James Avis

Transformation or transformism: Engeström’s version of activity theory?

The paper examines Engeström’s version of activity theory. It seeks to locate this within the socio‐economic and theoretical context in which notions of co‐configuration and knotworking are set. Although this theoretical approach offers radical possibilities it is limited by its neglect of the wider social context in which activity systems are located as well as by its failure to address issues of power and social antagonism. The recovery of these neglected areas has been recognized by those who have critically engaged with activity theory. Such an approach would serve to re‐centre the Marxist interest in social transformation and would minimize the tendency towards transformism integrally embedded in this particular version of activity theory.

Engeström’s version of activity theory: a conservative praxis?

This article examines Engeström’s version of activity theory, one rooted in Marxism. It is argued that whilst this approach holds progressive possibilities, its radicalism is undermined by a restricted conceptualisation of transformation and the marginalisation of a politicised notion of social antagonism. As a consequence, this approach to activity theory can easily fold over into a conservative praxis that undermines its potential radicalism, becoming instead technicised and a form of transformism.

Further education in England: the new localism, systems theory and governance

The paper explores the changing forms of governance currently being applied to the English further education sector – changes that emphasise the importance of locality. The paper sets the sector within its socio‐economic and policy context, examining current policy changes that intend to alter the way in which the sector is managed. It relates these changes to their contextual location and to a set of conceptual notions that derive from a particular understanding of systems theory and what has been described as the new localism. It concludes that whilst these changing forms of governance are in continuity with earlier policies that had a regional dimension, they remain set on the terrain of performativity and new public sector management. Nevertheless, there remains a residual potential to develop more democratic forms of engagement in these changes.

Policy talk: reflexive modernization and the construction of teaching and learning within postcompulsory education and lifelong learning in England

This paper explores the policy contextualization of teaching and learning within post-compulsory education and lifelong learning (PCET) in England and aims to locate PCET in a range of arguments that frame discussion. These arguments are necessarily discursive in that whilst they bear some relation to socio-economic conditions they move beyond these to construct an understanding of the nature of society, the economy and education. The paper critically examines globalization, reflexive modernization and its links with third way politics. It concludes by exploring debates concerning pedagogic practice and the organization of waged labour. It argues that the progressive nature of this pedagogic discourse is compromised by its acceptance of capitalist relations. Nevertheless space for intervention remains building upon the democratic concerns of reflexive modernization as well as the contradictions of a consensual capitalism that claims to offer social justice.

(Im)possible dream: post‐Fordism, stakeholding and post‐compulsory education

This paper explores the new conditions and ideational framework within which post‐compulsory education and training is placed in England and Wales. It does so by examining the impact of ideas derived from post‐Fordist analyses and stakeholding theory as well as the arguments put forward by left modernizers. It seeks to consider the limits and possibilities that surround these ideas which have provided a new inflection or accenting of educational policy. This accenting connects a concern with social inclusion and cohesion to global competitiveness. The paper concludes by suggesting that the project of left modernizers is seriously compromised through its entrapment within a capitalist logic, but that nevertheless the potential for struggle remains within the contradictions of the discourse and rhetoric surrounding educational policy.

HE in FE: vocationalism, class and social justice

The paper draws on the Wolf (2015) report (Heading for the Precipice: Can Further and Higher Education Funding Policies Be Sustained?) and other quantitative data, specifically that derived from HEFCE’s Participation of Local Area (POLAR) classifications. In addition it explores key literature and debates that associate higher education in further education (HE in FE) with the pursuit of social justice. This enables an interrogation of conceptualisations of vocationalism as well as a consideration of its articulation with class and gender. Whilst the paper is set within a particular and English socio-economic context, it addresses issues that have a much broader global significance. The paper argues that whilst HE in FE has limited traction in facilitating social mobility it does serve as a resource in the struggle for social justice.

More of the same? New Labour, the Coalition and education: markets, localism and social justice

This paper seeks to draw out the continuities and ruptures in current English education policy. In particular it considers the relationship between Coalition policy rhetoric and that of the Labour Party. Although the paper is concerned with the British and more specifically English context, it examines a range of questions that move beyond that particular setting. It explores the way in which we can understand crisis and the manner in which this informs policy discussion and the re-ordering of neo-liberalism. In conclusion, it argues that the presumed radicalism of the Labour Party can only take us so far, and that an examination of policy for its progressive and radical possibilities, whatever their origins, is an important site of struggle.

Further education: policy hysteria, competitiveness and performativity

This essay addresses a number of issues that bear upon further education (FE) in England. It examines the socio-economic context in which the sector is located, considers its policy framework, touching upon the lived experience of those working and studying in the sector. Whilst the substantive focus is FE, the issues debated have a wider currency. The socio-economic context, set within a period of recession and mounting unemployment, not only impacts upon English education but crosses national boundaries. Some years ago, Stronach (1989) coined the term ‘policy hysteria’ to describe the frequent policy changes that buffeted English education; similarly, Keep (2006) has used the metaphor of a train set, with which the state constantly tinkers. One common feature in this turbulent environment is the manner in which policy is framed by an emphasis upon the skills agenda and the allied development of competitiveness. Performativity, allied to the state’s interest in ensuring that education addresses employer/business needs, is a ubiquitous theme and paradoxically has deepened at a time of capitalist crisis and global recession. The aim is that learners of whatever age are readied for waged labour with practitioners’ prioritising this aspect of their work. These features are not just characteristic of the English context but straddle social formations, having been a constant theme, albeit accented differently, over the past half-century. Although this paper focuses upon FE, its arguments and themes have a wider relevance and currency, talking as they do to the articulation between state, education, social justice and the politics of practice. There are a plethora of terms used to describe FE, the FE system, FE sector, postcompulsory education and training, learning and skills sector. These terms reflect the ambiguities of the sector as well as its increasingly fluid and blurred boundaries (Allen and Ainley 2007). Historically, FE has nestled between the end of compulsory schooling and advanced (degree)-level study. It has been orientated towards the provision of non-advanced vocational/technical and general education as well as adult education. It bears some resemblance to community colleges in the United States, Technical and Further Education Colleges in Australia and similar provision in New Zealand. However, it is important to acknowledge that English FE has never been an easily definable sector, being marked by diversity and shifting boundaries and delivered not just within colleges of further education but by a variety of organisations, some of whom are private training providers. Provision can range from basics skills to degreelevel work. Colleges are marked by their particular histories as well as, and relatedly, the local and regional contexts in which they are placed.

From reproduction to learning cultures: post‐compulsory education in England

This paper examines recent empirical work on the lived experience of learners in post‐compulsory education. The starting point is a brief examination of the socio‐economic context of the sector. Despite the sophistication of analyses of learning cultures, a more radical approach is needed. Failure to do so renders these analyses amenable to appropriation by ‘new labour’ modernisers.

Inbound, outbound or peripheral: the impact of discourses of ‘organisational’ professionalism on becoming a teacher in English further education

This article explores constructions of teacher identities at a time of significant changes to public service professionalism. The article draws on different discourses of professionalism, contrasting ‘organisational’ and ‘occupational’ professionalism, with discourses of ‘personal’ and ‘critical’ professionalism, to explore changing meanings and enactments of teacher professionalism in the 2000s. Narratives of three novice teachers, followed over eight years, are used to consider the impact of dominant discourses of ‘organisational’ professionalism in English further education, resulting in inbound, outbound and peripheral trajectories. In response, the article considers how practitioners might engage critically with current changes, arguing that it is necessary to work with what matters to teachers, such as their relations with students, teaching and learning and subject specialism. Such work might create, at least temporarily and locally, spaces in which more favourable conditions towards socially just and enabling educational practices can be worked towards.