This paper focuses on the design, implementation and initial evaluation of a national programme of professional learning, the Masters in Educational Practice (MEP). This programme lies at the heart of the Welsh government’s twenty-point school improvement strategy, announced in 2011, that focuses on concerns around the widening attainment gap between pupils from different socio- economic backgrounds. The MEP was a direct response to these concerns and is intended to create additional capacity within the education system to support the government’s wider approach to challenging pupil under achievement. 

The commissioning of the MEP by the Welsh Government was based on consultations with international experts on professional development and school improvement, as well as a survey of beginning teachers. The resulting specification set out the broad content of the programme and placed a strong emphasis upon developing an enquiry-based approach that would critically integrate theory and practice. The successful tender was submitted by an alliance of four universities that set out a programme of increasingly complex partnership working. The programme is now in its third year and is made available free to all newly qualified teachers across Wales, currently some one thousand beginning teachers are engaged.

The paper is based around a participant case study of the first two years of the MEP programme as it has moved through the initiation phase to implementation. The theoretical framework for the study draws on Ball’s notion of ‘enactment’ (Ball et al, 2012), to explore how this policy driven initiative was re-interpreted and reconstructed at different levels and spaces, ranging from the programme Team, the alliance of universities, key stakeholders such as the Welsh government, and the wider education system.  How the MEP was enacted in these different spaces is linked to the nature of the students’ learning experience and impact upon their classroom practice by utilizing initial evaluation data.

The first section of the paper sets the MEP programme in the policy and practice context in which it was developed and launched. A policy context marked by a resurgence in concerns over the Welsh system’s relative under performance in comparison with the rest of the UK, and internationally, and a growing self-belief in the desirability of a more distinct national response Welsh Government, 2014). The practical backdrop to the MEP included major changes in how schools are supported and the nature of professional development provision in Wales. These shifts framed the MEP programme’s ultimate aim, the development of groups of early career professionals who would support each other to innovate, challenge under achievement, and lead professional development activities within their schools.

The second section of the paper considers the design and implementation of the MEP programme. After setting out the evidence base that informed its initial design (Timperley 2008, Hobson et al 2009, Mentor et al 2010) it discusses the pedagogical principles that underpin its’ ‘blended’ approach to professional learning. It considers the role played by the team of over one hundred external mentors who work directly with the beginners teachers and the nature of the relationships and practices required to support and challenge these teachers’ bring about improvements in their classrooms. This section concludes by outlining the key tensions faced by the programme team in mediating differences in the agendas of the Welsh government, beginning teachers, and school leaders.

The final section of the paper draws on early evaluation data on the initial impact of the MEP on beginning teachers self-efficacy, approach to professional decision-making, and innovation in their classrooms. 

Ball, S., Maguire, M. and Braun, A. (2012) How schools do policy: policy enactment in secondary schools. London: Routledge Hobson, A. Malderez, A. Tracey,L. Matthew, S. Ashby, P. Mitchell, N. McIntyre, J. Cooper, D. Roper, T. Chambers, G. and Tomlinson, D. (2009) Becoming a Teacher Teachers’ Experiences of Initial Teacher Training, Induction and Early Professional Development Final Report London: Department for Children, Schools and Families. Menter, I. Hulme, M. Elliot, D. and Lewin, J. (2010) Literature Review on Teacher Education in the 21st Century. Edinburgh: Scottish Government Timperley, H (2008) Teacher professional learning and development. Brussels: International Academy of Education. Welsh Government (2014) Qualified for Life. An education plan for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Winter, R. (1982) "Dilemma Analysis": A contribution to methodology for action research Cambridge Journal of Education 12, 3, 161-174