News and Blog

Dr. Robert French is academic lead of ADR Wales’s education research programme. In this blog, he discusses his contribution to an inquiry begun by the UK Parliament examining persistent absence from school.  Levels of persistent absence from school amongst children have doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic. Statistics from the Department for Education show that, in England, one…

On the 3rd and 4th July, we held our WISERD Annual Conference 2024 at the University of South Wales and welcomed over 140 delegates from across the UK and beyond. Over 100 excellent posters and presentations come together under this year’s theme of ‘Aspiring to achieve a fairer society’. Professor Martin Steggall, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research)…

On the 3rd and 4th July, we held our WISERD Annual Conference 2024 at the University of South Wales. Here are just some of the photographs taken throughout the event by Michael Hall.

New study shows 60% of state school teachers always come home from work exhausted, compared to 37% of teachers at ‘top’ private schools State school teachers more likely to be working at ‘very high speed’ with less autonomy State schools have lost over 15,000 teachers to private schools since 2014 State school teachers in England…

Here, we provide a summary of key findings from our 11th survey (2022-23). Topics include trust in schools, pupil confidence, the Welsh language, school uniforms, climate concerns, pupil’s views on politics and the monarchy, recent strikes and protests, missing out on school trips, and pupils’ aspirations.                  …

On 25 January, WISERD and Welsh Higher Education Brussels (WHEB) hosted a workshop for policymakers in Brussels and made a case for civil society research being put at the heart of plans for the European Union. Later this year, members of the European Council will meet to agree the Strategic Agenda for the European Union…

A wealth of social science research expertise has helped Cardiff become the UK’s first UNICEF Child Friendly City (CFC). The prestigious status has been awarded to the city in recognition of the steps Cardiff Council and its partners, including Cardiff University, have taken over the past five years to advance the human rights of children…

Welsh language and identity 2022’s WISERD Multi-Cohort Study of secondary school children across Wales provides valuable insight into the attitudes of pupils towards the Welsh language. As we might expect, results vary according to school medium as to whether pupils consider the Welsh language to be a part of their Welsh identity. Pupils in English-medium…

One of my first experiences with activism was within a school setting, when I was involved in the presenting of a petition against the dress code in 2019. It was circulated through social media as a Google Docs link and then forwarded to the headteacher. Unknown to me, this had become an increasingly frequent occurrence…

Professor Alan Felstead spoke to Jason Mohammad about Rishi Sunak’s proposal to put a limit on ‘low value’ degree courses. (BBC Radio Wales, approx. 10 mins in, 17/07/23)