Educational Research and the Restructuring of the State: The Impacts of Parliamentary Devolution in Wales

Abstract

This article explores the relationships between educational research and the state. However, the aim is not to construct idealised versions of what the relationship between research and educational policy ought to be, but rather to examine the ways in which the state is able to influence the priorities of educational research through its role as the key funder of such research and as a principal consumer of its results. Empirically, the analysis is located in a particular historical context: the restructuring of the United Kingdom (UK) through the devolution of powers from the UK central government to a Parliament in Scotland and an Assembly in Wales, each with its devolved executive. In particular, the effects of this devolution on educational research are analysed through an examination of the transformation of educational research in universities; and of the ways in which the Welsh Assembly Government has used research in the processes through which educational policies are developed. Processes of globalisation have created complex interactions between civil society and different levels of government in many societies, which have had important consequences for the ways in which education policies are produced and the roles played by different forms of ‘expert’ knowledge (including educational research). Accordingly, the significance of the analysis extends beyond the specific, historical context in which it is located.