Researching with young and developmentally young children: Ethical considerations, dilemmas and compromises

Highlights from the first 1,000 BERA Blog posts

One of the most challenging considerations when researching with children is the question of gaining their consent to participate in research and their perspectives on the topic under study....

Against research methods courses in HE

It came as no surprise when I encountered a synthesis of 89 papers on research methods education in the social sciences including education (Earley, 2014) which found that students taking research...

Medical education. Where are we now and where are we going?

Medicine is the health profession, which completed its professionalization project first. That gave doctors exclusive rights to remunerative activities like prescribing and operating. Health...

Calling all independent researchers

A new forum for BERA When we talk of research, we are probably assuming that Universities are the institutions that carry it out. But many who have been involved with universities are still...

Post 2015 general election thoughts…

In the post 2015 general election period there are a range of issues that we as researchers need to think about when we are writing about education policy. Let me illuminate these with one...

Labelling children ‘dyslexic’ could hinder teachers

To what extent do teachers’ beliefs affect their ability to develop successful classroom practice over time? This question is relevant to many aspects of teachers’ roles. Our interest was in...

Positive Behavioural Supports – a critical analysis

In the US we have a systematic and prescriptive practice to deal with children manifesting chronic behavioural issues in the classroom. The method is called Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS). PBS...

School of hard knocks? The Brutalist Playground [RIBA London 10/06-16/08/2015]

It’s 2006 and I’m in Paris with a collective of Three Dimensional Design students, drawn from all three year-groups of the Reading-based undergraduate programme, and two other dedicated staff...

A Learning Odyssey – The Rise of the Educational Institute of Scotland’s Learning Representatives

For the past decade, I have been observing, researching and reporting on a group of Scottish teachers and lecturers, who through their trade union activities, have had a significant impact on...