A matter of inclusion: Schools continue to navigate government advice in support of students

Covid-19, education and educational research

As the school year in England begins once again against an evolving Covid-19 backdrop, we ask what this latest set of circumstances means for issues of inclusion, including which students will...

Childhood bereavement: A call for national policy that considers young people’s views

This blog reflects on a study recently published in Review of Education that investigated teachers' perspectives on supporting bereaved children in British primary schools (Abraham-Steele &...

How can books hit the sweet spot between the reader and the story character?

Why do some stories resonate with readers more than others? It is probably because they minimise the distance between the reader and the story character. The classic reader-response theory...

Neuromyths in schools

In recent years, much interest has been focused on the application of neuroscience in daily lessons and pedagogies (Canbulat & Kiriktas, 2017; Dekker et al., 2012). As a result, the new concept of...

Distance learning & initial teacher education: Making connections in a virtual world

Covid-19, education and educational research

The peaks and troughs of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to impact on almost every aspect of our daily lives, and initial teacher education (ITE) is by no means an exception. Reflecting on changes...

Beyond postures: How yoga philosophy can foster non-violence in our classrooms

In A Sanskrit Dictionary, Monier-Williams (1899, p. 854) defines yoga as ‘an application of the thoughts, abstract contemplation, meditation, (esp.) self-concentration, abstract meditation and...

Adapting one-to-one reading support for children during Covid-19 school closures

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

Innovations and challenges among reading recovery teachers in Bristol

The fear factor: Children’s post-lockdown maths anxiety

Covid-19, education and educational research

Maths anxiety (MA) plays a role in educational disparities and the gender pay gap, yet it is not often addressed at the chalkface. Covid-induced school disruption may have made learning for...

Learning from lockdown: Experiences of autistic children and young people and their families

Covid-19, education and educational research

Research on the Covid-19 pandemic draws attention to its unequal impacts on differently positioned families, particularly highlighting the acute struggles of disadvantaged families (see for...

SENCOs, crisis planning in schools and the international problem of ‘off rolling’ or ‘grey exclusions’

Covid-19, education and educational research

In a newly published study (Done & Knowler, 2021a) we investigated the strategic leadership role of special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) in planning for Covid-19 with particular...

Exclusion & the strategic leadership role of special educational needs co-ordinators in England

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

This report asks whether and how special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) participated in Covid-19-induced school planning for lockdown, provision for vulnerable pupils and full school...

The experiences of autistic young people & their parents of lockdown & the reopening of schools

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

This report summarises findings of research into how families of autistic children and young people attending mainstream schools in England experienced and responded to home-schooling and...