Past event
This event will mark the culmination of BERA’s 50th anniversary celebrations alongside our more formal AGM. We will finish with a drinks reception, canapés and the ceremonial cutting of a birthday cake.
Beginning the day will be a presentation of emerging findings from our ongoing expert panel on educational research funding.
During the afternoon, we will hear from the BERA Committee Chairs who will update on the year of BERA activities and finances. The AGM agenda, full committee reports, and papers can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. Any queries are to be sent to secretariat@bera.ac.uk
The minutes from the event can also be found below.
This event will feature our awards ceremony highlighting some of those winners and their work, as well as the achievements and successes of the academic research community. BERA offers over £80,000 of awards and opportunities annually and this occasion presents an opportunity to celebrate the recipients.
This will be followed by our ‘In Conversation with…’ lecture. This year we are delighted that Professor Lani Florian, Bell Chair of Education Emerita at the University of Edinburgh, will be joining us.
Finally, we will host a panel of those who have contributed to BERA’s success over the years to reflect on their memories of and reflections on BERA over its first 50 years.
This event is free for BERA Members to attend.
Draft programme
| 13:00 | Registration, tea and coffee |
| 13:30 | Welcome and Introductions Nick Johnson |
| 13:35 |
Expert Panel on Educational Research Funding Members of the expert panel established by BERA to investigate the situation regarding funding for educational research in the UK will present the emerging findings from their work |
| 14:20 | AGM and year in review Marlon Moncrieffe, Diana Burton, Nick Johnson, Ros McLellan, Mhairi Beaton |
| 15:00 | Tea and coffee |
| 15:30 |
Awards ceremony BERA Conference 2024 Awards |
| 16:30 | John Nisbet Award and In Conversation with… Professor Lani Florian Mhairi Beaton |
| 17:15 | BERA at 50 – memories across the decades Marlon Moncrieffe, Sara Delamont, Ian Menter, Pat Sikes, Dominic Wyse |
| 18:00 | Drinks and canapes reception (and birthday cake!) |
| 19:00 | Close of event |
Bell Chair of Education Emerita at University of Edinburgh
Professor Lani Florian is Bell Chair of Education Emerita at the University of Edinburgh. She is best known for her research on inclusive pedagogy and teacher education for inclusive education. Over the years, she has worked with UNICEF, the...
Professor of Sociology of Education at Cardiff University
David James is Professor of Sociology of Education in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University. He is editor of the British Journal of Sociology of Education and chair the UK REF 2021 (Research Excellence Framework) subpanel for...
Professor of Literacy at University College London
Gemma Moss is Professor of Literacy at UCL Institute of Education. As Director of the ESRC Education Research Programme (2021-26) she is exploring new ways of working in partnership across the boundaries between education research, policy, and...
Anthony Tomei was CEO of the Nuffield Foundation from 1995 to 2012. With a background in physics teaching he led the Foundation’s work in science and mathematics education, which included large-scale curriculum projects as well as many...
Professor of Educational Assessment at Oxford University
Jo-Anne Baird is Director of the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment. She has been Head of the Department of Education at Oxford, Standing Adviser to the House of Commons Education Select Committee, a member of Ofqual’s Standing...
Emeritus Professor at University of Oxford
Ian is former President of BERA, 2013-2015. At OUDE he was Director of Professional Programmes and led the development of the Oxford Education Deanery. Before moving to Oxford, Ian was Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Glasgow....
Reader at Cardiff University
Sara Delamont was born near Southampton in 1947. She read Social Anthropology at Girton Colleges Cambridge, and did a PhD in Education at Edinburgh. The thesis was an ethnography of ‘St Luke’s’, an elite girls’ school. She lectured in...
Professor of Qualitative Inquiry in the School of Education at University of Sheffield
Pat Sikes is Professor of Qualitative Inquiry in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield. Pat began her research career in 1978 at the University of East Anglia as a research assistant on Lawrence Stenhouse’s Nuffield/Gulbenkian...
Professor of Early Childhood & Primary Education at University College London
Dominic has made a leading contribution to research on curriculum and pedagogy, including national curricula, for more than 25 years. He has led multiple research projects and has published many books and research papers. Dominic’s main...
BERA President at British Educational Research Association
Marlon has made a leading contribution to research and knowledge dissemination on ‘decolonising curriculum knowledge’. He has led multiple international research projects, has presented individually and led symposia at educational conferences...
Associate Professor at University of Cambridge
Ros McLellan taught psychology and mathematics in the secondary schooling sector for a number of years before joining the Faculty. Her background is in psychology and she is a graduate member of the British Psychology Society. She has always been...
Professor of Education at University of Wolverhampton
Diana Burton is an established academic with extensive University leadership experience. She held senior leadership posts in 3 institutions, including HOD at MMU, Dean of Education at LJMU and later Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research & External...
Professor at Leeds Beckett University
Mhairi Beaton is Professor at the Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University. After completing a Bachelor of Education at University of Edinburgh, Mhairi worked as a primary school teacher in Highland Region in the north of Scotland....
Chief Executive at British Educational Research Association
Nick has been the Chief Executive Officer at BERA since April 2012. He has a considerable background of management and advising on strategic direction in organisations concerned with public policy. Between 2004-7, he was the Director of Policy...
Professor Emerita at University of Exeter
Vivienne Baumfield is Professor of Professional Learning in the Graduate School of Education and co-leader of the Centre for Research in Professional Learning. She is interested in the interaction of research, policy and practice when...
Since 2014 BERA has awarded the John Nisbet Fellowship to one or more people who are deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to educational research over their career. Named in honour of...
Every year BERA recognises excellence by awarding our annual fellowships and awards to BERA members who exemplify the very best in educational research. In addition we offer bursaries and grants...
The role of the BERA Leadership Committee (formally General Purposes Committee (GPC)) is to: Ensure that in all of its activities BERA works towards its three strategic objectives: to advance...
Welcome to the BERA Annual Conference 2025 It is a great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to a BERA Annual Conference 2025. The BERA Annual Conference, as a key event in the BERA events...