Education Policy-Making in Wales

Explorations in Devolved Governance

Edited by Richard Daugherty, Robert Phillips and Gareth Rees

‘This volume is strong both on the historical background of policy and on proposals for future policy imperatives . . . These ‘explorations in developed governance’ will provide an excellent seminar course for both researchers and all practitioners concerned with formulating and operating policy and the questions which are raised and the hypotheses suggested should encourage numerous further investigations . . . the editors are to be congratulated on the high quality of their contributors and the production values are those we would expect from a major academic publisher . . . ’ School Leadership & Management

‘ . . . a worthwhile addition to most educational libraries and a useful port-of-call for anyone seeking a ready overview of how education in Wales evolved to its present state.’ (History of Education)

Since the Education Reform Act of 1988, education policy-making in Wales has undergone considerable change. Although the Act had a centralizing impact, the framework was put in place for the development of a range of education policies which, in terms of their origins, creation and implementation, had distinctively Welsh characteristics. Now, with the establishment of a National Assembly in Wales, questions about the appropriate scope of policy-making in Wales have come to the forefront of political debate.

The essays in this book consider the extent to which Wales has developed its own educational agenda in a range of areas from primary schooling to higher education. The contributors also examine the limitations of that autonomy in relation to London and speculate about the ways in which devolved governance is likely to influence the nature of education policies in Wales in the future. Education Policy-Making in Wales is the definitive study of the emergence of education policies in Wales since the 1988 Education Reform Act. It is the most complete analysis to date of a major element of state policy in Wales as well as contributing towards our understanding of devolved governance.

Richard Daugherty is Professor of Education at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth; Robert Phillips is Lecturer in Education at the University of Wales, Swansea; Gareth Rees is Professor in the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences.

Contents and contributors:

• Richard Daugherty, Robert Phillips and Gareth Rees, Introduction
• Robert Phillips and Sue Sanders, Contemporary Education Policy in Wales: Theory, Discourse and Research
• John Fitz, Governance and Identity: The Case of Wales
• Gareth Elwyn Jones, Policy-making in Welsh Education - An Historical Perspective 1889-1988
• Theo Cox, The Impact of the National Curriculum upon Primary Education in Wales
• Richard Daugherty, National Curriculum Assessment Policies in Wales
• Colin Baker, Three Perspectives on Bilingual Education Policy in Wales
• Stephen Gorard, A Re-examination of the Effectiveness of Schools in Wales
• Gerran Thomas and David Egan, Policies on Schools’ Inspection in Wales and England
• Martin Jephcote and Jane Salisbury, From Policy to Practice in Further Education: Patterns of Governance in Wales
• Gethin Williams, Changes in Government Policy and the Development of Higher Education in Wales, 1975-1996
• Rob Humphreys and Danny Saunders, From Adult Education to Lifelong Learning: Policy, Process and Institutional Change
• Steve Morris, Welsh for Adults: A Policy for a Bilingual Wales?
• Richard Daugherty, Robert Phillips and Gareth Rees, Education Policy Making and Devolved Governance in Wales: Past, Present and Future