policy and practice. High-quality evidence can lead to important gains for the public and for society....

How do educational technology developers ensure that their products have positive impact, and don’t cause harm?

Whether they’re driven by commercial interests or not, most developers and companies care about positive impact. Of course, impact helps in selling products, but it’s also a key motivation in...

Supporting practitioner research

This event has now been postponed. To be kept updated on when this will be reschedule for, please email events@bera.ac.uk.

Action research: Closing the gap between theory and practice

In order to conduct action research, Elliott (1991) advocates that a tremendous desire to innovate and improve is a fundamental requirement. As a teacher-researcher, I came to my doctoral study...

Enabling research in post-16 and beyond

During my continuing professional development (CPD) evaluating digital learning in the further education (FE) environment a valuable piece of research emerged, which referenced Laurillard’s...

The 2020 Revision Census: The ambition and ethics of large-scale independent research

What do our children spend their time doing when they put in all those hours studying for big exams? Cognitive psychology tells us that the techniques they choose can have a substantial impact on...

Editorial: Revealing the challenges for independent researchers in accessing ethical approval

This special edition of the BERA Blog highlights a problem: independent educational researchers are unable to access an ethics panel for approval to carry out research. Approval is necessary for...