How happy are teenagers in South Wales compared to those in Africa? How does your sense of identity vary depending on region and gender?
These are some of the questions that Cardiff University researchers will consider with local teenagers at an interactive engagement event next week.
The one-day event – Who are we? From local to global citizens – is part of the nationwide Festival of Social Science funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Organised by the Cardiff School of Social Sciences and supported by the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD), the event aims to promote the use of quantitative social science among schools in South Wales.
More than 100 Key Stage 4 students from nine local schools, including Cantonian High School, Cathays High School, Ferndale Community School, Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, and Mary Immaculate Catholic High School, will learn about what social scientists attempt to discover about different groups in society and the different ways in which they try to find out.
The results from an online survey, which was launched four weeks prior to the event, will be discussed at the workshops during the day and compared to similar surveys carried out in other parts of the world.
The teenagers will learn how to ask interesting social science research questions and develop an understanding of the principles of research and survey design. It is hoped that students will become enthused about higher education and its many benefits.
Mark Drakeford, Professor at the School of Social Sciences and AM for Cardiff West, will talk at the event about the contribution of social science and quantitative methods to understanding social life. He will also discuss how the sense of Welsh identity and use of the Welsh language vary by gender, age group and region.
The annual ESRC Festival of Social Science, now in its ninth year, celebrates some of the country’s leading social science research, showcasing the valuable work of the UK’s social scientists and demonstrate how their work has an impact on all our lives.
Events are taking place up and down the country throughout the week, all offering an insight into how social science research helps to shape social, economic and political policies, as well as showing the effect it has on our daily lives. The events enable researchers to engage with new audiences, including individuals from business, charities, policy, teenagers, pensioners, parents and the general public.
For more info see: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/newsandevents/events/02112011esrc11cf.html
