Back to the future? Reflections on three phases of education policy reform in Wales and their implications for teachers

Journal of Educational Change ◽

10.1007/s10833-021-09422-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gareth Evans

Keyword(s):

Teacher Development ◽

Policy Development ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Policy Reform ◽

National Curriculum ◽

Effect Change ◽

Parliamentary Elections ◽

Key Policy ◽

The Impact

AbstractWales’ education system is part-way through an extensive journey of reform. This contextual paper explores the evolution of that journey, from the establishment of the Welsh Parliament in 1999 to late 2020, as Wales readies itself for the launch of a radical, new national curriculum. Drawing from a range of international literature and experience, it provides an overview of key policy developments and insight into the rationale for decisions taken by the Welsh Government to effect change. To do this, it separates reform into three core phases, each with its own characteristics borne out of landmark events that helped shape contemporary political and public discourse. In particular, the paper examines the impact of Wales’ shifting approach to policy development on the teaching workforce and considers implications for those at the site of practice. Ahead of forthcoming parliamentary elections, the paper resolves that a new, long-term approach to policy reform and teacher development is needed if Wales is to realise its ambitious vision for education.

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Target Inquiry

Innovative Practices in Teacher Preparation and Graduate-Level Teacher Education Programs - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-3068-8.ch021 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 383-416

Author(s):

Tanya Gupta ◽

Deborah Herrington ◽

Ellen J. Yezierski

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Teacher Development ◽

Science Teachers ◽

Effective Teacher ◽

Teacher Experiences ◽

Study Approach ◽

Change In Teacher Practice ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

The Impact

Researchers have identified several features of effective teacher professional development. Yet, there is little research on long-term Professional Development (PD) programs that provides information on the impact of such programs on in-service teacher experiences and practice during long-term PD. A qualitative case-study approach was used to investigate the impact of the Target Inquiry (TI), a long-term PD program, on change in teacher practice and the factors that support or impede these changes. The TI program is for science teachers who wish to earn a Master of Education focused on advanced content or to complete a 15-credit certificate program. Bell & Gilbert's model of teacher development and Spillane's model of teacher enactment of reforms were used as a frameworks to examine change. Teachers reported that participating in long-term PD, when combined with the necessary tools, resources, and strategies empowered them to embrace an inquiry-based practice.

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Bioeconomic multistock reference points as a tool for overcoming the drawbacks of the landing obligation

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw030 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 511-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Dorleta García ◽

Raúl Prellezo ◽

Paz Sampedro ◽

José María Da-Rocha ◽

José Castro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Economic Performance ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Policy Reform ◽

Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽

Reference Points ◽

Present Value ◽

Fisheries Policy ◽

Fleet Dynamics ◽

The Impact

The landing obligation policy was one of the major innovations introduced in the last Common Fisheries Policy reform in Europe. It is foreseen that the policy will affect the use of fishing opportunities and hence the economic performance of the fleets. The problem with fishing opportunities could be solved if single-stock total allowable catches (TACs) could be achieved simultaneously for all the stocks. In this study, we evaluate the economic impact of the landing obligation policy on the Spanish demersal fleet operating in the Iberian Sea region. To generate TAC advice, we used two sets of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) reference points, the single-stock MSY reference points defined by ICES and a set of multistock reference points calculated simultaneously using a bioeconomic optimization model. We found that the impact of the landing obligation is time and fleet dependent and highly influenced by assumptions about fleet dynamics. At fishery level, multistock reference points mitigate the decrease in the net present value generated by the implementation of the landing obligation. However at fleet level, the effect depends on the fleet itself and the period. To ensure the optimum use of fishing opportunities, the landing obligation should be accompanied by a management system that guarantees consistency between single-stock TACs. In this regard, multistock reference points represent an improvement over those currently in use. However, further investigation is necessary to enhance performance both at fleet level and in the long term.

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Improving Care for Older Adults in China: Development of Long-Term Care Policy and System

Research on Aging ◽

10.1177/0164027521990829 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 43 (3-4) ◽

pp. 123-126

Author(s):

Bei Wu ◽

Marc A. Cohen ◽

Zhen Cong ◽

Kyungmin Kim ◽

Changmin Peng

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Family Caregiving ◽

Policy Development ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Special Issue ◽

Term Care ◽

The Impact ◽

China Development ◽

Care Nursing

This special issue covers several important topics related to long-term care (LTC) systems and policy development in China. It provides a good contextual background on the development of the LTC system in China as well as the needs and preferences of LTC from family and older adults’ perspectives. In addition, this issue covers the topic of evaluation of a recently developed long-term care nursing insurance and provides an example of family caregiving for persons with dementia within the Chinese context. The authors in this special issue also provided insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults’ life and LTC quality, and explored potential strategies to handle the challenges during and post-pandemic.

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Self-Responsibility and Activation for Lone Mothers in the United Kingdom

American Behavioral Scientist ◽

10.1177/0002764218816804 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 85-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jane Millar

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Policy Development ◽

Paid Work ◽

Main Section ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Lone Mothers ◽

Short Period ◽

Key Policy ◽

Families With Children

Lone mothers make up a quarter of all families with children in the United Kingdom and have been one of the key target groups for activation policies for the past two decades. In a relatively short period of time, the U.K. system has changed from treating lone mothers as carers to treating them as workers. Most lone mothers are now required to seek work, or to be in work, in order to be eligible for state support. These developments place self-responsibility at the center of welfare reform and paid work as the core of self-responsibility. The focus is very much on the individuals and their labor market obligations and downplays their social obligations, for example, to care for their children or other family members. The capacity to make choices about when and how much to engage in paid work is much reduced. This article explores what these developments have meant for lone mothers in the United Kingdom. The first main section outlines the key policy approaches and measures, highlighting the underpinning concepts of self-responsibility. The discussion also explores the experiences of lone mothers in relation to these policies, drawing on data from a long-term qualitative study. The second main section focuses on a new policy development—the introduction of Universal Credit—in which promoting an employment-based self-responsibility is unequivocally central to the policy aims and design.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Public Space: A Review of the Emerging Questions

10.31219/osf.io/rf7xa ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jordi Honey-Roses ◽

Isabelle Anguelovski ◽

Josep Bohigas ◽

Vincent Chireh ◽

Carolyn Daher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Space ◽

Public Places ◽

Future Design ◽

Planning And Design ◽

Urban Planning And Design ◽

Key Policy ◽

Policy Measures ◽

The Impact

Restrictions on the use of public space and social distancing have been key policy measures to reduce the transmission of SAR-CoV-2 and protect public health. At the time of writing, one half of the world’s population has been asked to stay home and avoid many public places. What will be the long term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public space once the restrictions have been lifted? The depth and extent of transformation is unclear, especially as it relates to the future design, use and perceptions of public space. This article aims to highlight emerging questions at the interface of COVID-19 and city design. It is possible that the COVID-19 crisis may fundamentally change our relationship with public space. In the ensuing months and years, it will be critical to study and measure these changes in order to inform urban planning and design in a post-COVID-19 world.

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Suppressed, but Not Forgotten

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000033 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 5-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Beat Meier ◽

Anja König ◽

Samuel Parak ◽

Katharina Henke

Keyword(s):

Memory Trace ◽

Thought Suppression ◽

Test Phase ◽

Indirect Test ◽

Final Test ◽

Test Experiment ◽

And Control ◽

Cue Words ◽

The Impact

This study investigates the impact of thought suppression over a 1-week interval. In two experiments with 80 university students each, we used the think/no-think paradigm in which participants initially learn a list of word pairs (cue-target associations). Then they were presented with some of the cue words again and should either respond with the target word or avoid thinking about it. In the final test phase, their memory for the initially learned cue-target pairs was tested. In Experiment 1, type of memory test was manipulated (i.e., direct vs. indirect). In Experiment 2, type of no-think instructions was manipulated (i.e., suppress vs. substitute). Overall, our results showed poorer memory for no-think and control items compared to think items across all experiments and conditions. Critically, however, more no-think than control items were remembered after the 1-week interval in the direct, but not in the indirect test (Experiment 1) and with thought suppression, but not thought substitution instructions (Experiment 2). We suggest that during thought suppression a brief reactivation of the learned association may lead to reconsolidation of the memory trace and hence to better retrieval of suppressed than control items in the long term.

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