Helping teachers improve their use of computer games for student learning

Games have been used in schools since the 1970s. Currently, the games most commonly used in classrooms are ‘edutainment’ games such as Math Blaster (Boyle et al., 2016). These games are...

Understanding social transformation and school environments through social network analysis

Some decades ago, several studies advanced an unexpected answer to an age-old question: schools do not help students improve their social positions (see for example Coleman et al., 1966). This...

Our ‘science capital’ research story

The ASPIRES/2 and Enterprising Science teams are delighted to be awarded the 2018 BERA Public Engagement and Impact Award, which reflects our sociological commitment to praxis and, specifically,...

The gender wars, academic freedom and education

Highlights from the first 1,000 BERA Blog posts

Academics who do not adhere to a particular line on gender and transgender issues have suffered intimidation by trans activists. The people under attack are not mavericks or extremists. They are...

Having a handle on time, sacrifice and resilience: Further anecdotal tales in pursuit of the elusive doctorate

In this blog, we consider the more practical aspects of completing a PhD – namely time, sacrifice and resilience. Having a ‘handle on time’ is a very important aspect of the PhD journey. We...

Deconstructing the SATs process: Resistance is futile?

In April 2016, a mother voiced her concerns on the English Local Schools Network website (Secret Parent, 2016) about withdrawing her 10-year-old from the new key stage 2 SATs. Her main concern was...

Heutagogy: Panacea or predicament in higher education?

In recent years, teaching within higher education has undergone a shift toward increasingly student-led pedagogies, as institutions seek to improve student autonomy, motivation, and achievement...

The value of recognising the school meal as a site for developing learning opportunities: Reflecting on experiences as a post-doc ECR

Food is an important factor in a number of social spheres, and one of the sites in which food is used to feed future citizens and leaders is the school dining hall. New meanings have been given to...

Let’s make education fairer

A group of colleagues from the Durham University Evidence Centre for Education (DECE) were highly commended in the 2018 BERA Public Engagement and Impact Award, for their work on making education...