Session Information
01 SES 11 A, Teacher Professional Learning and Development in Europe (Part 2)
Symposium continued from 01 SES 09 A, to be continued in 01 SES 12 A
Contribution
Wales is part of the UK but, following devolution in 1999, has built and developed an education system separate from that of the other three UK nations. Although Wales has a population of just over 3 million and may be seen as a small education system, its cultural diversity, geography, economy and social composition has produced a complex mix of policy and practice. Since 2017 education in Wales has undergone significant change, including its curriculum, professional standards for teaching and leadership, and initial teacher education. Although key policy decisions are made centrally, policy implementation is largely devolved. Responsibility is subdivided into three tiers: the Welsh Government; 22 local authorities, arranged into four regional consortia; and schools. Different attempts to transform the system in Wales have been implemented in recent decades, and in relation to professional learning, policy drivers have swung repeatedly in response to ‘political’ or ‘professional’ influences (Jones, 2011), referred to as a “white knuckle ride for education in Wales” (Evans, 2015). Professional Learning is central to this change. There is a National Mission with a common purpose to build “a high-quality education profession”, emphasising co-constructing change through networking. However, a key challenge is ensuring that professional learning is supported in an equitable way, taking into consideration geographical location, areas of deprivation and language (Wales is a bilingual nation). Professional learning is most effective in collaborative cultures, but the learning process is individual (requiring active rather than passive engagement), often informal, and always complex (Strom and Viesca, 2021). A key challenge in making policy change work is to Identify and overcome potential obstacles to implementation. Supporting effective leadership of professional learning in post-pandemic complex environments is a high priority in achieving this (Jones, 2022).
References
Evans, G. (2015) A Class Apart. Learning the lessons of education in post-devolution Wales. Cardiff: Ashley Drake Publishing Ltd. Jones, K. (2011) Central, local and individual continuing professional development (CPD) priorities: changing policies of CPD in Wales Professional Development in Education Vol. 37, No. 5, 759–776 Jones, K. (2015) ‘Professional Development’ or ‘Professional Learning’ ... and does it matter? https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/about/staff-room/son-archive/43-english/about/blog-archive/93-ken-jones-professional-development-or-professional-learning-and-does-it-matter Jones, K. (2022) Leading Professional Learning Insight Paper National Academy for Educational Leadership Wales https://nael.cymru/insight/leading-professional-learning/ Strom, K.J. and Viesca, K.M. (2021) Towards a complex framework of teacher learning-practice, Professional Development in Education, 47:2-3, 209-224, DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2020.1827449
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