MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School

Certificate for Approving the Dissertation

We hereby approve the Dissertation

of

Kevin J Smith

Candidate for the Degree:

Doctor of Philosophy

Dr. Denise Taliaferro­Baszile, Director

Dr. Richard Quantz, Reader

Dr. Kathleen Knight­Abowitz, Reader

Dr. Sherrill Sellers, Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT

A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPING THE CURRICULUM CYMREIG: THE LANGUAGE OF LEARNING WELSHNESS

By Kevin J Smith

In this study, I conduct a critical discourse analysis of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, a document published by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2003 that provides guidance to schools for the implementation of a distinctively Welsh curriculum. In this study, I ask the following questions: In what ways does the text establish its authority position in regard to its representations of Welshness? and In what ways does the text represent Welshness? The purpose of this analysis is to investigate how ideology is used in manufacturing consent regarding the representation of Welshness, and to “denaturalize” commonsensical assumptions embedded within these representations. This study accomplishes this by analyzing the organizational features of the text and its linguistic and grammatical elements. Particular attention is given to the relational, expressive, and experiential values contained within the text. From this analysis, cogent themes regarding the representation of Welshness were identified and interpreted. The implications of this research are then discussed within the framework of critical pedagogy, wherein the importance of critical thought and political literacy are featured as necessary elements in all stages of curriculum development and implementation. A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPING THE CURRICULUM CYMREIG: The Language of Learning Welshness

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Faculty of

Miami University in partial

fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Educational Leadership

by

Kevin J Smith

Miami University

Oxford, Ohio

2010

Dissertation Director: Dr. Denise Taliaferro­Baszile TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication...... v Acknowledgements ...... vi Preface ...... 1 Journey to the Question ...... 2 Research Interest ...... 5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 7 Literature Review...... 8 Academic Studies and Welshness...... 9 Introducing the Curriculum Cymreig...... 12 Methodology...... 13 Methods ...... 17 Selection of Text...... 17 Data Analysis...... 17 Unit of Analysis...... 19 Data Units ...... 19 Descriptive Dimension (Coding)...... 19 Interpretive and Explanatory Dimensions (Analysis)...... 20 Final Analysis...... 20 Limitations and Potential Benefits ...... 21 Overview of Study...... 22 CHAPTER 2: A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN WALES...... 24 Early History & the Medieval Ages...... 26 Rebellion, Reformation, and Renaissance ...... 28 The Acts of Union and Cymraeg in Schools...... 32 Philanthropy & Nonconformity...... 34 Treason in Victorian Times...... 37 Contemporary Wales & Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig ...... 43 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ...... 49 General Description and Interpretation of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig...... 50 Formatting ...... 51 Foregrounding...... 52 Framing...... 60 Establishing Authority...... 62 Formal Language ...... 62 Modality...... 63 Linkages ...... 65 Interactional Conventions...... 67 Theoretical and Representative Treatments of Welshness in the Text ...... 68 Theoretical Framing of Welshness...... 68 How does the text represent Welshness?...... 76 The Distinctiveness of Welshness ...... 78 Representations of Experiencing Welshness...... 79 Guidance...... 80 Case Studies ...... 84

ii Theme 1: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Traditional Arts ...... 85 Theme 2: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Geography ...... 86 Theme 3: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing History ...... 89 Theme 4: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Work and Play...... 93 Theme 5: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Cymraeg...... 96 CHAPTER 4: Discussion of Findings...... 99 When Was Wales? ...... 100 Producing Welshness ...... 103 Producing a Nation...... 105 CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY...... 109 Critical Pedagogy and the Curriculum Cymreig ...... 111 Revisiting Limitations...... 117 Future Research ...... 119 Conclusion...... 120 REFERENCES...... 123

iii LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Footer Phrases ...... 61 Table 2. Experiencing Welshness via the Curriculum Cymreig...... 70 Table 3. Examples of Establishing the Distinctiveness of Welshness ...... 78

iv Dedication

To the love of my life.

v Acknowledgements

There are many people that I would like to thank, not only for helping me in completing this dissertation and receiving my doctoral degree, but also for helping me to enlarge my worldview, recognize the importance of “crossing borders,” and embracing the differences that add beauty and meaning to our lives. Thank you.

Carwn gydnabod cymorth nifer o bobl nid yn unig am fy nghynorthwyo i gwblhau fy nhraethawd ymchwil a'm gradd doethuriaeth, ond hefyd am fy nghynorthwyo i ehangu fy nghipolwg ar y byd, cydnabod pwysigrwydd "croesi ffiniau" a dathlu'r gwahaniaethau sydd yn ychwanegu harddwch ac ystyr i'n bywydau. Diolch.

Dr. Denise Taliaferro­Baszile, Dr. Richard Quantz, Dr. Kathleen Knight­Abowitz, Dr. Sherril Sellers, Dr. Dennis Carlson, Dr. Tom Poetter, Dr. Kate Rousmaniere, Dr. Sue Davies, Mrs. Jean Williams, Mrs. Nanna Ryder, Dr. Daniel Williams, Mrs. Laura Pruitt­Stephens, Mr. Reginald Stephens, Mr. Jaron Holmes, The staff and students of Queen Elizabeth High School, Carmarthen, Wales, The Senior Management Team and staff at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, my fellow graduate students in the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University, my fellow teachers and students at Lockland High School, Lockland, Ohio (2005­ 2008), my current fellow teachers and students at Mason Middle School, and last but not least, my loving wife and family.

vi Preface

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't in I jumped upon his Sunday hat and poked it with a pin.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a sham Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of lamb I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was away I stuffed his socks with sawdust and filled his shoes with clay.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a cheat Taffy came to my house, and stole a piece of meat I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was not there I hung his coat and trousers to roast before a fire.

— Popular English Nursery Rhyme

To be born Welsh is to be born privileged. Not with a silver spoon in your mouth, But music in your blood And poetry in your soul

— Popular Welsh Phrase

1 Journey to the Question My entrance into the field of teaching came relatively late in life. After 13 years of working in sales and marketing, I became frustrated with the disparity between what I wanted my life to be and what I thought it had become. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy aspects of that career, or that I wasn’t successful in those particular fields, but I felt a distinct sense of dissatisfaction with what I was doing. My wife and I had serious conversations about our situation. We were financially successful, happily married, and had a beautiful family – but even with all of these assumed indicators of success, we felt something was missing. My wife and I were very young when we married. We were still in our teens when we became parents, and there were many times when we felt we needed to sacrifice long­term goals in order to meet the immediate needs of our family. I began my undergraduate studies shortly after we were married and had only completed a handful of courses when our decision for me to temporarily leave college was made. What was intended to be a brief reprieve from school to focus on generating more income for our family turned into a 13 year hiatus from my undergraduate studies and the practical abandonment of my dream of being a teacher. For over the next decade, I focused on my career in the CE/IT (consumer electronics/information technology) industry, and the growing sense of dissatisfaction grew heavy in my heart and mind. In August of 2001, my wife and I made the decision to “reboot” our lives with the hopes of recapturing what we felt we had lost. I quit my job and arranged job interviews with companies in London, England and Cardiff, Wales. My mother is Welsh, and over the years I had developed a strong desire to connect with my Welsh heritage. As a family, we decided that relocating to the UK might be an opportunity to redefine our focus and purpose. I boarded the plane at the Salt Lake City airport on September 10, 2001. During the flight, the plane was redirected from its destination at JFK airport to CVG airport in Covington, Kentucky. We were told by the captain and crew that severe weather conditions would make it impossible for us to make our connecting flights in New York and we were given a hotel room and dinner for the night. The next morning, I stood at the gate with my boarding pass in hand as I watched the devastating events of 9/11 unfold on the dozens of television screens hanging from the ceiling in the airport. I was stranded in the Cincinnati area for the next three days. Luckily, a family from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky had offered to let me stay in their home. Each night, I

2 would call my wife and we would take stock of our current situation. What did this mean for our family and where do we go from here? From these conversations, my wife and I agreed that heart of the issue didn’t reside in our location, but rather with my vocation. We kept in touch over the next three days through late night phone calls, and during these conversations we recognized two important factors: (1) My current career choice did not replace my desire to be a teacher, it simply blocked my path to that goal. The desire was still there to teach, but up until this point I had felt that “that ship had sailed,” and (2) our desire to explore our Welsh connections was a legitimate need in our own development and orientation to the world. However, we knew we couldn’t fulfill this need without first developing the resources necessary for us to accomplish this type of personal transformation. We felt that a college degree was such a resource. In the months that followed our 9/11 experience, we decided I would return to my undergraduate studies as a full­time student and begin my journey towards life as a teacher. I thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate experience, but one course in particular stood out in contrast to the typical content, methods, and assessment courses that I completed. Dr. Sherry Marx was a new professor at the School of Teacher Education/Leadership in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services at Utah State University, and she was the instructor for the multicultural foundations in education course. To be honest, I didn’t know what “multicultural foundations” were – but they sounded intriguing. As the semester progressed, I was fascinated by the discussions of white privilege, patriarchy, heteronormativity, and other topics that are addressed in these courses. The themes from these conversations resonated deeply within me in both philosophical and emotional terms. My time with Dr. Marx and the multicultural foundations course truly was a transformative experience because it gave me hope that I could strengthen certain beliefs I had about the world and the people in it, as well as re­ learn (or refuse) other ideologically charged beliefs that prohibited me from decentering myself and trying to understand the world from multiple perspectives. It was my first guided experience in developing my ontological and epistemological orientation to education and a major component of my pedagogy. I wanted to pursue these ideas further. Dr. Tom Pedroni, another professor in the School of Teacher Education/Leadership at Utah State University recommended the Department of Educational Leadership (EDL) at Miami University as a possible choice for pursuing a graduate degree. He mentioned names like Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, Dennis

3 Carlson, and Richard Quantz – names which, admittedly, meant little to me at the time, but I would later recognize as important figures in the field of educational leadership and, as I would soon find out in the case of Carlson and Quantz, generous mentors in the development of my scholarship. As a graduate student in the EDL at Miami University, I was further exposed to larger discussions of social justice and inclusion in education. In addition to the scholars mentioned my Dr. Pedroni, I was challenged by other professors in examining my own life and how it relates to issues of social justice in education. In particular, throughout both my master’s and doctoral studies, Dr. Denise Taliaferro­Baszille helped me to make connections between my desire to investigate my Welsh ancestry and my academic pursuits. In addition to other theoretical frameworks of inquiry, I became particularly interested in looking at the ways in which discourse and discursive practices may reveal certain ideological positions within institutions in society. These activities included exploring a variety of theoretical frameworks and their application in theorizing curriculum, a process which refined my general interest in Welsh heritage to a more focused investigation of education in Wales. Although I read many papers, articles, and books that would have a profound impact on my development as a teacher, student, and scholar, the most powerful realization that shaped my pedagogy and theoretical orientation to teaching came through reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 2006). I was familiar with the concept of Praxis – a word that, in my opinion, has been devalued since it has been attached to “Highly Effective Teacher” exams in the US, but the concept of conscientization was something that filled me with a multiplicity of questions about my own educational experiences and the future of public schools. I felt that the writings of scholars like Freire, Kincheloe, and Giroux, were writing specifically to me, and I was excited to discover what I could learn from employing logic and reason in thinking about educational issues in the context of critical pedagogy – a theoretical position which possesses goals and aims similar to those of critical discourse analysis. I began to ask questions regarding how Welshness, or the concept of a Welsh identity, is produced and reproduced in schools in Wales. This dissertation serves as the culmination of these activities, and while my theoretical focus resides in the use of critical discourse analysis, it is also informed by concepts from critical pedagogy and critical theory. I mention this not as a formal, theoretical position to be used in the analysis of my data, but rather as a contextual marker that places this work in connection to other theoretical frameworks. In addition, while this dissertation serves as the ending point for one aspect of my

4 life, I recognize it is really only a small, but important, part of my overall academic development. It is my hope and belief that it will also serve as a doorway to several new opportunities and realities for me and my family.

Research Interest My mother was born in the small town of New Tredegar, Wales. Throughout the next 19 years she would move to other villages, but she wouldn’t leave the valleys of South Wales until 1964. That was the year she immigrated to the US and married my father. As a child, I was supremely interested in my mother’s Welsh heritage – in her Welshness, and now in retrospect, it seems that everything that I knew about Wales as a child I learned from my mother. Our family wasn’t poor, but we didn’t have a lot of money either. Occasionally, my parents would talk about visiting Wales, but it wasn’t until 1981 that we were able to save up enough money to make our first (and only) family trip there. Prior to that experience, all of my knowledge of Wales and Welshness came to me in the form of verbal or written language (text). For example, we had our annual Christmas ritual where we would call my grandparents in Wales, and each of the kids would anxiously take turns trying to understand their thick, Welsh accents. Once in a while my mother would receive a letter from Gran (our grandparents were “Gran” for Grandma and “Granche/Grancha” for Grandpa), and she would read the sections that were intended for each of us. My mother also encouraged me to write my Uncle Joe (her mother’s brother), and he and I would sporadically exchange letters about his garden and long walks around the valley. However, my primary method of learning about Wales was through the stories my mother told me about growing up in the coal­dusted valleys of south Wales. This was my unofficial curriculum in learning Welshness, and the things that I would learn about Wales were very dear to me. These were concepts that I would never learn in school. This realization served as the motivation for me to conduct my own research on Wales and Welshness later on in life. Throughout my studies and experiences teaching, I came to realize the importance of representation – culturally, ethnically, and racially – in curriculum. In reading the works of Delpit (1995), Tatum (2003), and Pinar, et al. (2004) I thought about the consequences of Eurocentric curricula on students of color in the US. I wondered how similar situations might be played­out in schools all over the world – particularly in schools where one cultural identity possesses a hegemonic relationship to other, minority identities. In terms of race, I ruminated on

5 how institutionalized discourses of a particular identity are inscribed upon the bodies of members of racialized groups – such as African Americans and Latino Americans in schools in the US. I also reflected upon how these discourses reaffirmed white privilege and assumed claims to power amongst white students, and how they focused on the assimilation of minority cultures and identities into the Eurocentric norm of the US (Dubois, 2007; Lamagdeleine, 1996; Smith, 2007). I thought to myself, “Did something similar to this happen in Wales?” Over the years I’ve asked my mother about her experiences as a student in Wales. I asked her what elements of Welshness were included as specific curricular objectives during her years in school. Her answers included comments such as, learning to say “Agor y drws” (open the door), “Nos da” (good night), and “Bore da” (good morning) and counting to ten in Welsh (Cymraeg). On multiple occasions, she said she could not remember learning anything about other aspects of Welsh culture or history, such as the Welsh princes or even the tumultuous coal riots of the 19 th century. I was alarmed by what she said and wondered if that was an experience still shared by students in Welsh schools. I began to research the history of education in Wales leading up to the most contemporary curricular initiatives, and I’ve included a summary of this history in this study. The history of education in Wales is a tumultuous tale, with a high concentration of the conflict regarding Welsh identity and language. The current national curriculum for Wales, and the Curriculum Cymreig initiative contained within the national curriculum, do not only describe the standards and objectives for what students should know in schools in Wales, but to some degree they seem to be written in response to much of the conflict recorded in this history. Initially, I was excited to find that curriculum developers in Wales had developed a Welsh­ centric curriculum, but soon new questions regarding how this curriculum was developed and communicated to schools began to coalesce in my mind. Curriculum developers and educational policy makers in Wales must utilize certain discourses and discursive practices in developing and communicating the aims, goals, and best practices associated with the Curriculum Cymreig. I began to wonder what might a critical discourse analysis of the documents used to support the Curriculum Cymreig reveal in regard to how Welshness is positioned as a curricular objective in schools in Wales?

6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The subject of this dissertation is a critical discourse analysis of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig – a document provided by the Welsh Assembly Government that contains guidance for educators in successfully implementing a Curriculum Cymraeg in their respective schools. This document was written in 2003, and is available for download in both English and Cymraeg from the website for the Welsh Assembly Government (http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/ 090902curriculumcymreigen.pdf). The goal of the document is to provide guidance for schools in helping students to “identify their sense of Welshness” and to create a “greater sense of belonging to their local community and country” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2). In conducting this analysis, I asked the following questions: § In what ways does the text establish its authority position in regard to its representations of Welshness? § In what ways does the text represent Welshness? As a doctoral student, I have been fortunate in finding opportunities to study and conduct research in Wales. In March, 2007 I presented a paper discussing the historical commonalities resulting from the remnants of English imperialism shared by African American and Welsh students in schools in their respective countries at a conference for the Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales (CREW) at Swansea University. In 2008, I was awarded a fellowship with the School of Education Studies and Social Inclusion with The University of Wales Trinity St. David in Carmarthen, Wales where I lectured courses on social inclusion and conducted ethnographic research studying students’ understandings of representations of Welshness in Welsh schools, and in April, 2010 I returned to Wales briefly as a means of contextually preparing myself for my dissertation. In each instance, the Curriculum Cymreig was constantly in my thoughts. The two questions listed above have emerged from what has felt like an ongoing mental wrestling match and represent certain suspicions that I may have regarding the subject of my analysis. In addition, they represent themes that I have recognized through prior, cursory readings of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig as well as the analysis conducted for this study. As educators continue to implement a Curriculum Cymreig within their respective schools, many students, teachers, administrators, and parents may develop similar questions. How does the

7 guidance regarding the Curriculum Cymreig establish its authority over the representation of Welshness, and how does it represent this concept? The significance of this study is that I conduct this inquiry from a critical perspective, and utilize the methods of critical discourse analysis in finding possible answers to these questions. I am optimistic that this method and theoretical orientation to the topic can “denaturalize” claims to authority made by the text regarding Welshness. As a result, I hope the unveiling of the ideological assumptions made concerning the maintenance and representations of Welshness will result in providing multiple pathways and new orientations to the concepts of community and individual and collective orientations to identity in Wales.

Literature Review In this section, I explore many of the studies relating to Welshness and curriculum development. Specifically, I mention ethnographic studies of how Welshness is performed, as well as postcolonial studies which explore the representations of Welshness in Welsh writing in the medium of the English language. From a curricular perspective, I mention studies that investigate the development of curricular policies in Wales as part of the devolution of the Welsh government. In addition to the research discussed in this section, there are numerous studies regarding the development of Welsh Medium Education (education solely communicated through Welsh) and bilingual education initiatives in schools in Wales, with many of these studies focusing on how learning Cymraeg (the Welsh language) affects student learning and identity formation. Although there is still a potential for valuable research to be conducted in these areas, I felt compelled to investigate other avenues for research. Although I find these studies a valuable resource, I turn my focus specifically to the relationship between curriculum and identity, and more specifically, to the ways in which educational discourse in Wales maintains and represents Welshness. I’m personally interested in learning more about the dynamic relationship between curriculum and cultural identity. I also wanted to situate my study within a framework that did not have a large presence in the body of academic work regarding education in Wales. Thus, the purpose of this literature review is not only to provide a brief presentation of scholarly work regarding Welsh identity and education, but to also draw attention to the lack of critical studies, and specifically the use of methods associated with critical discourse analysis, in examining and theorizing curriculum in Wales. In reading and reviewing

8 samples of the literature regarding curriculum development in Wales, I did not come across any studies which conducted a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of curricular materials in Wales. With the lack of studies involving CDA, I will focus this literature review on existing studies of Welshness and curriculum development in Wales to provide the reader with a knowledge of the work that has been undertaken in researching Welsh identity and curriculum. It is my hope that this review, and the remainder of this study, will underscore the need for researchers to utilize critical discourse analysis in education in Wales. I also hope that through conducting a critical discourse analysis of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, I can provide a distinctive element to the growing body of work regarding Welshness and schooling, as well as a meaningful contribution to the topic of curriculum and the communication and reproduction of minority identities in education at large. In 1989, the Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC) introduced the Curriculum Cymreig as a “distinctly Welsh” curricular initiative designated with the primary task of assisting educators in helping students to ”Identify their own sense of Welshness” (wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/090902curriculumcymreigen.pdf, 2003). These purposeful, curricular involvements with cultural and national identity bring to mind questions of how the identification and implementation of Welshness is to take shape, how the parameters for such an endeavor are to be established, and to what ends are they to be achieved. For this study, the concept of Welshness is defined as the qualities of being Welsh, which transcends a one­ dimensional cultural designation and can be understood as a signifier of national, cultural, and ethnic identity. In addition, I regard Welshness as a discursive formation (Foucault, 1972) that organizes and normalizes students’ ideological assumptions of their cultural and national identity (Fairclough, 1995). Such formations erupt from the interplay between power, discourse, and the cultural institutions in which these elements are employed.

Academic Studies and Welshness Various studies have been conducted regarding Welshness, and they position this term within a variety of theoretical perspectives, including Welshness as ethnicity, Welshness as performance, and Welshness as postcolonial, and I briefly discuss examples of these studies below. For example, an ethnographic study conducted by Trosset (1993) investigates the notion of Welshness as performance. In this book, Trosset utilizes the work of Butler (1999) and writes

9 that “ethnicity and nationalism can only be understood in terms of dominant notions of personhood” (p.6). This is significant in that this study is the most prominent work featuring Welshness as a socially constructed identity primarily produced and maintained through performative speech acts and ritual, elements which, to a degree, relate to critical language studies and the assertion that language is a form of action and social practice (Fairclough, 2001). Other scholarly pursuits of Wales and Welshness provide insight as to how these “dominant notions of personhood” are established and institutionalized. For example, a collection of texts from Raymond Williams, Wales’ most renowned philosopher, gives particular insight as to the effects of English imperialism on Welsh culture and identity (Williams, 2003) and implies how these influences can complicate how the Welsh come to understand their identity as individuals and as a nation. For example, in Williams’ essay Shadow of the Dragon, a review of Gwyn Williams’ book “When was Wales?,” Williams writes

One of the central advantages of being born and bred among the presumed Welsh is the profusion of official identities… To anyone looking for an official status it was a nightmare. To anyone trying to think about communities and societies a blessing: a native gift. (Williams, 2003, p.67).

Within the broad line of demarcation existing between Williams’ “nightmare” and “native gift” exists the complex reality of a Welsh identity that has been made and remade, established and dislocated. In mentioning Williams, I shift from ethnic and performance oriented research to postcolonial writing and theorizing about Wales and Welshness. For Williams, the mutability of Welshness was part of the postcolonial reality of Wales. In positioning Welshness as postcolonial, Williams’ definition of postcolonialism was distinct in that he did not regard Wales as having surpassed its era of colonization, or that the colonial reality of Wales was being deconstructed and laid bare. Instead he regarded postcolonialism as the “consolidation of colonial occupation into a settled state of affairs” (Williams, 2003, p. xxxi). While ethnographic and performative studies have been conducted regarding the concept of Welshness and how it is represented, perhaps the most prolific body of work in Wales is produced within the “field” of postcolonial studies. Like critical studies, postcolonial perspectives are employed through a variety of disciplines. For example, Aaron and Williams (2005) and Bohata (2004), while

10 primarily discussing postcolonialism as it pertains to Welsh literature written in English, help to examine ways in which the English language, strengthened through the hegemonic influences of English culture and politics, contributed to an overarching discourse of Welshness and what it means to be Welsh in British society. As I mention in Chapter Two, for generations the English state worked to establish a representation of the Welsh as immoral, untrustworthy, lazy, and interminably parochial. For many, this is what it meant to be Welsh in British society, and many of these “qualities” still exist in representations of the Welsh in British media. In furthering my discussion of Welshness as postcolonial, I turn to scholars such as Bhabha and Memmi. Although they did not write about conditions in Wales, I feel their understanding of colonialism and imperialism provides meaningful insight into the struggles for identity and cultural survival in this small principality. As Bhabha (1994) discusses notions of hybridity and “a politics of identification of the imaginary, “ (p.32) I am inclined to consider the role of curriculum as it relates to concepts of identity and the representation of identity. Memmi (1990) argues that an imperial educational system presents an unfamiliar world to students. Within this existence, students not only experience an education with a decidedly alien component, but are also subjected to effects which produce a permanent duality within the student, which speaks to the issue of double­consciousness, which is at its heart a manifestation of the tensions between identity and representation (Dubois, 2007; Fanon 1963, 1967; Smith 2007). Other scholars, such as Williams (1985) and Jenkins (2007) in an effort to relate concise historical accounts of Wales, have written of these imperial entanglements and their effects on the population of Wales, with many of these texts giving special treatment to the ways in which English imperialism has complicated the issue of Welsh education (Jones, 1986; 1991; Jones and Roderick, 2003; Roberts, 1998; and Roberts, 2003). However, the majority of literature discussing issues of imperialism and education in Wales concentrate specifically on bilingual education and the teaching or use of Cymraeg (the Welsh language) in schools. Other large contributions to the body of knowledge regarding Welsh education discuss aspects of the Welsh curriculum, and in particular, the Curriculum Cymreig (Jones, 1989; Daugherty and Owens, 2003; Daugherty & Jones, 1999). What is missing from the body of literature regarding Welshness and education in Wales is an attempt to analyze the discourses of Welshness promoted in schools in Wales, and specifically, how these elements contribute to the production, representation, and reproduction of Welshness. Without an attempt

11 to unveil the existing power relations associated with these discourses and discursive practices, officially produced curricular initiatives, such as the Curriculum Cymreig, may dominate the theoretical landscape of identity construction and obscure the dialectical tensions erupting from competing discourses of Welshness and what it represents.

Introducing the Curriculum Cymreig The Curriculum Cymreig is one of many curriculum initiatives developed and managed by the ACCAC (Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru or the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) and serves a specific role as a central component of the uniqueness that differentiates the National Curriculum for Wales from other national curricula found in educational institutions throughout the United Kingdom. As stated on the ACCAC website (http://old.accac.org.uk/eng/content.php?mID=263, 2008), the Curriculum Cymreig is designed to assist educators in helping students to meet the following objectives: § Understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century § Identify their own sense of Welshness § Feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country. Information provided on the website further states that the Curriculum Cymreig can also “help to foster in pupils an understanding of an outward­looking and international Wales” (http://old.accac.org.uk/eng/content.php?mID=263, 2008). All schools within Wales must incorporate the Curriculum Cymreig scheme into their existing curricular development activities. This treatment of the Curriculum Cymreig is embedded within a discourse of understanding curriculum as “institutionalized text” (Pinar, Reynolds, Slatterly and Taubman, 2004, p.661). Leat and Higgins (2002) provide an example of this approach in discussing curriculum planning as it relates to teacher development. In further studies regarding the national curriculum for Wales, scholars such as Crawford (1998), Daugherty and Owens (2003), Daugherty and Jones (1999), Jones (2000), and Smith (2007) all discuss various political and ideological inferences which complicate the curricular landscape in Wales. For example, Daugherty and Jones (1999) reviewed the resistance exhibited by English legislators in approving a Welsh curriculum in 1988 that situated geography or “the study of place” as a means of helping students achieve academic success in Wales. Daugherty and Owens

12 (2003) conducted a case study regarding the development of a distinctive curriculum for Wales in the face of further development of devolutionary powers granted to the Welsh Assembly, and Crawford (1998) argues that the 1988 National Curriculum for England and Wales was “socially constructed and was a product of ideological struggle, conflict and compromise” (Crawford, 1998, p.261). These scholars approach curriculum as a “political text” (Pinar, et al., 2004, p.243), or to be more specific in terms of this project, an ideological text. In my own theorizing on curriculum, I draw upon the notion of “Curriculum as institutionalized text” and also incorporate the work of scholars such as Freire (1985, 2006), Giroux (2008), McLaren and Kincheloe (2005), and Lather (1992), in acknowledging ways in which the dominant discourses in curricula may be challenged and disrupted. In the case of this study, I hope to reveal possible ways in which narratives of Welshness have been established as true representations of the Welsh identity, and how in actuality these discourses of Welshness are not moored to preexisting, immutable categories of identity, but rather are dynamic, contextual, and varied. In addition, I look to the work of scholars such as Sleeter and Grant, and Aronowitz in seeking a “language of possibility” (Sleeter & Grant, 2003, p.190) that allows for the unfettering of knowledge that contributes to an understanding of one’s self and the world from ideological discursive formations that perpetuate discourses of alienation, marginalization, and oppression. In the midst of these theorizations and investigations of curriculum are questions regarding the purpose of education and how these goals are to be achieved. These questions have been debated since the introduction of public education in Wales in the 15th and 16th centuries. In considering this history, it is important to understand that for the first time in the history of the country, the government of Wales now possesses limited devolutionary powers, powers which grant the ability to develop legislation for public education. Similar to the way in which Noah Webster encouraged schools in the developing American colonies to implement a “new language” in representing an “American identity” (Kaestle, 1983), the Curriculum Cymreig is also a curricular initiative comprised of various discourses and discursive practices used in formulating a representation of Welshness to students in Wales.

Methodology As mentioned above, my study is a critical discourse analysis of a curricular document entitled Developing the Curriculum Cymreig. This document was published in 2003 by the

13 ACCAC (Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru or the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) and is intended to provide guidance for educators in how to successfully implement the Curriculum Cymreig. The Curriculum Cymreig is a curricular initiative designed to assist students in identifying a sense of cultural awareness and identity, as well as feelings of belonging to their community and country (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2). As an approach to inquiry, CDA enables one to peer through the opacity of power­relations found in the discursive practices and texts of social and cultural structures, and assists in informing us how the indistinct features of these relationships bolster the presence and alignment of power and hegemony (Fairclough, 1995). CDA is distinctive from other approaches to language studies because it involves mobilizing a critical perspective in the approach to the subject at hand. This “critical perspective” is intended to demystify and clarify ideologies present within social structures and the discursive practices exercised therein. Fairclough describes the “denaturalization” of “naturalized ideologies” as central to the goals of CDA, and that “denaturalization involves showing how social structures determine properties of discourse, and how discourse in turn determines social structures (1995, p.27). In this study, I define discourse as a form of social practice that represents and calibrates one’s orientation to reality. Fairclough elucidates this position in situating discourse as “a complex of three elements: social practice, discoursal practice, and text” (Fairclough, 1995, p.74). Discourses are produced by, and contribute to, social structures. In using discourse, I mirror Fairclough’s position in claiming language use is “a material form of ideology, and language is invested by ideology” (Fairclough, 1995, p.73), and it is through the analysis of discourse that we may reveal the ideological assumptions at play within these structures. In using the term, discursive formation, I refer to ways in which discourse produces “patterns of regularity in terms of order, correlation, position, and function” (Macey, 2001, p.101). Fairclough describes discursive formations as ideologically produced and associate them with an inseparable way of “talking” and “seeing” that is ideologically imposed, organized, and maintained (Fairclough, 1995, p.40). These statements provide clues as to how CDA is situated within my philosophical orientation to this study, and serve as a starting point from which I can discuss the theoretical landscape in which it resides. At first glance, CDA may be located within a critical discourse. Those who work within a critical discourse reject the privileging of positivism (McLaren & Kincheloe, 2005) and

14 understand that embedded structures may exert historical, political, and cultural constraints on members of society (Quantz, 2009). In terms of this study, this understanding is further enhanced in adopting a critical realist position which argues that “there is a world independent of our beliefs about it, and that both natural and social sciences are concerned with investigating underlying structures” (Benton & Craib, 2001, p.180). Thus, unlike positivism which privileges epistemology and knowledge­claims, realism is more concerned with ontological claims and how we come to know our existence and reality (Benton & Craib, 2001). In addition, while these scholars may agree within an interpretivist understanding of certain societal concepts as being socially constructed, they assert that these do not exist only in meaning, but that they have a material existence with real consequences (Quantz, 2009). Wherein critical discourses of inquiry are traditionally concerned with societal structures, CDA can perhaps be described as post­critical in that those who utilize this approach to research understand such structures as being produced, reproduced and imbued with power through discursive practices. For instance, unlike phenomenology (located within an interpretive discourse) where meaning arises from the individual’s lifeworld and is expressed through their consciousness to the phenomenon being studied, CDA asserts that meaning is discursively formed and located, and that the individuals are then hailed by the discourse and oriented to the meaning located therein. To be more exact, the use of CDA suggests that multiple discursive formations are present within social institutions, and these formations contribute to the normalization of ideologies which promote certain ideological assumptions to the level of common­sense knowledge. (Fairclough, 1995) Thus a critical approach recognizes not only the significance of structures or individuals, but rather the significance of structures, agents, and the discursive practices which reproduce structures and normalize ideological assumptions. From this perspective, CDA acknowledges that “structures are not only presupposed by, and necessary conditions for, action, but are also the products of action; or, in a different terminology, actions reproduce structures.” (Fairclough, 1995, Pg.35). As a result, a critical discourse analysis involves the relationship between “micro” actions or events (such as sexist talk) and their contribution to the reproduction of “macro” structures (sexism) (Van Dijk, 1995). Consequently, the objective of CDA can be described as the revealing of ideological assumptions that operate both explicitly and implicitly within written text and the spoken word (Fairclough, 1995), and through the unveiling of these assumptions we may recognize our

15 subjectification to certain forms of power and control, as well as ways in which we participate in the production and reproduction of power­laden discourse(s) and discursive practices. This speaks directly to the concerns of those working in the critical tradition in that they “identify the contradictions that exist between the way people make meaning of their world and the way the world is materially organized through the structures and institutions and codes of social life” (Quantz, 2009, p.2). Critical discourse analysis can provide a useful perspective from which one can investigate the interplay between curriculum and identity in that it provides the researcher with indispensable tools that enable her/him to see the ways in which ideological components of language work in obscuring power relations in text. For example, Fairclough discusses ways in which newspapers obscure the responsibility of corporations in cases of personal property damage (Fairclough, 2001, p.103). From a completely different perspective, Mayes­Elma (2003) utilized CDA in investigating women’s agency as it is represented and produced in the popular Harry Potter series. In regard to my study, I believe CDA can enable me to describe and interpret some of the ideological influences that organize representations of Welshness. It is my hope that from this process of description, interpretation, and explanation, this study can assist in revealing new ways to approach and interact with concepts of identity and community. Although CDA can be a powerful tool in theorizing the interactions between curriculum and identity in schools, it has not existed without some criticism. For example, there have been criticisms that those who utilize CDA should aim for more concrete evidence of their claims (Toolan, 1997), implying that findings from studies involving CDA are too reliant upon the interpretation of the analysts (Cameron, 2001). I considered these criticisms as I conducted my analysis. While I understand my subjectivity affects the process of description, interpretation, and explanation, I don’t believe that automatically equates to the invalidity of my findings. My emphasis on the language of the text, and in particular, its grammatical features, can provide an element of “concreteness” in that the rules which both vocabulary and grammar are fairly resistant to subjective analysis. A verb describes action. A noun is a person, place, or thing. A declarative sentence is comprised of a minimum of a subject, verb, and object. These elements of language have been identified and defined through countless sources and for generations. However, what is most striking about these criticisms is that they infer critical discourse analysis possesses a more subjective method

16 of analysis than other theoretical approaches, and that this subjectivity is a liability and cannot be employed to the benefit of the study.

Methods Selection of Text In 2003, The ACCAC produced a document entitled Developing the Curriculum Cymreig. This document was an update to existing versions of the document under the same name. As outlined above, Developing the Curriculum Cymreig is intended to “help schools plan and implement the revised school curriculum in Wales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4). As such, this document serves as the official guide for teachers and administrators in developing lesson plans and other academic activities that align with the curriculum requirements outlined in the national curriculum for Wales. I chose this text because it is produced and distributed by the ACCAC, and as such, it is the document that serves as the standard for maintaining the concept of Welshness in schools in Wales. As opposed to lesson plans and other “locally produced” curricular material, this document exists prior to teachers’ and administrators’ interpretations and delivery. As a result, I will be able to analyze concepts and representations of the Welsh identity that are considered to be in line with the expectations and desires of the curriculum developers with the ACCAC.

Data Analysis The analysis of the data collected included in this study will be completed utilizing methods and concepts of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) developed by Fairclough (1995, 2001). This process will be completed in three general stages. The first stage is description, meaning that I will describe the formal properties of the text. The second stage is interpretation, meaning that I will explain the how the text exists as a product of, and resource in, the process of production. The third stage is explanation, meaning that I will explain the relationship between the interactive aspects of the texts revealed in stage two and the social context in which the text and the members interacting with the text exist (Fairclough, 1995). In addition to these stages of analysis, I will also utilize ten questions developed by Norman Fairclough (2001) in conducting the analysis of the text. These questions, and their sub­questions, enable the analyst to investigate what Fairclough calls the relational, experiential, and expressive features of a text. According to

17 Fairclough, relational values may identify the perceived social relationship between the producer of the text and its consumers. Experiential features contain cues regarding the text producer’s experience of the natural or social world. Expressive values provide insight into the producer’s understanding and representation of their reality. Each of the relational, experiential, and expressive features of a text are exhibited through the following categories: Vocabulary, Grammatical, and Textual Structures (Fairclough, 2001). A list of the ten questions (without the accompanying sub­questions) is provided below: 1. What experiential values do words have? 2. What relational values do words have? 3. What expressive values do words have? 4. What metaphors are used? 5. What experiential values do grammatical features have? 6. What relational values do grammatical features have? 7. What expressive values do grammatical features have? 8. How are (simple) sentences linked together? 9. What interactional conventions are used? 10. What larger­scale structures does the text have?

Using these three dimensions and questions relating to the experiential, expressive, and relational features of a text, we can understand language as a socially conditioned process – a form of action that contains conditions of production and interpretation, and these elements affect how texts are produced and interpreted (Fairclough, 2001). My procedure for analyzing the data was situated within this understanding and was an iterative process that required me to read and re­ read the text, and to reflect upon and analyze the features contained within the text. I contemplated the syntactical and grammatical features of the text, as well as the metaphors, tropes, and narratives contained therein. I also considered the overall structure of the text, the arrangement of photos to text, the formatting and foregrounding techniques used, and the general order of contents of the document. I often discussed my initial analysis of the text with the staff at The University of Wales Trinity St. David and my advisor, and these conversations fine­tuned my orientation to the orders of discourse (Fairclough, 2001) used in educational policy in Wales,

18 and deepened my ontological and epistemological understanding of text(s). All of these activities informed my analysis of the data.

Unit of Analysis I utilized two types of units of analysis for this study. Developing the Curriculum Cymreig is a document that consists of a series of case studies that are meant to demonstrate best practices in implementing a Curriculum Cymreig in schools in Wales. For my units of analysis, I differentiated the contents of the document into “case studies” and “guidance.” There are a total of 30 case studies presented in the document. I have chosen a total of five case studies, one from each Key Stage (age­oriented stages of education in the UK) included in the document, for analysis. An example of “guidance” data include sections from the document that are expository in nature and are “official” explanations of the Curriculum Cymreig and its importance. I intentionally selected these sections of the text because I wanted to conduct an analysis of the text that encompassed all of the educational key stages in Wales. In all, a total of seven units of data will be analyzed. A list of these units of data is provided below. The category of data unit is included in parentheses, (G) is used for guidance and (KS#) is used for Key Stage or (A#) for A­ level where appropriate. The # represents the stage level included in the case study.

Data Units § (G) Introduction § (G) What is the Curriculum Cymreig and Why is it Important? § (KS1) The History of Merthyr Tydfil Area § (KS2) Working with a Storyteller § (KS3) What Does it Mean to be Welsh? § (KS4) The Generation of Electricity § (AS/A2) The Millennium Stadium

Descriptive Dimension (Coding) I began the descriptive dimension of my analysis by describing the formal features of the text such as the formatting and organization of the document as a whole. I utilized both electronic and hard­copy versions of the text for my analysis. I then focused on a description of each of the

19 units of analysis, paying particular attention to the grammatical and syntactical features of the text. I also sought to identify elements of the text that related to the two, guiding questions listed previously, keeping in mind to pay attention to the experiential, expressive, and relational values of the grammatical and syntactical features of the text. In instances where I was using the electronic copy of the document, I was able to make notes and observations using the commenting tools provided by the PDF viewing software I used to display the document. I also recorded my findings in another document designed to assist me in the coding of the data. The coding document is an electronic document that is divided into ten sections, with each section aligning to one of Fairclough’s ten questions listed previously. I used the highlighting feature of the word processing software to indicate which of the two guiding questions best matched the data being analyzed. In addition, I kept a notebook with me at all times to capture thoughts and ideas that I felt were important during the stages of my analysis.

Interpretive and Explanatory Dimensions (Analysis) After completing the descriptive dimension of the analysis for a particular unit of data, I began the interpretative and explanative portion of the analysis. I utilized my coding information, notes from conversations and previous readings about curriculum and Welshness, as well as my own personal experiences and understanding of the subject matter throughout my life and in undertaking this study. I asked questions regarding how the text established its authority over how schools should implement a Curriculum Cymreig, as well as the way the text represents Welshness. This is the nature of the interpretive and explanatory process. The findings included in this study are subjective in that my personal experiences, my ontological and epistemological assumptions of identity, education, and language, and my beliefs regarding ethics, power, and how they are positioned within society all contribute to my interpretation of the text and the explanation that I provide.

Final Analysis I relied heavily on my field notes and conversations with my connections with The University of Wales Trinity St. David in taking the separate components of the study and assembling them for my final analysis. I also reflected upon my experiences of teaching and conducting research in Wales, often reading and re­reading my journal entries and blog posts that

20 I recorded during my fellowship there. Finally, I discussed with my committee the purpose of my study and the questions I would use as guides for my analysis. These activities helped me in understanding how all the pieces of the study fit together.

Limitations and Potential Benefits It is often said that the United States and the United Kingdom are separated by a common language, and in some cases the variations in language caused some difficulty in conducting this study. However, these difficulties were minor. Another factor to consider in undertaking this study was learning how the educational system in the UK is organized, as well as which political offices hold authority over the educational developments in Wales. However, these issues were also resolved simply through study. One of the major drawbacks in conducting research with an international element is finding materials from or about the institutions within a particular country. Library resources diminish this difficulty somewhat, particularly features such as Interlibrary loan. However, although helpful, this program does not guarantee success in acquiring materials. This difficulty is magnified when conducting research relating to Wales. Wales is a small country with a diminished global presence. In just considering the population of academics and scholars in Wales, there are a relatively few number of universities and researchers producing scholarly material when compared to England and the US. In addition, this analysis is not meant to address the entirety of the national curriculum for Wales. The Curriculum Cymreig is an aspect of the national curriculum. It is only a piece of the overall strategy for working and learning in schools in Wales. What’s more, the findings from this study are not intended to transfer from this singular dimension to other dimensions of the national curriculum. However, I do hope that they will assist teachers, students, and others working with curriculum in schools in understanding how discourse produces, and is produced by, the discursive practices of agents within social institutions such as schools. Discourse, as a social process, as a form of social action, is embodied in curriculum, teaching, and learning, and possesses ideological assumptions that maintain these discourses and the knowledges and powers to which they are aligned. As Fairclough states, “The more mechanical the functioning of an ideological assumption in the construction of coherent interpretations, the less likely it is to become a focus of conscious awareness, and hence the more secure its ideological status – which means more effectively it is reproduced by being drawn upon in discourse” (Fairclough, 2001,

21 p.71). It is my hope that this study may assist those associated with education in recognizing discourse and its relationship to ideology as they exist in the development of curriculum. Moreover, if I may borrow language associated with the field of critical pedagogy, I hope that through this recognition, the stakeholders in these institutions who are frustrated by the technical rationale that exists as a theoretical foundation in so many educational systems will no longer perceive schools and curricula as oppressive limited­situations (Freire, 2006), but as realities that are dynamic and subject to real transformation. I return briefly to my discussion of critical pedagogy in considering the role of education from this perspective, it is my firm belief that schools must serve as the sites of social transformation in society, and that members of society must develop social and political awareness and literacy in order to perceive their world as real and subject to transformation. This concept relates directly to Freire’s concept of conscientization, where people learn to “perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (Freire, 1985, p.67). Thus, Freire states the goal of conscientization is “…to provoke recognition of the world, not as a "given" world, but as a world dynamically "in the making.” He continues,

…since, as we have seen, men's [sic] consciousness is conditioned by reality, conscientization is first of all the effort to enlighten men about the obstacles preventing them from a clear perception of reality. In this role, conscientization effects the ejection of cultural myths that confuse the people's awareness and make them ambiguous beings. (Freire, 1985, p.89)

Thus one potential benefit of this study that may have long­lasting ramifications is that it can serve as a model for attempting to peer through the opacity of power relations as they exist in the development of curricular goals and aims in public education. From this example stakeholders may utilize similar tools and opportunities to examine the discourses and discursive practices utilized relevant to their situation.

Overview of Study In Chapter Two, I provide a brief history of education in Wales with the intention of emphasizing the hegemonic relationship between England and this small principality. In this

22 narrative, I also discuss key figures that fought for an educational system that they hoped could resist the colonial efforts of the English State. In addition, this history provides the context for the contemporary development of what the Welsh Assembly Government describes as “a distinctive curriculum in Wales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2); a Cwricwlwm Cymreig. In Chapter Three, I discuss my findings and analysis. In my analysis I provide a general description of the document and relate my interpretation of its contents. I then discuss the specific themes which I believe speak to the questions of how the text establishes its authority position regarding the communication and representation of Welshness in schools in Wales, as well as how the text represents Welshness. In Chapter Four, I discuss the implications of these themes and their role in Welsh education as they relate to Welsh society at large. Specifically, I discuss how these elements address the development of the political and cultural sovereignty of Wales and what many in Wales regard as the continuing struggle for self­determined identity and independence. In Chapter Five, I discuss what I believe to be the importance of utilizing a critical perspective in education — both in educational research and in the educational spaces serving as the subject of this research. Specifically, I address how critical language studies, such as this study, can enable educators and students to develop their political literacy and consciousness. In adopting the view of critical pedagogy, I assert that critical studies and practices, both in the class and the administration of the educational system in Wales (and abroad) can result in individuals realizing the transitive nature of what they once assumed to be a fixed, static reality. This reconception of the world, not as a limited­situation, but as a transformable reality, empowers educators and those they serve, and can enhance their orientation to concepts of self, cultural, and national identity.

23 CHAPTER 2: A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN WALES

The history of Wales is more than an account of a single country or nation; it is the history of a multiplicity of people, powers, and perspectives that have all contributed to the present state of devolution in Wales. From its first recognition as a country with a people, Wales has been subjected to one form of domination or another. For example, the contemporary, indigenous term for Wales, the name of the country in its native tongue, is Cymru. This is derived from the Brythonic term Cambrogi, which means “fellow countrymen” (Davies, 1990). The term “Wales,” however, is a derivative of the Saxon word Waelas and was taken up by the Welsh, Latin­speaking clergy in the 12 th century and translates to foreigner (Jenkins, 2007). By the early 12 th century, those who wrote about and for Wales were referring to their “fellow countrymen” as “foreigners.” Is this the beginning of the influence of English imperialism in Wales? It is impossible to know for sure, but it does serve as an indicator of the antiquity of the struggle Wales has experienced in determining its place as a nation and people. If the adoption of a foreign name as a moniker of a nation is an indication of the future of colonization in Wales, then perhaps the development of devolutionary powers in Wales is an indication of a new future. On the 31st of July, 1998, the Government of Wales Act was passed, which in turn brought into existence a devolved legislative body of government called the National Assembly for Wales. Apart from the significance of the political and cultural ramifications of this event, and in considering the long and sometimes difficult history that has developed between England and Wales, the institution of the National Assembly for Wales also had a profound effect on education in this seemingly placid principality. It was from this point forward that Wales, as a self­governing nation­state, would eventually develop its own educational philosophy in determining the goals and methods that the government would employ in meeting the needs of its citizenry. Most importantly, for the first time since the Acts of Union in 1536­1542, these goals and aims would bear a meaningful and distinct differentiation from those of England as they would seek to meet the social, cultural, and economic needs of the Welsh. In the years following the inception of the National Assembly, further development of the government body in Wales occurred, with the most recent and influential change occurring in

24 2006 with the Government of Wales Act 2006. This arrangement, similar to that of the UK government offices and Parliament in Westminster, created a formal, legal separation between (1) the National Assembly for Wales, the legislative assembly, and (2) the Welsh Assembly Government, the executive offices (Government of Wales Act 2006, 2006). Thus, the Welsh Assembly Government now makes decisions, develops and implements policy, and exercises executive functions regarding the social needs and expectations of the citizenry of Wales and, in turn, the National Assembly for Wales serves to “scrutinise the Assembly Government’s decisions and policies; hold Ministers to account; approve budgets for the Welsh Assembly Government’s programmes; and have the power to enact Assembly Measures on certain matters” (Government of Wales Act 2006, 2006). Such an arrangement has never before been had in Wales, even when Wales’ native princes ruled over their respective kingdoms in days long­passed. In educational terms, the ability for the Welsh people to be represented through a legislative body promises the capacity to empower the Welsh in devising the educational means and pursuits which best serve their interests through a legislative body governed by and comprised of Welsh citizens. The process of devolution in Wales continues still, with arguments for and against the ultimate state of independence from England, and with these arguments come larger ramifications in terms of economy, culture, and in particular, education policy in Wales. The history of education in Wales is a story of struggle framed in a web of religious, political, cultural, and economic pressures. For the Welsh, certain challenges existed in the form of inadequate materials, deplorable facilities, and poorly trained teachers, who although had a desire to teach, simply were not provided with adequate instruction commensurate to their needs or the needs of their students. In addition, ideological struggles and misconceived notions of who deserves an education, and for what reasons, further complicated the development of a viable, well­constructed system of education in Wales. The remnants of this historical reality still, to a degree, mitigate the educational success of students in Wales. Over the years, educational leaders in Wales have acknowledged this fact, and as Wales has struggled to develop a national identity, on its own terms, in the European Union (and even in the UK), these leaders have attempted to make a positive impact on the efficacy of education in Wales at large, as well as contributing to the richness of the individual experience of the student.

25 What follows is a brief, and admittedly, incomplete description of the history of education in Wales. In this summary, I address key historical periods and specifically discuss individuals working in these eras that contributed to the development of a system of public education in Wales and the eventual creation of the Curriculum Cymreig. These individuals valued the cultural distinctiveness of Welsh culture and possessed the need to develop an educational presence that would ultimately open the doors to devolution and the localized governance of education in Wales. I emphasize the contributions of these individuals, as opposed to writing a broad narrative of educational history in Wales because their personal motivations, political and ideological connections, and educational philosophies play key roles in the development of a system of education in Wales. Moreover, their stories assist in illustrating the actions made by real individuals in the political struggles of two nations vying for the control of a method of constructing, reproducing, and communicating the culture of a people – struggles which are often rendered so abstract that the efforts of the individuals are lost in a “historical haze.” In speaking of a “historical haze,” I would be remiss if I did not mention the absence of women in this summation of the history of Welsh education. Unfortunately, little is said of the women who labored to ensure quality education for students in Wales. In cases where they are mentioned, they are often simply attached to charismatic male figures that are vaunted as champions of their cause. However, in reality, I’m sure there are as many women (or more) with as many (or more) compelling stories as the three men who are described in the paragraphs that follow. Perhaps in the future I can lend a hand into bringing their stories to light. Finally, I draw attention to the fact that the desire to include Welsh culture as a distinctive element in the education of the Welsh people was in direct response to elements of English imperialism that were transmitted through centuries of colonization of Wales by England, with the perfect instrument of empire being made manifest in the forms of Anglican philanthropy and carried out through multiple iterations of English educational policy.

Early History & the Medieval Ages This description of the early history of education in Wales begins in the 5th century. At this point in time, the Romans had successfully subdued the Welsh populace for over three hundred years and, although the Romans would soon withdraw from Britain, a precedent for the linguistic impact of the Romans had been established. While, Latin was established as the language of

26 religion and law, Cymraeg (their native tongue) was used by the majority of the Welsh in their everyday lives (Jenkins, 2006). At the end of the 5th century, the Romans left Wales, but their influence remained with the introduction of Christianity into Wales and the use of Latin as the ecclesiastical language of the church (Jones & Roderick, 2003). In terms of education, life in Wales during the 5th century was largely comprised of subsistence farming and agriculturally­ based trade (Jenkins, 2006). In this environment, education for the common­folk (Gwerin or y ‘werin in Cymraeg) didn’t occur in classrooms. Rather it occurred between fathers and sons in the fields, mothers and daughters in the home, and other non­familial, social relationships in the villages and towns that dotted the Welsh landscape. Formal education began with the Monks of the early Celtic Church. Illtud, a 5th century monk, founded an institution for learning in south Wales which drew disciples from as far as Brittany (Williams & Hughes, 1978). However, this form of education was not extended to “y ‘werin,” as literacy was the purview of clerics and was viewed as necessary for the propagation of the gospel, but not necessarily for the saving of souls. For hundreds of years the Monks would continue studying and copying their sacred texts, while Welsh kings and princes would rule over their respective kingdoms in Wales. During these years, an emphasis on oral histories and traditions gave rise to the role of the bard; an individual who underwent long and thorough training in poetry and genealogy (Jenkins, 2006), and the lawyer, who also trained orally and assisted kings and lords in interpreting the law. Bards were afforded places of honor and responsibility in the courts of the king and his lords, as they were the “guardians of the whole corpus of the traditional lore of the royal family and the people they ruled” (Williams & Hughes, 1978). Lawyers were also well respected, but did not receive the acclaim that accompanied the bard. Another example of the value of oral traditions is found in the guilds where skilled­instruction was shared with apprentices and guild­members and carefully guarded from those outside of the guild. This guardianship of knowledge ensured a demand for services rendered and also protected lines of economic and social mobility from the general populace. The emphasis on the bardic tradition, study of the law and religion, and the role of the guilds are made known in the Law of Hywel the Good (Cyfraith am Hywel Dda, c. 880­950).

There are three arts which a villain may not teach his son without the lord’s permission, scholarship, bardism and smithcraft; because if his lord permits the scholar to wear a

27 tonsure, or a smith to enter a smithy, or a bard to sing, then no one can afterwards enslave them. (Jenkins, 1986, p.19)

In this short passage, the importance of education as a vehicle for social mobility and liberation, as well as a method of excising oneself from the complete influence of the king or lord, is made manifest. However, as the administration of royal affairs grew more complex and early medieval life of people in Wales met challenging circumstances, the emphasis for oral traditions were lessened and the desire for a formalized, text­based form of education increased.

Rebellion, Reformation, and Renaissance As time passed from the Dark Ages into the latter part of the Medieval Ages, three calamities would come to affect the development of formal education in Wales (Jones & Roderick, 2003). The first of these instances came with the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1282. With the coming of an English King came the death of Llewelyn ap Grufydd, the last native prince of Wales, and any notion of Welsh self­government. The conquest of Edward I started the eventual colonization of Wales and Anglicization of Welsh culture, an influence that continues to pervade aspects of Welsh education (Smith, 2007). The second calamity was the “Black Death,” which killed approximately one­third of the population in Wales (Jenkins, 2006). The Black Death was no respecter of persons. The clergy who travelled throughout Wales and served the laity of the hamlets and villages throughout the country also suffered from its effects. As a result, the ranks of literate clergy were devastated, and those who did remain most often copied existing Holy Scripture without developing new intellectual contributions (Jones & Roderick, 2003). Moreover, fears of infection ran unchecked, and as a result religious institutions were less likely to accept new scholars. Consequently, the body of scholars in Wales shrank in numbers. The final significant development of the Middle Ages that would affect formal education was the defeat of the Welsh rebellion led by Owain Glyndwr in the 15th century. The circumstances of the life of Owain Glyndwr are shrouded in mystery. There is no record of his birth or where he died (Jenkins, 2007). Shakespeare described him as “not in the roll of common men” and in Henry IV, he had King Henry refer to Glyndwr as “that great magician, damn'd Glendower” (Shakespeare, 2005, 1.3. 83). The reality of Glyndwr would prove equally intriguing. He was the son of an affluent nobleman, had served in the English army, and even spilled Celtic blood

28 (Jenkins, 2009, p.111). He “became the most impressive and eloquent defender of the right of the Welsh people” (Ibid.) and was proclaimed Prince of Wales by a group of devoted followers in Glyndyfrdwy, Edeirnon, in Merioneth (Jenkins, 2009). As Glyndwr grew in power and influence, his desire for Welsh independence also increased. Convinced with the righteousness of his cause, he waged guerilla warfare against the English state in the mid 1400’s. The Welsh uprising disrupted many facets of life in Wales. English forces gathered a larger presence in Wales, resources were diverted to support the war, and tensions between the English state and the principality of Wales worsened and never truly recovered. Apart from the disruptions of war, the economic recovery that followed the Black Death and Glyndwr uprising placed a focus on crafts and literature which not only prompted a change in methods of training for bards, but also opened the doors to a broader distribution of skills­ instruction for laborers (Jones & Roderick, 2003). In addition to these economic developments came a greater need for lawyers who could help arbitrate the law during these prosperous times. However, the training of lawyers had to change in order to meet the growing demand for written records. In previous years kings and lords depended on bards and lawyers, who were orally trained in poetry, genealogy, and law, for the administration of their kingdoms. However, in the latter part of the medieval ages, the complications of administering “the king’s justice” required literacy as well as knowledge of the traditions of the land and royal house (Jones & Roderick, 2003). Situated between the horror of the “Black Death” and the violence of Glyndwr’s revolution, a lawyer by the name of David Holbache and his wife Guinevere founded a grammar school in Oswestry, Wales in 1407. The Holbaches had no official affiliation with any religious denomination and are described as possessing a “vision and love of learning which characterized this early period of the Renaissance” (Symons, 2007). Instances such as this challenged the churches dominion over education at the time and also contributed to the growing disparity between land owners, those who could afford to attend schools, and their tenant, landless laborers. The role of the church in education would change rapidly in the 16th and 17th century, particularly as it would undergo a massive transformation via the apparatus of the state (and in particular, the influence of the Henry VIII). Latin had remained as the language of the church, and as such, Welsh parishioners would essentially attend services fully conducted in a foreign tongue. At this point participation in religious rites relied entirely on recognition of a few choice

29 words and graphic representations of the gospel. However, as the Reformation swept through Britain, the visual elements of the services – stained glass windows, iconography of the Virgin Mary, and depictions of pilgrimages were almost entirely removed (Jones & Roderick, 2003). The priests and worshippers were now left with little more than catechisms and litanies that were of little use to those who did not have a strong grasp of Latin. It was becoming increasingly apparent to Welsh worshippers and clergy alike that reading the scriptures in their own tongue was the only way to real salvation. In some cases, small groups of people throughout England and Wales were meeting together in parishes throughout Britain for lessons on the scriptures and basic grammar­school style education. The English state also understood the power of literacy and the potential it possessed in providing pathways to greater freedom and liberation. During his reign in the early 16th century, Henry VIII decreed that “the bible should only be read by the aristocracy, gentry, and prosperous merchants” (Ibid). In addition, Henry VIII enacted the Chantries Act of 1547 which placed all chantries under control of the king. While this was problematic for the local clergy, it was even more devastating to the poor people of their parishes who would no longer have access to what little education they received through the church. Apart from these complications, the scriptures existed as the most common reading material of the time, and Welsh clergy continued to believe that the inability to read the scriptures would not only threaten the eternal salvation of the Welsh, but would also keep them ignorant and out of touch with the economic and political developments of the day. Thus, in 1588 Bishop William Morgan arranged for the translation of the Bible into Welsh, a relatively simple undertaking which would transform the religious and educational landscape of Wales. As the 16th century progressed, the position of the state and upper­class regarding the poor lower­class members was greatly influenced by the development of, and appreciation for, culture inspired by the Renaissance. However, in regards to the lower­class, education was continued to be a primary function of the church in the saving of souls. In opposition to her father’s views, Queen Elizabeth viewed the Bible, and reading the Bible, as a necessary tool in the battle for people’s souls. In addition, many upper­class citizens developed charitable organizations which served to establish grammar schools through England and Wales for the poorer citizenry. These philanthropic efforts were the result of the double­edged sword of Puritanism which led to the acquisition of greater wealth on one­hand and the need for charitable service on the other. Through these philanthropic efforts, a handful of privately funded, grammar

30 schools continued to operate in Wales from the 16 th century into 17th century. The curriculum of these schools reflected that of the ancient universities and church schools in England and focused on classical instruction, with all instruction held in English. The focus of studies was on the Latin and Greek languages, and relied on memorization and learning by rote rather than the dialectical method of instruction found in the medieval ages (Jones & Roderick, 2003). In 1650 the Act for the Better Preaching and Propagation of the Gospel in Wales contributed to a larger perspective on the education and spiritual needs of the Welsh. This Puritan­led initiative established 60 grammar schools throughout Wales. Although short­lived, this educational initiative incorporated the international view of Comenius, a Swedish theologian and educator who “believed that education should be provided from infancy, first in the home, then in the village school, then in the city gymnasium, and finally at university” (Jones, 2003, pg. 18). Comenius also shared the Lutheran notion that education should not be grounded in narrow classicism, but instead should serve as a preparation for life. A Puritan educational philosophy also included the influences of Hartlib and Dury who viewed education as a means for saving souls and a safeguard against the sins of idleness and profanity. (Jones & Roderick, 2003) Although well­intentioned, these endeavors were constructed on ideas born from the urban areas of England and translated poorly into the rural reality of the Welsh. For most Welsh, both the language and experience of formal education were a foreign concept that alienated them to a degree from the concepts they were intending to learn. If the formal education of the Welsh was to succeed, it seemed that it must be a movement born within Wales that radiated outward from the people and not a prescribed method of English assimilation. Undoubtedly, the most important educational development to arise from the 17th century was the organization of the Welsh Trust by Thomas Gouge, an English Puritan minister who was ejected from the clergy in London. In 1674, he established a charitable organization that provided a network of over 300 schools throughout Wales (“Gouge, Thomas,” 2009). Although his death in 1681 marked the end of the Welsh Trust movement, it inspired the creation of another charitable organization that would have an even more significant contribution to early education in Wales. In 1699 the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was created. This organization quickly established a nation­wide network of Anglican charity schools across Wales. For the next 40 years, the SPCK would continue to develop schools throughout Wales, as

31 well as expanding upon the regularly used “grammar school” curriculum. It was during this period of time that the first noted “Welsh hero” of education emerged. This figure would not only lead to the broadening of the Welsh philosophy of education, but he would also contribute to the shifting of Welsh religion from the main body of the Anglican Church (the nonconformist movement), a shift that had far­reaching cultural and political significance in Wales.

The Acts of Union and Cymraeg in Schools The establishment of the Anglican Church as the church of the state had a large impact in terms of developing a system of education in Wales. Charitable and church­led organizations, including Catholic, Presbyterian, and Anglican groups, would each vie for the salvation of Welsh souls and the monetary donations of the people who possessed them. In addition to these movements, other important developments in the form of national legislation developed during the reign of Henry Tudor (VII). These initiatives would then be further expanded and established by his descendent Henry VIII. These actions would also have long­lasting effects on Welsh education and society at large. With the ascendancy of Henry VIII to the throne of England came sweeping changes to the political relationship between Wales and England. The changes produced effects that persevered through the ages and were firmly situated at the very heart of curriculum development in Wales in the 20th century. From 1536­1567, The Acts of Union were introduced, and the effects of these legislative acts would have a profound effect on the lives of the Welsh. Through the Acts, the English crown assumed full control of Wales. This granted a benefit to the Welsh people in that they could now be represented in parliament. However, the cons far outweighed the pros, with perhaps the greatest detriment taking the form of English becoming the official language of the realm. Welsh could no longer be used in state­controlled venues, meaning Welsh could not be spoken in parliament, court proceedings, marriages, or any other official state discourse (such as buying or selling land or paying taxes). At the time, Wales was predominately a monoglot country with the vast majority of its citizenry capable of only speaking Cymraeg. This legislation effectively rendered them quite literally subjects to the crown, with no recognized access or appeal to the law in their native tongue. Although these events occurred in the 16h century, I will briefly describe how this attitude towards Cymraeg continued in schools through to the 20th century.

32 The institutionalization of prejudice against the Welsh language gave legitimacy to the belief that the Welsh were simple, parochial, and unrefined (Jenkins, 2006). As English was the language of modernity, Cymraeg was the tongue of the native, and it had no place in the future of Britain. As the years rolled on, this perspective regarding Cymraeg bled into nearly every aspect of Welsh life. English became the language of the workplace, the schoolyard, and eventually the home. This phenomenon is a practical example of what is meant by hegemony (Gramcsi, 1971) – no swords, bayonets, or guns were used in the near elimination of Cymraeg. Instead, many Welsh were compelled by the rhetoric of the English government and the discursive practices which both produced and reproduced the dominancy of the English language, and voluntarily abandoned Welsh. The consensual attack on the Welsh language took many forms. For example, in elementary schools during the 18th and 19th century, teachers, administrators, and students alike participated in a practice that came to be called the “Welsh Not.” If a child spoke Welsh in the classroom, he or she would receive the “Welsh Not” – a small wooden placard on a lanyard that was worn around the neck. The “Welsh Not” operated much like a “dunce cap” during the U.S. colonial schooling period and was intended to humiliate the student. If the child continued to speak Welsh, he or she would be whipped by the schoolmaster. In addition, Welsh children were encouraged to “snitch” on each other if they heard their schoolmates speaking Welsh in the yard, and they would be rewarded with candy when they turned their friends in. In my own family history, my mother’s great­grandfather told stories of wearing the “Welsh Not” and the ramifications of speaking his native tongue in school. This practice, the advent and spread of English industrialization and capitalism, the influx of English­speaking immigrants into the coal rich valleys of south Wales, and the ravages of two world wars had devastating effects on the Welsh language. According to Jenkins (2006), at the time of the 1901 census roughly 80 per cent of the Welsh population in y fro Gymraeg (the Welsh heartlands) spoke Cymraeg. However, by 1951 the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales was reduced to less than 29 per cent. Throughout the history of Welsh education, many educators and those concerned with Welsh education and culture observed this decline with dismay. Many of the changes that have occurred in recent years in Welsh education have been primarily concerned with the reclamation of the Welsh language. The Welsh language was officially recognized as an official language in the UK in 1993 (Welsh Language Act, 1993), and in 2001, the number of people speaking Cymraeg in Wales increased for the first time since the

33 census of 1901 (Jenkins, 2006). Since the Welsh Language Act of 1993, Welsh has become a compulsory subject in schools in Wales, and many schools are bilingual or wholly Welsh medium environments. Whereas in previous years educators and clergy were concerned with the salvation of the souls of the Welsh, many influential, contemporary educational authorities regarded Cymraeg as the spirit of Welshness and were concerned with saving the soul of Wales itself.

Philanthropy & Nonconformity Griffith Jones (1684­1761), who served as the rector of Llanddowror, was driven by strong convictions to preach the gospel. However, he could not ignore what he called the “extremely miserable blindness” of his own country. Initially, he attempted to overcome this blindness through preaching, but he would soon write “how deplorably ignorant the poor people are who cannot read, even where constant preaching is not wanting, while catechising is omitted” (Gittins, 1954, pg.13). Jones had a talent for preaching, but perhaps even a greater talent in procuring funding for his vision of a school that enabled Christians to not only read, but also understand the scriptures, and in particular, the catechisms of the church. Sir John Phillips of Picton Castle, an original member of the SPCK, was Jones’ initial grant source. However, Phillips’ death in 1737 would eventually lead to Jones developing a relationship with Madam Bridget Bevan, who proved to be a close friend and staunch supporter who worked with Jones through the remainder of his life. The success of the Circulating Schools of the SPCK movement was built upon the shrewdness of Jones in financial matters, as well as his ability to transform the curriculum to better meet the needs of Welsh students. The teaching was in both English and Welsh, and the SPCK also published and distributed a Welsh Bible. While this was not illegal, it was not something that the Church of England would have supported. This work was achieved primarily through the efforts of a Welsh Bishop name William Morgan (1541­1604), and he is credited with contributing to the survival of the Welsh language (Jenkins, 2007; Jones and Roderick, 2003). In addition to basic literacy and the catechism, boys were taught arithmetic. Girls who attended the school would learn needlework, spinning, and weaving. Although the schools were set up in a wide variety of buildings, annual inspections kept the standards to a high level. By 1761, the year of Jones’ death, it is estimated that 150,000 were taught in

34 approximately 3,300 schools throughout Wales (Gittins, 1954). This number does not represent the adult students who eventually attended the schools, a practice unheard of in earlier years. The educational, religious, and even political influences of Jones would be felt for years after his death. For example, Thomas Charles (1755­1814), a fellow Welshman from Carmarthenshire regarded Jones as his mentor, even though Charles was only six years old when Jones died in 1761. In considering the impact and goal of Charles’ mission for creating a system of schooling in Wales, Gittins references a quote from the 18 th century regarding the future of Wales, “‘Pwy a gyfyd Gymru, canys bechau yw?’ By whom shall Wales be raised, for she is small?” (Gittins, 1954, pg.31). Who is the caretaker of the Welsh students’ scholarship and salvation, and what are the ramifications of this stewardship is lost? This question is important in that the Welsh could now take the biblical accounts of which they were reading and apply it to their own lives (the quote referenced above was a question the prophet Amos had asked regarding the Israelites), and also that they possessed a shared faith in the moral uplift of Wales that would come about by the hand of God manifested through the education of the Welsh, and it is in these circumstances that Thomas Charles entered into the field of education. Charles attended the dissenting Academy in Carmarthen, an institution descended from a nonconformist tradition. Throughout his training, Charles associated with Calvinists and Unitarians, and ultimately with Methodists while at the Academy in Carmarthen. It was during his associations with the Methodists that he considered himself to be saved (Gittins, 1954). However, even with his eternal salvation in hand, the reality of Charles’ mortal life was marked by periods of trouble – particularly financial trouble. His studies at Oxford following the Academy in Carmarthen were marked by financial embarrassments. Moreover, once returning to Wales he had difficulty in establishing a living in Bala, a city in the rural northern portion of Wales. He did, however, marry well, and it was this union that brought him not only financial peace, but also an opportunity to develop social connections with other Methodists in the area. His marriage to Miss Sally Jones of Bala, marks the second appearance of a well­financed woman who contributed to the success of education in Wales, but whose mention is only accompanied by that of her “heroic” husband. When Charles joined the Methodist movement in Bala, it was a movement in crisis. Charles was motivated to preserve this tradition since this was the pathway to his own salvation. However, he recognized, as did Jones before him, that preaching to an illiterate populace could

35 not result in the saving of souls. With the circulating schools established by Jones going bankrupt with the death of Madam Bevan in 1778, the Welsh had little opportunity to attend free schools (or schools with a limited fee structure). Therefore, Charles felt his first task was to educate the people, and so he established his own charity schools to accomplish this task. Charles followed Jones’ example through hiring untrained teachers, training them himself, and then paying them on a modest scale. However, his greatest success (educationally speaking) was in expanding the curriculum established by Jones. Where Jones rigidly believed in the catechism as the primary source of salvation, and therefore the core component of his educational philosophy, Charles incorporated more of a pragmatic approach. The popularity of his schools was predicated on the fact that there was no fixed curriculum applied to all schools. There were particular features which were found in all schools, but in areas that demonstrated particular needs, Charles adopted “extended facilities” and experimented with various methods of instruction and content areas that would work to meet those demands (Gittins, 1954). In addition, Charles schools were socially inclusive. This is not to say that children with mental, emotional, or physical disabilities were attending the school, or that differentiated instruction took place, but rather that the schools were not confined to serving the children of the laboring classes. Thus, it was possible that children of the local gentry sat next to those who were working in their fathers’ fields directly after school let out. Additionally, Charles placed a greater emphasis on additional reading material than just the Bible. Finally, Charles had a developed a coherent theory regarding the use of the Welsh language in teaching (Gittins, 1954). He believed, and was able to prove through the educational outcomes of his students, that literacy in Welsh did not hinder literacy in English (as was commonly believed at the time), but rather literacy in one language worked in establishing literacy in a second language. Charles held lessons on Sunday afternoons, allowing parents to send their children to school without sacrificing labor needed around the home. These Sunday Schools were managed by a democracy of teachers (Gittins, 1954) which contributed to a wide variety of educational methods that were elastic enough to meet the various needs of the populations they served. These factors, along with the fact that Charles operated as the architect of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist denomination, created a demand for the Sunday Schools that surpassed the notoriety of the SPCK schools. This nonconformist movement swelled on the educational growth of the students of the Sunday Schools and led to a unique form of worship that was equal parts

36 nationalism and spiritualism. Through the nonconformist movement, education was highlighted as a means to spiritual enlightenment and social and civic understanding and responsibility. Not only did the individual curricula strive to meet the needs of the local constituencies, but the teachers also practiced democratic methods that could be observed as a model of successful social living for the students and community. These concepts and practices are important features of a nation looking to establish itself from a long and drawn­out crisis of cultural and political renewal. As Jones notes in his lecture referred to earlier, “Charles’ motto might have been, ‘Canus nid oes i ni yma ddinas barhaus, eithr un i ddyfod yr ŷm yn ei ddisgwl’: For we have not here an abiding city, but we hope for one to come” (Gittins, 1954, pg.54).

Treason in Victorian Times The hope for “an abiding” Wales came for many in the form of the industrial revolution of the 19th century. In many parts of Wales, the economic influx developed by coal and steel eventually translated into educational attainment and some semblance of financial stability and social mobility. With the development of industry came the infusion of people into the valleys of Wales. In the latter part of the century, the population of cities such as Merthyr Tydfil would more than double in size, leading to poverty, disease, and political unrest. In these times, only 70 per cent of children ages 8 through 12 attended school, while many children (some as young as seven years of age) were sent to work (Jones & Roderick, 2003). With the majority of education still existing as a voluntary endeavor, the nonconformists viewed the increasing funding from the English government as a method of developing greater state control and influence of the established Anglican Church over education. Nonconformity was rapidly evolving as not only a religious movement, but also a political movement that promoted Welsh culture and independence. Moreover, many nonconformists believed in the transformational power of education as the vehicle for political and cultural viability for Wales in the 19th century. However, none of the nonconformists who shared this perspective would have as much influence on the education of the Welsh as Hugh Owen. Hugh Owen (1804­1881), who was a central figure in not only improving the educational provisions offered in Wales, but also sought to address what he believed were attacks on Welsh culture from educational “experts” from England (Gittins, 1954), was born on the isle of Anglesey, far removed from the southern villages that were soon to be ravaged by the onslaught

37 of industry. Owen was bred in the Methodist tradition and eventually influenced by Calvinist preaching. At the age of 21 he learned short­hand and left Anglesey to work in the office of a Welsh lawyer in London. He enjoyed varied success while in London and was eventually married. His wife, however, could not withstand Welsh sermons and eventually joined a Baptist church. Owen soon joined as well. All of these experiences attributed to his undogmatic religious beliefs, which although were strong, did not dominate the scope of his educational philosophy as it did his predecessors. He was not overly concerned with the saving of souls (like many of his predecessors) as much as he was concerned with the preservation of the Welsh language, and as a result, Welsh culture. While in London, Owen became Chairman of National Temperance League and many other charitable organizations. He also became further involved in political matters in London and assisted Benjamin Disraeli in the preparation of his Reform Bill (Jenkins, 2006). While Owen established himself politically, the disparity existing between the urban and rural areas of Wales was becoming more and more apparent. In developed areas of Wales successful schools were positioned in areas of economic growth and stability, while schools which were inadequate were cast against a much more dismal background of industrial pollution, outbreaks of dysentery and cholera, and unchecked poverty. Isolated schools in remote districts faced their own difficulties. “A Welsh­language culture enjoyed its extra­mural existence, but it is the degree of isolation, mental, emotional, even fashionable isolation, which distinguished the more from the less developed regions” (Gittins, 1954, p.74). In both cases of deprivation, the general population lacked access to dignity and respectability. Owen was committed to the notion of respectability, and in turn felt it was necessary to make Wales respectable as well and to bring it into modern society. Motivated by what many nonconformists felt was the encroachment of England and the Anglican Church upon the domain of Welsh education, Owen engaged in a political tour de force. His desire to see Wales develop into a respectable nation served as his primary motivation. Utilizing his Methodist connections in Wales, and the power associated with the various roles he held in various organization, Owen sought to rally the nonconformist forces against the onslaught of the Anglican Church. The first forays would come in the form of educational grants for schools in Wales, which roughly equated to English funds for schools that privileged an English perspective. However, the main thrust of the struggle would come in 1847 through the

38 Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry Into The State of Education in Wales, or what the Welsh referred to as Brad y Llyfrau Gleision (the treachery of the blue books, a reference to the blue covers of the reports). Owen’s response was manifested in editorials, academic articles, and blistering political rhetoric that decried validity and intent of the report. William Williams, the MP from Coventry at the time, claimed that an improved school system was necessary to establish order in what he regarded to be the chaotic, wild regions of Wales. According to Roberts, Williams argued that “…education was a cheaper and easier way of creating an obedient population than the use of force…” and that “…the moral power of the schoolmaster was a more economical and effectual instrument in governing this people than the bayonet.” (Roberts, 1998, Pg. 24). Williams possessed the view of the Welsh being backwards, parochial, and of a different class of people all­together – a sentiment that had been nurtured through centuries of domination by the English. In explaining his rationale for the “blue books,” Williams stated, that without the “fostering hand of Government,” the Welsh will “inevitably continue as… the most degraded and benighted of Her Majesty’s subjects” (Kreider, 2002, p31). When published, the contents of the “blue books” contained accurate depictions of the deplorable state of education throughout the majority of Wales, as well as truthful descriptions of the desire for many Welsh students to learn. For example, J.C. Symons, one of three authors of the report wrote:

I can speak in very strong terms of the natural ability and capacity for instructions of the Welsh people. Though they are ignorant, no people more richly deserve to be educated. In the first place, they desire it to the full extent of their power to appreciate it; in the next, their natural capacity is of a high order, especially in the Welsh districts. They learn what they are even badly taught with surprising facility. Their memories are very retentive, and they are remarkably shrewd in catching an idea. In the words of a clergyman who has lived among them, they “see what you mean before you have said it.” (Lingen, Symons, & Johnson, 1847, pg.57)

However, the most important contents of the “blue books” were the significant anti­Welsh sentiments demonstrated by each of the authors. In the reports, the moral and cultural qualities of

39 the Welsh were under constant attack. Symons, who wrote so positively of the Welsh people’s educability, would also argue that

…there are few countries where the standard of minor morals is lower… Petty thefts, lying, cozening, every species of chicanery, drunkenness . . . and idleness prevail. . . among the least educated part of the community, who scarcely regard them in the light of sins. (Lingen, Symons, & Johnson, 1847, pg.57)

The other commissioners were equally insulting, if not more so, and through their vitriol the intent of the report as an instrument of denigrating the Welsh would provide justification for the restructuring of their educational system and attempts to replace the ideals of nonconformity with Anglican dogma. Thus, although the report did reveal the inadequacies of Welsh education, it was more of a method to perpetuate the colonization of Wales and an effort to establish the cultural assimilation of the Welsh to an English norm (Smith, 2007). In previous work, I have written about how a system of public education in Wales was developed where a nationalized curriculum decidedly based on English history and identity displaced historically and culturally aware curricula in Wales, with the possible result being the continued marginalization and “othering” of the Welsh. Bohata (2004) underscores my concern in writing the following:

…the psychological analyses of the colonial situation by Fanon, Memmi, and others is useful in understanding the Welsh experience, where the Welsh sense of inferiority described by Thomas and Williams is instilled (in part) by the internalization of negative English/British perceptions and constructions of Welsh, as well as by a version of history which shows Welsh defeat as an inevitable phase in the progressive march of civilization. (Bohata, 2004, p. 24)

Throughout the history of Welsh education, the presence of English imperialism is readily apparent as the systems of public education are infiltrated by state­endorsed curricula and policies which alienate marginalized cultures and histories and render them subordinate to the correctness of the dominant, imperialist definition of culture, citizenship, and worth. The “blue books” were commissioned near the zenith of the British Empire, and this imperial attitude was

40 not only exercised against native peoples in India and Africa, but also to the small principality to the West. However, this attitude was not met with silence. Hugh Owen orchestrated written responses, protests, and other forms of public outcry against the moral judgments of the commissioners. However, he also used their findings on the state of education to further his own agenda of creating a respectable and modern Wales. From a curricular perspective, Owens was no visionary, and in means of an educator, he was more of an organizer and facilitator than one who understood the best ways in which students learn. However, it was these abilities as an administrator that allowed him to make transformational change in the educational landscape of Wales. With support largely comprised by the nonconformist middle­class, Owen established an educational scheme that was to be, in his words, “a harmonious whole” (Gittins, 1954, p.80). The system contained primary schools as a base, and then secondary schools. Old schools were refurbished and new schools were built. The system was largely funded by the fees generated from the schools. In addition, Owen devised local scholarships that were intended to “catch the exceptionally bright children of the poor” (Gittins, 1954, p.81). These scholarships were awarded to elementary school children and would give a place at secondary school for two years. In addition to the existing curricula already in place in schools, the aspiration of a modern Wales also incorporated the inclusion of vocational training, resulting in mining schools, and training for working in the ironworks. In the figure of Owen we see a range of contradictions and paradoxes; Welsh born but empowered through English law, a multitude of religious influences, and a general lack of understanding in educational methods but a skilled administrator of educational processes and resources. With these characteristics, Owen provided a firm foundation from which future workers in Welsh education could operate. Owen Edwards was one such worker. Born in 1858 in Wales, Edwards would rise to hold the office of the Chief Inspector of Education for Wales wherein he would have a lasting impact on not only the structure of the educational system in Wales, but he would also make a meaningful and long­lasting contribution to the importance of Welsh culture as a component of a school’s curriculum. Edwards’ cultural sensitivity may have been influenced in his attending Ysgol y Llan, a “Welsh­not” school which punished students for speaking Welsh and encouraged students to report their peers for speaking their native tongue. Eventually he would attend Coleg y Bala (a theological college in the hometown of Thomas Charles) as a lay student. While in

41 Coleg y Bala, he earned an entrance scholarship to Aberystwyth College. Edwards preached during his time in Aberystwyth but was not confident of his abilities. Eventually, he would attend Glasgow University briefly, and from there he would eventually lecture at Oxford, and it was during these years that his work for Wales would begin. In 1889 Edwards would begin work as an editor, and serve as an editor for five periodicals: Cymru (Wales), Cymru’r Plant (The Welsh Child), Wales, Heddiw (Today), and Y Llenor (The Literary Man), and he also began the reprinting of Welsh classics (Gittins, 1954). In 1907 Edwards was appointed as the Chief Inspector of Education for Wales in the newly created Welsh Department of Education (Jones & Roderick, 2003). While some liberals believed the Welsh Department of Education was a pathway to independence, many perceived its creation as a way to mollify Welsh yearnings for self­government. Irrespective of these beliefs, Edwards understood his position as a way to effect what he thought to be beneficial change in the education of the Welsh. As far as Edwards was concerned, his position meant he was to evaluate the needs of education in Wales, sustain the enthusiasm for education in Wales, ensure that the enthusiasm was supported with a system that brought about measurable, positive results, and that the “bilingual problem” in Wales was repositioned as a “bilingual opportunity” (Gittins, 1954, pg.89). In 1907, the Welsh Department of Education put forth its approved syllabus for secondary education noting “the course should provide instruction in the English language and literature, at least one language other than English, geography, history, mathematics, science, and drawing. Where Welsh is spoken, the language, or one of the languages, other than English should be Welsh.” However, in two short years, Edwards’ influence can be seen in the addendum to this legislation: “any of the subjects of the curriculum may (whenever local circumstances make it desirable) be taught partly or wholly in Welsh” (Jones and roderick, 2003, pg. 119). As chief inspector, Edwards was successful in organizing a theoretical basis for Welsh­ medium education in Wales. He was not only concerned with the quality of education in Wales, but also in how this education affected the cultural and political character of the Welsh, and Wales as a national entity. His is the first developed view of a bilingual curriculum for Wales, and an educational philosophy that promotes the inclusion of Welsh interests into a school’s curriculum. This was not only manifest in his appreciation of bilingual schools, but also in encouraging technical education (which had limited success), and the understanding that the

42 strengths and needs of a local community should interact with the processes of education in that community. While many educators at this time in Wales were interpreting the work of Dewey as child­centered education, Edwards appreciated a larger understanding of Dewey’s work, one that incorporated the notion that there was an undeniable relationship between the social and cultural aspects of life in the community and the education of the members of that society (Jones and Roderick, 2003). Although many people embraced Edwards’ enlarged perspective on education, he was not free from controversy. Edwards issued reports attacking the curriculum put forward by the Central Welsh Board (an entity which he felt competed with his department) and what he determined to be general poor teaching. Edwards also engaged in public confrontations with other educators, particularly the members of the Central Welsh Board. Owen was convinced that the introduction of new intermediate schools in Wales would result in a further dissemination of Anglican influences in Wales; influences that he felt were a direct threat to the expression of Welsh culture in schools in Wales. These conflicts slowed the general development of secondary schools in Wales and served to weaken Edwards’ position in education with both educators and parents (Jones & Roderick, 2003). However, what could not be undermined was the precedent he established in linking the viability and relevancy of the Welsh culture in the modern world with an education that spoke to the distinctiveness of Wales, its culture and the needs of its citizens (Jones, 1991).

Contemporary Wales & Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig Vast educational reform would happen relatively quickly in Wales. The influences of the men (and, just as importantly, the women who financed and supported them) served as catalysts for series of legislation that not only led to the development of a specific political body to govern education in Wales, but ultimately an environment that would complement the devolution of the Welsh government from Parliament in the late 20th century. The educational reform acts enacted in the 1940s, and the language recognition acts of the 1960s and 90s, would ultimately lead to a curricular initiative that intends to reflect a Welsh dimension in learning in Wales. These acts, were motivated by grass roots movements within Wales. In addition, they were infused by Plaid Cymru, a political party that advocates for an independent Wales, winning its first seat in Parliament in 1966. With these successes, Welsh control over certain areas of educational

43 development repealed restrictive language legislation that had existed in one form or another since the days of the Tudors. Each of these events signaled a step closer to a chance for devolution. However, the road to devolution was not without its obstacles. The original vote for devolution in 1979 was rejected by the Welsh populace, which kept fixed the majority of educational authority with the bureaucrats in London. Any localized influence was primarily exercised through the local LEAs and county councils. In the 1980s, the conservative movement in Britain peaked with establishment of Thatcherism and, among other effects, proved to have long­lasting economic ramifications for Wales. This political turn would have devastating effects on the industrial­reliant Welsh valleys. Due to Thatcher’s determination in controlling the mining unions, the deep­mining coal industry in Wales all but disappeared. Steel mills also closed. Amidst these economic calamities arose an emphasis on the market by Tory governments. Conservative political discourse attacked progressive teaching methods in Wales. It highlighted dilapidated school buildings and out of date technology in the classroom in an effort to add urgency to their claims that Britain’s economy and status in the world was under attack. In addition, such arguments claimed that education was the primary method for staving off such advances, and that the conservative movement was what was needed for British students to lead the way in saving the British state. What this rhetoric failed to acknowledge was how Thatcherism had undermined the Welsh economy, and as a result, negatively affected the economic resources available to schools in Wales. The grass roots movements which supported a bilingual and independent Wales were drowned out by the majority’s economic woes. This period in Welsh and English history played a key role in shaping the minds of the Welsh as they looked towards the future of education in Wales. The expansion of powers for the Welsh curriculum authority and the recognition of Cymraeg as an official language in the United Kingdom seemed to stem from the work of Welsh educational activists in years prior. If Wales was to continue to play a role in the shaping of its educational future, then the activist tradition of the Welsh, as in the case of Edwards and the Blue Books, would have to be restored. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, educational activists and policy makers in Wales developed and implemented a curricular initiative that would have a lasting impact on the nature of education in Wales. While no single, charismatic figure emerged as Edwards did in response to the Blue Books of 1847, this fundamental shift in the creation and implementation of a new and distinct curriculum argued for a larger representation of Welsh culture in schools in Wales.

44 The steps taken to make official what was already happening to a lesser degree in certain schools were founded on Edwards’ Welsh­centered position of what education, and in particular, a curriculum of a school in Wales should be. In 1993, the Curriculum Council for Wales Advisory produced a document entitled Developing a Curriculum Cymreig, in which the rationale for this distinctive curriculum and its general characteristics were defined. The guidance suggested the following:

The whole curriculum in Wales encompasses and reflects in its content or exemplification, both the English and Welsh language cultures in the country, and the whole range of historical, social and environmental influences that have shaped contemporary Wales. (Developing a Curriculum Cymreig, 1993)

The question of a single curriculum for all schools was a relatively new concept which relegated the freedom of teachers to control their curriculum to a phenomenon of the 1960s and 70s (Jones & Lewis, 1994). As a nationalized curriculum would continue to be developed, the Curriculum Cymreig also continued to undergo further development and revision with updated guidance produced by the ACCAC (Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru or Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) in subsequent years. As a result, the Curriculum Cymreig has been redefined and refined to operate within the overall contemporary pedagogical orientation of the educational policies and institutions in Wales. Those developing curriculum for Wales in this period attempted to move past the early, modernistic notions of progress and success – such as Owen’s desire for a modern and respectable Wales and his notion of a “true Welsh” identity (Jones & Roderick, 2003) without abandoning the romanticized notions of the Gwerin (y ‘Werin), or the common folk who existed in the minds of many Welsh. The iconic Welsh figures: farmer poets, philosophers, and theologians (Ibid), continue to exist in various degrees as reliable representations of Welshness in schools and communities throughout Wales. This concept of authentic Welshness was a notion which contributed in part to the curricular perspectives held by Charles and Edwards. However, the most current iteration of the Developing a Curriculum Cymreig document is purported to exist within a broader (possibly even somewhat postmodern) discourse and describes the Curriculum Cymreig as an overarching theoretical perspective which is to be incorporated into

45 the national curriculum for Wales. In many cases, the Curriculum Cymreig has been mistakenly reduced to a policy that simple encourages teachers to reference particular aspects of Wales and Welshness into their courses, and the following statement from the ACCAC document does encourage teachers to thread Welsh themes into their lessons. “To develop such a curriculum, schools should provide and use relevant resources that have a Welsh dimension” (Developing The Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4). However, although the explicit referencing to Wales and Welshness is a significant portion of the Curriculum Cymreig, the policy is much broader in scope.

A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country. It also helps to foster in pupils an understanding of an outward­looking and international Wales, promoting global citizenship and concern for sustainable development. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4)

As noted above, in addition to developing a sense of association and place with students, the ACCAC purports the Curriculum Cymreig also arms students with a sense of global citizenship. Again, according to the ACCAC, this occurs through incorporation of specific references to Wales into the Common Requirements – an aspect of the national curriculum for Wales. The Common Requirements are comprised of “a number of skills and knowledge areas which can be applied to all subjects” (Common Requirements, 2008). The statement addressing the Common Requirements in the ACCAC document purports that “Pupils should be given opportunities, where appropriate, to develop and apply knowledge and understanding of the cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic characteristics of Wales” (Developing A Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 4). Furthermore, without explicitly referring to multicultural education, the guidance frames the implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig as a philosophy that embraces a multicultural approach to education in Wales. For instance, while the original document produced in 1993 discussed only the Welsh and English language cultures, the most current version of the document positions the description of the purpose of the Curriculum Cymreig as a statement that is

46 …deliberately inclusive and aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Wales in the twenty­first century. Its requirements will help pupils to understand what is distinctive about life in Wales, to celebrate diversity and to acquire a real sense of belonging. (Developing A Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 4)

The ACCAC also identified five dimensions in which the Curriculum Cymreig satisfies the Common Requirements mentioned above. These include cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic dimensions, and in the document, each dimension and its relationship to the Curriculum Cymreig are explored in detail. Aware of the possible misinterpretations of multicultural education, the ACCAC also provides a clear warning:

Because Welsh society is very diverse, there can be no single view of what it is to be Welsh. People’s perceptions vary, often coloured by the way of life in their own particular region of Wales, its linguistic, cultural and economic background. Yet all the pupils in our schools share the common experience of living and learning in Wales. They are entitled to have this experience reflected in the school curriculum. Whatever the language of instruction all the five aspects of the Curriculum Cymreig need to be fully developed in all schools. (Developing A Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.7)

The impetus for these elements of the national curriculum for Wales was to be found in the remnants of the national curriculum for England, which had been applied to Wales for decades as a form of curricular template. Over the years, slight adaptations to the curriculum were made, but these adaptations were of more of an interpretive measure than a specific modification of the curriculum itself. These adaptations were born from the same vein of national pride and cultural preservation that were evidenced in the work of Owen and Edwards in years prior. In addition, as with Jones, Charles, Owen, and Edwards, they were also formed through the genuine desire to create in Wales a viable and sustained system of education in Wales. However, with the development and implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig, Wales has been able to not only meet this goal, but it has also served to differentiate its curriculum from the other curricula found in other nations of the UK. This differentiation lies in the claim that educators in Wales are

47 encouraged to engage their students in a personal identification of Welshness without relying on archaic, stereotypical notions of authentic Welshness. In addition, the Curriculum Cymreig speaks to the desire for educators to enable students to embrace not only their own interpretations and understandings of what it means to be Welsh, but to also develop an international perspective and recognition of a global connectedness to other nations and cultures. This illustrates a willingness for educators in Wales to not only learn from the lessons of the past, but to demonstrate a willingness to utilize developing theories and perspectives in embracing an educational position that strives to meet the needs of all their students. Wales continues to establish itself as a viable and capable nation, with many in Wales continuing to work for an independent nation. As such, the role of education as a method of self­improvement and cultural affirmation that has been established by previous educators, and not simply the four men briefly mentioned in this paper, still proves to serve as a meaningful source of personal empowerment that now enjoys a broader theoretical paradigm in Welsh education. However, the developers of the Curriculum Cymreig assert that the Curriculum Cymreig is intended to not only serve the need for cultural recognition and personal development, but to also illustrate the position each student possesses in a global community. The term “global community” in today’s vernacular evokes images of the multinational corporation and the global marketplace. Is global citizenship one of the primary concerns of the developers of the Curriculum Cymreig, or is it global consumerism? Questions must be asked in determining how the Welsh identity is constructed and communicated to schools and their constituents and what this language reveals in regards to how Welshness is positioned in relationship to the “global community.” How does the promotion of Welshness in schools relate to concepts of education and emancipation? What about economy and empire? These are the types of questions that inform this study and prompt me to consider how the ideological nature of curriculum and its influence in society.

48 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

I begin this section by providing an analysis of the overarching features of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig. I do this for the purpose of providing a context for the discussion of the analysis of the data units that follow. I also describe how many of the grammatical features contained in the text establish its authority­position. It is my hope that this general analysis will provide the reader with a visual image of the text and cues as to how the information contained in the document is foregrounded, framed, and support the ideological position(s) of the text. At the same time, I also point out that although I have previously discussed critical discourse analysis containing three stages; I do so knowing that description, interpretation, and explanation are not discrete operations when considering text. Fairclough (2001) elucidates this understanding below:

…it should be said that description is ultimately just as dependent on the analyst’s ‘interpretation,’ in the broad sense in which I have just used the term, as the transcription of speech. What one ‘sees’ in a text, what one regards as worth describing, and what once chooses to emphasize in a description, are all dependent on how one interprets a text. (Fairclough, 2001, p.22)

As I read a text, I am also interpreting the descriptive elements of that text. This is largely what is meant by the subjectivity of discourse analysis. As I read the text, I am making subjective decisions and assessments based on personal, theoretical, and circumstantial cues that inform how I make meaning of, or am oriented to, the elements of that text. With this in mind, I do not separate the discussion of the findings of my analysis into three distinct stages. Instead, I organize my findings thematically. My analysis begins with a general orientation to the text in which I focus primarily on framing, foregrounding, and how the text establishes its authority as a source of guidance regarding the implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig. The following sections will be organized according to the questions discussed in chapter one. In each category I discuss the descriptive and interpretive elements of my analysis. The explanatory phase of my analysis will be provided in Chapter 4 — Discussion of Findings, in which I explain the processes of production and interpretation and their social effects. However, although I focus

49 primarily on describing and interpreting the text in this chapter, there are times when I also include explanatory elements as well. This is primarily to help the reader in situating the description and interpretation within a meaningful context. I also believe these brief explanations provide a groundwork for a more complete discussion of the findings of my analysis later on in the study. Finally, I stress that this is not a “complete” analysis of the document — if ever such a claim could be made. My analysis focuses specifically on the questions mentioned in chapter one, this approach only represents one of the many ways this text can be approached, analyzed, and interpreted. In addition, my particular approach to CDA, one which places an emphasis on the use of vocabulary and grammatical features of a text, is a labor­intensive process. This form of discourse analysis is best suited for samples of research material as opposed to large volumes of text (Fairclough, 2003). As such, although I include general observations and analysis associated with the questions mentioned in chapter one, I focus on passages from my data set that best represent how the text relates to these questions and use these examples in my interpretation.

General Description and Interpretation of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig One of the ten questions outlined by Fairclough is concerned with the larger­scale structures of the text (Fairclough, 2001). All texts have a structure. Even if a text seems confusing, disjunctive, or disorganized, it still has a structure that possesses some element of formatting, ordering, and presentation. Many texts we interact with on a regular basis have a structure comprised of anticipated elements that are arranged in a predictable order. These features both produce and are produced by orders of discourse within the institution that produced the text, as well as orders of discourse to which the consumer (reader/interpreter) is oriented. An order of discourse is “a network of social practices in its language aspect” (Fairclough, 2003), and these refer to the social organization and control of language and its use. According to Fairclough (2003), included within the orders of discourse are discourses (ways of representing), genres (ways of acting), and styles (ways of being) that contribute to the ways in which texts are produced, interpreted, and reproduced. These elements may be identified in all aspects of a text, but the structuring of the text may give particular insight into how the text is produced and interpreted. Therefore, a description of the formal features and global structuring of a text may enable an analyst to realize much of the long term significance of that text (Fairclough, 2001).

50 The Welsh Assembly Government provides an electronic version of the document for download at the following address: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/ 090902curriculumcymreigen.pdf. This is the version of the document I used for this analysis. I also printed a hard copy of this document from the PDF. Developing the Curriculum Cymreig is a document consisting of approximately 20,500 words over 66 pages including covers, introductory material, case studies, and appendices. The front cover is black with the title in large, white text at the top of the page. A series of small, square­shaped images are located near the lower, left corner. The images are a variety of scenes involving students engaged in various activities at school, as well as materials used teaching. For instance, of the ten images located on the front cover, three represent students presenting their work or listening to adults providing instruction at school. Two of the images contain artwork from the covers of children’s’ books used in the case studies. The five remaining images are representations of student work from the aforementioned case studies. The logos for the Welsh Assembly Government and the ACCAC are located in the bottom, right­hand corner of the front cover. These images are also found accompanying a variety of text and, in particular, the case studies contained in the document.

Formatting The document is formatted and arranged as one might expect when reading officially produced guidance for curriculum development. The inside of the front cover contains the usual copyright and purchasing information. The table of contents can be found on the following page. The organization of the document is outlined below:

§ Introduction § What is the Curriculum Cymreig and why is it important? § Where can the Curriculum Cymreig be promoted in the school? § Progression with regard to the Curriculum Cymreig § How can schools promote the Curriculum Cymreig? § Case Studies (1­30) § Inspecting the Curriculum Cymreig § Developing a Curriculum Cymreig in Your School § Appendices (1­3)

51 § Acknowledgements

In terms of formatting, the majority of text provided in the document is typed in a sans­serif font in black ink. Periodically, certain words or phrases are printed in a bright, teal color. They may also be bolded in both black and teal ink. This is a method of both framing and foregrounding certain information. Framing refers to instances in which text is situated with related elements in creating a cohesive narrative. These elements consist of formatting techniques, images, and the inclusion or exclusion or certain voices, views, and language. Foregrounding refers to ways in which text is emphasized through features such as formatting and layout (Huckin, 1997).

Foregrounding Although the color scheme used in formatting the document may be partly employed for aesthetic purposes, it also assists in the foregrounding and framing of key pieces of information and concepts. For example, when sections of the document are divided into smaller bodies of text, the titles for these subsections are presented in bold, teal ink. When items in these sections are presented in list form, the bullet points for the items in the list are also presented in teal ink. This is consistent throughout the document and establishes a graphic theme that assists in the organization of the information in the text. However, teal ink is also used in foregrounding quotes from outside sources. For example, the text contains quotes from Estyn (the education and training inspectorate for Wales) reports, the Common Requirements of the School Curriculum in Wales (the national curriculum in Wales), and teacher comments included in the case studies. Every quote from a source outside of the ACCAC is presented in bright, teal ink. At first glance, this may not seem to be a significant factor in analyzing the text. However, foregrounding the quotes in this way may help to establish the authority­position of the text in regard to curriculum development in schools in Wales. Developing the Curriculum Cymreig is a document with a purpose. The first section of the introduction states,

This guidance forms part of a series of publications being produced by the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales/Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymeu (ACCAC) to help schools plan and implement the revised school curriculum in Wales.

52 The statement specifically states the organization that produced the document and the purpose of the text. However, simply stating the goals of the document may not be sufficient for the organization to persuade schools that they need the help of the text. In order to strengthen its position, the text utilizes data in the form of quotes throughout the document in presenting a type of “unified front” where other experts in the field of education seem to agree with and support its aims and goals. I’ve included four such quotations, and a discussion regarding each quote, below. Although the text utilizes more quotes throughout the document, these are quotes that are found specifically in the samples of text that I have analyzed.

Quotation 1. …value opportunities to explore their sense of Welshness. Such work enables them to contribute to a dynamically evolving culture and to develop an informed view of the forces that are shaping Wales.

This quotation appears at the end of the section entitled “Introduction.” What I find interesting about this quotation is that it begins with an incomplete sentence. Prior to this quote, the text establishes its source. It also provides the missing subject for the sentence.

The recent Estyn document concludes that pupils: ‘value opportunities to explore their sense of Welshness. Such work enables them to contribute to a dynamically evolving culture and to develop an informed view of the forces that are shaping Wales.’

The additional sentence provided by the text clarifies the first sentence of the quote by providing the missing subject (pupils). The sentence also states that the quote is a summary of research undertaken by an organization that inspects the implementation of the national curriculum in schools in Wales. An implicit connection is made between Estyn and the text through the use of this quote, even though there is no evidence that demonstrates Estyn supports the Curriculum Cymreig as a curricular initiative or that it endorses the Curriculum Cymreig as an initiative that provides such opportunities for students. Not only are the aims of the text comingled with that of Estyn, but the quote also represents a sharing of power. As an inspectorate, the Estyn offices are

53 granted the power to assess the implementation of the national curriculum of Wales in schools. Through the inclusion of this quote, the text infers it has been approved by the inspectorate, and that schools which follow this guidance may also have been positively assessed by Estyn. As a result, the inclusion of this quote provides this text with the ability for self­assessment.

Quotation 2. Pupils should be given opportunities, where appropriate, to develop and apply knowledge and understanding of the cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic characteristics of Wales.

The above quote appears in the first paragraph of the section of text entitled, “What is the Curriculum Cymreig and why is it important?” The passage is prefaced by a sentence indicating that the quote is an excerpt from the Common Requirements of the School Curriculum in Wales. The quote is a simple, declarative sentence, but if we analyze the grammatical features of this sentence, we can see that these features help to establish the authority­position of the text.

Pupils (subject) should be given (modal auxiliary verb phrase with a deontic expression) opportunities (object), where appropriate, to develop and apply knowledge and understanding of the cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic characteristics of Wales (the use of “and,” a coordinating conjunction, and commas is a form of coordination in which elements in a sentence are given the same level of importance in the sentence).

The key to this phrase is the use of the modal auxiliary verb “should.” Modal auxiliary verbs help to communicate actions associated with probability, possibility (epistemic expression) or necessity (deontic expression). For example, “She might stay home” is a sentence expressing the possibility of the subject (she) staying home. If we change the modal verb to “must,” as in “She must stay home,” the action shifts from a possibility to a necessity. In the quote above, the modal auxiliary verb is “should.” When taken out of context, the modal auxiliary verb phrase “Pupils should be given opportunities…” can be either an epistemic (possibility) expression or a deontic (necessity) expression. However, when placed into context, and in considering the source of the

54 quote is an official government body that regulates the development and implementation of curriculum in Wales, the reader can understand that the intention of the text is not to suggest the possibility of schools providing these opportunities, but rather the necessity of these opportunities being provided by schools. This interpretation is strengthened through the emphasis the text places on its association with power by prefacing the quotation with a sentence stating the source of the quote.

The Common Requirements of the School Curriculum in Wales provide that: ‘Pupils should be given opportunities, where appropriate, to develop and apply knowledge and understanding of the cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic characteristics of Wales.’

By establishing the Common Requirements of the School Curriculum in Wales as the source of the quote, the text emphasizes the authoritative nature of the passage. If schools are to be in accordance with the national curriculum in Wales, they should give pupils the opportunities listed in the quotation. As in the example provided with the first quotation, the text implies an authoritative relationship with the national curriculum in Wales through the inclusion and foregrounding of this quote.

Quotation 3. Not only did the pupils thoroughly enjoy the storyteller’s visit, but the shared activities and our follow­up work have led to real improvement in their achievement in writing.

This quote appears in the case study “[KS2] Working with a Storyteller.” Two explicit scenarios are being represented in this phrase. The quotation is simply two main clauses connected with a coordinating conjunction. The first main clause, “Not only did the pupils thoroughly enjoy the storyteller’s visit…” begins with an indication that at least two things took place during the storyteller’s visit. (1) the pupils enjoyed the storyteller’s visit, and (2) the shared activities and follow­up work led to real improvement in the pupils’ achievement in writing. There are two things about this quote that interest me. The first is the use of the conjunction “but,” which in this case works in tandem with the phrase “not only.” Together, these words indicate that more than

55 one action occurred and that the second main clause — the shared activities and follow­up work is given greater emphasis. The sentence could have read, “The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the storyteller’s visit and the shared activities and our follow­up work have led to real improvements in their achievement in writing.” Instead, the two clauses work together in spite of each other. Even though the children enjoyed themselves, the follow­up work led to real improvement. The point I’m trying to make here isn’t that there is a distinction between pupils’ enjoyment of the lesson and the assessment of the students’ achievement, but rather that the text is emphasizing the assessment of particular curricular objectives in a case study that is represented as being primarily concerned with helping students identify and connect with a cultural identity. A discussion of the cultural dynamics of the lesson is missing from the teacher’s comment, and instead the teacher’s words specifically address “real improvement” of students’ writing achievement. In reading this passage, I asked myself what is the difference between “improvement” and “real improvement” and how does this relate to students’ identification with Welshness? Real improvement implies there is no mistaking that students have improved in one degree or another in their writing achievement. The teacher does not address any real improvement in students’ ability to “identify their own sense of Welshness” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2). After reading this passage I felt that the missing discussion of “Welshness” and the distinction between “improvement” and “real improvement” were related. In illustrating the success of the lesson, the text emphasizes assessment (real improvement) and formal curricular objectives (achievement in writing) and de­emphasized students’ identification with their own sense of cultural identity. The emphasis on “real improvement” speaks to what I believe has become the dominant discourse in contemporary education. Although the text establishes itself as being primarily concerned with “helping students to identify their own sense of Welshness” (Ibid.), it does not refer to any form of assessment that can indicate whether “real improvement” has been made in completing this goal. The text does not mention ways in which a student’s identification with a cultural identity can be assessed. In the case study, the teacher does not mention any reference to a dimension of “Welshness” or reference to a Curriculum Cymreig. Thus, the text mobilizes the popular, contemporary discourse of testing and accountability in foregrounding and framing a chorus of multiple voices — teachers, inspectorates, and governmental organizations in establishing its position as an official source of guidance and policy.

56 Quotation 4. The fourth quotation foregrounded in the document is found in the case study, “[KS3] What Does it Mean to be Welsh?” This quotation is 151 words in length and is considerably longer than those previously mentioned. I include a few key passages from the quotation below:

This is a lesson the pupils really enjoy, and it provides a good opportunity to consider issues such as cultural diversity. It works differently each year depending on the cultural background of individual members of the class, but the important thing is for pupils to begin to challenge their own thinking and that of their fellow pupils. They begin to realize that some images presented are stereotypes. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 36)

This portion of the quote is comprised of three declarative sentences that describe both the impact of the lesson and the pupils’ response to the lesson. In the previous quotes, the text associated itself with official organizations and their sanctioned discourses in creating a “unified front” in justifying the text and its legitimacy as an official form of guidance for schools. In this quote, the text mobilizes a discourse of teaching and uses the voice of a practicing teacher as the final contribution to this position. Again, as in quotation 3, there is no mention as to how the teacher’s claims are assessed. Moreover, the text does not provide a context for the discussion. The reader knows nothing regarding the teacher, the school, or the students. As I read this passage, I wondered about the teacher’s orientation to Welshness. How did she/he perceive Welshness? Is it discursively formed? Is it a phenomenon that exists in the real world or in the minds of students and teachers? Is it an identity that is performed? I had no real sense of the teacher’s or pupils’ position regarding Welshness. However, after analyzing the document, I do feel that the teacher’s words supported the text’s representation of Welshness, something that I discuss later. In addition, the teacher’s discussion of “cultural diversity” aligns with the goals and aims listed in the introduction of the text, but to what degree are students celebrating and learning about cultural diversity? Without sufficient evidence to support this claim, the term “cultural diversity” is reduced to an empty signifier — a simple box that must be checked when discussing education but without any meaningful action resulting from that

57 discussion. In addition, the teacher mentions that students “begin to challenge their own thinking and that of their fellow pupils” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 36). However, the only result mentioned from this activity is that students “begin to realize that some images presented are stereotypes” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 36). With this realization situated within the context of “What does it mean to be Welsh?,” the text is ambiguous in its discussion of whether this applies to stereotypes of all cultural identities or just Welsh stereotypes. Examples of the text in situating Welshness as a non­homogenous concept can be found in statements such as, “This statement… aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Wales in the twenty­first century” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4), “Because Welsh society is very diverse, there can be no single view of what it is like to be Welsh” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.5), and “Schools should be wary, however, of promoting a stereotypical view of Welshness” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.6). Mobilizing terms associated with diversity in both the passages above and other instances in the text is problematic in that the text fails to engage in a robust discussion of diversity in education. The text seems to only address diversity in two ways: (1) the plurality of Welshness and (2) as a “talking point” in educational discourse. The following passage from the text illustrates my point:

Because of the variety and diversity in Wales, the Curriculum Cymreig will take different forms in different schools. What is important is that each school meets the needs of its own locality and community. However, schools need to plan carefully to ensure that pupils’ experiences are progressive, that they build on previous learning and use every opportunity to open up new horizons leading to the diversity of all Welsh cultures. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 6)

The passage begins with a declarative sentence discussing diversity and the Curriculum Cymreig, establishing the context for the following discussion. An initial interpretation of the experiential and expressive values of this sentence might suggest the text understands Wales to be a diverse culture, and this diversity affects how the Curriculum Cymreig can be implemented in schools. However, the second sentence suggests a different interpretation which is based upon multiple stages of subordination within the passage. The second sentence begins with “What is

58 important..,” which suggests that what follows is of more importance than what preceded it. This is a clarifying statement, as if the text is whittling down a larger concept into its most base component. The third statement is also a clarifying statement. It begins with “However,” which is an adverb. An adverb can modify an adjective, verb, clause, or sentence. However, this is a special type of adverb — a conjunctive adverb. A conjunctive adverb is a transitional word that joins two clauses that could be independent sentences, and it provides meaning about the relationship between the two sentences. This sentence continues to subordinate the initial sentence, burying it deeper into the background. The second and third sentences work in tandem in subordinating the concept of diversity through both vocabulary and grammatical features. For example, the first sentence of the passage discusses the “diversity in Wales.” Note the preposition in this phrase. The word “in” suggests within the country of Wales and refers to a multiplicity of cultural variation within a geographical location. However, the third sentence refers to the “diversity of all Welsh cultures.” This prepositional phrase changes the meaning of diversity and reinforces the many claims throughout the text regarding the plurality of Welshness, with no mention of the multiple representations of non­Welsh culture in Wales. According to the final sentence, if there are other cultures in Wales, they become part of Welsh culture. They cease to exist as a non­Welsh entity and continue only as variations of a Welsh culture. All of this occurs in language that is mingled with the discourse of contemporary education. In my opinion, the emphasis on planning and methods situates the diffused understanding of diversity as a technically­oriented standard that is often discussed but rarely genuinely addressed in schools. The text does not address the diversity of cultures within Wales. Instead, it addresses the multiplicity of Welsh cultures. The omission of those who do not identify themselves as Welsh, or wish to inhabit a multi­cultural identity, imposes Welshness on all students in Wales and demonstrates a naïve understanding of educational and social diversity. This treatment places Welshness as the standard for cultural identity in Wales and leaves little or no room for the inclusion of non­Welsh identities. The foregrounding of quotation #4, and the logical connecters used in the text through various treatments of the topic of diversity, help to establish the text as having an appearance that it is a form of guidance that includes “best practices” through the discussion and implementation of “diversity” and “multi­cultural education.” By mobilizing these terms, the text is situated as a tool for teachers in employing a diverse and multicultural educational experience. It is also cast

59 as a contemporarily relevant document that speaks to issues of diversity in education. More important, in conjunction with these discussions, it seeks to accomplish these goals while still upholding a particular view of Welshness.

Framing This section of the paper has been concerned with describing and interpreting the ways in which the text utilizes foregrounding in establishing an alliance with official curricular organizations, their discourses, agents, and practitioners in the field for legitimizing the need of a Curriculum Cymreig and the establishment of its position as an authority for this concept. I now focus briefly on how the text frames the information it presents. One of the more obvious ways in which the text utilizes framing techniques is through the use of formatting and layout. The information contained in the text is consistently framed throughout the document using colored headers and footers. Each page is marked with a header and the title of each section and page number is located in this area. The headers resemble a cell in a table, with each cell running horizontally across the page. The borders of the cell are colored, with each header having its own specific color. The right side of the cell terminates in a 1”x1” square of the same color. The colored squares in the headers do not contain any text, with the exception of the headers for the case studies. In these instances, the colored squares contain a number indicating its place among the thirty case studies included in the text. For example, the header for the section titled “Introduction” is black and the black square does not contain a number. The headers located in the section titled “Case Studies” are a variety of colors, with each color representing content areas of the national curriculum (i.e. Math, Science, Religious Studies, etc.), and each of the colored squares on the right side of the header contain a number. Finally, a footer runs along the bottom of each page. The footer is a colored banner that matches the header of each section. The page number is displayed as white text in the left corner of the footer. An interesting feature of each of the footers is the single word phrases that are center­ aligned at the bottom of each page. I refer to these elements of the text as “footer phrases,” and I believe the use of these footers represents one of the ways in which the text utilizes the concept of framing. As mentioned above, framing is a way in which a type of narrative is constructed. I also assert that framing shapes the way in which the reader interprets the text. Different people interact with texts in different ways and the use of framing can help mitigate the variation of

60 interpretation. For instance, could the “footer phrases” included in this text be a form of framing that shapes the behavior of the reader in terms of how that reader asks questions of the text, and also how the reader perceives itself in relation to the text as an authority figure? A table featuring the “footer phrases,” and the accompanying section, is found below:

Table 1. Footer Phrases Footer Phrase Section

Introduction Introduction What? What is the Curriculum Cymreig and Why is it Important Where? Where can the Curriculum Cymreig be promoted in the school curriculum? Progression Progression with regard to the Curriculum Cymreig How? How can schools promote the Curriculum Cymreig? (Case studies) Inspecting Inspecting the Curriculum Cymreig Developing Developing a Curriculum Cymreig in Your School. Appendix 1 Appendix 1: Useful websites Appendix 2 Appendix 2: Audit of explicit references to the Curriculum Cymreig Appendix 3 Appendix 3: ACCAC’s commissioned classroom materials Acknowledgements Acknowledgements

The words “What?,” Where?,” and “How?” are a pronoun and adverbs (respectively) that are often used in interrogative sentences, or sentences that are used to form questions. Grammatical questions refer to the relational modality of the text as they anticipate a response from the addressee. The text contains very few questions — even in the case studies — and relies almost entirely on declarative sentences to convey information to the reader. With the “footer phrases” listed above, question phrases have been truncated to a single word phrase and the modalities associated with the value of words and grammatical features are fused. What does this mean in terms of how the text frames the information it provides? One possible interpretation is that the limited use of questioning places the reader in the passive role of receiving information. Much of discourse analysis depends on what is not included in text, and in this text there are no invitations for readers to reflect upon or question the text, its claims, or the evidence provided. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given that it defines itself as “guidance,” but how much more effective could the guidance be if it were to engage the reader conversationally? When the text does present questions, it is not inviting the reader to ask a question; instead it is asking the question for the reader. Questions of “What, where, and how?” are imposed upon the reader and are directed specifically at the Curriculum Cymreig — what is the Curriculum Cymreig, where

61 can it occur, and how is it done? Instead of inviting the reader to ask the questions of “What do I believe the Curriculum Cymreig to be, where can I implement the Curriculum Cymreig, and how can I do it?,” the text employs the language of a grammatical question as a form of directive for the reader. It circumvents the reader and provides both the question and the answer.

Establishing Authority Previously, I have discussed ways in which the text establishes its authority­position through a discussion of foregrounding and framing. In this section, I discuss how certain grammatical features found in the text assist in establishing the authority­position of the text. These features include the formality of the language, the use of modal auxiliary verbs and expressive modality through certain sentence types, and also how sentences and concepts are linked. These features all contribute to the representation of the text as an authorized document for curricular development.

Formal Language The language used in the text draws upon a particular discourse type. A discourse type is an element in an order of discourse that is associated with certain practices and speech (Fairclough, 2001). It is a more specific element of an order of discourse. For example, one order of discourse this text utilizes is an educational discourse, meaning that it mobilizes and calls upon certain language and practices that have been organized and employed in giving form and meaning to the institution and structuring of education in society. This educational order of discourse is a “specifically discoursal perspective” (Fairclough, 2001) of a more general order that Fairclough describes as a “social order” (Fairclough, 2001, p. 24). In short, a social order is a “structuring of a particular social ‘space’ into various domains associated with various types of practice” (Fairclough, 2001, p. 24), an order of discourse is a more specific, discoursal perspective of the structuring of a social order, and a discourse type is an even more specific perspective of language and practices used in organizing, producing, and reproducing the social order (Fairclough, 2001). The discourse type associated with this text could be described as “official state guidance.” The first sentence of the document draws upon this discourse in communicating the goals of the text, “This guidance forms part of a series… to help schools plan and implement the revised school curriculum in Wales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2). In

62 meeting this goal, the document mobilizes the language of schooling — meaning that it utilizes certain words and phrases that represent specific or ideologically charged meanings in an educational setting. As a result, individuals may be oriented towards words such as “understand, celebrate, and diversity” in particular ways, and these terms may represent certain connotations and meanings (as well as practices associated with these elements) in an educational discourse that may differ when uttered in a business or medical setting. The same distinction may apply to other phrases found in the text, such as “develop and apply,” “compare and contrast,” “critical thinking skills,” and “enhanced understanding.”

Modality The experiential, relational, and expressive modalities of the grammatical features of a text can be represented in the types of sentences used in a text. The distinction between these types of modality are discussed earlier in chapter one. The text used in my analysis relies primarily on declarative sentences in relating its content. Simply put, a declarative sentence may be a simple or complex sentence that is designed to make a statement. The grammatical features of sentence inform the reader of the types of modality that are expressed in that sentence. Declarative statements are sentences beginning with a subject followed by a verb with the subject position of the speaker/writer as that of a giver of information and the addressee or reader as the receiver (Fairclough, 2001). Relational and expressive modalities also play a key role in the establishment of authority and are expressed through their grammatical function. Modality refers to speaker or writer authority (Fairclough, 2001) and contributes to expressions concerned with possibility, permission, and necessity. Linguistic expressions related to expressive, relational, and experiential values are demonstrated primarily through the use of modal auxiliary verbs such as may, might, must, should, can, and can’t. Adverbs and tense can also express modality. Relational modality refers to the relationship between the text and others, and expressive modality refers specifically to the authority of a text (Fairclough, 2001). In this discussion, I have addressed how these modality types assist the text in expressing its authority position, and how the relationship between the agents in schools and the text is represented. In discussing the expression of modality throughout the text in general, I noticed the infrequent use of modal auxiliary verbs. Take for example the following sentence:

63 A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their community and country. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2)

In analyzing this sentence we can see the elements of a declarative statement — “A (indefinite article referring to the curriculum of a specific school) Curriculum Cymreig (subject) helps to identify… (verb phrase in the simple present tense). In this sentence, and other sentences like it, the use of the verb in the simple present tense, as opposed to a modal auxiliary verb, places the declarative statement in the realm of fact. The text does not suggest that a Curriculum Cymreig might help pupils; it asserts that it does help pupils. Another example is found in a quote from a report produced by Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales. The text states “The recent Estyn document concludes that pupils: ‘value opportunities to explore their sense of Welshness’”(Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.3). In this case, two educational authorities are in agreement in saying that “Pupils (subject) value opportunities to explore (verb phrase in simple present tense) their sense of Welshness (object). Again, the text suggests that all pupils value the opportunity to explore their sense of Welshness. It is not a possibility, but a reported fact that applies to all students. These statements serve as a foundation from which the text presents the efficacy of the Curriculum Cymreig and the justification for its implementation in schools in Wales. Another example of a declarative statement of authority can be found in the following sentence: “But it is the degree of commitment to a Curriculum Cymreig that determines its success.” Again, although the sentence structure is more complex, an analysis of this sentence shows the familiar pattern of a declarative sentence. “But (coordinating conjunction) it is the degree of commitment (subject) to a Curriculum Cymreig that determines (verb) its success (object)” (Ibid). There is no ambiguity in this sentence. It is not teachers or their expertise in the classroom that determines the success of the Curriculum Cymreig. Instead, it is the teachers’ commitment to the ideal of such a curriculum that brings success. The absence of modal auxiliary verbs leaves nothing to chance, and the responsibility of success in meeting the goals of the text lay firmly in the purview of the teachers and staff.

64 In addition to the use (or in this case, the lack of) modal auxiliary verbs, modality is also expressed through implicit claims of authority through the use (or lack of) pronouns. When the word “you” is used in a text, it can be used a direct address to an anonymous audience. As such, it may imply a relationship with the reader (Fairclough, 2001). The lack of pronouns may have the opposite effect. In the sentence above, and throughout the entirety of the text, pronouns such as “you” and “we” are absent. Although the guidance is written specifically for schools and their staff, when referring to those who work in schools, the text utilizes nouns such as teacher, staff, and schools. This suggests that these individuals are not “working with” the text in promoting the Curriculum Cymreig, but instead are subject to the text and its desired implementation of the curriculum. In that simple sentence, the text defines the relationship between the ACCAC, staff, and teachers. In addition, the reality of these agents’ presence in the classroom, their expertise in their content areas, and their relationships with their students in contributing to the success of the Curriculum Cymreig is dislocated by their fealty to the text and the concept of the Curriculum Cymreig as a whole.

Linkages Linkages provide ways for the text to assist the interpreter in making connections between concepts and claims. In this example, linkages are used in helping to establish a clear and consistent position of authority regarding the goals of the Curriculum Cymreig and how it is to be developed in schools. Fairclough (2001) lists a few ways in which concepts can be linked together; they include cohesion, logical connectors, subordination, and coordination. Cohesion involves vocabulary links between sentences, and this is found throughout the document. For example, phrases such as “Curriculum Cymreig,” “Welsh dimension,” and “tradition” are used in ways that promote a sense of conceptual continuity and keywords that comprise how the text represents the concept of Welshness from a curricular perspective. Logical connectors, according to Fairclough, “cue ideological assumptions,” (2001, p.109) and demonstrate relationships between concepts that are understood as commonsense. Take for example the idiom “of course” in the following sentence: “The Welsh language is, of course, a crucial part of the Curriculum Cymreig” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.10). The use of this phrase communicates the “natural relationship” of the Welsh language to the Curriculum Cymreig and promotes that notion as fairly commonsensical. The authority position of the text is enforced

65 here as the text is in a position of making explicit information that is supposedly commonsensical. The authority not only comes in making the claim, but also in how the claim is communicated. Knowledge that is represented as commonsense is rarely questioned because the knowledge is represented as something that “should be known” or is self­evidently true. Commonsensical knowledge is a prime vehicle for ideology in that ideology can exist, and be mobilized, without fear of scrutiny or critical observation. Mobilizing commonsensical assumptions is an exercise in power in that the position of those who resist or question these assumptions may be viewed as separate from, or possibly in opposition to, the institution asserting the assumption. Finally, in discussing coordination and subordination, I turn to a familiar passage from the text that describes the purpose of the Curriculum Cymreig. Although the passage is lengthy, I include it in its entirety because of its relevance to this discussion.

A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their community and country. It also helps to foster in pupils an understanding of an outward­looking and international Wales, promoting global citizenship and concern for sustainable development. But it is the degree of commitment to a Curriculum Cymreig that determines its success. This commitment should arise from a realization that the Welsh experience, in all its aspects, can provide an invaluable opportunity to extend the educational experience for all pupils in Wales. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2)

In regard to the concept of coordination, the paragraph above begins with a declarative, independent clause that is fused with a series of dependent clauses through the use of commas and a coordinating conjunction (and). Furthermore, the second sentence of the paragraph begins with a pronoun (it) that refers to the subject of the previous sentence (A Curriculum Cymreig) and is immediately followed by “also” (another type of coordinating conjunction) which coordinates the concepts of both sentences contained in the paragraph. The second sentence also uses commas and coordinating conjunctions in creating a series of actions the Curriculum Cymreig undertakes in schools in Wales, with all of the actions possessing the same level of

66 importance. The third and fourth sentences are where the concept of subordination comes into play. Subordination often takes shape in the form of the dependent clause being subordinate to the main clause. In the passage above, the third sentence begins with a conjunction — which suggests that the two sentences share a relationship or are conceptually connected. However, the conjunction possesses a particular characteristic in that it resembles an introductory word, or a word that distinctively marks an introductory clause. An introductory clause is a dependent clause that provides background information for the main part of a sentence. However, in this paragraph, both sentences are complete sentences with independent clauses. Thus, the sentence beginning with “but it is the degree of commitment…” serves as a clarification for the sentence that precedes it, bridging a gap between the concept contained within this sentence and concepts presented earlier in the text. The result is that the sentence following the introductory clause is given a higher priority over information presented prior to this sentence. In short, the text is describing the importance of the Curriculum Cymreig and its goals, but all of this is moot if the staff and teachers in the schools do not commit to the vision of the text and it’s positioning of the Curriculum Cymreig. As stated previously, the grammatical features, and now the linkages involved in organizing the text, suggest how it represents its relationship to its audience. Moreover, these features help to illustrate the ways in which the text is sheltered from the consequences of the Curriculum Cymreig not fulfilling its purpose, and how individuals in schools are cast with the sole responsibility of its success.

Interactional Conventions Interactional conventions are primarily found in dialogue and are concerned with the management of authority in a particular interaction. These conventions may include turn­taking, enforcing explicitness, controlling topic, and formulation (Fairclough, 2001). Interactional conventions typically occur during instances containing dialogue. However, I identify two forms of participant control in the text: formulation and ambiguity — the opposite of enforcing explicitness. Fairclough describes formulation as a “rewording of what has been said, or… a wording of what may be assumed to follow from what has been said” (2001, p.113). Participant control involves the “enforcing of explicitness in removing ambiguity so as to exert power” (Fairclough, 2001, p.109). However, in the case studies included in this text, a rewording of the

67 description of activities or events in each case study takes place. Fairclough states that those with power may enforce explicitness from those with whom they interact in a dialogue (2001). In my analysis, and specifically in regard to the case studies included in the document, I find instances where power is exerted in generating ambiguity. For example, the identity of the author(s) for each of the case studies is not determined. It is unclear who conducted the studies, how they were undertaken, or how they were edited for inclusion in the text. What’s more, there is no description of the criteria each case study must meet in order to be included in the document. The obscuring of agents and their activities in conducting research for the production of this guidance, as well as the process of selecting the case studies and other data, is another example of how the authority­position of the text is created and may be ideologically motivated.

Theoretical and Representative Treatments of Welshness in the Text Whereas the previous section provided a general analysis of how the text establishes its position as a legitimate source of guidance for schools in regard to the Curriculum Cymreig, the following discusses how it represents the concept of Welshness. Similar to the previous section, the information contained here begins with a description of the mechanical elements of the text (such as vocabulary), its structure and format, and grammatical aspects as they relate to Welshness. The description of these elements is then followed by my interpretation of these features and what they represent in terms of my orientation to the contents of the text and the questions which guide my analysis.

Theoretical Framing of Welshness The text situates the concept of Welshness as one of its primary concerns. How it represents Welshness is intrinsically related to its theoretical treatment of cultural and national identity, as well as the motivations and purpose for promoting this representation of Welshness in schools. As part of my analysis, I not only sought to identify the text’s representation of Welshness, but I also looked for indicators that demonstrated a theoretical framework for the concept of cultural and national identity. In this section, I describe elements from the text relating to these issues and interpret how they contribute to its representation of Welshness. An explanation of the purpose of these representations and their social effects can be found in Chapter 4.

68 Although the number of times a word is mentioned in a document may not indicate its importance, it is interesting to note that out of the approximate 20,500 words contained in the text, the term Welshness is used eight times. As I read through the data, I was somewhat surprised to see this concept specifically mentioned somewhat infrequently, and I began to wonder how else Welshness might be discussed. In addition to explicitly using the term “Welshness,” the text also uses certain expressions and keywords that represent the quality and characteristics of being Welsh. Examples include “Welsh experience” (once), “Welsh life” (7 times, with three of the seven referring to the Museum of Welsh life in Cardiff), “Welsh dimension” (nine times), and “Welsh context” (11 times). These terms serve as cohesive linkages that communicate a sense of continuity regarding the concept of Welshness as it relates to the Curriculum Cymreig. The use of these terms also communicates a consistent theoretical treatment of Welshness. The experiential value of these words is significant in that it reveals clues as to the ways in which the text’s experience of the social world is represented. In addition to establishing a cohesive discussion of Welshness through vocabulary, the text also relies upon declarative statements that situate Welshness, or the keywords which represent that concept, as an integral part of schooling in Wales. Examples of this practice include “…the Welsh experience, in all its aspects, can provide an invaluable opportunity to extend the educational experience for all pupils in Wales, “(Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4), “…schools should provide and use relevant resources that have a Welsh dimension…” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2), and “… there is a strong focus on developing pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding within a Welsh context” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 8). From these phrases, I believe the text regards Welshness as more than a disposition that is possessed by individuals, rather, it is a necessary “experience,” it is “life,” it is an interaction with a “dimension” that one inhabits and the “context” from which one makes sense of the world. As mentioned previously, for this analysis, I am not only interested in what is included in the text, but I am also concerned with what is not included. A definition of Welshness is not included in the text, and it does not formally describe how it understands or interacts with the concept of Welshness. There are many ways in which we can frame the concept of identity, and I discuss some of these perspectives in Chapter 4, but for now I emphasize the point that Welshness is as equally complex as other racial, cultural, and national questions of identity. The

69 concept of Welshness has undergone discussions of culture, ethnicity, and nation, and these discussions and debates are still played out through the daily lives of Welsh citizens, the legislative actions of the Welsh Assembly, and even in the implementation of curricula in schools in Wales. In addition to the missing definition of Welshness, the text also does not situate Welshness as an official, curricular objective, and nowhere in the document is there an explicit reference to students learning about Welshness. There are, however, many instances in which the text suggests that students can learn about aspects of Welsh culture through specific content areas in the curriculum. I am not suggesting that it does not endorse or promote learning about Wales and Welshness, but I am suggesting that the language used in the text regarding how students interact with and learn about Welshness reveals much about the its orientation to the concept of Welshness. Much of this is done through the experiential and relational values of the words used to convey its message. The following table contains a series of sentences from the text that demonstrate how it envisions students’ interaction with the concept of Welshness via the Curriculum Cymreig. I’ve highlighted in bold words and phrases from each passage that I believe possess particular experiential and expressive values which indicate how the text is theoretically oriented to the concept of Welsh identity.

Table 2. Experiencing Welshness via the Curriculum Cymreig Page number & Section Sentence P.2, Introduction A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country.

P.3, Introduction The recent Estyn report concludes that pupils: ‘value opportunities to explore their sense of Welshness.’

P4., What is the The Common Requirements of the School Curriculum in Wales provide that: ‘Pupils Curriculum Cymreig and should be given opportunities, where appropriate, to develop and apply knowledge why is it important? and understanding of the cultural, economic, environmental, historical and linguistic characteristics of Wales.’

P.5, What is the Yet all the pupils in our schools share the common experience of living and Curriculum Cymreig and learning in Wales. They are entitled to have this experience reflected in the school why is it important? curriculum.

70 Words such as “understand” and “identify” are terms teachers often use in writing lesson plans and communicating the anticipated outcome for students. For instance, a technology teacher may write, “Students will identify and understand the difference between a bit and a byte” as part of a lesson about units of data in computing. This situates these terms in a cognitive frame of reference — students are applying logic in learning and comprehending specific, curricular objectives that are usually assessed by the teacher. However, in the passages above, “understand” and “identify” are situated with other words such as “celebrate” and “sense,” and this may represent the text’s position regarding Welshness and how it intends students to learn about it. Students are not only observing data and making logical connections, the text suggests they are interacting with data, drawing upon these experiences, and making emotional and social connections that shape not only their understanding of “Welshness,” but also their social relationships with self, community, and nation. The process of understanding is centralized in each student through her or his “own sense of Welshness” and “sense of belonging” and is pointed toward a world that exists outside of the individual. This suggests that the text situates the “Welsh dimension,” the “Welsh context,” and/or the “Welsh life” as a type of external reality that is to be experienced and interpreted by individuals. Equally important, the text views this reality as a common experience —the Welsh experience — and that it is an entitlement to all students in Wales (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.5). In short, the text represents Welshness as a product of meaning­making derived from an interaction with a phenomenon that individuals experience together. Immediately the term Lebenswelt or “Life­world,” a theoretical concept developed by Husserl and part of his phenomenological methodology, entered my mind. Phenomenology can be described as the “descriptive analysis of subjective processes and events that lies at the heart of all existential philosophies” (Stokes, 2005, p.148). Husserl writes, “The life­world is the world that is constantly pregiven, valid constantly and in advance as existing, but not valid because of some purpose of investigation, according to some universal end” (Husserl, 1970, p.382). According to Husserl, the life­world is the world of our lived experience, and as such “the reality of our lived experience is the meaningful context constituted by the presence of intended subjects, constituted intrinsically as life’s world, the world of life, a whole defined and structured by the presence of life” (Kohák, 1998, p.227). I use the word “existential” here without its traditional, philosophical meaning. My point in using this term is to address how elements of the text position

71 investigations and representations of Welshness, and that this process is similar to, or possibly exists as, a variation of existential thought. Thus, I use terms such as existential, lifeworld, and phenomenology as a way of organizing the position of the text regarding Welshness, with these philosophical elements serving as ideal types that help to organize and attenuate my orientation to the text and its representations of what it “means to be Welsh.” The text discusses its position regarding the life­environment for students in Wales in the following passage, “Yet all the pupils in our schools share the common experience of living and learning in Wales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 5). It suggests that all students in Wales share a common experience, and that a sense of Welshness for each individual is derived from her/his interactions with this common experience — that the Welsh experience is the pre­existing landscape from which meaning in Welsh society is derived through one’s interaction with it. Just as important, is the notion that a sense of Welshness is the signature element distilled from students’ efforts of making meaning from their educational experiences. The text suggests that the Curriculum Cymreig is the medium through which students live and learn within a Welsh dimension or context, and that from this interaction they make meaning of these experiences. Through this process of interpretation and meaning­making students come to know and describe the essence of these experiences as Welshness. The following passage from the text demonstrates this theoretical orientation well.

A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2)

According to the text, the Curriculum Cymreig helps students to become consciously aware of the particular nature of their life experiences in Wales. The text also pre­supposes the individual’s orientation to self and an affiliation with Welshness. There is no ambiguity regarding the actions of the Curriculum Cymreig, it “helps pupils… to identify their own sense of Welshness.” Through both its guidance, and the inclusion of case studies, the text suggests a myriad of experiences for students to “understand their own sense of Welshness”. For example, activities associated with Urdd and Eisteddfodau are prominently and frequently mentioned. As

72 described on its website, the Urdd is “an exciting, dynamic movement for children and young people” that plans activities and events for children in Wales including sports and humanitarian activities, as well as activities derived from “Welsh folk life” such as traditional dancing, singing, and recitation. Activities are conducted in both English and Cymraeg (Welsh), but there is an emphasis on the use of Cymraeg (What is the Urdd?, 2010). Eisteddfodau (the plural form of the Welsh word Eisteddfod, which translates to “session” in English), refer to both national and local festivals in which participants compete in events where they sing, dance, play instruments, and recite poetry. Although non­Welsh speakers are invited and encouraged to attend Eisteddfodau, the majority of the festivals are conducted entirely in Cymraeg. Urdd and Eisteddfodau are mentioned in the section What is the Curriculum Cymreig and why is it important? as suggestions for how teachers can provide activities that align with cultural and linguistic benchmarks for the national curriculum for Wales. In the case studies Working with a storyteller and The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, experiencing “traditional Welsh” song, music, and literature are emphasized as best practices in implementing a Curriculum Cymreig. In the case study The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, the text states “Traditional Welsh music and dance and the Eisteddfod tradition are part of every pupil’s experience” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 30). In addition, although the text describes Merthyr Tydfil as an “area of extreme social deprivation,” it also describes the area as being “fortunate in its historical record, and in having an excellent local museum and library”. The text also highlights that the school in which the case study was conducted has “regularly won the top prizes in the annual Welsh Heritage School’s Initiative awards, and judges have equally regularly commended the quality of the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of history” (Ibid.). In these passages, the staggering social deprivation that has come to define Merthyr Tydfil (Deprivation and Health, 2005) is diminished to a single sentence and its impact is mitigated by the fortunate presence of an excellent local library and museum. This is an example of subordination, as the social deprivation of Merthyr Tydfil — a dimension of the Welsh experience — is briefly discussed and then never mentioned again. Instead, words such as “fortunate,” and “excellent” are used to describe the area. The case study then continues to frame the students’ school and social experiences by foregrounding Eisteddfodau, singing, and music, as well as introducing a third party’s assessment of the quality of the students’ Welshness. For

73 example, this phrase from the text, “The school has regularly won top prizes in the Annual Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative (AWHSI) awards,” as well as this phrase, “…judges have equally regularly commended the quality of the pupil’s knowledge and understanding of history” (Ibid.) emphasize this point. Here, the backgrounding of social deprivation, and the foregrounding of the traditional “Welsh experience,” affirms the text’s position that a student’s sense of Welshness is derived from experiencing “traditional” Welsh experiences, and that these activities can result in students having a strong sense of Welshness formed from a knowledge of the cultural traditions and history of Wales. The text further suggests that when scrutinized (such as that the AWHSI competition), the students demonstrate exemplary Welshness, irrespective of their social­economic reality, and identify their own sense of Welshness and a heightened sense of belonging to their community and country. The text is concerned with students identifying their own sense of Welshness and belonging, but in order for something to be identified, it first must exist. In this context, the word “identify” possesses an experiential value that demonstrates how the text regards the social world. The text assumes that each student possesses a sense of Welshness derived from her/his interaction with a Welsh context and is not concerned with creating or developing this condition. This assumption also conveys a cue to the relational value of the text in that it assumes that an understanding of Welshness is common knowledge, that a sense of sense of identity contributes to a sense of belonging, and that a discussion of these elements serves as common ground from which the text instructs its intended audience in implementing the Curriculum Cymreig. According to the text, the Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils identify a pre­existing condition: “their own sense of Welshness.” A sense of Welshness is one thing, but their own sense of Welshness is something else entirely. The phrase “their own sense” implies that pupils in Wales not only already possess a sense of Welshness, but that it is their sense of Welshness, an understanding of Welshness that is self­derived and the product of meaning­making which involves their individual consciousness and the Lifeworld. Again, the experiential value of the vocabulary and grammatical features of the text demonstrate its preference to the subjectivity of the individual. The meaning of life and self, and a subjective experience particularly in terms of national/cultural identity, are seen as being of paramount importance and the text associates these concepts with the implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig.

74 Although the text goes to great lengths to discuss the diversity of Welsh culture, it really only does so through the diversity of experiential views of Welshness — of people’s interpretations and meaning­making of Welshness rather than diversity as a descriptive term for populations in Wales.

Because Welsh society is very diverse, there can be no single view of what it is to be Welsh. People’s perceptions vary, often coloured by the way of life in their own particular region of Wales, its linguistic, cultural and economic background” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 5).

This passage is complex in that the grammatical features, as well as the relational and expressive values of the words used in the sentence, convey a multiplicity of information about the text’s representation of Welshness. The first sentence is a declarative sentence that makes the claim that Welsh society is diverse. However, it is not diverse because that is its nature; it is diverse through the multiple perceptions of Welsh life. The second declarative sentence provides the rationale for the claim that precedes it, and the expressive value of this passage provides a cue as to how the text evaluates subjects and their interactions with their social setting. People’s perceptions of Welshness vary because of the multiple ways they make meaning throughout their daily pursuits. The text suggests that Welsh society is diverse, and it is so because people’s daily experiences affect their perception of cultural identity. Metaphors and euphemisms are an important part of critical discourse analysis because they are ways of representing an aspect of experience in terms of another (Fairclough, 2001). The phrase “…people’s perceptions vary, coloured by the way of life in their own particular region of Wales… (emphasis mine)” is an example of this practice which suggests that the way in which people in Wales make sense of the world is dependent upon their life experiences — their “way of life.” For me, the use of the word “colouring” suggests an added element or enhancement of how people make sense of their social life. Other words associated with art might communicate something else entirely. If the passage were written as “…people’s perceptions vary, molded by the way…” then the text might suggest that people’s meaning­making is manipulated and structured, that their way of life gives shape and form to their meaning making. In this passage, the effects of the people’s “way of life” are less intrusive, and suggest that it is an added element

75 to an already existing canvas. It is the combination of the individual (perception) and her/his experience with the world (way of life) that gives meaning to a sense of Welshness. Through the analysis above, I have identified experiential, expressive, and relational cues that indicate how the text is oriented towards the concept of cultural/national identity. The text discusses Welshness using the language of experience and context. It is a process of meaning­ making in Welsh society between the individual and a pre­existing reality in which the individual lives. I suggest the text utilizes a constructivist/phenomenological perspective in discussing identity, and that it situates its discussion of Welshness within that theoretical framework. Specifically, I believe the text situates Welshness in constructivist terms with a type of phenomenological method of coding as its basis from which students come to know and describe (or identify) Welshness. This representation places an emphasis on individuals deriving a significant, personal understanding of Welshness. Through this approach, each student derives an essential element of her/his experience in school in Wales, and this essential element is an identification of Welshness that the text intends all students to acknowledge. Thus, as Creswell (2007) writes regarding phenomenological methodology in research, the text suggests that students will “reduce individual experiences with a phenomenon to a description of the universal essence” (p.58), or a “grasp of the very nature of the thing” (van Manen, 1990, p.177). The reduction of individual experiences with a phenomenon to grasp the very nature of the phenomenon is parallel to students identifying a sense of Welshness. The culmination of their experiences with the Curriculum Cymreig orients them to an identification of Welshness. A discussion of the possible effects of this approach to identity is discussed in Chapter 4.

How does the text represent Welshness? Now that I have discussed what I believe to be the text’s theoretical framework regarding Welshness, I turn now to how it represents Welshness as a cultural identity. To begin, I asked myself, “If the text situates cultural identity within an intersection of constructivist and phenomenological theory, then what do the examples of a “Welsh context” or “Welsh dimension” in the text reveal about its representation of Welshness?” In answering this question, I begin by turning to Chapter 2 and Wales’ colonial history. As mentioned, Wales and England share a long and complex history — a history significantly marked by England’s domination of the principality of Wales. However, as with any colonial situation, the history is not simply one

76 of domination and oppression, but also of complicity and coordination. Colonialism (as a political project) and postcolonialism (as a theoretical orientation) are messy situations that involve more than simple binary relationships between the oppressor and the oppressed, and the Welsh experience is no exception. In many cases, the Welsh contributed to the English domination of Wales, as well as that of other colonial interests throughout the history of the British Empire, and acknowledging the intricacies of these actions as part of the English colonial discourse that I address in my analysis provides a richer and more meaningful discussion of my interpretation of the text. In approaching this study, I wondered that perhaps English colonial discourse, meaning language and practices that represent Wales as “the other” and inferior, might be institutionalized within the text. I believe that this is true — to a degree, but it is manifested in a way far removed from my original suspicions. As mentioned in Chapter 2, great efforts were taken by the English state in “othering” the Welsh through an emphasis on eliminating the Welsh language and the construction of an identity that was inferior to that of the English. These are instrumental conditions within a colonial project. Imperial powers are interested in the diminishing of a colonial entity or culture. Once this process begins, the imperial power then seeks to assimilate the colonial entity or culture into its own. However, assimilation is never complete because the discourses utilized to weaken the position of the colonial entity remain in various aspects of imperial society. In Wales, this process occurred through a variety of methods, including attacks on the morality of Welsh women (Kreider, 2002), the intelligence and honesty of Welsh men (Lingen, Symons, and Johnson, 1847) and the alleged incomprehensibility and futility of the use of Cymraeg (Jones and Roderick, 2003). From my analysis I have arrived at the conclusion that, overall, the text is a general response to the historical/cultural colonial discourse. However, the response is not entirely resistant to the colonial representation of the Welsh. It picks and chooses how to react to English colonial discourse. On one hand, it rejects the inferiority of the Welsh, and on the other, it embraces what it calls the “distinctive nature” of Welshness. At first glance, the emphasis on the distinction of Welsh culture seems rather generally stated. However, when considering the history of England and Wales, the representation of distinctiveness seems articulated directly in response to the hegemonic influences of England and attempts to assimilate the Welsh into “British” society.

77 The Distinctiveness of Welshness The text proposes that a Curriculum Cymreig is an “essential part of the curriculum and ethos of all schools” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2) in Wales, and that this curricular initiative is what makes the Welsh curriculum so distinct. In addition, numerous passages throughout the document mark the “distinction” of Welsh culture, and I have included examples of this in the table below:

Table 3. Examples of Establishing the Distinctiveness of Welshness Page number & Section Sentence

A Curriculum Cymreig helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their P.2, Introduction own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country.

Although there is widespread support for the concept of a distinctive curriculum in Wales, there is a considerable variation in practice, particularly in the quality of P.2, Introduction planning between regions of Wales, between schools and within subject in individual schools.

P.4, What is the Curriculum Cymreig and Its requirements will help pupils to understand what is distinctive about life in Wales, Why is it important? to celebrate diversity and to acquire a real sense of belonging.

P.8, Where can the While schools are using a Curriculum Cymreig to expand their understanding of Curriculum Cymreig be Wales, so too can they use the Welsh language to broaden their understanding of promoted? worldwide issues, from a distinct perspective. P.12, Where can the One of these principles is that it: ‘provides experiences and opportunities for young Curriculum Cymreig be children to become aware of the distinctiveness of Wales, its languages and culture.’ promoted?

As mentioned previously, the text goes to great lengths to situate students’ identification of Welshness as its primary concern, but it fails to communicate a definition of Welshness or how it positions the concept of Welshness within a particular theoretical framework. The same deficiency exists in its treatment of how Welsh culture and Welshness are distinctive. It merely states that these concepts are so, and does not provide a reason or rationale explaining how or why. Since these elements are not specifically stated, we must look for other ways in which this claim is established. One way in which the text does this is through the use of linkages (Fairclough, 2001). The text utilizes cohesion in its treatment of the distinctiveness of Welsh

78 culture through its repeated use of the term “distinct.” This cohesion is enhanced through repeating variations of the word in sentences which discuss students’ school experiences. The sentences serve as connectors which mark various temporal, spatial, and logical relationships in the text (Faircough, 2001). The repetitive use of “distinct” also creates a type of coordination, allowing the discussion of “distinctiveness” to enjoy the same level of importance throughout the document. Cohesion can help to enhance the relational value of adjectives such as “distinct” and the words they modify. The relational values assist the text in communicating ideologically positioned claims as a type of common ground. Through a well­crafted discourse produced through repetition, logical connectors, and coordination, the ideological nature of the claim is less­likely to be questioned or noticed. Four of the five sentences included in the table above give a clue as to how the text intends this distinction to be understood. This is accomplished without the text having to specifically address the topic of Welsh distinctiveness through the types of linkages mentioned above. In each of these sentences, the act of understanding, identifying, and becoming aware of the distinctiveness of Welshness is placed at the feet of the students. The Curriculum Cymreig is the method that assists the students in this action, but the students are those committing the action. In addition, the text not only names the actors, but it also infers its theoretical treatment of Welshness is used by them in identifying and understanding the distinctiveness of Welshness through the “experiences and opportunities” offered through the Curriculum Cymreig. So, although the text does not specifically define Welshness, or how it is distinctive, it does suggest a method through which Welshness is to be understood. More important, however, are the specific examples of the types of experiences the text suggests in providing students. This is an indirect way for it to define Welshness. It does not specifically state what Welshness is, but it does provide specific examples of how students are to experience Welshness. The inclusion of these examples suggests the text regards the experiences in the case studies as best practices that are somehow representative of the distinctive quality of life in Wales. The inclusion of such examples may suggest that they represent “the very nature of the thing” (Van Manen, 1990, p.177) — or the very nature of the phenomenon of Welshness.

Representations of Experiencing Welshness

79 Previously, I differentiated the content of the text into two categories: guidance and case studies. I organize my discussion of the representations of Welshness found in the text according to these categories.

Guidance Unlike the case studies, the guidance provided by the text on implementing the Curriculum Cymreig does not include specific examples of students’ learning experiences. Instead, it focuses primarily on the justification for the Curriculum Cymreig and how it is to be implemented in schools in Wales. However, even within this content, subtle representations of Welshness can be identified. I call these instances indirect representations of Welshness, and when using this term, I refer to the ways in which the text presents an assumption or claim about Welshness that is inferred rather than a direct statement. Some of these indirect representations refer to what Welshnes isn’t and seem to be in response to discourses utilized through the colonial history of England and Wales. The passage, “It (the Curriculum Cymreig) also helps to foster in pupils an understanding of an outward­looking and international Wales…” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2) is important in that it seems written in response to the common critique that Welsh nationalism has resulted in a type of parochialism which limits the international perspective of the Welsh (Lingen, Symons, and Johnson, 1847; Smith, 1984; Williams, 2003). The word foster means to promote and develop growth. It implies more than the development of something, it infers a level of care and sensitivity, like the way a parent fosters the growth of a child. The text states the Curriculum Cymreig fosters an understanding of an outward­looking and international Wales — that through the Curriculum Cymreig, students can be coaxed and reassured as they develop an understanding of Wales in terms of an international presence. The text makes several references to students learning about the world outside the borders of Wales, and these are common curricular objectives in schools. However, the difference between these common curricular objectives and the passage above is how the sentence characterizes Wales. The sentence describes Wales (as a nation) as “outward­looking,” and situates Wales in a broad, geographic position — “internationally.” At first glance, this may seem insignificant, but when considering the cultural/historical/political conditions of Welsh history, the term international takes on a particular meaning. A quick search of the Merriam­Webster dictionary online provides

80 three definitions of the word “internationally” (http://www.merriam­ webster.com/dictionary/internationally, 2010).

§ of, relating to, or affecting two or more nations § of, relating to, or constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations § active, known, or reaching beyond national boundaries

Questions regarding the nationhood of Wales — whether it’s a nation, a people, or something else entirely — have served as a central component for colonial interactions on the part of the English from the early part of the 11 th century (Gillingham, 1992), as well as modern development of social policy regarding Wales (Williams, 1985), and even more recent discussions regarding devolution and the eventuality of Welsh independence (Williams, 2003). In short, the text is referencing nationhood and is establishing this concept beyond a political understanding. In this sense, Wales is more than a principality within the United Kingdom, it is a congregation of communities which interact and experience life in Wales in diverse ways, yet draw from these various interactions a personal identification and understanding of Welshness and a sense of belonging. This form of national community building is reinforced throughout the text through an emphasis on students’ sense of belonging and the concept of community. The term “sense of belonging” is used six times throughout the text, with half of those instances appearing in the “Introduction” section. In five of the six instances, the phrase “sense of belonging” is included in paragraphs which discuss students’ understanding of Welshness. This is another example of how the text creates linkages between concepts and coordinates the level of importance between Welshness, community, and nation. Even as linkages assist in commonsensically dividing or equating information, the expressive features of the language used to discuss a “sense of belonging” and “community” also present information as commonsensical and self­evident. For instance, the text states the aims and goals of the Curriculum Cymreig in very certain terms. These declarative sentences, in terms of modality, avoid the use of modal auxiliary verbs and instead use verbs that are stated in the simple present tense form. For example,

81 A Curriculum Cymreig (subject) helps (verb in simple present tense form) pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty­first century, to identify their own sense of Welshness and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country.” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2)

As mentioned previously, expressive values express the text’s evaluation of its social reality. In the sentence above, the verb in simple present tense form creates a single, terminal point of expressive modality, which in turn expresses a categorical commitment of the text to the truth of the proposition (Fairclough, 2001). The ideological interest lies in the claim to authority and the implied reaction to both the claim and authority on the part of the reader. The text also utilizes auxiliary verbs which possess expressive and experiential values in discussing nationhood and community. For example, “Its requirements (subject) will help pupils (auxiliary verb) to understand what is distinctive about life in Wales, to celebrate diversity and to acquire a real sense of belonging” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.4). This sentence utilizes the verb “will” in predicting the intended outcome of the Curriculum Cymreig in clear and certain terms. Again, the expressive value reveals the text’s evaluation of the implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig — it will help students understand the distinctive nature of life in Wales, celebrate diversity, and acquire a “real” sense of belonging. The ideological interest is in the certainty of the outcome and the authority in which the text believes it possesses in order to assert such a claim. The two examples I have provided from the text utilize simple present and auxiliary verbs in making ideologically motivated knowledge claims about the evaluation of the Curriculum Cymreig and its treatment of community and nationhood, as well how it presents these concepts in relation to Welshness. Although the notion of community and nation is central to the goals and aims of the Curriculum Cymreig, there is an instance in which the text utilizes a modal auxiliary verb in discussing these issues. I wondered what force could be influential enough to cause the text to introduce an element of uncertainty into the discussion of the effectiveness of the Curriculum Cymreig. The passage itself supports the goals of the text, but the modal auxiliary verb places the effects of the Curriculum Cymreig within the realm of possibility and not certainty. The passage reads, “A Curriculum Cymreig (subject) can (modal auxiliary verb) be used as a

82 unifying principle, fostering a sense of belonging for all pupils and increasing their understanding of the country in which they live” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.6). Prior to this statement, there is no indication of a shift in the certainty or position in the knowledge claim being made. However, the following sentence reveals that, no matter how central the concepts of nationhood and community are to the purpose of the Curriculum Cymreig, the contemporary discourse of assessment and accountability are still considerable forces that disrupt and shape curriculum development in Wales. The sentence reads,

What is important, in all cases, is that work is planned to meet the needs of individual pupils and schools, and that there is a strong focus on developing pupils’ knowledge, skills, and understanding within a Welsh context. (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.6)

In the passage above, the text specifically states what information in the paragraph is important. It also incorporates language associated with assessment and accountability (knowledge, skills, and understanding) into a discussion of Welshness (the “Welsh context”). Moreover, this clarifying statement reinforces identifying Welshness as the primary concern of the curriculum, which in turn acts as a type of subordination, placing the concepts of community and nationhood at a slightly lower level of importance. I was not surprised to find specific discussions of nationhood and community in the text. These issues, much like discussions on the use of Cymraeg, serve as central features in many treatments on Welshness (Trosset, 1993; Williams, 1985; Williams, 2003). However, I was surprised to find few references to Cymraeg. The text does state that “The Welsh language is, of course, a crucial part of the Curriculum Cymreig,” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.8) but few references to the language are found in the case studies used in my analysis. In this instance, the use of the term “of course” is a logical connector used by the text to cue an ideological assumption. In utilizing this term, the text is attempting to demonstrate a causal or correlational relationship between Cymraeg and the Curriculum Cymreig. In other words, it is attempting to reinforce or establish a commonsensical relationship between Cymraeg and identifying a sense of Welshness. However, in the samples of the text that I am analyzing, the text has surprisingly few references to Cymraeg. For instance, the example above is the only

83 sentence that situates Cymraeg within the aims and goals of the Curriculum Cymreig. Other references to Cymraeg are included in the guidance portion of the text, but they are mentioned almost in passing as bulleted items in lists describing the benchmarks and standards of the national curriculum for Wales. This treatment of Cymraeg is also a demonstration of the relational values of the vocabulary and grammatical features of the text. The logical connector “of course” (a grammatical feature) and the word “Welsh,” possess relational values and demonstrate a kind of shared understanding between the text and its audience. They also possess experiential value in that they demonstrate how the text regards Cymraeg as a necessary and inseparable feature of Welshness. They are also expressive elements that express the text’s evaluation of Cymraeg — it is a “crucial” part of helping students to identify their own sense of Welshness and a real sense of belonging. Without understanding the role of the Welsh language in schools in Wales, this treatment of Cymraeg might be interpreted as diminishing the influence Cymraeg has on students’ associations with Welshness. However, Cymraeg features prominently as a compulsory course for students up until their GCSE level courses, and there are many Welsh­medium and bilingual schools in Wales. I interpret the few references to Cymraeg in the text as representative of its assumption that Cymraeg is central to the very concept of Welshness. For the text, the relationship between Cymraeg and Welshness is so obvious that it doesn’t need to be addressed. In this section, I have described how selections from the “guidance portion” of the text represent the concept of Welshness and have interpreted these selections as contributing to a representation of Welshness that possesses a “sense of belonging” and an association with nation and community. In what follows, I discuss representations of Welshness from the case studies I have selected from the text. This discussion focuses primarily on students’ learning experiences and what these scenarios suggest in terms of how it represents Welshness.

Case Studies As noted previously, the case studies I have included in this study were chosen with the intention of providing samples from across the spectrum of the curriculum in Wales and not because they contained a specialized or particularly nuanced perspective on the questions of how the text establishes authority or represents Welshness. I felt that it was important to present examples from the text that relate to each of the Key Stages of the national curriculum. In the

84 following section, I describe representations of Welshness from the case studies, and categorize these descriptions and interpretations according to specific representative themes.

Theme 1: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Traditional Arts In this discussion, the term “traditional arts” is a categorization of students’ involvement with the Urdd, Eisteddfodau, and other interactions with “traditional” Welsh music, stories, and poetry. Two of the five case studies I selected for my analysis include detailed descriptions of students’ experiences with the traditional arts. The case studies are entitled Working with a storyteller and The history of Merthyr Tydfil area and were implemented in Key Stages 1 and 2 respectively. Keys Stages 1 and 2 include students of ages 5 – 11 years. In both of the case studies the text suggests, either explicitly or implicitly, that students learned about Welshness through listening to folk tales from The Mabinogion, creating and performing their own stories, singing Welsh songs, and dancing to Welsh music. In Working with a storyteller, the text states the main purpose of the lesson was to develop pupils’ oral skills, to enhance their understanding of narrative structures, and to see if pupils’ “appreciation of narrative and the oral tradition could have a ‘knock­on’ impact on their own written stories — all within a strong Welsh context” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.15). These objectives do not seem out of the ordinary when considering most primary and elementary school curricula. In The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, the text does not specifically state the learning objectives of the lesson, but it does describe the activities students undertook as part of the lesson. In both case studies, the text utilizes framing and linking techniques in producing a narrative of learning that meets the aims and goals of the Curriculum Cymreig. The mention of the “oral tradition” refers to the Bardic tradition and holds a particular, cultural significance in Wales. Such references invoke thoughts of Taleisin, Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), Geoffrey of Monmouth, and even the more contemporary Iolo Morganwg; three individuals commonly regarded as some of Wales’ most influential historians, poets, and storytellers (Jenkins, 2007; Aaron, 2005). The text in the case studies is framed with images of the professional storyteller, examples of student work, and students in period­dress. The text foregrounds the titles of both cases studies in bold, teal­colored ink, emphasizing that “storytelling” and “history” — subjects that are often indistinguishable — are the subject of these case studies and possess a particular relationship with the goals and aims of the Curriculum Cymreig. What I also found interesting was the prominent mention of

85 Eisteddfodau and Welsh music in the History of Merthyr Tydfil area case study. Each of these elements has a historical presence in Wales, but Eisteddfodau and Welsh music are also locations of the mixing of legend and history, myth and account, and inclusion of Eisteddfodau and the “oral tradition” may serve as a sense of coordination between the mythology and historicity of Wales. A sense of cohesion is established by the text between these two case studies through the use of experiences and concepts closely related to the Bardic tradition. Specifically, references to Eisteddfodau reinforce relational and experiential connections within the text. Although individual eisteddfodau are held at various dates throughout Wales, the National Eisteddfod is the most noted of these events and is regarded as the largest cultural festival in Wales. The culminating event of the National Eisteddfod is the “chairing of the Bard” (Cadeirio'r Bardd in Cymraeg), a direct reference to the Bardic tradition in Wales. The inclusion of the “Eisteddfod tradition” in The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, and the “oral tradition” in Working with a storyteller, work in tandem in establishing a shared, commonsensical understanding of experiencing traditional arts as Welshness. Words such as “Bard,” “oral tradition,” and “Eisteddfod” have experiential value in terms of cultural representation of the Welsh — meaning that the words are cues to the way in which the text experiences and understands Welshness. The relational value is demonstrated in the assumption that these terms convey the same sense of meaning and understanding to the reader, and that the ideological position of the text in regard to Welsh identity is common ground for it and its audience. The ideological potential of the case studies exists in grooming the reader to make or accept these and other similar assumptions. The experiential and relational values of the words used in the text subtly encourage the reader to make or accept correlative or causal relationships between these experiences and identifying and understanding a sense of Welshness.

Theme 2: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Geography In this discussion, “experiencing the geography of Wales” refers to instances in which teachers specifically planned the inclusion of various locations in Wales as part of the lesson. Examples include using place names and locations within the classroom or travelling to various locations in Wales. I identified incidents associated with the geography of Wales in four of the five case studies included in my analysis. The Millenium Stadium is the only case study that does

86 not specifically state that students travelled to, are had specific discussions regarding geographical locations in Wales. However, the Millenium Stadium serves as the primary focus of that lesson and is one of the most popular landmarks in Wales. Field trips and discussions of geographical locations are common elements in education, but as I noticed the use of geography in the case studies in my analysis, I began to wonder how these elements may contribute to a representation of Welshness. In The history of Merthyr Tydfil, the text specifically states that the school “takes the locality as the focus of its work in history” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.30). There are two important specifications the text makes in regard to the locality of the school. The first is that the area is one of “extreme social deprivation” (Ibid.), and the other is that the students travel to Castell Morlais (castell is Cymraeg for “castle”). Those familiar with Merthyr Tydfil would situate the city in “South Wales.” This is a significant point that I discuss later in this section. In Working with a storyteller, the text specifically locates the school in “North Wales,” and states that the professional storyteller “presented versions of a tale relating to the derivation of a local place name,” and that the students “responded to the familiarity of the settings, landscape, place names and characters featured in these tales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, .15). In addition, the students were encouraged to draw upon their own experiences (including their location) in creating their own stories, with an emphasis on how “features such as gesture and mannerisms; pace of speech; intonation and accent; and facial expression were unique to oral storytelling” (Ibid.). Speech, intonation, and accent are signifiers of location in Wales, as they are in other countries. Not only do accents change throughout various locations in Wales, but so do the languages people speak, as well as the various dialects of those languages. These elements are brought to the students’ attention during the lesson. The case study, The generation of electricity¸which is a brief account of how students develop presentations on types of renewable and non­renewable energy situates the location of the school in “Mid­Wales.” In addition, the case study goes to great lengths in demonstrating that all of the students’ data, the locations from which the students gathered their data, and the destination of the cornerstone field trip were all located in Wales. The destination of the field trip is the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth. The final case study, What does it mean to be Welsh? specifically mentions the location of the school in the “South Wales Valleys.” The theme for the case study is “Where do people live and work?” and is intended to

87 assist students in “understanding migration and economic change” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.36). The text states the teacher and students discuss the economic character of “South Wales.” A local restaurant owner whose family immigrated to Wales from Italy met with the students and discussed their transition to life in Wales. Finally, the culminating experience for the students came in the form of a field trip to Llangrannog — a popular tourist destination in “West Wales.” In each case study, the text focuses on where in Wales students are situated and how students interact with locations in Wales. In stating the locations of the lessons, the text demonstrates that the Curriculum Cymreig is being implemented in schools across Wales. In addition, the text is foregrounding the specific locations of the lessons. The reader understands that the case studies take place in schools in Wales, but the text takes specific steps in referring to the locations of the schools, as well as the locations in which the lessons take place. This represents the assumed diversity of the Welsh experience. There are no official designations for North, West, or South Wales. These designations are traditional, rather than official. Yet, to people familiar with Welsh society, North Wales represents something entirely different from South Wales, as does West Wales from both North and South. Assumptions about these geographical locations are varied, but commonly accepted in Wales, and I provide a few of these assumptions in this section. North Wales is known for rugged mountains, a markedly different Welsh dialect, and a more general use of Cymraeg as the language of everyday life. North Wales has a long history of rebellion of war evidenced by its Celtic and Roman archaeological sites, as well as the history of Owain Glyndwr. West Wales is known for its coastal cities and provincial lifestyle. The coastal towns are popular tourist locations and many people regard the areas in Pembrokeshire as “Little England away from Wales.” South Wales is known for coal tips, city­life, and poverty. The more populated valleys of South Wales were a result of immigration during the booming economy of the Industrial Era. However, all good things must come to an end and in South Wales, the collapse of the coal and iron industries contributed to widespread poverty and social deprivation. It is the traditional understandings of the locations from which the text relies in situating the nature of students’ experiences with them, and in communicating the value of the experience in identifying a sense of Welshness and belonging. Again, the text draws upon these traditional assumptions and mobilizes them as part of a discourse that reinforces commonsensical understanding of Wales, its history, and subsequently

88 its character as a nation. Cardiff is the growing political center, home to the Welsh Assembly government. Machynlleth, an ancient market town that once served as the parliamentary seat for the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndwr in the 15 th century, is a reminder of the politics of the past. Merthyr Tydfil calls to mind the booming industrial age in Wales in the early 20 th century, and Llangrannog represents a new economy based on tourism and leisure. Each of these locations represents a past and present “snapshot” of Welsh cultural, political, and economic experiences. In Working with a storyteller, the association of “local place names” with “The Mabinogion,” the famous collection of prose stories collated from early medieval Welsh manuscripts (Jenkins, 2007), allows the reader to ascertain a certain historical or mythological significance to these locales without knowing specific information about them. This form of coordination assists the text in suggesting that there are many ancient, important locations throughout Wales, and that these locations have a particular significance in helping students to identify Welshness and a sense of belonging. In short, the text has assembled an assortment of student learning experiences from across various geographical locations in Wales. In addition to discussing the curricular objectives met with each lesson, it also situates the students’ interaction with these locales as a means of coming to identify and connect with a sense of Welshness. Although the text discussed the students’ activities in regard to the various locations included in their lessons, it foregrounds the location of the students and the locations which they studied. In the examples above, the lessons seemed subordinate to the locations in which they happened. The text foregrounds its position regarding the reality and physicality of the geography of Welshness as necessary to an understanding of Welshness. It also frames the students’ experiences quite literally within the borders of Wales — within a physical network of experiences and representations of life and community in Wales. Rebellious North Wales and its rugged mountains, provincial West Wales and its leisurely lifestyle, and urban South Wales with its industrial past and the contemporary effects of that history, are all to be experienced, internalized, and understood as representative elements of Welshness.

Theme 3: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing History History features prominently in three of the five case studies included in my analysis. In The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, the lesson included in the case study is a history lesson and

89 students participate in a series of activities in Merthyr Tydfil exploring the history of a local castle. At the ruins of Castell Morlais, the text states the students learned of the relationship between Castell Morlais and Cardiff Castle. They also studied the lifestyle, food, and artwork of the medieval Welsh. In addition, a historical interpreter from the local museum worked with the students, roleplaying as a medieval character from Castell Morlais. In the case study, Working with a storyteller, the professional storyteller hired by the school discussed both mythological and historical accounts with the students, including the derivation of Welsh place names. The case study What does it mean to be Welsh? focuses on immigration in South Wales. While it does not specifically mention any historical content, it alludes to the history of immigration in the South Wales valleys during the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. Each of the case studies mentioned above not only presents historical information to the students, they also involve the students interacting with these elements. From exploring the ruins of a medieval castle to singing songs and listening to ancient tales from The Mabinogion, the students in the case studies interact with history through more than simply reading about it. In The history of Merthyr Tydfil, the first sentence of the paragraph states, “The school, which is in an area of extreme social deprivation, takes the locality as the focus of its work in history” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.30). The text then continues in describing all of the historical resources available to the school. Merthyr Tydfil is well­known for its social deprivation, a condition stemming the rapid decline of the coal and iron industries in South Wales. The text immediatley brings this fact to the attention of the reader, and then quickly moves past it, focusing instead on the fortunate circumstances of having an “excellent local museum and library (Ibid.). The text continues to discuss the historical fortune of the area by discussing students’ experiences with historians, field trips, and traditional music and song. In addition to all of this, it also emphasizes how the students have been assessed of their historical knowledge and have been commended for it. Nearly half of the case study is a description of the historical resources available to students and their excellent understanding of Welsh history. In this regard, the text seems to suggest that the history of Merthyr Tydfil is more important, or at least is more valuable, than the contemporary Merthyr Tydfil. The case study ends by stating, “The pupils clearly enjoyed their study of history, and were well aware of its immediate relevance to them, as well as of a broader Welsh context” (Ibid.), but there is no indication how

90 this awareness is achieved or what it might mean to students struggling with the effects of extreme social deprivation. In Working with a storyteller, the text states the students enjoyed the performance of the storyteller and “also responded to the familiarity of the settings, landscape, place names and characters featured in these tales” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.15). The case study foregrounds the creative aspects of the lesson through focusing on mentioning episodes from The Mabinogion and the stories the students created. However, there is a historical element that exists as a type of backdrop for this discussion. As mentioned previously, bards feature prominently in Welsh literary history. Famous figures from Taliesin in the sixth century to Jac Glan­y­Gors (who created the character Dic Sion Dafydd in a series of satirical ballads) in the eighteenth century represent a distinct Welsh identity underscored with a resistance against the forces which sought to marginalize Welsh culture. (Jenkins, 2007 and Aaron, 2005) Historically, bards assisted in the development, reproduction, and communication of aspects of Welsh culture, as well as motivational forces in Welsh resistance against hegemonic interference. (Aaron, 2005) In the case study, the first paragraph begins with the sentence, “A primary school in North Wales employed a professional storyteller to spend a day with its Year 6 pupils exploring some Welsh folk tales”(Pg.17). The similarities between this experience and that of historical bards are striking. Aaron (2005) discusses the roles of bards stating that, “As professionals employed by the dynastic princes and nobles of Wales, it was the job of the bards to maintain and develop, in so far as they could, the good name of their lords and the esteem in which they were generally held” (p.139). In the contemporary setting of this case study, one may interpret the text as the dynastic prince, while the “storyteller” assumes the role of the bard. As the school implements a Curriculum Cymreig, the professional storyteller fulfills much of the same responsibilities given to bards in their day; specifically to “maintain and develop, in so far as they could, the good name of their lords and the esteem in which they were generally held” (Ibid.). As an employee of the school the professional storyteller affirms the text’s position as a body of expert knowledge in not only curriculum development and design, but also in ways in which Welshness is to be defined and distributed to students in Wales. Moreover, the professional storyteller is providing an interactive experience that the text purports will assist students in identifying a sense of Welshness and belonging. Again, this sense of Welshness and belonging comes from the students’ experience of Welsh life, or in this case,

91 Welsh history. With an emphasis on history, the sentence from the case study which states pupils “…also responded to the familiarity of the settings, landscape, place names and characters featured in these tales” (Ibid.) contains an important distinction. If we compare the phrase, “the familiarity of..,” and an alternative phrase such as “the students’ familiarity..,” we can identify cues which describe the expressive and experiential values of the text when discussing history. In stating “the familiarity of…,” the text utilizes a preposition in placing the quality of familiarity with the contents of the story. This is a type of foregrounding used by the text that speaks to the notion of belonging — that experiences with Welsh history produce a sense of belonging for students. The text does not discuss the students’ familiarity with the historical features of the story, and instead places the significance of familiarity as a property of the historical elements presented by the storyteller. As such, the text implicitly suggests the presence of these folk cultural components as tacitly known information – a background schema of cultural references that already possess a familiar feel to students, and that students positively respond to this familiarity in ways that promote a sense of belonging. The experiential value is expressed here in the text’s assertion that Welsh historical and mythological features — features which are often indistinguishable from each other, serve as a ubiquitous cultural touchstones for students in Wales. The expressive values suggest that the familiarity experienced from interacting with these cultural touchstones produce a genuine sense of belonging and contribute a positive identification of one’s Welshness. In this section, I have described data from the text relating to students’ experiences with Welsh history. The text situates episodes from the history of Wales as elements of a vast, cultural backdrop, and that student’s will develop a sense of Welshness and belonging from the positive responses to the familiarity of these touchstone elements. Again, the relational features of the text demonstrate its ideological position. In communicating an emphasis on Welsh history, it produces a discourse designed to orient students’ understandings of identity and community as stemming from a knowledge of, and interaction with, elements of the past. In specifically mentioning ways in which that history is told, the locations and name places in that history, and in reenacting certain historical elements, the text manipulates its social relationship with its audience through mobilizing expressive, experiential, and relational values. The representation of the Welsh as historically musical, lyrical bards is an example of an experiential value in terms of the representation of a cultural group. Promoting a common, historical narrative may have

92 relational value because it promotes a sense of a shared experience and common ground for the text and its audience, and the expressive values contained in the discourse of the case studies mentioned above situate students’ experiences with elements of Welsh history as a necessary element in identifying Welshness and developing a real sense of belonging.

Theme 4: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Work and Play While there are few specific references to career and leisure activities as part of the learning objectives presented to students in the case studies I’ve analyzed, there are many indirect references to work and play as the case studies describe the learning activities of the students. Thus, the elements I describe and interpret here are not limited to specific elements of the lessons included in the case studies, but also include elements from the narrative used to present the case study to the reader. In the case study, The Millenium Stadium, AS/AS2 students in a Design and Technology course were invited to work with engineers in producing a case study involving the construction of the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, and in What does it mean to be Welsh?, students discuss issues of immigration and concepts of Welshness with an Italian­born café owner. These are the only specific references to careers for students mentioned as part of the lesson plan in the case studies I have analyzed. In terms of “play,” there are no easily recognizable references to how play or leisure activity is representative of Welshness. However, when focusing on the circumstantial information contained in the text, or the language used in communicating the case studies to the reader, I believe there are many references to work and play and how experiencing these types of activity come to form a representation of Welshness. In each of the case studies I’ve analyzed, culturally unidentified professionals in Wales are represented as the caretakers of Welsh culture. By “culturally unidentifiable,” I mean that no specific measures are taken in communicating the gender, race, or nationality of the individual. For example, teachers are included in each case study, and no mention of the teachers’ gender, nationality, or race is mentioned in the text. The same applies to students. None of the classes mentioned include a description of any type of cultural, national, or ethnic diversity. The text describes them as pupils who share the common experience of living and learning in Wales. Apart from the invisibility of diversity — or even identity or personality, the ideological nature of the phrase “common experience” introduces the assumption that there is little or no conflict

93 with the goals and aims of the Curriculum Cymreig. In regard to the teachers, they work to educate students in accordance to the national curriculum and the guidelines established by the text, which is concerned with students identifying their own sense of Welshness and belonging to Welsh society. As a result, the teachers are facilitators in students completing this task. Other professionals mentioned in the cases studies include a professional storyteller, librarians, museum curators, and historical interpreters. In each of these cases, the individuals are interacting with an aspect of Welsh culture, whether promoting it through legend and myth, reenacting it through role­play, or even assessing students’ representations and understandings of it. In each case, this omission of detail is a generalization which relies upon the ideological assumption that these individuals, if not otherwise identified, are Welsh. However, in What does it mean to be Welsh?, the entrepreneur who visited the classroom is identified as an Italian immigrant. One of the learning objectives for the course is to discuss how immigration has influenced the South Wales valleys, so this is not entirely out of the ordinary, but the individual so specifically identified does stand out in contrast to the other workers and professionals in the case study. In addition, this case study, highlights the discussion of the café owner and students regarding “what does it mean to be Welsh?,” and reinforces the concept that Wales is diverse, and that many assumptions of what “Welshness is” are dependent upon stereotypes. For instance, the text states that “…pupils to begin to challenge their own thinking and that of their fellow pupils. They begin to realize that some images presented are stereotypes” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p. 36). This goal is admirable and seems to fall in line with the aims of goals of the Curriculum Cymreig stated earlier. However, when taking all of the case studies into consideration, there is a different perspective on who has access to Welshness. All of the unidentified professionals in the case stories are producing, promoting, and managing Welsh experiences. They have access to actively participate in the discourse of Welshness produced by the text. The café owner, on the other hand, is situated as someone who is the object of Welshness — a receiver of Welshness and not particularly a producer of it. In the text, he is mentioned as “exploring” the concept of Welshness with students, but the students are described as having “…formulated and posed their own questions and articulated their own opinions and attitudes to being Welsh” (Ibid.), language which describes a much more active role in the discussion cultural identity.

94 In his essay, “Welsh Culture” Raymond Williams (2003) relates a story when he spoke to an American visitor regarding the Welsh countryside. The American described rural mid­Wales as “wilderness area” (p.6). The comment upset Williams because the area was farmland, and he understood it to be the object of the farmer’s labor. I mention this story because of the way work is also represented by the text. The Millenium Stadium, and What does it mean to be Welsh? are two case studies situated in South Wales which include discussions on working in Wales. In fact, the theme for the lesson in What does it mean to be Welsh? is “Where do people live and work in Wales?” (Ibid.). In the case studies, work that is entrepreneurial (the café owner) and industrial (engineering and construction) is located in the South Wales valleys, but when the students visit the village of Llanngranog, although the area is a popular tourist location, there is no mention of what type of work is undertaken in that location. This parallels Williams’ account and expresses a representation of certain experiences in Wales — not only are the individualized performing work in the case studies presented in vague, nondescript terms, but the work of individuals in the locales visited by students and teachers in the case studies remains obscured. Even in The generation of electricity, when the students travel to the Center for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth (on the west coast of Wales), there is no mention of the work undertaken at the site or the scientists and other professionals that work there. The text discusses students from the industrial areas of Wales touring the West Wales countryside, but it makes a distinction between the areas in which labor is performed (South Wales) and where labor remains unseen (Llangrannog). For example, in What does it mean to be Welsh? the teacher states that students experience a “… contrasting Welsh landscape and, for those whose home and community is not Welsh­speaking, a different linguistic environment” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.36), as if this these elements of Welsh life are not available to them in their own location. Unlike the other case studies mentioned here, The Millenium Stadium does mention construction and engineering as career options for students in Wales, but even this is influenced by representations of Welshness. In attempting to incorporate learning objectives within a lesson plan that gives students opportunities to identify Welshness through various experiences of “Welsh life,” the text grounds the work of engineers and contractors within the purview of sport and leisure. The Millenium center is Wales’ premiere venue for football and rugby. The passion for Rugby in Wales is strong, and although it seems that engineering and construction have little to do with the promotion and managing of a cultural identity, by placing these terms in

95 association with the Millenium Stadium, the text situates these careers within a discourse of experiencing Welshness through rugby. According to the text, even the café owner mentioned in What does it mean to be Welsh? discussed various notions of ‘Welshness’ with students stating, “…not least the problem of deciding which rugby team to support!” (Ibid.). In this section, I attempted to describe elements from the text that I believe privilege careers associated with promoting and managing Welshness. This is accomplished through positioning the work within the traditional locations of Wales, where rural (West) Wales is provincial and the work is invisible, and urban (South) Wales where the work is industrial and frequently observed. Moreover, the text belies its stated orientation to diversity in education and utilizes a type of participant control (Fairclough, 2001) through generalizing the identity of the teachers and professionals utilized in implementing the Curriculum Cymreig in schools. In addition, there is a large representation of actors, storytellers, teachers, librarians, and curators. The emphasis the text places on their work reveals its claim that experiences with aspects of “Welsh life” lead students to make meaningful, personal connections with Welshness and community.

Theme 5: Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Cymraeg As noted above, there are few instances in the guidance portion of the text that specifically refer to the use of Cymraeg and a sense of Welshness. One possible reason for this is there are specific, official publications and public entities that address the issue of Welsh medium and bilingual education in Wales, and the communication of the importance of Cymraeg in schools is a far­reaching and dominant discourse in Welsh education. Of the 30 case studies included in the text, approximately one­third include references to Cymraeg, and the majority of those are lessons held in Welsh­medium schools or in courses that teach Cymraeg. Of the five case studies I have chosen for my analysis, only one specific reference is made regarding students’ experiences with Cymraeg. However, I believe the text continues to promote a discourse of Welshness and belonging being identified through students’ experiences with Cymraeg, but it is implicitly communicated to its audience. In this section, I discuss how the text promotes identifying Welshness through experiencing Cymraeg through the activities of the case studies discussed in four themes previously listed. In Theme 1, I described how the text represents Welshness as experiencing the “traditional arts.” These included students listening to tales from The Mabinogion and participating in Urdd

96 and Eisteddfodau. The use of Cymraeg is nestled deeply in these discussions, and is apparently so “self evident” that the text does not feel compelled to include it in the case studies it provides. In Working with a storyteller, the text refers to The Mabinogion, and although The Mabinogion was translated into English and exists in a various forms in English since, the inclusion of these tales is an acknowledgement that Cymraeg is an ancient language used in the creation of great works of art and in the establishment of a world­renown literary tradition (Jenkins, 2007). In The history of Merthyr Tydfil area, the subtext of Cymraeg exists in a different fashion. In this area of Wales, industrialization and immigration encouraged the use of English as the language of commerce. As mentioned in chapter two, this and the influence of English imperialism had a devastating effect on the number of Welsh speakers and the instances of Cymraeg being used in everyday life. In the case study, no mention is made of Cymraeg, but its use is inferred through the mention of traditional arts including activities with the Urdd and Eisteddfodau. Cymraeg is encouraged in all activities with the Urdd, and Eisteddfodau are traditionally held only in Cymraeg. In Theme 2, I described how the text promotes an interaction with the geographical features of Wales in assisting students with identifying a sense of Welshness. In addition to reinforcing a connection between Welshness and the physicality of Wales, the text also suggests another, more subtle connection for the audience. In Wales, all official signage is bilingual. Village names, traffic warnings, and construction information is all presented in both English and Cymraeg. As locations are used in the case studies, and in the text in general, those who live in Wales are presented with both English and Welsh representations of these locations: Cardiff/Caerdydd, Carmarthen/Caerfyrddin, Newport/Casnewydd, and Swansea/Abertawe. The inclusion of Welsh locations not only demonstrates the text’s belief that an interaction with the physical features of Wales is necessary in identifying a sense of Welshness, but it also reinforces the nearly unspoken relationship between Cymraeg and Welshness in the text. Whereas the text, through its theoretical treatment of Welshness, suggests a students’ sense of Welshness is derived through her/his interaction with Welsh life, my theoretical approach to this study provides another perspective. From this perspective, my interpretation leads me to recognize Welshness as a discursive formation assembled through language. In utilizing the theoretical approach to discourse I describe in this study, I suggest English/Cymraeg roads signs, street names, and

97 towns possess a performative aspect to them that discursively form Welshness and an individual’s orientation to it, and I discuss this position further in Chapter 4. In Theme 3, I describe how the text situates students’ interactions with Welsh history as necessary in determining their own sense of Welshness and belonging. Much like Theme 1 and Theme 2, no specific references to the use of Cymraeg exist, but assumptions are made in the discussion of The Mabinogion and medieval reenactments mentioned in the text. Place names, characters, and discussions of their “way of life” suggest a common connection with “iaith y beirdd” (the language of the bards) and the literary traditions associated with it. An emphasis of experiencing the history of Wales not only evokes the use of Cymraeg, but also the opposition the language has faced. These elements associated with Cymraeg are subsumed within a sense of familiarity that the text suggests is an ever­present facet of life in Wales. In Theme 4, I describe how discussions of work and play are used in communicating representations of Welshness. In that analysis, the discussions of Cymraeg are limited to students’ visits to the village of Llanngranog. Here, much like tourists, the students are intended to observe Welsh speakers actively involved in their day to day activities. No other mention of Cymraeg is made, even though many positions in Wales require a working knowledge of Cymraeg. Moreover, the numbers of Welsh speakers in South Wales has climbed considerably, with over 30,000 Welsh speakers in Cardiff alone (http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk, 2001). So, although students in South Wales interact with Cymraeg as a compulsory course in school, and the number of speakers of Cymraeg is increasing, the text still draws attention to the need for students to travel to rural Wales and experience a “different linguistic environment” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.36). In short, although the text infrequently mentions the use of Cymraeg in the data samples I analyzed for this study, there are many implicit references to the use of Cymraeg as part of the learning experience. As mentioned previously, my interpretation suggests that the text assumes the use of Cymraeg as a commonsensical element in experiencing Welshness, and while it may not explicitly state such a position in the case studies, the discourse is still active in how the case studies are conducted, communicated, and received.

98 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

In Chapter three, I presented the findings of my analysis and described and interpreted instances in which the text establishes its authority in managing and defining both the Curriculum Cymreig and a concept of Welshness. Specifically, I addressed how the text utilizes quotations from official government agencies, the national curriculum, and teachers in schools in foregrounding its rationale and authority regarding how the Curriculum Cymreig is to be implemented in schools. I also discussed how relational, experiential, and expressive values found in both the vocabulary and grammatical features of the document work in establishing an ideological common ground between the text and its audience. Furthermore, I provided examples of how the text frames the discussion of its goals and aims within a language heavily reliant upon the use of declarative sentences and truncated grammatical questions — processes which place it in an active position of questioning and answering itself, with the result of this arrangement situating the reader as a dislocated observer and unquestioning recipient of information. In addition, I also examined how the text utilizes linkages in assembling a coherent narrative regarding the importance of identifying a sense of Welshness and establishing feelings of belonging and community. I also discussed examples of the text’s theoretical orientation to the concept of Welshness. With an emphasis on experiencing “Welsh life,” and the determination that students will identify their “own sense of Welshness” from the meaning­making processes they employ during these experiences. I propose the text possesses a constructivist orientation to cultural and national identity. Specifically, the text describes students’ experiences of Welshness within an constructivist discourse, and the process of identifying a sense of Welshness seems grounded within a discourse that I identify as a type of phenomenological method of inquiry and exploration. Simply put, Welshness is represented as something to be experienced, and students identify their own sense of Welshness through reducing their understanding of these experiences to their most essential — their most Welsh — component. In regard to how the text represents Welshness, I provided examples of how the guidance portion of the text establishes what it regards to be the distinctiveness of Welshness, as well as how this distinctiveness is something that is to be experienced by the students. From the case studies that followed, I presented the following four, representative themes:

99 • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Traditional Arts • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Geography • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing History • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Work and Play

These themes support the text’s theoretical orientation to Welshness and emphasize the centrality of the student experience in identifying a sense of Welshness and developing a greater sense of belonging. In this chapter, I utilize a critical perspective in explaining how these elements exist within a broader, social context in Wales. As mentioned in Chapter one, Critical Discourse Analysis is concerned with revealing ways in which ideological assumptions are discursively produced and reproduced through social structures and the agents working within these institutions. In regard to this study, I am interested in uncovering discourse and practices that contribute to assumptions pertaining to the authority position of the text and its representation(s) of Welshness. In this section, I discuss how these assumptions may be mobilized in the political production and reproduction of both the Welsh identity and state.

When Was Wales? This cryptic question serves as the title of a book written by Gwyn Williams which not only serves as a historical account of Wales, but also calls into question the notion of nationhood and its place in Welsh politics and history. I use the term nationhood, as opposed to nationality, to differentiate between the identity of an individual or group and the political disposition of a country, its sovereignty or existence as a recognized, political entity. These nuances exist in Williams’ question of “when was Wales?” It is a multifaceted question that situates the concept of nationhood within an intersection of representation, geography, economy, and cultural production. Williams not only provides an historical account of Wales, he also touches upon how he believes Wales has existed as a culture and nation.

The Welsh as a people have lived by making and remaking themselves in generation after generation, usually against the odds, usually within a British context. Wales is an artefact which the Welsh produce. If they want to. It requires an act of choice. (Williams, 1985, p.304)

100 Although, I disagree with Williams in terms of what is being produced and how, I do agree that there is an active choice at play in the development and representation of Wales and Welshness. The text I analyzed is a result of conscious decisions made in creating and maintaining an official method of identifying and possessing a sense of national and cultural identity. In his discussion, Williams does not identify who the “Welsh” are that produce “Wales” or the “non­Welsh” that participate in this practice. This is where I disagree with his statement. The production and reproduction of a culture or nation is a politically charged process with those active in this process looking to serve various interests. In using the term “the Welsh,” Williams obscures the identity of those who have a vested interest in producing concepts of Welshness and nationalism. Another Williams from Wales, Raymond Williams, wrote that “The very idea of ‘nationalism,’ as a key political term, rested on the assumption… that the nation was an unproblematic entity” (Williams, 2003, p.xxxiii), and while Raymond Williams was discussing what he called the “re­entry” of the capitalist state and its relationship to nationality, he touches upon an important concept in terms of the construction and representation of Welshness. As discussed in Chapter three, I regard Developing the Curriculum Cymreig as a text which promotes the identification of Welshness and development of a “sense of belonging” as a method intended to build a broad sense of community and formalized nationality for the Welsh. In short, the text is producing Wales and Welshness, but it is doing so almost vicariously through students’ experiences with “Welsh life” via the Curriculum Cymreig. The text is promoting a type of nationalism that, although speaks to the multiplicity of Welshness, largely treats the Welsh identity as an “unproblematic entity” (Ibid.). Daniel Williams, who edited a volume of Raymond Williams’ essays, wrote that (Raymond) Williams’ work regarding Welsh identity emphasized the “cultural rather than political or economic dimensions of nationhood” (Williams, 2003, p.xxxiii). However, what I found interesting was how this “cultural treatment” of national identity helped me to understand how the text I analyzed attempts to situate discussions of a cultural identity at the heart of political discourses and practices that speak to the question of “When was Wales?” In his essay “Wales and England,” Raymond Williams speaks to the complexity of the relationship between England and Wales in a variety of terms including culture, economy, and politics. Williams discusses his views regarding the distinction between a “culturally defined

101 people” and the politically defined “state” by stating that Welsh identity “was primarily cultural — in language, customs, kinship and community — rather than in any modern sense political” (Williams, 2003, p.xxxiii). Historians such as Jenkins (2007), and Gillingham (1992) support this statement in their research, indicating that historically, although the Welsh shared many common factors in their daily routines, they were largely comprised of various, loosely organized tribes. Even as time progressed and the introduction of imperial entities provided a more rigid social structure, it would be naïve and intellectually dishonest to represent Wales and its people as a singular political entity. With the occupation of the Saxons and Normans (the political precursor to the English state), the identification of Wales as a Principality or nation was largely a neutralizing term intended to mitigate rebellion and civil unrest. The incorporation of an imperial entity within the common experiences of the Welsh suggests a unifying tie amongst its population that was intended to infuse them with a sense of nationalism, patriotism, and common identity. It is historical realities like these that prompt Gwyn Williams to question “When was Wales?” From my analysis, it seems that along with the recent developments in the devolution of legislative powers in Wales, the text is attempting to provide a response. Curricula are critical elements in producing/reproducing culture, but to what degree are they used in building nations, particularly in situations where a colonial entity is seeking to differentiate itself from its possessor? One example can be found in the history of the United States. From 1775­1783, the American Revolution raged throughout the 13 colonies. As the early colonials entertained the notion of independence, they also illustrated a desire to break­away from many of the ideologies and practices of Mother England. Take for example the words of Noah Webster who wrote, “For America in her infancy to adopt the maxims of the Old World would be to stamp the wrinkles of age upon the bloom of youth” (Kaestle, 1983, p.6).Webster argued for a new language for a new world: “Begin with the infant in his cradle… let the first word he lisps be ‘Washington’” (Ibid.). Even at the very beginnings of American independence, those concerned with nation­building recognized the influence education had over the production of knowledge and representation of culture. Another example can be found in Welsh history. As a system of schooling began to emerge in Wales in the 19 th century, the power of education as a tool in managing and maintaining cultural identity was also realized, although instead of using it to build a sense of nationality and belonging, it was intended to reduce difference and aid in assimilation. William Williams, who

102 instigated the Reports of the Commissioners of Enquiry into the State of Education in Wales (often referred to as “The Blue Books”), argued that “…education was a cheaper and easier way of creating an obedient population than the use of force.” He further argued that, “the moral power of the schoolmaster was a more economical and effectual instrument in governing this people than the bayonet” (Roberts, 1998, p. 24). In both instances curriculum and schooling were employed in shaping the character of a culture and nature of a nation, with the first scenario demonstrating resistance and the second collusion. Much like Noah Webster, the subject of my analysis is rejecting the “maxims of the Old World” and is proposing a curriculum that emphasizes students’ experiences with aspects of “Welsh life” as a means of allowing them to construct a sense of identification and belonging with and to Welshness. Just as important, the text also provides various representations of Welshness in specific ways through case studies included in the guidance. But what is the text trying to achieve? The stated goals of the text are focused on the students, that they will identify a sense of Welshness and gain a sense of belonging, but to what end? My interpretation of the ways in which the text establishes its authority regarding the concept of Welshness, and how it further represents that concept through its curricular guidance, leads me to the conclusion that the text is managing students’ identity construction and sense of belonging as part of a building process for nationhood that transcends the cultural dimension and reaches into the political realm.

Producing Welshness As described in Chapter three, representations of Wales and Welshness are constructed through language and practices contained within the text, and these practices influence how these representations are to be interpreted and produced. For example, the text’s theoretical orientation to identity situates the discussion of Welshness within a discourse associated with constructivism, and this conversation supersedes any other approach to theorizing identity in the text. As I mentioned earlier, there are many ways to theorize about identity. The text favors an constructivist perspective as it places an emphasis on developing a sense of Welshness distilled from experiences with “Welsh life.” I am not suggesting that the text “doesn’t get it right” in terms of how it theorizes the concept of Welshness. However, in regard to the position from which I conducted this study, I do situate the concept of Welshness as a discursive formation, and as such I believe this perspective provides a rich and meaningful way to approach how the

103 concept of Welshness is utilized in the text. From the perspective of critical discourse studies, one can think of identity as being discursively represented through the language and practices associated with the production of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, as well as those included in the text. From this perspective, identity is shaped and represented by discursive practices which “hail” students and orient them to a recognition of these practices as Welsh. As mentioned above, schools serve as social institutions which successfully mobilize ideological assumptions through the knowledge and practices they produce and reproduce via their curricula. In discussing this aspect of schooling, Fairclough quotes Foucault who wrote, “Any system of education is a political way of maintaining or modifying the appropriation of discourses, along with the knowledges and powers they carry (Fairclough, 2001, p.54). This process of modifying and appropriating discourse is aided through the mobilization of ideological assumptions generated and maintained by agents and discourses within schools. Although he is speaking in more general terms than the realm of education, Fairclough discusses this process in language so precise, that it bears repeating in its entirety:

The more mechanical the functioning of an ideological assumption in the construction of coherent interpretations, the less likely it is to become a focus of conscious awareness, and hence the more secure its ideological status — which means the more effectively it is reproduced by being drawn upon in discourse. (Fairclough, 2001, p. 71)

The language, grammatical features, and practices included in the text through case studies, assessment, and claims to knowledge all contribute to the text’s expertise regarding Welshness, as well as a representation of the concept of Welshness itself. In discussing the effects of discourse on the representation of identity, I point out that the commonsensical appearance of ideological assumptions within a discourse strengthens the performative aspects of that discourse. The performativity of discourse is a concept developed by Butler (1990), and it is typically associated with “performance theory.” Butler suggests a performative is “not a doing by a subject who might be said to preexist the deed,” but rather the subject itself is “performatively constituted” by a series of ritually produced acts that are produced and reproduced under various conditions (Butler, 1999, p.33). Although performativity is a concept largely associated with performance theory, it also is a concept that is helpful when considering the power of discourse

104 within critical language studies. From the perspective of critical language studies, language is a form of action (Fairclough, 2001) and is accompanied by practices which are part of that action. These elements of discourse constitute a social practice, one in which ideological assumptions are masked and made to be considered and consumed as common knowledge or simply assumed to be true. Although the text discusses “Welsh life” it is also producing “Welsh life,” as well as its authority to speak on this subject as an expert. This is particularly apparent through its representations of the traditional arts, history, geography, and work and play in the case studies. In particular, I refer to the case study that foregrounds the locations and place names of Wales. In using these geographical signifiers of Welshness, the text produces the geographic body of Wales. This is similar to the bilingual road signs I mention in Chapter three. This emphasis on the naming of Wales produces a “Welsh Wales” — a Wales expressed through Cymraeg in opposition to a Wales expressed solely through English. This illustrates the performative nature of discourse. Cymru/Wales is the subject produced by discourse enacted through the road signs and curriculum which state with authority “Croeso y Gymru”/“Welcome to Wales.”

Producing a Nation In 2004, the European Union (EU) released its prestigious Eurostat Yearbook 2004:The statistical guide to Europe, a volume of critical statistics of member countries in the EU. As reported by the BBC, “All EU member states, and the rest of Britain, are accurately represented on the cover ­ but Wales has disappeared and been replaced by the Irish Sea” (Eurocrats leave Wales off EU map, 2004). In 2007, an insurance company rejected a claim from a customer in Wales because Wales was listed as an “unknown country” in the firm’s database (Wales is left off the map again, 2005). Even in my own experience as a teacher, I have encountered globes and text books in classrooms with maps of the United Kingdom that have the word “England” stretching from the St. David’s (the West coast of Wales) to Sheningham (the East coast of England). I mention these episodes to emphasize the point that Wales, in terms of its political identity, is often overlooked, misunderstood, or simply nonexistent. A level of frustration exists with many living in Wales regarding the frequent misrepresentation and misunderstanding of Wales. My mother and other family members still living in Wales continue to mention how often they correct peoples’ assumptions that Wales is “part of England.” This frustration has even

105 been manifested in the social spaces of the Internet. On Facebook, several groups have been created with titles such as “Wales is in England? Er... NO!?!”, “I hate it when people say Wales is apart (sic) of England!”, “I am from WALES not the one next to England, get it right!!!!”, and “Wales is Wales and England is England…..how HARD is that to understand!!!” (Facebook, 2010). Although Wales has a partly devolved government and does exercise its legislative authority in areas of agriculture and education, each of these instances serve as an illustration of misrepresentation and misunderstanding of Wales, and are part of the discourse of Welsh culture and political presence. My analysis of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig leads me to conclude that it is concerned with establishing Wales as not only a distinctive culture, but as a politically viable nation — a designation that requires careful planning and execution. My mention of individuals expressing their frustration regarding the misrepresentation (or removal) of Wales and Welshness is intentional in that I want to communicate the strong sense of community that is readily represented within the discourse of Welshness. The text emphasizes the importance of a sense of community in establishing a sense of self and nation — a type of cultural and political solidarity that brings various individuals together as a group that share a “common characteristic” and distinctiveness as a whole. This sense of solidarity, especially as it is demonstrated by individuals in social spaces such as Facebook, demonstrates a common desire for community — a shared determination to be “set apart” on one hand, and “drawn together” on the other. Earlier in this section, I disagreed with Gwyn Williams’ use of the term “the Welsh” in describing the production/reproduction of a Welsh culture and nation because that term was too vague to be useful in a discussion of how Welsh culture and nationhood is produced. Through an understanding of how education has played a role in the production and reproduction of culture from a historical account, I take Williams’ general claim of production and reproduction, and focus more specifically in my discussion of the findings of my analysis. In doing this I recognize Developing the Curriculum Cymreig as a specific agent in the production and reproduction of Wales and Welshness. Furthermore, I assert that the language and practices associated with the text demonstrate how education exists as one of many politically imbued institutions that continue to shape representations of Welshness and nationhood in Wales. With this perspective in mind, I have discovered the work of scholars in Wales that have employed a critical perspective in writing about the production of nationalism within Wales. I mention these scholars and their theories not to “muddy the theoretical waters” of this study, but to illustrate the

106 connection between my findings and others working within critical perspective. Specifically, Adamson’s theory of intellectualism and the production of national identity (1999) supports my claim that the text utilizes contemporary educational discourse and other discursive elements in establishing ideological assumptions that form a type of “common ground” with its audience. In his essay, The Intellectual and the National Movement in Wales, Adamson utilizes the work of Gramsci, and specifically Gramsci’s concept of the “national popular will,” in describing a process whereby “nationalism exists as a ‘free­floating’ ideology” (Adamson, 1999, p.53). Adamson’s interpretation of Gramsci states that, as opposed to intellectuals serving the interests of capitalism, they could instead fulfill a unique role in creating a “national popular collective will” as a response to the domination of the current hegemonic block (Adamson, 1999, p.54). Adamson then takes his argument one step further as he posits that intellectuals in Wales “…wield a remarkable influence by virtue of their position as producers of ‘knowledge’ across a wide array of fields of endeavor” (Fevre and Thompson, 1999, p.16). It is this aspect of his theory that I find intriguing as it aligns closely to my findings derived from my analysis. The counter­hegemonic movement mounted by intellectuals eventually assumes its own hegemonic role in the representation of Welshness and nationhood. Developing the Curriculum Cymreig is a result of the work of intellectuals in Wales writing about educational policy that, when implemented, will assist individuals in the identification of a cultural identity and awaken within them a sense of belonging to that identity and others who possess it. It also includes the work of teachers, professionals, and other citizens who possess what the text determines to be specialized knowledge of Welsh life (i.e. the storyteller, the historical interpreter, etc…). These individuals also assume the role of the intellectual, or the ‘organic intellectual’ in Gramscian terms (Ibid.), and they contribute to the production and representation of the Welsh identity and state. In summarizing this point, Adamson writes,

… In their writing on literature and music and the production of art, as well as their engagement with educational, political and philosophical questions, intellectuals have contributed much to the creation of the nation as an “imagined community.” (Adamson, 1999, p.16)

107 The point I am making here is not to prove the theory of Adamson, but to highlight the connection we both have made in the presence of hegemonic forces contributing to the generation of consent regarding Welsh identity. Adamson posits that the production of Welsh nationalism and Wales as an “imagined community” is produced through the work of intellectuals in Wales and is maintained through a hegemonic relationship. My analysis results in a similar conclusion, but it specifies the text, and those described within it, as agents garnering consent regarding what Welshness is, the processes through which it is identified, and to what ends these practices serve. That is, as Fairclough states, “Ideology is the prime means of manufacturing consent” (Fairclough, 2001, p.28), and the ideological function of the text is to establish its authority regarding the production of Welshness, to situate Welshness as a product of constructive and phenomenological practices, and to employ the feelings generated through these experiences in building a politically viable and unified Welsh nation.

108 CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

In this chapter, I discuss the implications of this study for schools in both Wales and abroad. In Chapter One, I situated my approach to this study within the field of critical pedagogy with the intention of utilizing critical discourse analysis as a method of inquiry that would allow me to investigate ideological claims contained within the subject of my analysis. In this section, I hope to demonstrate how the incorporation of a critical perspective in education can assist in developing a type of political literacy that enables students, teachers, and administrators to recognize discursive practices that manufacture consent through the mobilization of ideological assumptions and “commonsensical” knowledge in educational discourse. One central concept that rests at the center of this chapter is that of political literacy. The purpose of developing political literacy is to recognize ideological assumptions that present fixed, limited realities for individuals in society, and to reveal the limited nature of this reality as something that is, in all actuality, dynamic and subject to change through the conscious application of an individual’s praxis (Freire, 2006). In educational terms, political literacy involves the application of a critical perspective and reasoning that enables individuals the ability to see the varied forces that affect contemporary education. As I conducted this study, I constantly considered the process of analysis while reflecting upon my own orientation to Wales and Welshness. This was part of my approach to this study and was my attempt at developing a praxis that would liberate me from preconceived notions of, and pre­existing orientations to, Welshness. Praxis is an important concept for me both in terms of how I approached this study and how it relates to the concept of political literacy. According to Freire, praxis involves “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (2006, p.51). My interpretation of praxis as it applies to how I analyzed the text varies slightly from this definition in that I hoped to transform my orientation to the study. In this sense, my ontological orientation to the text was enhanced in that I developed a greater sense of how language, as a socially conditioned process involving a variety of actions and practices, works in maintaining, modifying, and appropriating discourse. Thus, my orientation to the text became finely calibrated. I recognized it as more than a collection of words and concepts intended to communicate a curricular program or set of best practice. Rather, I regarded the document as that and much more. It is a representation of political forces and interests communicated through

109 educational discourse. It is a means of managing and producing identity and community. More important, although it employs a variety of means in establishing authority and managing consent, it exists as a discourse that can be challenged, questioned, and transformed. As I conducted my analysis, I became acutely aware that through my discussion of my findings, I might situate a Welsh­oriented curriculum as something that is “wrong” or undesirable. It was not my intention to do so. I believe culturally aware curricula can exist. However, they must exist in ways that embrace a meaningful, multicultural approach to education that recognizes and embraces diversity as a beneficial reality of any educational experience. A major concern resulting from my analysis is that the Curriculum Cymreig fails to fully incorporate a multicultural perspective in its educational discourse. As stated in my findings, the primacy of Welshness is so fully featured in the text, that although it intermittently addresses multiculturalism, it fails to include discussions of non­Welsh identities in any meaningful capacity. The focus on the need for students to “identify their own sense of Welshness” (Developing the Curriculum Cymreig, 2003, p.2) demonstrates the limited perspective possessed by the text regarding the diversity of students in Welsh schools, as does the emphasis on students developing an “outward looking and international Wales” (Ibid.). While these are positive concepts, they are discussed in a way that assumes a sense of Welshness already exists, and that students do not have an outward looking or international orientation already. Certainly students who immigrate to Wales, or have ancestral ties outside of the United Kingdom, may possess some degree of an international or outward­looking perspective. In addition, the text relies upon established discourse and stereotypes in producing representative experiences of Welshness for students. The inclusion of Welsh myths, singing, and sport are so centrally tied to traditional representations of Welshness that there is little room outside of these stereotypical representations for students to recognize their own sense of Welshness. What about gay­Wales? Where is black­Wales? When was a woman’s Wales? The discourse of Welshness represented in the text is intended to allow students an opportunity to experience Wales unfettered by an outside influence. The text intends for each student to identify a personal sense of Welshness from her/his own experience. However, the white, heterosexual, male discourse of Welshness in the text fails to provide these experiences in a way that speaks to the reality of students in Wales. This is where the development of political literacy can play a key role in transforming the limited reality of students’ education in Wales (and abroad).

110 On a side note, I am often tempted to use the word “schooling.” However, I purposefully choose to use the word “education.” For me, the word “schooling” represents an experience that does not automatically equate to education. As a teacher, I see the word “schooling” representing the process of maintaining obedience, complicity, and base skills, and while this may accurately describe many of the contemporary educational realities students face, I want to situate this discussion in a more efficacious and positive tone. For me education is more than training, more than social conditioning, it is the process of human, social experience.

Critical Pedagogy and the Curriculum Cymreig How does political literacy work within discussions about education, who are those interested in having these discussions, and what are they saying? My own orientation to education is heavily influenced by the work of Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, and others whose work is often associated with that of critical pedagogy. Many of my friends and mentors working in the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University demonstrate a critical approach to education that has influenced my work as well. Although many of these scholars are identified as possessing varied, often disparate, philosophical/ideological orientations to education, these differences highlight the interdisciplinary nature of critical pedagogy and its ability to be used as a helpful tool in transforming education in multiple ways. It is the work of these individuals who interject critical conversations into the contemporary discourse of education that call for a transformation of both schooling and society, and I hope to add my voice to that chorus. In what follows, I discuss the concept of critical pedagogy and reference its potential as a beneficial approach to theorizing curriculum in Wales. From this specific discussion, I hope to demonstrate how such theorizing can be transferred to similar experiences outside of Wales. As schools serve as powerful institutions that produce and reproduce knowledge and culture in society (Apple, 2004), those working in the tradition of critical pedagogy see schools as prime locations for the transformation of societal structures and their attendant discursive practices placing limitations on students and obfuscating the mechanisms of oppression. This is a key characteristic of critical pedagogy; the efforts associated with this approach to education are not focused in attacking and eliminating socially unjust circumstances from society, but rather, in transforming society as a whole. The goal is not an excision of unjust practices and worldviews

111 from society but the creation of a reality in which these practices and perspectives cannot exist. Advocates of critical pedagogy argue, among other positions, that people should “understand the nature of oppression in modern society” and understand how their “ascribed characteristics (e.g., race, class, gender) and their culture impact on that oppression” (Sleeter and Grant, 2003, p.190). This understanding of multiple forms of oppression, and the varied components of social life which intersect it, is dependent upon the development of political literacy. In The Politics of Education: Culture, Power, and Liberation, Freire (1985) describes the importance of political literacy in terms of understanding the world as a transformable reality.

A political illiterate—regardless of whether she or he knows how to read and write— is one who… has a naive outlook on social reality, which for this one is a given, that is, social reality is a fait accompli rather than something that’s still in the making. (p. 103)

In both Wales and the United States, an official school curriculum is manifested in the creation of a document laden with objectives, standards, and benchmarks that have been disseminated to schools from a bureaucratic political body that governs educational policies and its varied ancillary organizations. Although nationalized and standardized curricula are relatively recent fixtures in terms of the history of public education in Wales and the United States, these approaches have become the dominant force in determining what type of knowledge is worth knowing, as well as who should receive this knowledge and why. So far in this discussion, I have used the word “oppression” rather vaguely, and this is often a critique of Freire’s work as well. Oppression in education is subtle and varied. However, it does exist, and I have provided examples of such oppression above in questioning the multicultural nature of the Curriculum Cymreig. Students who do not see themselves represented within a school’s curriculum are often objectified and alienated by it. This is a form of oppression that often goes unnoticed by the majority because they are blinded by their privilege as the norm to which the curriculum is oriented. Such a reality is demonstrated by the text I analyzed, and such a reality exists in schools in Wales, the United States, and beyond. I also assert that another form of oppression exists in that students in Wales are subjected to representations of Welshness that are not only limited in scope, but are also limited in how they can interact with and challenge these representations.

112 With this in mind, Freire (2006), in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, revealed the ease with which education can serve as a tool of oppression through his explanation of the “Banking Model of Education.” In this example, Freire differentiates between a Subject — “those who know and act,” and an Object, “those who are known and acted upon” (Freire, 2006, p. 36). He then makes apparent the role of the teacher, who imbued with authoritarian power and knowledge, deposits this knowledge into the passive, unquestioning minds of the students. As a result, the students are objectified, and as objects their ability to see the world as a transformable reality is displaced with a constructivist duality that possesses both their experience of oppression and the characteristics of their oppressor (Freire, 2006). This situation often came to mind as I conducted my analysis. For me, it was obvious that the text was shaping and managing students’ orientations to Welshness, and that this was occurring without an opportunity for students to meaningfully question the nature of Welshness or its importance to them as individuals and members of a community. However, as I continued my analysis, I also saw this characteristic of education played­out on a larger scale. Instead of a teacher/student scenario, I saw the text as the authority figure and its audience as the subordinate. In other words, the text was the teacher. It was teaching teachers and administrators how to implement the Curriculum Cymreig and why they should do so. The teachers were simply the receivers of information. The text was the Subject who knew and acted while the teachers and administrators were those were acted upon. This was evident through the way the text established its authority in terms of curriculum development, theoretical orientations to identity and community, and representations of Welshness. As you may recall in Chapter Four, the discourse of the text did not invite questions or reflection from the reader, actions which enable the reader to develop a critical position of the text. Instead, the document formulated questions for the reader. As stated previously, I interpreted this situation as a way in which the text manages its relationship with the reader and maintains its position of authority. Moreover, the ideological assumptions communicated through the text in its language, grammatical features, and organization, as well as the methods and practices associated with its production and distribution to its audience, act as a type of conditioning agent that minimizes the presence of ideology and masks the process of manufacturing consent. This is not a situation that is singular to Wales. As a teacher in the US, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of official curricular “guidance,” from local, state, and federal levels with no such increase in opportunities for teachers to question, challenge, or

113 theorize about the efficacy of such guidance. From my observations as a practicing teacher, I believe this is particularly evident in conversations of multicultural education, and I briefly discuss this theme as a way of underscoring how a critical perspective can reveal ideological deficiencies within education. Those working in the field of critical pedagogy are, among other concerns, interested in ways in which social institutions, such as education, project an objectifying worldview in society. As such, they are concerned with the “elimination of oppression of one group of people by another” (Sleeter and Grant, 2003, p. 188). In specifically addressing the goals of multicultural education, they desire to “reflect the concerns of diverse cultural groups” (Ibid.) in an educational environment. As a point of clarity, I would like to situate the term “multicultural education” in a very specific context. Sleeter and Grant (2003) use a term that speaks to the critical pedagogues’ goal of transforming society rather than removing unwanted elements from it. They suggest a type of education that is “multicultural and social reconstructionist” (2003), and this approach to multiculturalism is intended to avoid the stigma that has rapidly developed in contemporary educational discourse. Multiculturalism, from which multicultural education is derived, can elicit multiple responses from different audiences, and it has come to convey different meanings in different contexts. Like multicultural initiatives in the United States, the transformative nature of a multicultural approach to education in Wales is often undermined by its implementation. I point to the complexity of multiculturalism discussed by West in an interview with Bill Brown (1993) as an example. In this discussion Cornell West describes multiculturalism as “the language of bureaucrats” (1993, p.127); and although West notes that he may have to work under the term due to the nature of a particular struggle in which he may be involved, he does not accept multiculturalism as a whole because “it seems to be an obscuring term, obscuring the deeper intellectual issues…” (1993, p.127). Indeed, in many instances, multiculturalism is recklessly applied to existing curricula and regarded as an afterthought in terms of its educational practices and pedagogy. As a result, the significance of a multicultural approach to education is lost as it fails to affect the fundamental structures of power relations in and of the school. In the United States, a technical application of multiculturalism still operates as an assimilationist approach to education (Banks, 1994). For the purpose of clarity, I refer to Banks’ definition of multicultural education which states,

114 Multicultural education tries to create equal opportunities for all students by ensuring that the total school environment reflects the diversity of groups in classrooms, schools, and the society as a whole. (Banks, 1994, p. 4)

As part of a critical approach to multiculturalism, advocates of this approach to education also “want to identify with a more assertive and transforming educational position” (Sleeter and Grant, 2003, p. 188). As I conducted my analysis, I considered how multiculturalism was being mobilized within the text. It was situated in direct relation to Welshness, as a quality of Welshness, but never as an entity in which Welshness was situated. When used in such a way, the potency of multiculturalism as an orientation to education is diminished. Instead, it becomes a “catch phrase” with no real, transformative power. This has already happened to a degree and is played out regularly in contemporary political discourse. For example, in the United States, populist rhetoric in the media has attacked President Obama in terms of both his perspective on race relations and his ethnicity (which is intimately connected with his citizenship). Instead of proposing reasonable critiques of the policies of the Obama administration, many “right­wing” pundits and politicians mobilize negative perceptions regarding multiculturalism and diversity in formulating attacks that suggest that these concepts were responsible for the political and economic adversity now experienced in the United States. These organizations and their agents seek to undermine social justice and diversity, positioning these terms as permissive elements that allow for moral, economic, and cultural decay in American society. In addition, narratives have been introduced that seek to “reclaim” the Civil Rights Movement within a predominately Christian, white, discourse. Such misguided advances on the historical and contemporary struggles for social justice and inclusion not only distort political discourse, but their far­reaching affects seriously threaten the transformative potential of education as well. As a result, diversity and multiculturalism may be construed as “what’s wrong” with schools today and that the methods and practices associated with developing and celebrating a diverse population in school are undermining the quality and character of public schools in America. From this weakened position, the concept of multicultural education might degenerate further into a concept that is not just given superficial treatment, but is instead openly derided and publicly disarmed. In Wales, the Curriculum Cymreig seems to have been developed in response to postcolonial discourses produced through its hegemonic relationship with England, and as such, I had

115 anticipated a greater sensitivity to, and awareness of, the value of multiculturalism in education. In terms of how the text situates Welshness as a distinctive identity in response to English hegemony, it seems supremely interested in recognizing the power of multiculturalism in education. However, as in the United States, multiculturalism in Wales seems to be used largely in political terms as a means of satisfying a requirement as opposed to serving as a transformative and liberating element in schools. It is a concept used to forward the cause of Welsh nationalism. The process of building a political viable nation of self­identified Welsh people has trumped the importance of recognizing Welshness as one of many cultural identities that can contribute to students’ educational experiences in Wales. As I conducted my analysis, I wondered to what degree the text played in mobilizing multiculturalism as an accomplice to assimilation, as opposed to a means of acknowledging the beauty, value, and benefit of the individuality possessed by each student. As a researcher, I felt empowered through my analysis. I felt as if I could understand more clearly the language contained within the text and the effect that it and its relevant practices might have on students and teachers in Wales. The sociological and educational theories and philosophies that I have experienced have enabled me to exercise reason and will in exploring the ways in which multiple factors influence the reality of my life and education. This concept relates directly to Freire’s concept of conscientization, where students learn to “perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (Freire, p.67, 1985). Freire asserts the goal of conscientization is “…to provoke recognition of the world, not as a "given" world, but as a world dynamically "in the making” (Ibid), and this speaks directly to empowerment. Teachers and students can also be empowered through incorporating a critical perspective in education. I firmly believe opportunities must be provided in schools where students can develop a conscious awareness of the variable factors that affect their living and learning in society, and to achieve a level of political literacy that gives them the ability to act upon this awareness in real and meaningful ways. In discussing conscientization and its importance in empowering individuals to take part in the identification of limited situations in their reality, Freire states

Conscientization is more than a simple prise de conscience. While it implies overcoming "false consciousness," overcoming, that is, a semi­intransitive or naive transitive state of

116 consciousness, it implies further the critical insertion of the conscientized person into a demythologized reality. (Freire, 1985, p.85)

The critical insertion of the conscientized person is a step towards the empowering of individuals to interact with and transform a reality they once regarded as limited situations. Such a condition can apply to teachers, both in the United States and Wales, who are subjected to a process of deprofessionalization through the implementation of ideologically charged discourses meant to manufacture consent and maintain a hegemonic influence over what is to be taught, how it is to be taught, and why. Such practices undermine teacher empowerment and they fail to recognize their ability to question, reason, and challenge curricular objectives to which they are subjected. These discourses assist in the mythologizing of education process as a fixed­situation, a limited reality that is static and resistant to change. In short, both they and their students are faced with obstacles which limit their perception of reality. Teachers, students, and parents — community members critically engaged in challenging, questioning, and investigating the educational reality presented to them, can give voice to alternative discourses in society that transcend the supposed boundaries of what is and isn’t possible in education today. Through this conscious effort in analyzing and critiquing the discursive practices maintained within the institution of education, they can determine the discourse of their own representation and provide multiple pathways leading to their orientation to self, community, and nation.

Revisiting Limitations In every study there exist limitations or situations that the researcher either expected or did not anticipate. It is important to discuss these limitations because it situates the scope of the study, as well as my level of self­awareness as a researcher and my orientation to the study. In addition, a discussion of the limitations of this study may help others who undertake a similar approach using CDA, or who take this research further. As mentioned previously, I am the instrument of my analysis. I identified and coded my data. I described, interpreted, and explained them within the context of this analysis. Although I regarded my subjectivity as a necessary reality, it is also a form of limitation. As a white, middle class, heterosexual, male who is a first generation Welsh­American, I possess a particular orientation to the study. In addition, my life experiences, beliefs, and morals influence how I

117 interact with identity, and in particular, Welshness. My experiences living and conducting research in Wales, as well as interactions with family there provide me with insights and cues about Wales that can’t be derived from the text I analyzed, but still may be represented in my analysis. Others who read this study may possess a different orientation to the study and its topic, as a result their interpretation and findings may be markedly different from mine. Because of this, there is a need for others interested to perform their critiques of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig so that other findings may be presented that were not included in my study. As with any other research, time was a restraint. In addition to a graduate student, I am a full­ time teacher at a middle school in the Cincinnati area. I am also married to a wonderful woman and father of three children. My days typically start at 4:30 am, where the 5 members of my family stumble out of bed and engage in the morning ritual of getting everyone ready for school in a house with one bathroom. After a day of teaching, I would usually return home at about 3:30 pm. If I didn’t help my wife with dinner, dishes, driving the kids to piano practice or other activities, I might go to the office and work on my study. If I had other obligations, I might start writing later in the evening. I would have liked to have spent more time with the document, more time writing, and more time theorizing, but that was simply not an option. However, there is a part of me that believes that, even if I did have as much time as I wanted, I may never feel like I have spent “enough time” with the study. Another limitation was the style of CDA I utilized in the study. Fairclough’s “10 Questions” are not a complete, formal method of conducting a critical discourse analysis. I used these questions as a basis from which my study would be founded. This approach is also very labor intensive, and is well­suited for passages of texts, and not the body of text as a whole. I considered this limitation as I designed the study and decided that, in terms of what I wanted to accomplish, it was still the best approach. This meant that I would have to focus more specifically on certain passages rather than the text in general. As a result, I didn’t include all of the sections of the text in my analysis. However, I don’t believe this detracts from the value of the study or the validity of my findings. The purpose of the study was not to count the number of ideological claims/assumptions in the text, but to simply illustrate that the document contains ideological claims/assumptions that modify, maintain, and appropriate the normalization of certain discourses and practices. Moreover, I don’t claim to have uncovered all of the possible ideological claims/assumptions contained within the text. In addition, although the text consists

118 of 64 pages, a critical discourse analysis of the entire document would amount to a study much larger than I have undertaken here. Again, this is an indicator of the need for further research and analysis.

Future Research As a graduate student, the majority of my research and time studying has been focused on issues involving education and the Welsh identity. These are topics that are near and dear to my heart, not only because they speak to elements of my individual identity and orientation to who I am as a person, but because I also find that studying Welsh identity assists me in theorizing about identity and culture in general. My familiarity with Welshness, my orientation to that as something that is somewhat postcolonial, otherized, marginalized, and complex aids in me working with and understanding the position of those who identify with other identities that share, with varying degree, these characteristics. I look forward to the opportunity to continue working in areas of educational studies that seek to contribute to the inclusion of multiple social and cultural identities, and in seeking to transform society in general through the incorporation of a critical perspective in education. I have recently conducted a series of ethnographic interviews with students attending secondary schools in Wales, and will embark on a new study in which I will investigate students’ understandings of Welshness. Whereas this analysis situated Welshness as a discursive formation, this upcoming study will incorporate a critical, ethnographic approach and will utilize a phenomenological perspective in organizing and interpreting the data. I see this upcoming experience as a next­step in my development as a scholar, as well as a new contribution to the study of Welsh identity and its relationship to education. Ultimately, I would like this study, my upcoming project, and my further research to assist in dismantling the powerful narratives that exclude students in an educational setting and in society at large. I hope to contribute to the work of critical theorists who challenge established norms and seek to uncover the ways in which oppression and inequality are maintained through education. In addition, in leaning on the work of Paulo Freire and those working in the field of critical pedagogy, I hope that my work contributes in some way to the importance of helping students and teachers develop and incorporate a level of political literacy and conscientization in their educational experiences.

119 Conclusion The purpose of the study was to conduct a critical discourse analysis of Developing the Curriculum Cymreig. In performing this analysis, I was concerned with revealing how the language, formatting, and grammatical features of the text established its authority over the management of Welshness in conjunction with its guidance for the implementation of the Curriculum Cymreig, as well as the ways in which the text represented the concept of Welshness. The theoretical framework for this study incorporated the use of critical theory and critical pedagogy, with the method of analysis utilizing elements of critical discourse analysis primarily developed by Norman Fairclough (2001). From this analysis, I determined that the text established its authority position through the repeated use of declarative sentences, the foregrounding of quotations from various experts in the field of education, and a combination of relational, experiential, and expressive values in both the language and grammatical features of the text. In addition, I suggest that the text possesses an constructivist orientation to Welshness, and that it promotes this orientation through its emphasis on the identification of Welshness through the experiences described in its case studies. The method of identification can be described as phenomenological, in that it suggests students develop an understanding of Welshness from a variety of experiences with Welsh life. In terms of how the text represents Welshness, the guidance section highlights the “distinctiveness” of Welshness. From my analysis of the case studies, I identified four themes regarding how the text represents Welshness: • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Traditional Arts • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Geography • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing History • Identifying Welshness through Experiencing Work and Play

Now that I come to the end of this study, I’ve asked myself; did I accomplish what I set out to do? This is a complicated question in that the study that sits before you is not the study I intended to write. As I conducted this study, there were some things that I might have predicted — the representation of Welshness as experiencing the traditional arts for instance, which is something I have been exposed to all of my life. On returning from a recent trip to Wales, my mother gave me a pocket watch. There was an inscription of the front of the watch that says, “To

120 be born Welsh is to be born privileged. Not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but music in your blood And poetry in your soul.” This is a saying I’ve heard throughout my life, and although I’m not “born Welsh,” my mother gave me the watch as an indication of my privileged status as one of Wales’ sons. For my mother, the fact that I have been trained as a vocalist and even performed semi­professionally at one point in my life only reinforces that “fact.” Welshness as artistic, as singing and dancing, was not a surprise. The emphasis on history was also not a surprise. Family history is an important part of my orientation to Welshness, and conversations of my ancestors and their experiences with the “Welsh­not,” or their sneaking around the coal company bungalows for union meetings in the middle of the night, have played an important part of my education in Welshness. Even the emphasis on work and play wasn’t a foreign concept. As a child, I grew up with images of Max Boyce smothered with Welsh rugby regalia, and holding a massive, stuffed, plush leek while he recited When I Played for Wales, a semi­fictitious/autobiographical tale of boys playing rugby in their neighbor’s garden. Work was central to our orientation to Welshness due to the number of men from our family who worked as coal miners. One of the most notable features of my grandfather was the blue scars he collected from over 40 years mining coal in Britannia Colliery in Aberbargoed. These distinctive marks held near­legendary status amongst the American side of my family, but were a simple fact of life on the Welsh side. What was surprising was my realization that, throughout this study, there was a part of my orientation to Wales that I wanted to remain untouched, unchanged, and unexposed. It was the notion of “a Wales that is but never was.” As I conducted this study, I was called to question this representation of Welshness; the discourse of what I felt was “my heritage” and “my ancestry.” I encountered my idyllic Wales nestled in the language of the text I was analyzing, and as I questioned and considered these representations and discussions, I realized — to a small degree — the pain of developing consciousness about one’s self, and the uneasiness that often accompanies episodes of growth and understanding. For me, this was a necessary component of this study — a spiritual element that legitimated the work I have undertaken. From this experience, I gained an understanding of how ideological factors can paralyze our interaction with the very things that organize our orientation to the world. What’s more, I perceived a glimpse as to how the conscious application of reason and reflection, of thought and action, can reveal and minimize the ideological constraints that limit access to full, social inclusion.

121 Although it may sound hopelessly idealistic, it is my hope that such an endeavor can allow us to eliminate the obstacles that limit our perception of the world as dynamic and subject to transformation, and embrace a possibility of a world in which such damning discourses can’t exist.

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