The new Ofsted framework

Curriculum may be back in vogue, but it augments rather than replaces the standards agenda

School accountability by Progress 8: A critique of Conservative and Labour proposals

The Conservatives and Labour hold different views on the future of England’s system of school accountability by Progress 8. However, both parties’ thinking is at odds with the research...

‘Me, my selfie and I’: An exploration of children’s perceptions of social media – a PhD pilot study

Numbers of users of social media has increased dramatically in recent years with children and young people recognised as heavy adopters of this virtual social network (Richards, Caldwell, & Go,...

Selective schooling: A suitable vehicle for social mobility?

Policies related to selective schooling have again been included in the general election manifestos of the main political parties, as the Conservative party commits to parental choice over...

Educational leadership: Post-conference reflections on an ever-changing field

As it is for many of my colleagues BERA’s Annual Conference is one of the highlights of my academic year. It’s the one conference that I try not to miss – not only to see my annual...

How technology makes us human: Cultural historical roots for design and technology education

This blog post accompanies an article by McLain, Irving-Bell, Wooff and Morrison-Love (2019), in a political climate where an ideological interpretation of knowledge (Biesta, 2014; Muller & Young,...

Children’s awareness and understanding of conflict-related groups in divided education systems

Over 420 million children live in conflict-affected areas (Save the Children, 2019). Conflict greatly disrupts education, with long-lasting negative effects even after peace agreements are signed...

School readiness, early years education and neoliberal subjectivities

This symposium built upon BERA’s research commission, Competing Discourses of Early Childhood Education and Care, and critically explored why and how early childhood education and care (ECEC)...

Pastoral care: a whole-school approach to creating the ethos of wellbeing that culminates in better engagement and improved academic achievement of learners

Highlights from the first 1,000 BERA Blog posts

‘Pastoral care’ was a term once used exclusively to describe the role of shepherds caring for their sheep in the pasture in Christian religious communities, and this provides a glimpse into...