As a group of experienced and qualified teachers who are also academics that are involved in Higher Education Institution (HEI) based teacher education, we exist on the boundaries of both groups. We both recognise the challenges of being a busy teacher and the challenges of exposing ideas to criticality. We are, in Wengerian terms: brokers. When we talk to teachers, we talk to them as fellow teachers. When we talk to non-teacher academics, we talk to them as fellow academics. We are uniquely placed to broker ideas from one community to the other as we sit on the boundaries.

Academics have to forge a career within academic publishing whilst being exposed to accountability systems from the world of HEI such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF) or the National Student Survey (NSS) survey. They work within definable parameters and have considerable scope. Teachers have their own accountability systems such as pupil outcomes in national tests and non-peer-led inspections systems. Much work has been done to bridge the two professions and the Education Endowment Foundation and the Chartered College are just two examples of this. However, these two institutions arose from the desire to bridge the gap between research undertaken in universities and schools who are responsible for delivering education at “the chalkface”.

Teachers still shy away from methodologies. More time poor than ever, teachers’ current focus is often towards meeting accountability measures. These measures are not always relatable to the aims of research. The academic treads ever so carefully with a desire not to do research to children, but with them (BERA Guidelines) and ever mindful of children’s rights as set out by United Nations. Teachers and schools impose experiments with a seeming impudence to these guidelines – insisting on hair and dress for declared gender, imposing negative sanctions on children, off-rolling or obstructing the needs of SEND children and other actions that would never be allowed as part of an educational research project. There is a need here for teachers and teacher educators to be able to write blogs about these topics which do not feature as part of research due to such ethical considerations in addition to blogs about educational research.

Standing at the boundary of both systems and having experienced both, teacher educators within a HEI setting have to look to stitch these two jagged edges together. Teachers need to understand the ethical issues that drive the way educational researchers work and educational researchers need to understand the very real and pragmatic issues that drive the way teachers work. Hosting blogs from both sides of these boundaries with editorial peer review will help us contribute our part to bridging the gap. We aim to host guest blogs as well as produce blogs so if you are interested in writing a one off blog and feel that peer reviewing would be of a help to you then please do contact us direct.

A welcome from the editors:

In an age when much comment about education appears to be both instant, and instantly polarising, do you ever feel the need to take a little longer to consider the issues at hand, and the views that you and your colleagues might have of them? As academics and teachers, we felt the same way; and so, the Peer Reviewed Education Blog was borne into existence.

We wanted a blog site which  enabled  us as people in education to write  one-off education blogs, upon which we and others could receive peer feedback and then publish their ideas, research and opinion.

We are an experienced group of educationalists and the purpose of these blogs is to disseminate research as well as ask pertinent questions of teaching pedagogy, teachers and teacher education with a view to stimulating debate. Whilst we will be writing most of the blogs ourselves, in addition we will host guest blogs from our colleagues across the  educational field.

Not all guest bloggers will wish to reveal their identity – in the modern age, public publishing is challenging to some and it is important that there is space for this in any debate. We hope you appreciate the chance to consider some of the educational issues and debates that concern us all in what will hopefully be a more in-depth, and plural way.

Editors: Dr James Shea, Dr Gareth Bates and Dr Steve Connolly

“I am interested in language because it wounds or seduces me.”  ― Roland Barthes, The Pleasure of the Text