This session was held by Jane Davidson who was the Education Minister in Wales for 7 years. I found this lecture interesting as Jane had lots of experience in the subject and had also been a teacher for many years. This session was based around the background of the national curriculum and the changes within it.
The national curriculum was introduced in 1989 during Margaret Thatcher's reign following the Education Reform Act 1988. In this curriculum all students were taught in the same way and it was required that all children were to be taught a basic curriculum of Religious Studies and the National Curriculum. The purpose of the National Curriculum was for all children to receive opportunities to learn and achieve. Pupils were required to sit SAT tests at 7, 11 and 14 years old.
During the 1997 referendum change of government there were changes made to the education system. '"Education, education, education" was how Tony Blair set out his priorities for office - as Labour campaigned to put classrooms at the top of the political agenda.' according to BBC news. The government believed that the curriculum was too structured and the curriculum of the time was 'training children, not teaching them'. It was too restrictive and did not allow the widening of pupils learning.
In 1999, the national assembly for Wales brought in the 'pre 16' and 'post 16' committees. These committees were set for 2 different groups of people as clearly education format is different between pre and post 16.
Rhodri Morgan (2005) believed that 'Education is the route out of poverty'. He believed that education liberates talents, and the more educated a nation is the wealthier it can be.
Overall I found this lecture very helpful in increasing my knowledge of the background of the education system and found it interesting to see how different education is today to when the national curriculum first began. After looking on the welsh government website as advised to do so by Jane, I came across this quote from the 'learning country' document which I think sums up why it is important to continue reviewing the education system throughout the years. 'Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. But with vision and action you change the world' Arthur Barker (2007).
References:
Arthur Barker, (2007) The Star Thrower
http://wales.gov.uk/dcells/publications/publications/guidanceandinformation/learningcountry/learningcountryvis-e.pdf?lang=en
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