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WISERD GCSE Series – Part 3: Is tiering fair for all students?

Posted on 25 August 2017 by WISERD

Having previously looked at the different types of GCSE courses and how they are assessed, in the third and final blog of this series, Dr Rhian Barrance outlines recent research on tiering and considers how fair it is for different groups of students. Tiering has been used for GCSEs since they were introduced in 1986.
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WISERD GCSE Series – Part 2: Should internal assessment be used for GCSEs?

Posted on 24 August 2017 by WISERD

Earlier this week we looked at the recent reforms to GCSEs across England, Northern Ireland and Wales and considered students’ views on linear and modular courses. In the second part of this series exploring students’ perspectives on the fairness of GCSEs, Dr Rhian Barrance considers whether internal assessment should be used alongside exams. The question
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Climate change and poverty are as much of a threat as terrorism for many young people

Posted on 27 March 2017 by WISERD

It will probably come as little surprise that recent surveys have found the majority of adults in Europe think that international terrorism is the most pressing threat to the continent. Though this is valuable information about what adults think, little is known about what children and young people perceive as the greatest threats to life
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School allocations – an illusion of choice?

Posted on 2 March 2017 by WISERD

Thousands of families across Wales will shortly be learning which primary and secondary schools their children will be attending in September. For many, this will be their local catchment school, however for a sizeable minority, the outcome will not be what they wanted. Many will find themselves without a place for their child or have
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Girls may perform better at school than boys – but their experience is much less happy

Posted on 30 August 2016 by WISERD

The usual discussions about children’s schooling experiences often focus on academic achievement, personal development and school evaluation. Ask a teacher, parent or policy maker what is the most important thing a school should offer and many will say it is education: they want children to develop the knowledge and skills that will help them build
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Schooling and the Rights of Young People in Wales

Posted on 6 May 2016 by WISERD

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is intended to address the political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of children everywhere in the world. In 1989, this Convention was widely adopted by governments worldwide in recognition of children’s rights and in making a political promise to acknowledge those rights in
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Refugees, Rest and Routines: WISERD Education at ECER and BERA

Posted on 3 November 2015 by Natalie Richards

In early September, the WISERD Education research team joined many other academics in the annual before-term ritual: to leave the warm confines of the university and stretch their legs at another institution – sometimes in a faraway land, sometimes much closer to home. On 7th September we began the journey to Budapest, capital of Hungary
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Democracy & Dragons: How do we Teach Citizenship Education in Continually Devolving Wales?

Posted on 1 September 2015 by Natalie Richards

A recent review of the national curriculum for Wales has called for a radical reimagining of how curriculum is to be conceptualised, enacted and assessed (Welsh Government, 2015). Currently, citizenship education in Wales is philosophically framed by the Curriculum Cymreig, an initiative to develop a “Welsh ethos” in schools in Wales and delivered through the
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The “Ends” or the “Means”? What Lessons can Education Research teach Pedagogical Practice?

Posted on 28 July 2015 by Natalie Richards

On July 6th, Cardiff University hosted the Welsh Baccalaureate Conference. This event was developed through a partnership between the Welsh Government, the WJEC and Cardiff University research staff. The aim of the conference was to engage secondary and further education teachers with some of the ins-and-outs of conducting research, with a particular focus given to
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The Future of Welsh Education – An Inspectorate Perspective

Posted on 15 July 2015 by Natalie Richards

At the WISERD conference I talked about what people expect from an inspectorate of education and training in Wales and I outlined the methods that inspectors use to come to professional judgements about standards in education. I also talked about standards in the education system and the challenges that continue to exist. Inspectorates offer public
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Blogs Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD)

WISERD Education Project