The rationale for subsidiarity as a principle applied within curriculum reform and its unintended consequences

Abstract

Following trends across the developed world to devolve power and responsibility for public services to more local agencies, curriculum reforms in several countries have been characterised by policies designed to increase teacher agency and professionalism as a means of achieving successful change. In Wales, this approach has been promoted through adoption of a principle of subsidiarity. Four interconnected reasons are presented for its use within the development of a new curriculum. These can be summarised as follow: that it will encourage teacher professionalism; stimulate improvements in teaching; enhance the responsiveness of schools to local and national needs; lead to increased confidence in the reforms. This paper explores the extent to which these four justifications are reflected in teachers' experiences of curriculum development in schools involved in leading the reform process. Drawing on data from 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews with teachers and a survey of over 600 teachers, data reveal that although the principle of subsidiarity is broadly welcomed, whether or not its application fulfils the justification criteria presented is far from clear. Questions about the application of a subsidiarity principle in relation to curriculum reform are discussed.

Making pedagogical links between languages: exploring how teachers are responding to the crosslinguistic and interdisciplinary challenges in the Languages, Literacy and Communication AoLE

“…However, as expressed by Teacher 2 this freedom brings excitement but also the responsibility that goes with this freedom: "I think actually with the new curriculum there is more scope for freedom and creativity, so in that way it's exciting but of course, there is the pressure of wanting to do a good job." This supports Newton's (2020) findings that the freedom to experiment excited teachers, but he also questioned accountability in the process and how the pressures teachers were under might affect their pedagogical decisions.…”

“…Whilst there was cohesion at the school level and this issue is not of concern within the same school, a pupil who moved from one school to another might have a considerably different experience. This supported by Newton's (2020) research that "any focus on relevance shaped at the local level will increase variability between schools." (p. 223).…”

“…The field notes taken in this research allowed the ground-level views of teacher participants not to be lost, whilst never forgetting the distance needed by the researcher School A (Figure 4.3) was selected because of its work as one of the Welsh Government pioneer schools which were charged with contributing to the development of the new curriculum and policy development as part of a national initiative of encouraging subsidiarity. (Newton, 2020). School A was one of the early innovators in CfW design, creating six curriculum organisers based on the six AoLEs.…”

“…For Newton (2020), the notion of subsidiarity in sites of curriculum making has strengthened teachers' professionalism, responsibility and ownership of the reforms as well as "reinvigorating teaching and improving quality" (p. 2). Teachers in School C…”

Inclusive Education in Wales: Interpreting Discourses of Values and Practice Using Critical Policy Analysis

“…The selection of expert practitioners and leading schools—the “Pioneer” model—was unique in the Welsh context and had at its core a commitment to subsidiarity and local autonomy for curriculum-making, as well as empowering and supporting teachers to develop their own practice and that of others (Arad Research, 2018). It was designed to increase teacher agency and professionalism (Hughes & Lewis, 2020) as a means of achieving successful change across the diversity of settings and contexts in Wales (Chapman, 2020; Crick & Golding, 2020; Newton, 2020). The final version of the Curriculum for Wales was published in January 2020 (Welsh Government, 2020d), with a phased implementation for learners from September 2022 (Taylor & Power, 2020).…”