Reconceptualising Curriculum in a new era of Welsh Education

The new curriculum framework for Wales offers educators an approach to curriculum work that is a radical departure from the previous national curriculum introduced in 1988. One feature of the new curriculum framework is its emphasis on experience. However, there is little support for theoretical considerations of experience offered by the Welsh Government in their guidance for teachers. This article proposes that reconceptualist approaches to curriculum theory and theorising can potentially address this shortcoming. The reconceptualisation of curriculum shifts the focus from traditional perspectives to understanding curriculum as ‘lived experience’ (Pinar 2019). Additionally, with the introduction of the method of currere, Pinar (1975) offers a method through which educators can analyse and interpret how their educational experiences influence and shape their educational values, practices and identities, as well as how they come to ‘understand curriculum’ (Pinar et al., 2008). In this article, I discuss the origins and aims of the reconceptualist movement in the context of the new curriculum for Wales and argue that such approaches to understanding curriculum can increase teachers’ capacity for educational research, enhance their curricular understanding, and strengthen articulations of their educational and professional voice.