Creative Governance in Further Education : the art of the possible?

Abstract

The research project aims to collect and analyse data in the under researched field of governance in further education colleges. The cognate area of third sector, work and employment based governance is the subject of a further study (LSIS 2009a). A key objective of this study is to contribute to debate about the purpose of college governance at a time when the LSC commissioning era ends and new government bodies responsible for further education and training (including local authorities), arrive. The research methodology associated with this pilot project adopts a case study approach involving six colleges, including a sixth form college, complemented by interviews with respondents from organisations and agencies across the learning and skills sector (see appendix 1). Interview data is supplemented by documentary evidence from Colleges, Parliamentary, Policy, Ofsted and wider research sources