#BlackLivesMatter and racial justice in education: Contribute to a special series of the BERA Blog

The structural inequalities faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities have been deepened by a decade of austerity. We are in the midst of a global pandemic and, following yet another...

Lost in translation: The translation of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into educational legislation

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UN, 1989) includes 54 articles outlining rights and freedoms for children. The UNCRC provides formal acknowledgement of the rights...

As “PE With Joe Wicks” comes to an end, a BERA Blog highlights the marginalisation of PE within the Curriculum

In a BERA Blog this week,Julie Stirrup, Oliver Hooper, Rachel Sandford, Jo Harris,Ash Casey and Lorraine Cale from Loughborough University argue that the marginalisation of PE within the...

The thin line between gaming and learning

When we went into ‘lockdown’ because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and were denied access to face-to-face education, educators had to swiftly improvise. By transferring existing educational...

‘PE’ with Joe (Bloggs): The rise and risks of celebrity ‘teachers’

Long before Covid-19 altered the way learning and teaching takes place, the subject of physical education (PE) was somewhat marginalised in the school curriculum. Within the UK, as elsewhere,...

Online education: What will we keep as lockdown ends?

Teachers across the world have never had to work so hard or so creatively. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, professional development that would otherwise have taken years has been crammed...

Rigorous designs for learning bridges are challenging but we need them now more than ever

Donald Clark (CEO at WildFire Learning) published a thoughtful blog post on 27 March: ‘I fear,’ he began, ‘that the UK University system has been myopic regarding online learning’ (Clark,...

Curricular breadth in Scottish secondary schools: Access and inequality

Curriculum policy in many countries in the period since the 1960s has aimed to provide a broad, liberal programme to all students as a route into common citizenship. My recent paper (Paterson,...

2020 typology of free web-based learning technologies

It is critical that educators have a comprehensive understanding of technologies if they are to effectively integrate technology into their teaching (Koehler, Mishra, Kereluik, Shin, & Graham,...

Justifying curricular enrichment in performative times

Much has been written about the tendency to narrow the curriculum to focus on what counts in measurable terms in testing times. This effect is felt most acutely in schools servicing disadvantaged...

Decolonisation of the curriculum from the sidelines? Responsibility transfer and neo-nationalism

The tragic events in Minnesota with the death of George Floyd have given rise to mass waves of protest around the world, setting at the forefront of public debate the workings of racism,...

Virtual teaching for children with dyslexia: The realities and disturbing absence of research

Covid-19, education and educational research

I am writing this post from both a parental and scientific perspective. Firstly, from a parental stance, SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent coronavirus 19 has undoubtedly driven us into situations that...