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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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Students' views on the most suitable course structure for GCSEs

WISERD GCSE Series – Part 1: Should all GCSE students be assessed in the same way?

Posted on 22 August 2017 by WISERD

In the first of a series of blogs about students’ perspectives on the fairness of GCSEs, Dr Rhian Barrance outlines the recent reforms to GCSEs across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and considers students’ views on linear and modular courses. Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, many 16-year-olds are awaiting the release of their GCSE
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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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Just how much of a problem is cyberbullying in Wales?

Posted on 13 January 2017 by WISERD

Young peoples’ social media usage on the rise Amongst young people social media has been consistently growing in popularity over the past ten years. EU Kids Online’s research on young people’s use of digital media across 25 European countries suggests that from 2005 to 2010 internet use increased from 70 to 93 per cent amongst
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Reflecting on the Diamond Review

Posted on 12 October 2016 by WISERD

As Professor Sir Ian Diamond says in his introduction to The Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales “in times of austerity it is easy for society to focus solely on current challenges and forget that it is essential to continue to invest in educating the future generations who will drive the
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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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Foundation Phase Practitioner Conference

Posted on 14 June 2016 by WISERD

On Monday, May 23rd, WISERD held a one day practitioner conference to disseminate key findings and recommendations in relation to the three year independent evaluation of the Foundation Phase early years curriculum. The conference brought together practitioners from the length and breadth of Wales, as well as key individuals from the Welsh Government Early Years
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Curriculum, Culture and Citizenship Education in Wales: Investigations into the Curriculum Cymreig

Posted on 8 June 2016 by WISERD

In 2014, I presented a paper at the British Education Research Association’s (BERA) annual conference. Shortly after the presentation, I was approached by an editor with Palgrave MacMillan and asked if I was interested in publishing a book as part of the Pivot series on citizenship education in Wales. I was delighted by the opportunity
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Blogs Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD)

Education