½¿É«µ¼º½

Dear ½¿É«µ¼º½ Members,

As we come to the end of anotherÌýbusy and productiveÌýyear, we want to extend our sincere thanks for your continued membership and support.ÌýOver the past 12 months, your engagement has enabled us to strengthen our contribution to educational research, expand our funding, networking and the opportunities we can offer, and champion excellence across the field. We’re delighted to share some of the key highlights and achievements that our membersÌýhelped make possible.

Advancing Research

°Õ³ó±ðÌýmarked its 10th anniversary in 2025, celebrating a decade of accessible, research-informed commentary for academics, teachers, parents, and policymakers. February saw the publication ofÌý, a two-volume exploration of how research drives improvements in policy and practice. We also expanded theÌýÌýbookÌýseries with new volumes onÌýÌýand practitioner research, produced in partnership with Emerald Publishing.

In September, we publishedÌýfrom four projects funded through the 2024/25 Small Grants Fund, covering multilingual and multicultural teacher education, digital learning, wellbeing, and equality, diversity and inclusion. Reports included Valuing dis/agreement, Teaching to transform the curriculum, The wellbeing of student teachers, and Promoting socially just mathematics teaching practices.

The expert panel commissioned by ½¿É«µ¼º½ to examine funding for educational research continued its work throughout the year, publishing a working paper and progressing its final report and recommendations, which will be released in early 2026.

Engaging our community

In summer 2025, the Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) formally joined ½¿É«µ¼º½, becoming theÌý. This secured TEAN’s future and will enable itsÌýwork on teacher education, research-informed practice, and professional development to grow within ½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s wider community.Ìý

½¿É«µ¼º½ ran more thanÌýÌýin 2025, expanding opportunities for researchers at all career stages to connect, develop, and share their work. °Õ³ó±ðÌýseries offered practical sessions on reviewing, chairing, and poster presentation, supporting early career researchers to participate confidently in the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Conference; its success means the programme will grow further next year.

We hosted the 3rd Annual ECR Conference,Ìý, which has become a valued space for early career researchers to share work, build networks, and explore excellence in scholarly publishing.

°Õ³ó±ðÌý two-day conferenceÌýreturned, offering a successful two-day programme with Leeds Beckett University. It will run again in 2026.ÌýThis year also saw the finalÌý, marking a decade of celebration of Professor Craft’s legacy and its influence on creativity in education.ÌýThe Presidential Seminar SeriesÌýprovided thought-provoking sessions on anti-racist education and curriculum, contributing to national debates on equity and inclusion.

The 2025 ½¿É«µ¼º½ Conference in Sussex welcomed around 1,000 attendees, showcasing cutting-edge research and fostering vibrant discussion across the educational research community.

We also published four issues ofÌýÌýin 2025, exploring themes including inclusive and accessible education, learning in prisons, the future of research in further education, international comparative education, and a special issue marking ½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s 50th anniversary.

Grants and research funding

½¿É«µ¼º½ surpassedÌý, supporting 69 projects and fellowships that strengthened educational research and practice across the UK and internationally. This year we awarded £30,000 through the 2025/26 Small Grants Fund to six projects focused onÌý, spanning areas such as assistive technology, support for migrant pupils, early childhood access, community co-design, inclusive schooling for children with IBD, and innovative uses of generative AI in the secondary maths classroom.

Projects supported by over £160,000 of Kusuma Trust funding also continued to build the evidence base onÌýÌýwith all four studies due to report in early 2026.

Celebrating Excellence

We honoured outstanding contributions across the field. Professor Heidi Safia Mirza became the latest recipient of theÌýÌýfor her career-long impact on research into race, gender, and identity. We recognised exceptional academic citizenship by awarding Dr Karen Guldberg theÌýÌýfor her leadership in autism studies and inclusive education. OurÌýÌýwent to Professor Mel Ainscow for his decades of influential work advancing equity and inclusive practice. We celebrated excellence among emerging researchers, with Brooke Armstrong receiving theÌý, Samuel Akroyd receiving theÌý, and Dr Lucy Robinson winning theÌýÌýTÌýwent toÌýRace and Assessment in Higher Education: From Conceptualising Barriers to Making Measurable ChangeÌýby Paul Ian Campbell

This year we also renewed our publishing partnership with Wiley in a new five-year agreement running through 2030, reflecting the significant growth and scholarly impact of our journal portfolio, with BERJ, BJET and RoE now ranked in the top quartile by Impact Factor and The Curriculum Journal achieving its first Impact Factor of 1.7.

Professor Mhairi C. Beaton (Leeds Beckett University) was elected unopposed as ½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s next President. She will serve as Vice-President from 1 January 2026 and become President on 1 January 2027 for a two-year term, and we are excited to be working with her.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement throughout the year. Together we have strengthened the educational research community, expanded opportunities for researchers, and advanced work that makes a real difference to policy and practice. We look forward to building on this momentum in 2026Ìýas we continue championing high-quality research and supporting all those who contribute to it.

Best wishes,Ìý

Nick JohnsonÌý
½¿É«µ¼º½ÌýChief Executive

The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Office will be closed Friday 19th December to Tuesday 6th January.