The SERA Early Years Network (EYN) engages with a mix of researchers, practitioners and policy makers at local and national level. The planned expansion of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) in Scotland, which is carving out a new sector identity as well as linking firmly to early primary education, frames the EYN's work to benefit children aged…

The Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network is a multidisciplinary network with membership open to anyone conducting educational research at an early stage of their career. This includes for example, teacher researchers based in schools, Masters and doctoral students, post-doc researchers, teaching fellows and lecturers. A wide range of research…

Aims and objectives: The importance of childhood physical activity is widely recognised. Helping children to articulate their opinions is a crucial factor in improving their health and well-being, yet the field is predominantly focused on adult-led quantitative methods and lacks deeper understanding from a child perspective. Methods: This paper…

Drawing on insights from phenomenological sociology and various strands of socio-cultural theory, this paper reports the findings of a qualitative investigation into critical incidents as formative influences in the research orientation and research cultivation of 22 academics working in research-intensive university education departments. The…

This paper examines the tensions that sometimes arise between educational researchers and policy makers. The recent history of the relationship is described and it is suggested that part of the reason for current disenchantment (on both sides) is that the two groups approach research with different expectations and priorities. Two particular…

This article draws on the experience of a research project designed to bring together practitioners and researchers in further education (FE) colleges and the higher education (HE) sector in pursuit of ways of creating more accessible learning opportunities for students in colleges. Here we explore some of the assumptions underlying the…

This book focuses on the International Examinations Inquiry (IEI), an international, well-funded scientific project that operated in the 1930s, attracting key world figures in educational research, and which undertook significant exchanges of data. Originally involving the USA, Scotland, England, France, Germany and Switzerland, the IEI grew to…

This article explores the relationships between educational research and the state. However, the aim is not to construct idealised versions of what the relationship between research and educational policy ought to be, but rather to examine the ways in which the state is able to influence the priorities of educational research through its role as…

Drawing on research supported within the Scottish "Applied Educational Research Scheme" this paper explores the use of the Virtual Research Environment (VRE) in developing "communities of enquiry" in Scottish education and research. It focuses on the role of VREs in influencing collaborative working and educational research.…

Recounts the origins and 10-year history of the Scottish Educational Research Association, founded to disseminate research findings and promote communication among researchers. Concludes that the association is modestly and steadily growing towards fulfillment of its goals and notes the benefits of its official link with the "Scottish…

Under the guidance of the Council of Europe's ad hoc Committee for Educational Research, a second survey of the educational research policy, principal educational research organizations, and major educational research projects of member countries has been completed. To facilitate comparison with the 1968 survey, a similar questionnaire was used.…

Based on the policy premise that good quality preschool education is an important contribution to children's emotional, social, and intellectual progress, this book reports the findings of the Scottish Officer Educational Research Unit's research program, which looked at various aspects of preschool education in Scotland. The areas investigated…