Publications

This paper is concerned with the reproduction of rural elites and the role of volunteering and participation in rural civil society institutions. Set in the context of popular discourses of the gentleman farmer and the agricultural elite as historic (as opposed to contemporary) leaders in the countryside, this research extends longstanding debates on rural class…

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.

Although attention has been paid to return migration internationally, research studies on why Chinese overseas doctoral graduates return to China are few. A study that considers gendered motivations has yet to be found. Using a qualitative study with 31 Chinese overseas doctoral graduate returnees, this study examines factors influencing graduates’ reasons for returning to China…

The Soviet Union ended on 31 December 1991 and was replaced by the Russian Federation. This raised hopes of a Russia with a market economy and a political democracy where citizens would have equal rights and responsibilities under the constitutional rule of law rather than government by state bureaucracy and a kleptocracy of economic oligarchs….

A forthcoming volume in the Civil Society Book Series with Policy Press.

The global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food injustice call for urgent and radical transformations in our food systems. The seed systems upon which our food depends are a critical component of climate resilience. Farmers and community-based seed savers have been custodians of crop and genetic diversity for millennia and are key players…

This paper describes key findings of the Rights and Rites pilot project, which aimed to: 1) co-curate new interpretations of bio-cultural specimens from Amgueddfa Cymru’s botanical collections, centering on peoples’ lived-experiences and cultural understanding of the specimens’ country of origin; 2) engage local community groups of Asian heritage with relevant biocultural specimens; 3) encourage dialogue…

Advances in online data collection spurred on by a pandemic springboard have been well recognised, but less attention has been given to corresponding approaches in recruitment. This article addresses this gap by examining whether recruitment challenges can be overcome by utilising personalised recordings to recruit interviewees. Developed to engage elite interviewees in challenging circumstances, this…

This report provides an analysis of the key differences and similarities in the landscape of alternative education provision (AEP) in the UK. As part of the ESRC-funded Excluded Lives Project, it attempts to illuminate some of the contextual factors that may contribute to the very different rates of school exclusion in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland…

How did the coronavirus pandemic affect the subjective well-being (SWB) of children? In this paper, we use data from the Children’s World Survey, encompassing 9,684 children aged 9 to 15 residing in nine European countries. Our goal is to evaluate the influence of both material —access to digital communication devices— and immaterial factors —information sources…