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What is ‘variation’ in early years mathematics?

As we near the end of our year-long project into what effects five- and six-year-olds’ ability to count-on when adding, here we reflect upon our journey. What led us to this topic was the recent...

Experience, represent, apply (ERA): A heuristic for digital engagement in the early years

Presenting a powerful new mechanism for encouraging play-based learning that reflects a more up-to-date and holistic view of technology use in the early years.

Alison Clark-Wilson

Principal Research Associate

I am a former secondary school mathematics teacher who now works as a Principal Research Lead for the ERDF-funded EDUCATE Project at the UCL Knowledge Lab, UCL Institute of Education. I lead the...

Colin Foster

Reader in Mathematics Education

Dr Colin Foster is a reader in Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics Education at Loughborough University and the Immediate Past President of the Mathematical Association....

Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai

Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education and Director of Research Communications

Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai is a Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education and Director of Research Communications at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education. His research...

Phonological processing and mathematical achievements: A new look at the gender gap in mathematics

Phonological processing refers to an individual’s sensitivity to the sounds of a language, and the capacity to use these sounds to decode linguistic information. It is noted that phonological...

Curriculum is – or should be – at the heart of educational practice

New forms of national curriculum emerging worldwide have shifted the focus from input regulation – detailed specification of content to be taught – to output regulation – evaluation of the...

The competing discourses of school readiness

BERA’s 2019–2020 research commission on the early years – entitled Competing Discourses of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC): Tensions, Impacts and Democratic Alternatives across the...

It’s time to place our students first, by putting feedback first

You’re at work late on a Friday night. The clock reads 9:58pm, and you’ve just finished providing feedback for the very last of your students’ essays. In the corner of your office, you spot...

Promoting spatial ability skills through educational robotics: Are they equally effective for girls and boys?

Promoting spatial ability skills through educational robotics: Are they equally effective for girls and boys? Over the past few decades there has been a lively debate about the quality of...

Knowledge entitlement or misguided policy? The new multiplication tables check for primary children

In 2020, the UK government will introduce a multiplication tables check for primary school children aged 8–9 in England. ‘Times tables’ are a contentious issue because they represent a lot...

Encouraging inclusion of at-risk students through co-op video games

Every day, teachers face challenges with including students who are inactive participants in the classroom. Such challenges may involve social difficulties – such as shyness, disruptive...