Understanding girls’ experiences of being at risk of permanent exclusion: How do we get there?

This blog considers some of the issues highlighted by existing research on girls’ exclusion from schooling and the challenges of beginning research in this area. Although boys are three times...

Data in schools: Why gathering reliable data is so important

In 2017, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in England (Ofsted) stated for the first time that all of its work is evidence-led. Specifically, the regulator’s...

Dropping off a cliff: What’s really behind the fall in trainee teacher recruitment?

Graduates are giving teaching the swerve in increasing numbers. The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that recruitment for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses at secondary level is...

Editorial: Spotlight on language and literacy

Spotlight on language and literacy

Findings from studies captured in this special issue make for compelling reading about the direction of language and literacy research in the UK and further afield. Ian Collen, from Queen’s...

A tale of two teachers: Reimagining GCSE modern languages

Spotlight on language and literacy

Qualifications in modern languages are changing. Qualifications and assessment reform is on the political agenda in England, Scotland and Wales; while in Northern Ireland, the Council for...

The politics of ‘scientifically-based’ teaching: Phonics for reading and grammar for writing

Spotlight on language and literacy

The teaching of reading and writing understandably attracts attention from researchers, teachers and policymakers because of the importance of literacy for children’s educational development....

Spotlight on language and literacy

This special issue of the BERA Blog places a spotlight on educational research in the field of language and literacy. Covering a range of topics from modern language learning to language as an...

Language trends Northern Ireland 2021

Spotlight on language and literacy

Speaking an international language is crucial to understanding another culture and for long-term growth and prosperity (British Academy et al., 2020). So, no matter how many people around the...

Developing a systems-based approach to research use in education

While it is not always easy to see the tectonic plates moving, a culture shift appears to be occurring in English schools towards widespread engagement with research (DfE, 2022). Yet, when we...

Teacher agency in the reform of universal primary education in Uganda

Uganda launched universal primary education (UPE) in 1997 in line with Education for All’s reform programme for basic education (Penny et al., 2008). Introducing a system of universal,...

Exploring EAP through a complexity lens: A mixed methods study in North Iraq

Streaming in EAP (English for Academic Purposes) classrooms is not such a common practice, particularly in North Iraq. Having worked in the region for four years, I investigated streaming in EAP...

The research and teaching nexus in a post-pandemic world: Undoing inequalities and dysfunctions

The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of a highly marketised English higher education system. With little government support, the fears around lost income resulted in yet more competition between...