Higher Education in Wales: The (Re‐)emergence of a National System?

Abstract

This paper explores historical patterns of change in participation in higher education in Wales, using as an organising framework Halsey's (1992) distinction between higher education as an administrative and as a social system. The nineteenth-century development of Welsh higher education was both part of a distinctive national political project and reflected the specificities of wider Welsh society. Expansion through the early and middle decades of the present century eroded this distinctiveness, as both the governance of Welsh higher education and patterns of student recruitment and participation became increasingly integrated into an 'England and Wales' system. The more recent expansion of higher education institutions in Wales, as well as the participation of Welsh students in higher education overall, has further accentuated this social integration into an 'England and Wales' system. Currently, Wales exhibits a pattern of participation which is unique amongst the home countries, whereby the Welsh higher education institutions serve very substantial numbers of students from England (and to a much lesser extent elsewhere), whilst a large proportion of Welsh students register at institutions in England. This indicates that there is now a significant disjuncture between an increasingly distinct pattern of governance of Welsh higher education and a pattern of participation which is massively integrated in the 'England and Wales' system.

Career guidance in Wales: retrospect and prospect

“…The circumstances for Careers Wales and for career guidance fit well within the wider educational context described by Rees (2004). He describes how, initially bound together, policies in England and Wales maintained momentum after devolution, but how Wales asserted its commitment to 'deep-seated social democratic virtues' (p. 31), maintaining, for instance, the system of comprehensive schools throughout the country, before developing distinctive responses to national needs.…”

“…To address this concept, ELWa has set up pilots across Wales to combine and maximise training availability to meet local needs. The weakest link in this scenario is work-based learning (Rees, 2004). Feldon (2005) predicts an emerging need for training career practitioners in working with an all-age clientele, requiring diagnostic and facilitating skills to develop their career planning.…”

“…Change is inevitable, but it would be unfortunate if Careers Wales' success in establishing CWOL, augmented by Clic, and in supporting the Learning Coach concept, is ultimately felt by policy-makers to reduce the need for interactive guidance conducted by impartial professionals. Rees (2004) alludes to limitations on the level of Welsh distinctiveness that is possible, linked to the restricted level of devolution in Wales, but nonetheless believes that a distinctively Welsh education system is now in being. It is contended here that a distinctive system of career guidance has also now been established: one indeed that has gained international respect (OECD, 2004).…”

Policy‐Practice Proximity: The Scope for College‐Based Higher Education and Cross‐Sector Collaboration in Wales

“…This involved a focus on the federal structures of the University of Wales rather than on its relationships with other sectors or colleges. Nor did the injection of a Welsh dimension necessarily reduce the 'centralising' influence of UFC policies (Rees and Istance, 1997). More significantly, the Westminster Government did not require, as it did for its equivalent in England, the abolition of the WAB and the creation of a Polytechnic and Colleges Funding Council for Wales.…”

How stable is the stratification of higher education in England and Scotland?

“…The separate organisations that funded and regulated universities and polytechnics respectively were replaced by unified funding councils, with separate councils for England, Scotland and Wales. Formally, the 'administrative system' of HE (Rees and Istance 1997) changed from a binary system covering the whole of Great Britain to three unified systems covering England, Scotland and Wales respectively. Especially after 1999, when the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales were established with devolved responsibilities including HE, this led to some divergence in policies for HE.…”