News and Blog

Social Action as a Route to the Ballot Box: Can Volunteering Help Reverse Declining Youth Turnout?

In the 1970 General Election (the first following the reduction of the voting age to 18), 65% of eligible 18-24 year olds voted – roughly 7% lower than the turnout for the whole electorate.  By the 2017 election (despite claims of a so-called ‘youthquake’), this difference had trebled: fewer than half of eligible 18-24 year…

Huge variance found in aspirations of school-leavers, depending on where they study

Schools can be hugely influential in students’ choices about higher education, irrespective of the grades they achieve, research has found. The Study led by WISERD’s Professor Chris Taylor followed the educational pathways of all Year 11 pupils across Wales between 2005 and 2007. When the only variable factor was the school they went to, the…

Remembering Professor Geoff Whitty

    WISERD Director Professor Ian Rees Jones pays tribute to Geoff Whitty, Director Emeritus of the UCL Institution of Education (IOE) and a member of the WISERD Advisory Board, who sadly passed away last week. “It is a great sadness to hear the news of the death of Professor Geoff Whitty CBE. Over a…

Trams, canals and international perspectives on third sector research

Earlier this month WISERD colleagues from Cardiff and Bangor attended the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference in Amsterdam. This bi-annual gathering of academics and practitioners from over 80 countries across the world, aims to promote the study of civil society and the non-profit sector. Hosted by Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, the conference saw…

Global trade union organisation recognises WISERD’s research impact

The importance of a new report Trade Union Responses to the Changing World of Work, written by Dr Helen Blakely and Dr Steve Davies, which looks at the trade union responses to the changing world of work around the world, has been recognised by UNI Global Union. In a letter from UNI Global Union’s General Secretary,…

Gender pay gaps in the UK: statutory reporting and wage transparency at the BBC

The gender pay gap has narrowed since it was first measured in the UK in the early 1970s, however since 2010 this trend has stalled and the gap currently remains at about 25%. With the recent implementation of new legislation requiring UK companies with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gaps this…

Sheffield Needs a Payrise

The Sheffield Needs A Payrise (SNAP) research project follows the campaign of the same name and builds on the WISERD Spaces of New Localism Civil Society research project. It looks primarily into forms of grassroots, civil society and trade union working together to address issues of low pay and precariousness in work in Sheffield. SNAP…

WISERD Civil Society research on family arguments presented at childhood studies conference

Professor Sally Power, Director of WISERD Education, will today present new research on family arguments at an international childhood studies conference. This research is from the ESRC Civil Society centre research project ‘The intergenerational transmission of ‘civic virtues’: the role of the family in civil society engagement’. Professor Power’s presentation, entitled ‘Family Arguments: about what…

WISERD Civil Society Programme at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference, Amsterdam

WISERD will have a strong presence at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference (10-13 July) hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Philanthropic Studies Department. Founded in 1992, the ISTR is the major international association promoting research and education in the fields of civil society, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector. It is committed to building…