BERA is a membership association and learned society committed to advancing research quality, building research capacity and fostering research engagement. BERA aims to inform the development of policy and practice by promoting the best quality evidence produced by educational research.
Since our inception in 1974, BERA has expanded into an internationally renowned association with UK and non-UK based members. We strive to be inclusive of the diversity of educational research and scholarship and welcomes members from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, theoretical orientations, methodological approaches, sectoral interests and institutional affiliations. We encourage the development of productive relationships with other associations within and beyond the UK. Aspiring to be the home of all educational researchers in the UK, BERA provides opportunities for everyone active in this field to contribute through its portfolio of distinguished publications, its world-class conference and other events, and its active peer community, organised around 30 Special Interest Groups. We also recognise excellence in educational research through our range of awards. In addition to our member-focused activity, we aim to inform the development of policy and practice by promoting the best quality evidence produced by educational research. As an organisation we are committed to principles of openness, integrity and transparency and seek to uphold ethical values in all our activities and processes.
Education: An academic discipline or a field?
Education research has periodically been sharply criticised for being weak in comparison with research from other disciplines. Some of this criticism has implied, or suggested more directly, that one of the reasons for the perceived weakness in education research is that education is not a ‘proper’ academic discipline when compared to other disciplines.