Learners' Trust and Relationships
Trust and relationships
A core outcome of the programme is to improve learners’ trust in politicians and systems. Research shows that democratic engagement is bolstered by trust in political systems and elected representatives (Kolpinskaya and Bennett, 2024). We want young people in Wales to be motivated to actively participate in democratic life.
Trust in politicians
Across the indicators we use to measure trust, the largest positive change was seen in the response to the statement “There are politicians that represent me and share my views”. After participating in the programme, there was a 17 percentage point increase in learners agreeing with the statement.
In response to the statement “I trust politicians” we observed a 9% point increase in learners agreeing, from 36% before participation to 45% after, indicating that meaningful political contact improves trust and positive attitudes towards politicians.
Year 12 to 13 learners in particular saw a big increase in trust for politicians, with just 5% agreeing before the programme that they trusted politicians, and 43% agreeing afterwards.
When learners were asked if they “felt they trusted the individual politician they spoke to” in their Dialogue session, 61% of learners said they could.
73% of teachers noticed greater trust in politics from their learners. Teachers also reported that their learners, and they, had built relationships with the politicians who took part in their Dialogue sessions.
All Learners: there are politicians that represent me and share my views (%)
All Learners: there are politicians that represent me and share my views (%)
All learners: I trust politicians (%)
All learners: I trust politicians (%)
All learners: I felt I could trust the politician I spoke to (%)
Relationships with politicians
In response to the statement, “Politicians care what I think”, there was an increase of 14% points, from 33% to 47%, following participation in the programme. This suggests young people feel a greater connection to their politicians after participating in meaningful conversations with them.
This greater connection led to an increase in learners’ willingness to engage with politicians directly. Some learners reported that they were more likely to contact a politician, with the likelihood or possibility increasing by 12% points after they took part in Digital Dialogue: Wales.
All learners: politicians care what I think (%)
All learners: politicians care what I think (%)
All learners: how likely are you to contact a politician (%)
All learners: how likely are you to contact a politician (%)
Trust in democratic system
Learners’ level of trust in the democratic system before taking part in Digital Dialogue: Wales was low. Just 21% of learners agreed that they are able to influence change in their society. After taking part, 32% agreed, an increase of 11% points, showing the positive impact the programme had on their belief in their own ability to affect societal change.
Further analysis showed that the ability to ask questions and smaller group size (0-40 learners) were key factors in learners feeling ‘strongly’ in their own ability to affect societal change.
All learners: I can influence change (%)
All learners: I can influence change (%)
You can find our more about the impact of asking questions and group size in our Key Learnings section.
Pledge Case Study: Joel James MS offers work experience to learners at Cowbridge Comprehensive
In March 2024, an A Level Politics class at Cowbridge Comprehensive participated in a Digital Dialogue with Joel James, Conservative Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central.
During this discussion, the learners expressed a keen interest in politics as a career and sought advice on how to get involved.
Joel encouraged them to engage with their local communities and decision-making processes. He also extended an invitation to all learners to participate in work experience at his office, providing “an excellent opportunity to follow up with learners”, he said.
The majority of learners accepted this invitation and Joel’s office worked closely with the school to facilitate these placements. Learners had the opportunity to work at Joel’s constituency or Welsh parliament offices, where Joel gave learners a tour and explained how the legislative process works.
When asked how they found the experience, all learners agreed that it was highly beneficial. One learner explained that “it gave us a real insight into Welsh politics” and another expressed that, “speaking to the staff members at Joel’s office was really interesting…I wasn’t aware of how many careers you could go into”. Another learner agreed saying, “after doing work experience I changed the course I was planning to do for university. It was really helpful to have Joel’s work experience on my UCAS application”.
Joel noted that “without the Digital Dialogue sessions, these opportunities might not have materialised”. He explained that the programme is an excellent platform for creating opportunities, noting how “difficult it can be to establish connections and organise work experience while still in school”.
Joel has also extended the offer for future work experience to the learners next year if they wish.
