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

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Detailed critical policy analysis examines inclusive education policies during major system reform in Wales, United Kingdom. The study focuses on the Curriculum for Wales and the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) regulations, analyzing how inclusion is expressed across key policy and guidance documents. Two interpretive continuums, “practice” and “values,” are used to map and interpret these messages. Findings show a foregrounded commitment to inclusion alongside disparities within and between documents, highlighting incoherent policy communication.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

Introduction

Global and policy context for inclusion

Wales education reforms and curriculum change

Additional Learning Needs (ALN) system and implementation

COVID-19 and emergency remote teaching context

Inclusive Education in Wales: Interpreting Discourses of Values and Practice Using Critical Policy Analysis Cathryn Knight and Tom Crick Swansea University ECNU Review of Education 2022, Vol. 5(2) 258–283 © The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311211039858](DOI: 10.1177/20965311211039858)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311211039858)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This paper provides a detailed analysis of inclusive education policies in the context of major system reform in Wales, United Kingdom. Wales is currently undergoing the most signiﬁcant changes to its education system since political devolution from the U.K. Government in 1999. Key to these changes is the new Curriculum for Wales and the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) regulations; alongside these and wider system-level reforms, there is an ambition to create an inclusive education system in Wales. This paper explores how inclusion is articulated and communicated within the key policy and guidance documents, using two continuums—“practice” and“values”—to map and interpret these documents. Design/Approach/Methods: This paper uses critical policy analysis to make sense of these various inclusive education policy reforms in Wales. Findings: The analysis reveals that despite a foregrounded commitment to inclusion, there is disparity both within and between the policy and guidance documents. Originality/Value: The paper highlights the lack of coherence of key messages articulated through education policy documentation in Wales, providing insight into the emerging national education system reforms, as well as developing an approach for evaluating inclusive education systems in other jurisdictions. Corresponding author: Cathryn Knight, School of Social Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Campus, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, UK. [Email: Cathryn.Knight@swansea.ac.uk](Email: Cathryn.Knight@swansea.ac.uk) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Keywords Additional learning needs, critical policy analysis, curriculum reform, inclusion, special educational needs, Wales Date received: 6 April 2021; revised: 7 June 2021; accepted: 15 June 2021 Introduction Inclusive education has established itself as a key aim of education research, policy, and practice globally. Broadly deﬁned, “the central message is simple: every learner matters and matters equally”(UNESCO, 2017, p. 12) . Yet, the discourse around what constitutes as inclusive education is complex. In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly conﬁrmed the Convention of Rights of Disabled Persons, which included a signiﬁcant commitment to inclusive education (United Nations, 2006) . As of April 2021, 164 countries have signed the convention and 182 had ratiﬁed it. While many countries have shown signiﬁcant steps toward inclusive education in their political rhetoric and their legislation, acknowledging that learners with speciﬁc needs have a right to be educated alongside their peers who do not have special needs, their resulting cultures and practices often fall short (Mitchell & Sutherland, 2020) . Wales, one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, is currently undergoing major education system-level reforms and initiatives, from curriculum and qualiﬁcations, to initial teacher education and signiﬁcant invest

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the paper on inclusive education in Wales?

To analyze inclusive education policies in Wales during major system reform, focusing on how inclusion is articulated in key policy and guidance documents.

Which methods and interpretive tools are used to analyze the policies?

The paper uses critical policy analysis and maps documents using two continuums: “practice” and “values”.

What do the findings reveal about the inclusive education policy messages?

Despite strong public commitment to inclusion, there are disparities within and between the policy and guidance documents, indicating a lack of coherence in key messages.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk