News and Blog

Teachers in England who are expecting an Ofsted inspection in the coming 12 months have worse job quality and a higher work intensity, according to a report. The study from academics at Cardiff University and University College London (UCL) also showed that the conditions for teaching professionals have barely changed since the pandemic and have,…

Professor Michael Woods, Professor Alan Renwick and Dr Anwen Elias. The Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University hosted its Annual Lecture on the prospects for democratic reform in the United Kingdom. Leading academic Professor Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, delivered the lecture entitled “Do the…

At the end of the 2021-22 school year, we surveyed young people in Years 8, 10 and 12 about their experiences of returning to school. The pandemic has contributed to a high number of school absences and challenging behaviour in the classroom and we asked the pupils about issues relating to absences and how they…

In a new ADR Wales Data Insight, researchers Dr Katy Huxley and Rhys Davies looked at the transitions to post-compulsory education in Wales. The team linked Welsh education data sources, allowing them to identify characteristics associated with those who do, and do not, transition to further learning. The linked datasets included the Welsh National Data Collection…

Recent analysis from ADR Wales’ researchers used administrative data to estimate career progression and pay differences among female and male teachers and school leaders in Wales. Using anonymised administrative data from the 2019 and 2020 School Workforce Annual Census (SWAC), ADR Wales education researchers found that 77% of the qualified teacher workforce was female, however: 15% of male…

The prospects for political reform in Britain will be discussed at Aberystwyth University this month, when Professor Alan Renwick delivers the annual Welsh Politics and Society Lecture. The lecture, ‘Do the UK Public want Democratic Reform?’, will be held on Thursday 25th May at 6pm in the International Politics Main Hall, Penglais Campus. Entry is…

In a new, open access paper, Rhys Davies and Professor Alan Felstead share insights from quiz data collected before and after Covid-19 to examine what short-term effects the pandemic has had on job quality in the UK. The results show that non-pay-related job quality has improved, differences between occupations have shrunk and the growth of…

Principal Research Fellow, Dr Igor Calzada has been awarded a Learned Society of Wales grant to take forward his transdisciplinary social sciences research on Wales and Basque Country cooperation with an online workshop on 5 May. Wales and the Basque Country share some interesting commonalities in their development, allowing for opportunities to discuss devolution and…

The role of voluntary organisations in tackling polarisation in local communities will be discussed by the Future Generations Commissioner in Aberystwyth next month. Aberystwyth University academics from the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) will jointly host a symposium with partners from the Voluntary Sector Studies Network on Wednesday 24 May…

Exhibition held at the Bandstand, Aberystwyth 13 –15 April 2023 This exhibition was the first related to our ongoing project that uses photography to understand how people think about independence in Wales, Scotland and Catalonia. For these nations, becoming independent would mean leaving the state which they are currently a part of (the UK and…