Publications

The purpose of intellectual activity is, I believe, to enable us understand the human condition and ways in which it can flourish. It may of course be enjoyable and fulfilling both individually and with others; and is integral to the human instinct for society and for play. The Dutch historian Johan Huizinga pointed out, in a classic…

This article proposes a framework for studying the territorial political capacity of regions in Europe. The proposed framework identifies three main dimensions of territorial political capacity. Mainly material indicators include institutions and institutional resources. Mixed material and constructed indicators centre on causal mechanisms of party and leadership capacity. Mainly constructed indicators are drawn from territorial…

This report presents the results of an evidence review on the human rights of children in Wales and covers the period 2015 to the present day. The legal structures and processes in place to realise children’s rights in Wales are well known: for example, the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011, which…

Building on existing critiques of contemporary arrangements in higher education, this paper focuses on the claim that the human capital model undermines the civic or public role of universities, restricts student engagement with learning and damages the capacity for critical thinking and empathy. Interviews with students studying either Business or Sociology at universities in Britain…

This article explores issues of headteacher recruitment, retention and professional development in Wales, within the context of the wider educational policy reforms which, since 2011, have introduced greater external accountability into schools. The paper argues that these reforms have resulted in changes to headteachers’ professional roles and identities and that some aspects have militated against…

The concept of localism and spatial delineation of the ‘city region’ have seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial political units of governance for economic development. One articulation of this has seen the creation of Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to potentially enhance Wales’s poor economic performance and secure democratic forms of social cohesion. City…

Within the framework of the EDUPLACES Project1, the arrival in June 2018 of the eminent teacher and researcher in education Sally Power from Cardiff University was an important opportunity, not only to benefit collectively from her presence as project consultant, but also, in a closer interaction, clarify some of her perspectives on the critical analysis…

Geographical engagement with religion has grown substantially of late, with many recent studies considering the ‘sacred beyond the officially sacred’. However, many sacred spaces are not used solely for devotion, and there is a need to understand the diversity of sacred spaces, including how they come to be used as such, and the experiences of…

Debates on how best to educate young children have been raging over the last 100 years—more often fuelled by ideological preferences rather than empirical evidence. To some extent this is hardly surprising given the difficulty of examining pupil progress in a systematic and comparative way. However, the introduction of a new child‐centred curriculum in Wales…

A new publication showcasing just some of WISERD’s pioneering research that has taken place over the last ten years, and also an insight into some on the ongoing projects that will continue to address some of society’s most pressing issues.