School transition, socioeconomic inequalities in wellbeing and the Covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19, education and educational research

Children’s education and wellbeing are profoundly influenced by the circumstances into which they are born. Being from a wealthier family is associated with a range of positive outcomes. Poverty...

Time for educational researchers to take their place in the sun?

Covid-19, education and educational research

As recent posts on the BERA Blog have demonstrated, in the quiet chaos of lockdown a range of taken-for-granted assumptions (Courtney et al., 2020), competencies (Zhou & Wolstencroft, 2020) and...

Tensions in current curriculum reform and the development of teachers’ professional autonomy

Current curriculum reform in Wales offers the chance for teachers to have greater freedom in developing pedagogical approaches that meet the needs of their pupils. The Successful Futures report...

Re‐educating the nation? A Curriculum Journal special issue on the new curriculum for Wales

A new special issue of the Curriculum Journal, published simultaneously in English and Welsh, explores the many issues that arise when a country decides to rewrite the school curriculum –...

The art of connecting: How primary and secondary teachers are building a framework for expressive arts

Curriculum reform in Wales is heralding a raft of changes for schools, one of which is the rise in significance of the expressive arts. The new Welsh curriculum for learners aged 3-to-16, which...

Tackling the languages ‘crisis’: Supporting multilingualism in the new curriculum for Wales

What can be done to inspire an uplift for modern foreign languages across Wales in the future?

Learning progression in the humanities: Identifying tensions in articulating progression in the humanities in Wales

The current curriculum reforms in Wales (Welsh Government, 2020) represent a significant shift in thinking and organisation. As well as the introduction of the ‘four purposes’ to drive...

Practical science and pandemics

Covid-19, education and educational research

As the whole planet finds itself engulfed in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly clear that the public needs to be well equipped with the skills to deal with scientific...

Why do school exclusion rates continue to rise in England?

Children and young people excluded from school for poor behaviour have lower than average educational outcomes. They are more likely to experience ‘deep exclusion’ (Levitas et al., 2007), with...

BERA Blog highlights from 2019

BERA Blog end of year highlights

A seasonal ‘yo-ho-ho’ to all our BERA Blog readers here in the UK and around the world in this, our fourth end-of-year-highlights special edition. The BB continues to grow, with more special...

General Election 2019

Ahead of the forthcoming General Election to be held on 12th December 2019, the manifestos, or equivalent, of the parties can be found below. Conservative Party Labour Party Liberal...

The experiences of teachers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+)

The recent protests in England outside primary schools about teaching children about the full spectrum of relationships are a significant concern (Kotecha, 2019). Schools have a duty to promote...