BERA Blog highlights from 2018

BERA Blog end of year highlights

A seasonal welcome to all our BERA Blog readers in the UK and around the world in this, our third end-of-year-highlights special edition. And what a year this has turned out to be. (I really will...

Integrating a parenting education programme into the primary and secondary school curriculum in Nigeria

All young children tend to misbehave from time to time, which makes it necessary for parents/guardians to step in with disciplinary measures. Although the need for child discipline is broadly...

Second language programmes in international schools

Spending a lifetime in the same career is becoming rare. However, it is what I chose – my career being teaching English as a second language. After spells teaching in universities, British...

Does bias in secondary school track recommendations change over time?

Tracked educational systems, such as many European systems for secondary education, are frequently associated with higher levels of educational inequity compared with comprehensive systems....

Young children’s perceptions of due process in schools’ disciplinary procedures

‘It’s not fair!’ is a common phrase heard in schools. But what is ‘fair’ in the eyes of pupils? Our recently published study in the British Educational Research Journal explored how...

A response to Komatsu and Rappleye: What if east Asia’s high achievement is not the result of long hours of study, cram schools, and exam pressure?

In their recent BERA Blog article (10 August), Komatsu and Rappleye raise the idea that the high achievement of Asian education systems – and specifically Japan’s educational achievements –...

What if east Asia’s high achievement is not the result of longer hours of study, cram schools, and exam pressure?

Since the inception of international comparative tests in the 1960s, Japanese students, like most students around east Asia, have consistently outscored their Anglo-American peers (that is, the...

Students experience empowerment and empathy through pedagogical partnership

Student empowerment can take many forms. Some, such as new student activism and student consumerism, can feel threatening to faculty and higher education communities. Others offer a...

Using tablets in free play: The implementation of the digital play framework in Greece

The integration of technology in the early years of education has followed a rocky path, with many obstacles to overcome. Together with research around the use of new technologies by young...

Revisiting the concept of wellbeing in schools

Wellbeing discourses related to children and young people are on the rise not only in research, but also in policy and practice. Often the construct of wellbeing is used as a measure of quality of...

Physical Education External Provision in Irish primary schools

External provision is developing as a trend in schools worldwide, and physical education is no exception to this trend – see for instance New Zealand (Dyson et al 2016), the UK (Griggs 2010,...

The gap year for social, emotional and vocational learning in Irish secondary education

The Irish education system includes a quasi-gap year, known as transition year (TY), midway through secondary school. Students may choose to complete six years of secondary education (including TY...