Julie Hughes

The state of professional practice and policy in the English further education system: a view from below

This paper addresses a recurring theme regarding the UK’s Vocational Education and Training policy in which further education (FE) and training are primarily driven by employer demand. It explores the tensions associated with this process on the everyday working practices of FE practitioners and institutions and its impact on FE’s contribution to the wider processes of social and economic inclusion. At a time when Ofsted and employer-led organisations have cast doubt on the contribution of FE, we explore pedagogies of practice that are often unacknowledged by the current audit demands of officialdom. We argue that such practice provides a more enlightened view of the sector and the challenges it faces in addressing wider issues of social justice, employability and civic regeneration. At the same time, the irony of introducing laissez-faire initiatives designed to remove statutory qualifications for FE teachers ignores the progress made over the past decade in raising the professional profile and status of teachers and trainers in the sector. In addressing such issues, the paper explores the limits and possibilities of constructing professional and vocational knowledge from networks and communities of practice, schools, universities, business, employers and local authorities, in which FE already operates.

‘… do that and I'll raise your grade’. Innovative module design and recursive feedback

In an attempt to ensure students had a positive experience in their first semester, and to encourage future effective use of tutors’ feedback comments, a post-1992 university used a module in the school of education to develop an innovative feedback process. The process involved four stages: a first submission of written work, written feedback on that work, viva on student understanding of feedback, and final submission of written work. Between the viva and final submission, students could choose to improve their work for a specified number of grade points. The innovation was met favourably by students, and overall grades were improved against the previous iteration of the module. The project showed promise for adaptation in other forms for use across the University, though some ideological issues around assessment remain unresolved. The matter of the innovation and institutional quality standards is discussed in detail.

Collaborative writing and dis‐continuing professional development: challenging the rituals and rules of the education game?

This article discusses a critical challenge to current paradigms of continuing professional development within higher education institutions. A small group of higher‐education‐based teacher educators for the English post‐compulsory sector describes and exposes the values and processes operating within a particular kind of professional development ‘space’ of their own creation. Within this space for thinking, talking, reading and writing as academics, a different way of characterising professional development emerged that challenged existing power relations in higher education, and that can best be named ‘critical educative practice’. The main constituents of this way of working are identified and the process is illustrated with reference to the experience of collaborative writing within the group. The focus on criticality leads to an emerging concept of ‘critical collaborative writing’, and the implications of this particular example for higher education colleagues and institutions are explored.

Narrative Explorations into the Professional Development of Lecturers Teaching Higher Education in English Further Education Colleges.

The diversification of settings in which higher education is delivered has resulted in a growing proportion of lecturers entering teaching from professional backgrounds. This is a challenging transition as lecturers are rarely given the space to consider the implications of this move on their identities and practice styles. Writing is recognised as a powerful methodology through which individuals can make sense of experiences and conceptualise them in light of historical, theoretical and social perspectives. In this paper we consider the experiences of 10 college lecturers who used writing to explore this transition as part of a professional development initiative to promote their writing skills. They were providing higher education in further education colleges across South West England. This project ran over two years, involving a year-long professional development intervention and a subsequent evaluation. Over this time the lecturers produced a number of written pieces. We present the different styles and forms of writing used, and how these engaged with their emergent voices and growing sense of legitimacy. We highlight how writing can provide a reflexive medium and assist in the identification of developmental goals, something particularly valuable during professional transitions.

E-portfolio-based learning: a practitioner perspective

Abstract The learning potential for e-portfolios is rapidly attracting attention in Higher Education. A recent JISC (2008, p.5) publication on the effective use of e-portfolios stated that there was an indication from research and practice that the ‘use of these tools can promote more profound forms of learning.’ This article will reflect upon how e-portfolio-based learning might be introduced and integrated into the curriculum. It will also consider the practical and pedagogic challenges of building e-portfolio-based learning and teaching capacity in students and staff in a School of Education in a teaching intensive post-1992 UK university.