Unthinkable, unfundable and unknowable: The ‘evidence void’ on making science accessible to pupils with learning disabilities

The question of how, in an age of performativity, we will be enabled to undertake any research other than that which promises to be productive in the short term is becoming increasingly pressing....

Faith-based education is (not) what we are talking about

Writings about faith and education tend to fall into particular longstanding debates about: the teaching of religious education in schools; the act (or not) of assembly; the use of religious texts...

Forget me not? LGBTIQ+ representation and rights in education

In the film 120 Beats Per Minute, which depicts the work of Act UP Paris during the AIDS epidemic in France in the 1990s, activists perform a nonviolent instance of direct action: they enter a...

Promoting spatial ability skills through educational robotics: Are they equally effective for girls and boys?

Promoting spatial ability skills through educational robotics: Are they equally effective for girls and boys? Over the past few decades there has been a lively debate about the quality of...

Knowledge entitlement or misguided policy? The new multiplication tables check for primary children

In 2020, the UK government will introduce a multiplication tables check for primary school children aged 8–9 in England. ‘Times tables’ are a contentious issue because they represent a lot...

Different schools, same problem: What value teacher research and inquiry?

Robust school leadership is seen as the most effective route by which schools and outcomes for students can be achieved (Greany, 2015). But how does a headteacher of a school graded...

Helping teachers improve their use of computer games for student learning

Games have been used in schools since the 1970s. Currently, the games most commonly used in classrooms are ‘edutainment’ games such as Math Blaster (Boyle et al., 2016). These games are...

Understanding social transformation and school environments through social network analysis

Some decades ago, several studies advanced an unexpected answer to an age-old question: schools do not help students improve their social positions (see for example Coleman et al., 1966). This...

Deconstructing the SATs process: Resistance is futile?

In April 2016, a mother voiced her concerns on the English Local Schools Network website (Secret Parent, 2016) about withdrawing her 10-year-old from the new key stage 2 SATs. Her main concern was...

The value of recognising the school meal as a site for developing learning opportunities: Reflecting on experiences as a post-doc ECR

Food is an important factor in a number of social spheres, and one of the sites in which food is used to feed future citizens and leaders is the school dining hall. New meanings have been given to...

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...

Teaching as design: New research from technology-rich learning environments

  ‘We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment. Whether we permit chance environments to do the work, or whether we design environments for...