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The original call for research papers went out in the summer of 2011 and, by September, there were over thirty abstracts returned for review, from many countries including Hong Kong, Nigeria, Poland, Jamaica, Malta, the United States, Japan, Ireland and, of course, Britain. Of the proposals reviewed and accepted, 21 were finally presented at Liverpool over three days in January. Many of these 30-minute presentations proffered interesting findings, thoughtful interpretations and virtually all suggested ways to develop and improve science education. A key aim of the research series was to share useful and informative studies with practitioners and educators so they could engage more meaningfully in reflective discussion about what researchers do in science education, and why. The different approaches taken to research various aspects of science education ranged from small-scale pilot studies to extensive national investigations, illustrative and exploratory case studies, action research projects demonstrating effects of teaching, learning and assessment interventions and critical reviews of current policy and/or practice. The focus of the papers included: (1) the nature of training in primary and secondary science teaching; (2) the ways in which primary children can be supported to carry out research themselves; (3) current concerns regarding assessment policy and practices, types of practical work, alternate conceptions and ways of teaching to address them; (4) issues in teacher preparation; and (5) specific teaching topics such as magnetism and enquiry skills. This article highlights some of the events in the Science Education Research series of presentations at the 2012 ASE Annual Conference.

The theme of this issue of "Education in Science" focuses on what delegates could "take away" from the Reading 2011 ASE Annual Conference and includes ideas and information about science education research. There were a variety of presentations, ranging from reporting about action research projects where the success of interventions was described to other, bigger and less practice-oriented projects, such as the Wellcome Project reviewing young people's views of science. These presentations provided glimpses into the ways that research is carried out, but usually focused quite pointedly on the findings rather than the methods applied. This article presents a review of different kinds of presentations on research at the Annual Conference and highlights the range of views about and of practitioner research in science education.