A History of Education in Wales
By Gareth Elwyn Jones and
Gordon Wynne Roderick
University of Wales Press pound;15.99 (pbk) pound;35 (hbk)

To many people living east of Offa’s Dyke, the history of Welsh education is something of a closed book. The two authors are therefore to be congratulated on producing a work that clearly and interestingly sets out to tell the story of educational developments in the principality covering a span of some 1,500 years.

In a work of slightly more than 200 pages, Jones and Roderick trace the evolution of educational provision in the context of the society and economy of Wales and in the light of relationships with the UK Government.

From the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1282, the question of national identity was an important one. The uniting of England and Wales in the 16th century made it advantageous for Welsh gentry to learn English, while the majority of the population remained monoglot Welsh, which, the authors pointnbsp; out, affected the provision of formal education for centuries.

nbsp; Read more in this week’s TES Friday magazine

Also reviewed this week: Education books

Diversity and Distrust: civic education in a multicultural democracy
By Stephen Macedo
Harvard University Press pound;16.50

Who Controls Teachers’ Work: power and accountability in America’s schools
By Richard M Ingersoll
Harvard University Press pound;26.50

Practice Makes Perfect: a critical study of learning to teach
By Deborah Pritzman
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Critical Voices in School Reform: students living through change
Edited by Beth C Rubin and Elena M Silva
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Discourse, Power and Resistance: challenging the rhetoric of contemporary education
Edited by Jerome Satterthwaite,
Elizabeth Atkinson and Ken Gale
Trentham Books pound;18.99