scholarly journals Understanding practices of UK college governing: Rethinking strategy and accountability

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110536
Author(s):  
David James ◽  
Steve Garner ◽  
Gary Husband
Keyword(s):  
Research Study ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
College Governance ◽  
Institutional Strategy ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Strategy As Practice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Further Education Colleges

College governing boards are widely held to be the keystone of institutional strategy and the prime locus of support, challenge and accountability in respect of the actions of the senior Executive. Whilst there are many normative prescriptions about the conditions and arrangements required for effective college governance, relatively little is known about how and to what extent the practices of boards reflect or realise these prescriptions. This paper draws upon a unique research study of eight further education colleges across the four nations of the UK. Following Chia and MacKay and Hendry et al., our ‘strategy as practice’ approach gives primacy to emergence and immanence through board practices. Video and observational data, supplemented by some interview and documentary data are used to develop an understanding of governing practices. Our analysis suggests that current normative prescriptions lack the conceptual sophistication required to support governing as it really happens. We offer a reconceptualisation of both strategy and accountability suggesting that the latter includes lateral, inward- and outward-facing functions that make conflicting demands on governors. We argue that these distinctions are vital in enabling further positive development of governing in the college sector.

An analysis of the role and responsibilities of chairs of further education college and sixth-form college governing bodies in England

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Hill ◽  
Chris James
Keyword(s):  
Training And Development ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Governing Body ◽  
College Governance ◽  
Education College ◽  
High Level ◽  
Further Education Colleges ◽  
The Chairs ◽  
Sixth Form

This article reports research into the role and responsibilities of the chairs of governing bodies of further education colleges and sixth-form colleges in England. Further education colleges and sixth-form colleges represent a significant part of post-16 educational provision in England. Every college in the sector has a governing body, which has a chair elected from and by the governing body’s membership. Sixteen chairs from further education and sixth-form colleges in England were interviewed and data themes identified: the chair’s role and responsibilities reflect those of chairs in non-further education/sixth-form college settings; a range of expertise is required, but detailed educational knowledge is not a priority in the requisite skill-set; chairs consider they bring a range of high level values and commitments to the role; chairs’ participation in role-specific training and development was not a strong theme; the responsibility of being the chair is substantial and complex; high-quality chair–principal relationships are crucial and complex; the governing body clerk has a significant role in relation to the chair, the principal and college governance generally; and the role and the responsibilities of chairs and the way they are specified locally by their governing bodies have significant implications for further education and sixth-form governance.

scholarly journals Reviewing the strategic influence of governance professionals in UK colleges: Acting as the translator of the conduct of conduct

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110152
Author(s):  
Ron Hill ◽  
Steve Garner ◽  
Aileen Ireland
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Professional Role ◽  
Further Education ◽  
College Governance ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Strategic Influence ◽  
College Boards ◽  
Further Education Colleges

This article considers the contribution of the governance professional to the governing of further education colleges in the United Kingdom and arises from a wider study of the ways in which college boards develop and implement college strategy. This is the first observational study to focus on what the governance professional does within the college governance space. From observation and other forms of evidence, the governance professional performs a significant, challenging and expert role in the processes and practices of governing colleges. The governance professional is instrumental as a governance sense-maker and, at a higher level, as translator of governing deliberations and decision making. The governance professional role in practice can vary depending upon a range of personal, local institutional and national factors. However, in essence the governance professional exists to legitimise college governance through the structures, processes and reporting of governing interactions. The article considers the extent to which the governance professional is pivotal to the governing of colleges and analyses the implications for college governing. Our research identifies some barriers to gaining greater impact from the college governance professional.

A Learning Network for the Semiconductor Industry

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-304
Author(s):  
Clive M. Dyson
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Semiconductor Devices ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Learning Network ◽  
Development Agencies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Further Education Colleges ◽  
Skilled Staff

Demand for skilled staff is one of the factors limiting growth in both the design and the manufacture of integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices. This paper describes how the semiconductor industry in the UK has been collaborating with further education colleges, universities, regional development agencies, and educational and funding bodies to build a Learning Network capable of developing the required skills. Issues that still need to be addressed, from an industrial perspective, are discussed together with some potential solutions.

scholarly journals An examination of the factors influencing students' decisions to study higher education courses in further education colleges in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-24
Author(s):  
Glynn Jones
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Barriers To Participation ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Education College ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Further Education Colleges ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Insight Into

Although there has been much research into why young people choose whether to participate in higher education (HE), there has been far less insight into why they may choose perceived lower status institutions, even though approximately 10% of students attend HE courses in further education (FE) colleges in UK. Students from backgrounds not traditionally associated with HE participation are much more likely to attend such institutions. Explanations for this pattern of participation look to 'barriers to participation' such as academic ability, costs or identity which problematise the students' attitudes to debt and HE. This research is based on interviews with 15 students who were studying HE qualifications at a further education college in England. It finds that although the barriers to participation have an effect, many students are making strategic and even rational decisions to attend the perceived lower status institutions. Their decisions suggest that there needs to be greater recognition of the differing role that HE plays in individual life plans and greater variety in what is on offer.

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