Curriculum Making in Wales: What Does it Mean to be Purpose-Led?

Several countries are engaged in processes of curriculum reform which increasingly position the teacher as a curriculum maker. While this can bring rich possibilities for locally responsive curriculum making, the process of curriculum making itself is not intuitive and requires carefully considered support for teachers, together with clarity about the nature of the curriculum and the purposes of the wider reform process. In this webinar, we discuss the work of the Camau i’r Dyfodol (Steps to the Future) project (University of Wales Trinity Saint David and University of Glasgow). The project ran for three years, working collaboratively with Welsh Government and education professionals across the system to support the realisation of the new Curriculum for Wales (CfW). This curriculum places progression in learning at the heart of curriculum making, guided by the ‘Four Purposes’ which are both the starting point and aspiration for schools. The project was originally designed to support shared understanding of progression and assessment. Evidence from the early phases of the project showed that people were understanding and realising CfW in different and competing ways. Shared understanding of progression and assessment was not possible without first clarifying the curriculum model that CfW aligns with. We will discuss how curriculum theory was used as part of co-construction activity to provide the conceptual grounding (Sinnema et al., 2020) needed for curriculum making that aligns with the Curriculum for Wales framework. Our co-construction approach for curriculum making was based on the design team approach (Handelzalts et al., 2019) and the concept of complementary expertise (Brand & Karvonen, 2007). We conclude by reflecting on the findings from the project as a whole to discuss what these suggest for curriculum reform which positions teachers as curriculum makers.