Aims of BESA
BESA seeks to assist teachers and researchers in carrying out their duties of teaching and research in Education Studies. It also seeks to assist departments (or their equivalents) in attracting students, providing teaching or pursuing research in Education Studies and raising the profile of the subject within institutions. BESA organises regular conferences for its members.
BESA will seek to inform the academic and professional worlds about matters affecting the development of the subject, expressing views or making representations to appropriate bodies (e.g. funding councils, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, ESCalate, the Training and Development Agency for Schools) and also, when necessary, lobbying government or other relevant local and national bodies. It expects to be consulted as an association for Education Studies about matters affecting the subject.
The Executive Committee seeks to ensure that whatever it says on
behalf of the Association does genuinely express the mind of the
profession, by building channels of communication with the
profession (including discussion of issues and policies at general
meetings, a newsletter and website, and links between members of
the Committee and departments). The first Executive Committee was
elected at the Association's Inaugural AGM in July 2005.
BESA works to promote an understanding in the wider community of
what Education Studies is and what it can offer to students in
universities and other tertiary institutions
Aims
1. Assisting those with responsibility for the well-being of
Education Studies
• providing support for individual Education Studies staff,
whether members of the Association or not, in performing their
professional duties;
• assisting Education Studies departments in their role of
ensuring the well-being of the subject;
• making services available to learned societies which may
assist them in carrying out their purposes; and
• organising conferences on themes of interest and concern in
Education Studies.
2. Speaking for the discipline within UK Higher Education
• responding to consultative documents, requests for
information or for nominations for membership of committees, from
funding councils, the QAA, ESCalate - and submitting observations
to such bodies, whether solicited or not, when appropriate;
• making representations, when deemed necessary, to government
departments, appropriate official bodies, or political
parties;
• pursuing particular matters of concern to the subject;
• keeping a watching brief on general trends and specific
developments in higher education and elsewhere (e.g. in schools) so
far as these may affect the work of members or the well-being of
the subject, either immediately or in the long term;
• co-operating with official bodies, where it is judged
appropriate and under carefully considered terms, to assist the
latter in carrying out tasks they have been charged to perform; and
maintaining contact with other bodies with relevantly similar
concerns.
3. Speaking for Education Studies within the wider community
Seeking to increase awareness of the value of Education Studies within the wider education community.
4. Organisational
Keeping the membership informed of its activities, and of other matters bearing on their work and their interest in Education Studies generally, and maintaining good lines of communication - in both directions - with the profession generally (including the learned societies).
