News and Blog

As Professor Sir Ian Diamond says in his introduction to The Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales “in times of austerity it is easy for society to focus solely on current challenges and forget that it is essential to continue to invest in educating the future generations who will drive the economy…

The Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales led by Professor Sir Ian Diamond has been published today.  The review, commissioned in 2014, focuses on widening access; supporting the skill needs of Wales; strengthening part-time and postgraduate provision in Wales; and long-term financial sustainability. As part of the review, quality research…

Online coverage in Wales Online on WISERD Education findings regarding pupil and teacher perceptions (and new funding). The coverage can be accessed by the link below. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/listen-us-less-half-welsh-11892203#ICID=sharebar_twitter

“I welcome this announcement. Capturing the views of children and young people is important to help us develop policies and services in Wales that meet their needs,” says Ms Williams on the announcement of a £215,000 grant from Cardiff University. The funding from Cardiff University follows a £1m grant in 2012 from the Higher Education…

Dr Kevin Smith will present the latest findings at the BERA (British Education Research Association) Annual Conference this week at the University of Leeds. The new findings reveal that fewer than half of young secondary school pupils think their views are taken seriously by those educating them while the majority of their teachers disagree. These are…

Dr Kevin Smith discusses how the WISERDEducation project has benefited from Cardiff University’s School Partnership Project. The project is a Research Councils UK initiative that support researchers’ direct engagement with students and brings contemporary and inspirational research contexts into formal and informal learning to enhance and enrich the curriculum. Dr Smith has run a series…

Using recent findings from the WISERD Education project, Dr Kevin Smith not only compares how boys and girls perform at school but how they feel when at school. ‘For the past three years, our research group has been analysing the difference in boys’ and girls’ perceptions of their school experiences. Our study, involving approximately 1,500 pupils…

The usual discussions about children’s schooling experiences often focus on academic achievement, personal development and school evaluation. Ask a teacher, parent or policy maker what is the most important thing a school should offer and many will say it is education: they want children to develop the knowledge and skills that will help them build…

Dr Kevin Smith features in The Conversation on how boys and girls perform at school and how they feel when at school: ‘Girls may perform better at school than boys – but their experience is much less happy’. The article is accessed through the link below. https://theconversation.com/girls-may-perform-better-at-school-than-boys-but-their-experience-is-much-less-happy-63161

  In 2014, I presented a paper at the British Education Research Association’s (BERA) annual conference. Shortly after the presentation, I was approached by an editor with Palgrave MacMillan and asked if I was interested in publishing a book as part of the Pivot series on citizenship education in Wales. I was delighted by the…