News and Blog

Cardiff University researcher Dr Catherine Foster (WISERD) said children from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to have fallen behind while learning from home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56423630

On an Wales Online interview, Dr Catherine Foster said life had “changed dramatically” for many young people who suffered from effects such as loneliness and loss of routine. She said: “Although some children have been able to continue going to school at least part of the time, most have lost the organization and structure that…

Dr Sioned Pearce highlights the impact of COVID-19 on youth unemployment. In an interview with BBC Wales, she said the pandemic had “exacerbated issues of uncertainty” for young people with zero hour contracts, part-time work and low-paid jobs.  

Social Sciences Prof Chris Taylor, from Cardiff University, said this gap was continuing to widen. “Closing schools exposes and accentuates the deep disadvantage that many families have across Wales in the different circumstances that they’re in,” Prof Taylor said. BBC article

The Welsh Government was forced to backtrack on the grading method agreed with regulator Qualifications Wales after an outcry over students being downgraded led to a u-turn in Scotland and changes in England. An 11th hour review took place to ensure that students didn’t lose out in Wales after England and Scotland announced major concessions….

Children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children across 35 countries, a team of WISERD researchers has found. Survey of 128,000 children across 35 countries raises questions about levels of well-being experienced across different areas of children’s lives in Wales. Read the coverage for this research study: Children in Wales…

Director of WISERD Education, Sally Power, has been interviewed and quoted on ITV Wales in relation to the long term effects that COVID-19 measures in Schools might incur to pupils. “Professor Sally Power from Cardiff University has warned that the attainment gap between pupils will have widened as a result of the pandemic”. See full article: https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-09-24/experts-warn-of-long-term-damage-to-education-due-to-school-closures…

WISERD research gathers the first analysis of employee survey data focusing on homeworking for the Understanding Society Covid-19 Study. The research findings highlight the fact that homeworking will become more the rule rather than the exception, even when social distancing is no longer required. With 9 out of 10 people surveyed saying that they prefer to work remotely, a more flexible…

WalesOnline, 7th June 2020 Read the full article. Professor Chris Taylor is quoted in the article: “Much of the research on transitions says that it is the familiarisation with high school that is important – knowing where to go, who the teachers are, how work is organised, how much homework there will be, will they get…

A workshop delivered by Aberystwyth University on rural development in Brazil was featured on Brazilian regional TV news in September 2019.