News and Blog

Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, many 16-year-olds are awaiting the release of their GCSE results tomorrow. This year, for the first time, students in England will receive results for some subjects using the new (9-1) grading system, while students in Northern Ireland and Wales will continue to have their papers graded using the existing…

In the first of a series of blogs about students’ perspectives on the fairness of GCSEs, Dr Rhian Barrance outlines the recent reforms to GCSEs across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and considers students’ views on linear and modular courses. Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, many 16-year-olds are awaiting the release of their GCSE…

The presentation was of research into whether Welsh medium schools are middle class, and was covered by BBC Radio Wales and Golwg Magazine on 10/08/2017.

Are pupils who attend Welsh-medium schools in south-east Wales mostly from middle-class backgrounds and does it matter? Siôn Llewelyn Jones, from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences, will examine these questions in a presentation at Cardiff University’s tent at the National Eisteddfod on Anglesey on Thursday 10th August at 4pm. Mr Jones recently presented his…

A new study by researchers from the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) and Queen’s University Belfast has found that students in Wales and Northern Ireland want more choice and fairness when it comes to their GCSE experience, including the subject selection process and the pressure to take on particular…

On Wednesday 7th June, WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney gave a keynote address on Women, Civil Society, Politics and Policy-making at the College of Human and Health Sciences (CHHS), Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and University of Wales Press Research conference, ‘Gender in Wales Then and Now’ at Swansea University. In the presentation, Professor Chaney…

WISERD researchers presented our work on young people, education and politics, as part of this year’s exciting line-up at the 30th anniversary Hay Festival. ‘Mind the gap’ formed part of the Cardiff Series, presented by Dr Dan Evans, Dr Esther Muddiman, Dr Stuart Fox and Dr Sioned Pearce, which considered the striking divisions revealed between…

WISERD colleagues were delighted to welcome Professor Grigori Kliucharev from the Institute of Sociology at the Russian Academy of Science last month, as part of the WISERD Civil Society seminar series. Professor Kliucharev’s presentation, ‘Social and political participation in building democracy in Russia: The role of literacy programmes and educational reforms’, is based on research data…

This week, the Learned Society of Wales awarded the inaugural Hugh Owen Medal, funded by the Welsh government, to WISERD’s Co-Director, Professor Chris Taylor in recognition of his outstanding contribution to educational research. The ceremony took place at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. This year, for the first time, the…