News and Blog

This week, Dr Nigel Newton presented findings from our ‘Successful Futures for All’ project to members of the Children, Young People and Education Committee of the National Assembly for Wales. The project explores the way the new curriculum is being developed in Pioneer Schools and the potential impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Curriculum for…

Efforts to promote minority languages among children and young people would benefit from improving the way projects are evaluated, and from adequate funding. These are among the key findings of research into minority language promotion activities in the Celtic nations. Academics at Aberystwyth and Edinburgh Universities conducted research into the activities of organisations in Scotland,…

New ESRC grant will see first-time multi-disciplinary research conducted on consequences of school exclusions across the UK, led by the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Professors Sally Power and Chris Taylor are part of a team of researchers operating across Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Reading and the London School of Economics (LSE)…

On the 3rd and 4th July, WISERD held its 10th Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme was Civil Society and Participation, and as Wales’ largest social science conference, the event attracted over 100 delegates from across academic, policy, public, private, and third sectors. The conference began with two…

Following on from the previous Eye On Wales programme last month, when Dr Nigel Newton was involved in a discussion which introduced the new education system, Dr Newton now discusses whether or not the new curriculum will help to close the attainment gap. Almost two-thirds of teachers at schools that have trialled Wales’ new curriculum feel it will…

Dr Nigel Newton comments on Wales’ new curriculum in a BBC news article.

Wales’ education system is about to change. Eye On Wales finds out what’s involved and Dr Nigel Newton takes part in the discussion which introduces the new system (6:27).

In two weeks’ time, WISERD will be holding its Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme is Civil Society and Participation. Delegates will have the opportunity to discuss cutting-edge, inter-disciplinary research from Wales and beyond, focusing on approaches to civil society and participation that have been adopted in a…

Sally Holland, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and Dr Rhian Barrance, WISERD Research Associate, discuss how Wales has gone further than any other UK country in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) by introducing the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure in 2011. This requires that ministers…

WISERD recently conducted a survey of almost 10,000 children aged between 7 and 18 years-old in Wales for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. The aim of the survey was to identify the most significant issues facing children in Wales in order to guide the Commissioner’s 3 year workplan for children and young people. The 11-18…