The decline in relation to mental health issues among children and young people in Wales (School Health Research Network [SHRN] 2023) and recent curriculum reform (Welsh Government [WG] 2022) has led to the introduction of statutory guidance to promote a whole-school approach in supporting positive emotional and mental well-being among all stakeholders within the school community (WG 2021). The ‘Framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being’ (the Framework) (WG 2021) focuses on embedding the three core values of ‘belonging’, ‘efficacy’, and ‘voice’ across all aspects of school provision to create a positive social and emotional community. This integrative review explores literature that focuses on whole-school approaches to emotional and mental well-being and identifies some key facilitators and barriers in its successful implementation. Findings suggest that many schools are still not fully engaging with the Framework (WG 2021), particularly regarding the whole-school approach, and this paper concludes with some recommendations regarding the way forward. Authors: Nanna Ryder, Charlotte Greenway, Siobhan Eleri

A guide for doctoral candidates on preparing for the Viva exam.  The guide contains information on how to prepare for the exam, what to expect on the day, and frequently asked questions in a Viva exam.  The information was translated by Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in collaboration with UKCGE

A series of video podcasts which feature conversations about contemporary Sports Ethics issues. The topics include: Sportswashing Fairness Competetive categories Racism Nationalism Role models The podcasts are accompanied by a set of notes and indicative bibliographies for each topic and a list of terms. The resource is suitable for students studying Sport related subjects at A level and degree level.  

This book is primarily intended to provide an introduction to criminology as an academic degree subject area of study for first year students at Higher Education institutions in Wales. This was the impetus to develop a comprehensive academic textbook in Welsh that would introduce students to critical aspects of pursuing and studying criminology for themselves. As well as offering the resource in the Welsh language, the volume also asks students to relate theories of criminology within the context of crime in contemporary Wales.

A presentation by Dr Seren Evans on her research into the role of Artificial Intelligence in predicting non-contact leg injuries within Rugby Union, and a recording of a panel discussion on artificial intelligence and its implications, challenges and opportunities for researchers with: Dr Cynog Prys, Senior lecturer, Sociology and Social Policy, Bangor University Dr Seren Evans, Lecturer, Sports Sciences, Bangor University Dr Neil Mac Parthaláin, Senior lecturer, Computer Science, Aberystwyth University Professor Huw Morgan, Physics, Aberystwyth University The event took place in Aberystwyth on 27 June 2024.

Pūtahitanga:  te reo Māori (in the Māori language) which describes a community coming together to work together on a specific idea, topic or challenge. The word embodies the ethos of the research project that uses it as a title: The Pūtahitanga Project. This is a project that explores popular music, language and identity in the Welsh and Māori contexts. As part of the project, Dr Elen Ifan from Cardiff University received an Innovation Grant from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to hold workshops in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Wales with musicians who use Māori and Welsh in their work. This resource shares clips from the workshop in Cardiff and includes activities to involve you in our research as well. It is mainly designed for higher education students, but it is also relevant to anyone interested in Welsh popular music and the worksheet is suitable for AS and A level as well. The project essentially aims to find connections between the experiences of musicians who use two minority languages ​​(Welsh and te reo (the language) Māori), trying to understand the various challenges facing these musical communities , but without directly comparing. The project uses creative research methods and involves audiences in the research. This resource forms part of that work. The video files include a presentation by the lead researcher and clips from a workshop held in Cardiff in November 2023. The worksheet guides the person using the resource through the activities, encourages them to engage with the themes of the project, to think about what is relevant or important to them, and invites creative responses to the research. 

Recordings of the sessions that were held at this year's Technology and Bilingualism Conference. The conference included a variety of sessions to discuss how technology can be used within bilingual and Welsh medium provision in the higher education, further education and apprenticeship sector.  

The Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 began a chain of events that led to the independence of most of Ireland, but at the time its momentous significance was not appreciated in Wales. For the vast majority of Welsh people, it was pure treachery as it happened at a time when Ireland (like the rest of the United Kingdom) was engaged in a war unprecedented in its savagery and scale. This article traces how events in Ireland were seen in Wales through the lens of the war against Germany, and how the notion that Ireland (like Wales) was better off within the protective embrace of the British Empire was so widespread that it could not be challenged. Author: Gethin Matthews

The aim of this article is to analyse an under-researched aspect of Patagonian Welsh, namely its current lexical patterns. Based on data obtained from 134 questionnaires, it will be shown that the lexical variation that exists in this variety of Welsh is conditioned to a considerable degree by the variety of linguistic backgrounds found today among Chubut Province’s Welsh speakers. The results therefore not only show how historical dialect contact has played a crucial role in the evolution of traditional Patagonian Welsh, but also explore for the first time the extent to which a specific educational programme, namely the British Council’s ‘Welsh Language Project’, is influencing Welsh learners’ use of lexical features in the region. Another objective is to consider some of the results’ wider implications, including the relevance of language ideologies to the historical and contemporary lexical patterns of Patagonian Welsh. Author: Iwan Wyn Rees

It is often said that Wales’s devolved political institutions suffer from a ‘democratic deficit’, associated with a ‘media deficit’. This article uses the political philosophy of Jürgen Habermas to interpret these claims. The article begins by discussing the central problem and applying Habermas’s theory of legitimation to it (1), before turning to the theory’s key concept, namely the public sphere (2). Part 3 argues that an informal political public sphere is lacking in Wales today and that this undermines the legitimacy of the devolved political settlement, supporting this argument with data (3). The final part of the article places the Welsh case in a broader context, and opens the discussion regarding possible solutions (4). Author: Dafydd Huw Rees

This article explores some aspects of the way in which Welsh Patagonia is represented in Separado! (2010), an experimental documentary (in terms of style) by Gruff Rhys and Dylan Goch. This portrayal exists in the context of a range of both factual and fictional Welsh-language representations of Patagonia produced since the 1940s in Wales. Through concepts derived from literary theory (Linda Hutcheon), sociology of culture (Pierre Bourdieu), political theory (Ernesto Laclau), travel writing theory (Graham Huggan and Patrick Holland; Peter Hulme), and postcolonial theory (Mary Louise Pratt), it will be possible to trace in the documentary trends present in previous representations of Patagonia, such as turning to Y Wladfa in politically challenging times in order to address anxieties regarding Welshness and the country’s past and future. Author: Sara Borda Green

The purpose of this booklet is to share good practice in developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language in universities. The good practice covered in this booklet come from focus groups held with lecturers and students looking at their experiences of Welsh and Irish medium education at universities in Wales and Ireland. This booklet discusses: good practice in encouraging students to study in a minoritised language developing provision in a minoritised language; teaching in a minoritised language supporting students in a minoritised language assessments in a minoritised language normalising the use of a minoritised language among students. We anticipate that this booklet will be useful not only for lecturers and providers of higher education in these countries, but also for lecturers, higher education providers and providers in other education sectors in other parts of the world who are developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language.