News and Blog

A new monograph by W. John Morgan, Honorary Professor at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at WISERD, will be published later this year. He is also Professor Emeritus in the School of Education, University of Nottingham, where he held the UNESCO Chair of the Political Economy of Education; and Honorary…

Comments from WISERD Co-Director, Professor Alan Felstead of Cardiff University, about his research on the Skills and Employment Survey, feature in journalist Harry Wallop’s Times column after he recently took the survey. (The Times, p35, 03/05/24; The Times, 03/05/24)   Further reading: Listening to employees’ ideas could solve UK’s productivity slowdown, The Conversation Getting the…

Wales’ former First Minister will discuss the constitutional future of Wales at a talk at Aberystwyth University later this month. Dr Anwen Elias and The Right Honourable Carwyn Jones will consider the work of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and the recommendations set out in its final report. The dialogue between…

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.                  …

Professors Paul Chaney and Sarbeswar Sahoo (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi) have secured a new Global Challenge grant from the Academy of Medical Sciences and are commencing a project examining civil society and indigenous languages and cultures in India. They will be working in association with Dr Reenu Punnoose (Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad). The…

The pressing political question of the United Kingdom’s survival will be the subject of a public lecture at Aberystwyth University. ‘Fractured Union’ will be delivered by Professor Michael Kenny, an expert on the UK constitution, national identity, and territorial politics. The lecture will be hosted by Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Welsh Politics and Society as…

On 2nd March 2024, the 40th anniversary of the coal miners’ strike was marked with a WISERD conference at Cardiff University’s Bute Building, attended by campaigners, trade unionists, researchers and filmmakers. The conference began with a showing of the film, Breaking Point, made and introduced by the acclaimed Swedish director, Kjell-Åke Andersson. The film was made…

A selection of photos from our recent anniversary event ‘The past in the present: Reflections on coal mining and the miners’ strike 1984-85’ taken by Natasha Hirst. These include banners from NUM lodges around the South Wales coalfield (loaned by the South Wales Miners’ Library).

Dr. Amy Sanders has published the paper: A Welsh Innovation in Inclusive Governance. Examining the Efficacy of the Statutory Third Sector-Government Partnership for Engaging the Third Sector in Policymaking. This journal article examines how well the Welsh government’s partnership with the third sector works. This partnership, an innovation of devolution, gives the third sector a…

First Minister Mark Drakeford’s government’s decision making during the pandemic was under scrutiny last month at the Covid-19 Inquiry in Cardiff. This newly published paper highlights the failures of state decision making in exacerbating older people’s health and social care conditions, which before the COVID-19 pandemic already put them at risk of harm and indignity….