Hartlepool College of Further Education: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 97/95 and 27/98)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1994-95 and 1997-98

Women returners: a study of mature undergraduates and their educational histories

This thesis contains an account of research into the experiences of a group of women who returned to education as mature undergraduate students at a university in the Midlands. The aim of the research was to discover why such women failed to fulfil their academic potential in the conventional system and their motives for returning to education at a later stage. The study traces their educational histories from initial schooling, through re-entry to education as adults, to their admission to university as mature undergraduate students. A further group of women at various stages of re-entry are identified and described. Their histories are compared with those of the undergraduate sample. The empirical study is set in the context of a detailed discussion of gender acquisition and the experiences, expectations and attainments of girls at school. Two further issues of social class and family circum tances are explored. The current developments within adult education, both policies and practices, are discussed. Finally, the various educational options available to adults who wish*to continue their education are detailed. The study concludes with an analysis of the re-entry points and educational opportunities available to women and stresses the need for relevant information and advice to be made more readily available. An appendix contains a full report of a research project carried out by the author, while compiling a directory of the educational and training opportunities available to women in England and Wales

Communities of leadership in FE

This working paper highlights the significance of multiple communities as crucial conditions, processes and consequences of FE leadership. Our research suggests that in (almost) all their activities FE colleges engage communities. They make important, but frequently under-estimated contributions to the local community and economy. This is the case within colleges (e.g. students and employees), between colleges and their multiple-partners (e.g. in the local community and economy) and between different colleges (e.g. professional networks and associations between Principals). The paper argues that in the FE sector communities and leadership are inextricably-linked, sometimes in mutually-reinforcing, but also in potentially contradictory ways. These communities are not only both internal and external to colleges themselves, they are also multiple and diverse, frequently shifting, interacting and impacting in complex, simultaneous ways. Our working paper: 1. Outlines (some of) the multiple communities served by FE colleges. In particular, we explore the FE college as: a learning community, a socially inclusive community, an inclusive learning community and a provider of adult and community learning. 2. Examines some of the important challenges for those occupying FE leadership positions in seeking to engage with these multiple communities. Our research findings suggest that on-going attempts to engage diverse communities constitute a crucial challenge for effective FE leadership. 3. Suggests a different way of understanding the nature of FE leadership. This indicates that a ‘blended leadership’ (Collinson and Collinson 2005c) approach may be particularly effective in engaging multiple, shifting communities in sustainable ways. 4. Suggests that the community contribution of FE colleges is frequently neglected and/or under-estimated. Many of the staff we have interviewed argue that important aspects of colleges’ community engagements remain invisible or undervalued, particularly by those who evaluate per

Second chance learning and the contexts of teaching: a study of the learning experiences of further education students with few qualifications

This thesis examines the learning experience of a group of students in a further education college. This group, mainly adult returners, (there was a small cohort of school leavers) with few academic qualifications, succeeded in gaining Higher National awards and some went on to complete a degree. Students from 1995-2002 on one course in a college of further education were surveyed and interviewed. Findings from 95 questionnaires and 60 interviews on what factors they considered important to their success, how they learned best, and what elements of the learning experience were important to them, were all used to examine the learning of this group of students, both with Highers and without Highers, adult returners and school leavers, with a view to designing a teaching model for both sets of students. The initial hypothesis that those without Higher qualifications required something radically different from those with Highers, was disproved. Three case studies were used to give a more chronological and holistic picture of the student experience. The study shows that discussion, group communal learning and the trust and reciprocity exhibited within the dynamics of this particular FE classroom contributed to the efficacy of the learning experiences. Concepts of learner identity, discourse, student and teacher identities and pedagogical traditions were explored in the light of the data. Social capital was used as a heuristic device to examine the mechanics of classroom activity, the bonding of the group and how the small world of an FE classroom related to the larger networks of the workplace, the community and higher education. The final outcome, the model, was presented as a broad set of principles based on the students’ comments, the teacher/researcher’s experience and education theories. It was to be “learning focused” rather than “training focused” (Eraut et al. 2000: 240). Relationships between staff and students, students and students, modes of thinking linked to critical discourse and collaborative activity were the key factors in their successful achievement. The workplace context and the use of the practical setting were seen as important in making the learning link to “real life” but were not seen as the pivotal force. This combination of social and cognitive forces was translated into a model. The principles contained in the model were an expression of the way the students changed in their thinking, and in themselves, and what classroom dynamics brought these changes about

Diversity in STEMM: Establishing a Business Case

This report sets out the results of research commissioned by the Royal Society as part of their BIS-funded programme entitled ‘Leading the way: increasing diversity in the scientific workforce’. The research explored whether there is a business case for diversity in STEMM occupations (scientific, technical, engineering, mathematical and medical roles) and whether diverse teams are more likely to do ‘good’ science. The research focused on three of the nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010: gender, ethnicity and disability

The implementation of educational policy: A case study of the Open College of South London.

An 'Open College' system derives from a policy designed to redress educational inequalities among the inner city adult population. It is a development in the post-school sector of education which brings together different types of institutions in a quasi-federal structure. Its aim is to develop course provision for adult returners which will facilitate their progression to higher education, further education and/or into employment. Whether or not a policy achieves what the policy-makers intended, it is hypothesised, depends on the way in which it is perceived by the key people within the organisation and the action which they take to effect its implementation. Successful outcomes are dependent on there being "commitment, communication and capacity" at each level of the operation. A case study is an appropriate means of examining the relative importance of the various factors. It involves in-depth interviews with the policy-makers (the politicians and administrators), the policy-implementers (the central co-ordinators and principals in the institutions) and the policy-deliverers (the co-ordinators and tutors in the institutions). To ascertain the factors which ultimately make for successful outcomes for those concerned, a longitudinal study of adult students in one of the designated areas of course development was undertaken. An eclectic theoretical research model is adopted, because no one perspective is thought to be appropriate at all levels of the processes of policy formulation and implementation. Attention is paid to the political, social and economic context of London and Britain in the 1980s. The micro study in a macro framework also facilitates generalisation. In establishing what factors make for successful outcomes for a policy concerned with equal opportunitiees in education in a deprived inner city area, it is hoped that it might be possible to throw some light upon the factors which make for the successful implementation of policy more generally