Successful futures for all? Additional learning needs in Wales in the light of curriculum reform

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    Abstract

    Wales is undergoing a major programme of educational reform, including the development of a new curriculum and transformation of the system for supporting learners with additional learning needs (ALN). This article reports on a research project investigating how these two elements are being brought together, drawing on interviews with policy leads and school-based practitioners. Findings indicate that the new curriculum is perceived as broader, less driven by standards and more focused on the quality of teaching and more relevant to all learners. Tensions were apparent, however, in the core belief systems of interviewees. For those with a school-based and/or curriculum-based role, what is in the best interests of specific learners is a core belief that subsumes the idea of inclusivity and necessitates the continuation of arrangements for ALN in their current form. It is argued that clearer articulation of teachers as agents of change is required if educational transformation is to be achieved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)152-169
    Number of pages18
    JournalBritish Journal of Special Education
    Volume47
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 8 Mar 2020

    Keywords

    • additional learning needs
    • curriculum
    • inclusive pedagogy
    • transformation

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