Editorial: Action research: Research into action

Action research: Research into action

Lisa Pettifer, head of professional development in a large secondary school in England, proclaimed in her blog post Living with research in 2015 that, from a practitioner perspective, ‘…the...

Meeting curriculum requirements while recognising the need for students to relate to texts

Action research: Research into action

In 2010, a number of sweeping educational reforms were announced – particularly in English – where the likes of Byron, Keats and Dickens would firmly be re-rooted and restored to their...

Action research: Research into action

A number of BERA events between 2020 and 2022 enabled researchers to come together from a range of different education settings (primary, secondary, tertiary and higher education). These events...

Making connections when teaching mathematics: The role of teacher knowledge and beliefs

Mathematical ideas, concepts or procedures are interconnected; they therefore cannot be understood well in isolation. Mathematical connections made in the classroom give students opportunities to...

A baccalaureate curriculum

The Times Education Commission produced its final report in June 2022, making forty-five recommendations for reforming the English education system. The recommendations ranged from the banal –...

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...

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...

School-level language policies: What are they and (why) do we need them?

Spotlight on language and literacy

Dimensions of language in schools Many educators will be familiar with the saying that ‘all teachers are language teachers’ and few would argue that language doesn’t play a crucial role in...

The change in science language as a result of transition from primary to secondary school

Spotlight on language and literacy

When students move from primary to secondary school, one of the numerous challenges that they encounter is language. The language of school academic activity is importantly different from 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...

Science and religious education teachers’ perspectives on the purpose of RE on the secondary school curriculum in England

It is important that secondary school teachers know about the other subjects that are taught in their schools in order to provide a coherent curriculum experience for students. Over the past...