Education in devolved Wales: A story of contradiction

This paper offers a brief ‘state of the nation’ review of education policy in Wales since devolution. Beginning with the exploratory approach to reform in the early days of Senedd Cymru, and ending with Wales’s enigmatic new national curriculum, it considers the key events that have helped shape policy direction and examines the impact of subsequent ministerial interventions. The influential PISA study is recognised as being central to Wales’s education story, albeit there are important shortcomings that call into question the veracity of its conclusions. Significant in this context is the way in which such ‘focusing events’ are politicised and used by ministers to affect change. Other societal, cultural and institutional factors are explored in the round, and seen as contributing to a ‘consensus culture’ that has impeded meaningful progress. The paper’s foremost conclusion is that policy reform in Wales has been characterised by contradiction, leading to policy incoherence and missed opportunity. It argues for fundamental change in the way policy is made, implemented and opened to scrutiny as a foundation for future success.