The right to protest: A children’s rights perspective on the school climate strikes

In August 2018, Greta Thunberg began her solitary school strike outside the Swedish Parliament, protesting against her government’s inaction on the climate crisis. Since then, she has sparked a...

Using art to represent science: A visualisation of student motivation data

Data comes in many forms, some more accessible than others. At the recent BERA conference, I tried to address this with a poster presenting quantitative data in an unexpected way. The data came...

Editorial: The challenges and solutions for qualitative researchers in gaining ethical approval and consent

BERA members, through informal conversation, recognised that there was a danger that qualitative studies may become under threat from not being approved by ethical committees in an increasingly...

How do we enact ‘informed consent’?

As researchers we have a responsibility not just to inform participants about our research and its possible consequences, but to have confidence that participants are giving informed consent. So...

Being a ‘chameleon’: The role of ethical reflexivity in becoming a more virtuous teacher-researcher

Engaging in a hot topic session at the 2019 BERA Conference, we explored the notion that ethical dilemmas in the field are dynamic and constantly evolving, heavily dependent on both context and...

When walking on marshland, occasionally expect to lose your wellies

A consistent refrain of colleagues is that research ethics committees seem to be committed to stopping research. Nothing could be further from the truth. The contemporary research ethics committee...

Playing quiz-games on their phones: A winning combination?

With increasing attention on blended and mobile learning alongside an ever-increasing attempt to measure engagement means that we are constantly looking for ways or tools to help students achieve....

Halting the rise of character education in Britain

Character education has risen up the political agenda in the UK in recent years, as it has in a number of other countries. The United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan have...

Natural language processing: A tool for microgenetic analysis

Artificial intelligence in educational research and practice

Microgenetic analysis is a Vygotskyan educational research method that supports uncovering student sense-making activity during collaborative learning. Investigating learning using microgenetic...