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Developing an ethics framework for school based research in the context of a large academy secondary school

Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre is a Secondary School Academy in rural Kent.  I have been working as a Teacher Researcher at Homewood since 2014, and during that time I have produced a...

Living the dream through peer review

I remember reflecting on the experience of attending my first BERA annual conference as a doctoral student in 2008. More specifically, I can recall my initial perceptions of the educational...

The self-improving school system from the classroom out

When thought about at the level of the school or classroom, the self-improving school system involves teachers collaboratively engaging in evidence-informed practice to improve teaching and...

Teachers’ voice in the development of curricula for 21st century competences

In the last two decades, the terms ‘21st century skills’ and ‘21st century competences’ have been widely adopted to represent the ambition for an educational reform that will lead to a...

Is a shared understanding the key to effective learning?

A child starts learning in the womb, but real learning is perceived to start much later and is certainly not often associated with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).  Real learning is often...

Literature’s lasting impression: what makes shared reading of novels powerful?

The twelve-month research project Literature’s Lasting Impression⃰ investigates a defining convention of classroom literary study, shared novel reading. Most people remember ‘reading round...

What younger children really think and understand about internet safety: The value of stories and role play as research methods

Younger children under the age of eight are increasingly embracing the digital world (Mekinc, Smailbegovic & Kokic, 2013). My intention at this year’s BERA conference is to consider younger...

Group work in primary classrooms: No longer a waste of time

During the 50 years since the Plowden Report, policy with regard to small-group activity in English primary schools has undergone repeated change. However, images of practice remain constant: they...

Observing to Understand – Using the Tavistock Method of Observation to Support Reflective Practice

The Tavistock method of infant observation has developed and grown since its original use as a tool to train psychotherapists at the Tavistock clinic. It is now widely used across many...

Writing a world-leading (four star) publication

Highlights from the first 1,000 BERA Blog posts

The idea that research could be described as ‘4*’ came from the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF). Four-star research is 'world-leading in terms of originality, significance and...

Collaborative Learning in a Blended-reality Environment

Offering students flexible and convenient access is a key driver for the use of technology in learning, with online technologies enabling students to continue their work out of the classroom,...

Practical theory

The utility of social theory as tools and resources for the development of research methodology This symposium aims to explore key issues and debates in designing and implementing research driven...