Re‐educating the nation? A Curriculum Journal special issue on the new curriculum for Wales

A new special issue of the Curriculum Journal, published simultaneously in English and Welsh, explores the many issues that arise when a country decides to rewrite the school curriculum –...

Tackling the languages ‘crisis’: Supporting multilingualism in the new curriculum for Wales

What can be done to inspire an uplift for modern foreign languages across Wales in the future?

Learning progression in the humanities: Identifying tensions in articulating progression in the humanities in Wales

The current curriculum reforms in Wales (Welsh Government, 2020) represent a significant shift in thinking and organisation. As well as the introduction of the ‘four purposes’ to drive...

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...

BERA joins call to cancel the introduction of Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) in the Autumn term

BERA President Dominic Wyse is one of the co-signatories to an open letter that calls upon the Government to abandon its plan to introduce the reception baseline assessment into primary schools in...

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....

Mental health and wellbeing in doctoral students from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds

There is a large body of evidence for the poor mental health of both undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education settings (Peluso, Carleton, & Gordon, 2011), leading to the Higher...

Personal values and trainee teacher wellbeing

Values and wellbeing Many teachers in England and Europe report the demands of their job harm their wellbeing (Education Support, 2019; ETUCE, 2011). Poor wellbeing is cited as a key reason why...

Teacher wellbeing: A systemic perspective

Education Support is the mental health and wellbeing charity of the education sector. We provide accredited counselling and welfare support to individuals, wellbeing services that enable schools...

Researching education and mental health: From ‘Where are we now?’ to ‘What next?’

The mental health and wellbeing of both learners and teaching staff are among the most pressing issues facing education in the coming decade. This special issue of the BERA Blog presents a...

Education practitioners’ and students’ perspectives on youth mental health first aid provision within education settings in England

The Youth Mental Health First Aid in Schools programme (Youth MHFA) is a policy initiative intended to enable education practitioners to spot the signs of mental health issues in children and...