2021/22 experiences of academics in teacher education: ‘I should not be afraid in my job, but I am’

This blog post briefly explores some initial findings from a study on the experiences of academics working partly or fully in initial teacher education (ITE) in the UK, and particularly their...

‘Challenging’ reflexivity in the transition between practicums: A practical and gamified approach to embed ‘big ideas’ into the teacher education curriculum

Like all teacher educators in England, we are conscious that our practice is increasingly located in turbulent and changing political and managerial landscapes for teacher education (see Murtagh &...

‘Shut up and leave me alone’: Why schools need to be places of belonging

‘Shut up and leave me alone’ were the only words that 10-year-old refugee ‘Aisha’ could find to say in English after three weeks in her school. She was the outsider who didn’t...

The stuff of play: Taking posthuman and feminist materialist theory out to play in the materiality of the early childhood classroom

As a researcher in early childhood teacher education, you spend inordinate amounts of time reading and attempting to make sense of a variety of theories. Every now and again, however, theory leaps...

HE Education Research Census 2022

The UK-wide census of all HE-based education researchers has just been launched. It is a nationwide census examining the characteristics, experiences and attitudes of education researchers...

Hard questions: Learning to teach controversial issues

Teachers and teacher educators often find it difficult to explore controversial issues in their classrooms, especially in politically fraught times. Controversial issues are defined as open...

Summer 2022

Pandemic, protests, recovery, opportunities: Repositioning of educational research, teaching & learning  Research Intelligence issue 151 This second decade of the 21st century continues to...

The strategic leadership of online learning during Covid and beyond: Key themes from an emerging study

Educational leadership on the threshold of a post-pandemic world

Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on education. The changes to working practices, leaders’ vision for the future of education and the relationship between senior leaders, staff, parents and...

School leadership in a time of Covid: Learning to cope with the system changes

Educational leadership on the threshold of a post-pandemic world

It is indisputable that there are huge costs associated with Covid-19, and part of that has fallen to schools, school trusts (formerly known as multi-academy trusts) and local...

Can we get generalist teachers to teach music? Yes we can!

Teachers in the UK need better professional development, especially in music education where the limited opportunities for training offered by teacher training providers have raised concerns (see...

Rethinking how we can improve the diversity of the teaching workforce in England

The lack of black and minority ethnic (BAME) teachers and headteachers in English schools is a growing concern facing policymakers in England. In a recent conference of school leaders, Nadhim...

Positioning ‘play’ purposefully in the adult language learning classroom

The playful academic

Times are tough for university students and teachers alike in this pandemic world. ‘Play’ could offer an easy antidote to the soulnessness of digital overload. Incorporating ‘fun’ and...