Research and enterprise in the School of Education & Social Sciences aims to make societal impacts (of various kinds) across a range of topic areas including psychology, politics/public policy, social work, education, alcohol and drugs studies, and sociology.
Our researchers deliver projects which inform civil society and make contributions to public policymaking, often by working in partnership with external stakeholders at local, national and international levels. Below are just some of the School’ recent research highlights:
Care workers’ pandemic experiences highlight need for sector change
Scotland’s care sector needs a cultural overhaul to improve the quality of work and care, according to interviews with front-line workers compiled in a new report from researchers at University of the West of Scotland (UWS).
Decent Work in Scotland’s Care Homes, funded by the British Academy’s Covid-19 Special Research Grant, reveals what care workers think about job quality in social care and what needs to be done to improve it in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
LOCKDOWN LIFESTYLE LINK TO POOR MENTAL HEALTH IN SCOTLAND
A rise in negative health behaviours – such as lack of sleep, exercise and an unhealthy diet – is connected to poorer mental health during the tightest restrictions of Scotland’s COVID-19 lockdown, a new study has confirmed.
Research conducted on 20 May 2020 and led by University of the West of Scotland (UWS), in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), has concluded that these changes contributed to a higher negative mood and that maintaining, or even improving, health behaviours in a lockdown situation is key to sustaining positive mental health.
HARRY POTTER RESEARCH PROVES PUBLIC DON’T NEED DUMBED DOWN
Words such as Muggle and Quidditch from Harry Potter fantasy novels have been used in an in-depth eye movement psychological study to find out how people react to unfamiliar language.
Husband and wife behavioural psychology researchers and avid Harry Potter fans, Dr Chris Hand from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Joanne Ingram from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), teamed up for a labour of love to produce their latest study.
STUDY MAPS CARE HOME LOCKDOWN IMPACT
A new cross-institutional study will examine how lockdown restrictions have affected the families of care home residents.
Researchers from UWS, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and the Institute for Research & Innovation in Social Services will assess the psychological impact – and the wider social repercussions – of distancing and other Covid-19 related constraints.
Last updated: 18/10/2022