Understanding practices of UK college governing: Rethinking strategy and accountability

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.

Making a difference: insights into effective HE progression practices in further education colleges

Further education colleges (FECs) are significant providers of level 3 (higher education (HE) entry) courses. Yet, their role in preparing students, including those from widening participation backgrounds, for HE is often overlooked. Indeed, recent reports from the Office for Students have focused on the low HE progression rates returned by colleges. However, this focus overlooks the reality that students educated in FECs do progress and that in many instances colleges are very successful in this endeavour, given that those studying with them are more likely to come from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This paper reports on the findings from a recent study that sought to identify the effective progression practices being pursued in two FECs. These include institution-wide activities as well as initiatives adopted at subject level. Whilst the latter have received less attention in the literature, the qualitative approach adopted in this study, which involved drawing on the insights of students as well as teaching staff, was able to detail the application of these subject-level practices. The article concludes by arguing for the wider adoption of subject-level as well as institution-wide practices, and for their potential to be recognised by those working in the HE sector more generally.

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

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.

Self-reported wellbeing and sample characteristics in a survey of 19000 school pupils during the first UK COVID-19 school closures

BackgroundUnderstanding the impact of COVID-19 and associated school closures on the wellbeing of children and young people is important for guiding the provision of support for educational and wellbeing needs, and to prevent long-term negative impacts. Such insight can benefit most from research with large representative samples, which are difficult to capture via most means of recruitment.MethodsWe surveyed 19000 pupils in years 4-13 at schools or Further Education Colleges (FECs) in Southern England during the first period of UK COVID-19 partial school closures (June-July 2020). We asked participants to report how they perceived the impact of lockdown on wellbeing and lifestyle factors. We also collected information on key demographics and characteristics, to assess the representativeness of a sample that can be recruited via schools during a lockdown.ResultsMost responses were from pupils in years 7-10 and most were female and receiving educational provision from home during the first lockdown. The sample captured some responses from young people who said they felt unsafe at school or at home, and some who said they had self-harmed during lockdown. Compared to primary school pupils, responses from pupils at secondary school or FECs revealed higher percentages reporting negative impacts of lockdown, most notably to changes in general happiness, loneliness and management of school work.ConclusionsSelf-perceived changes to wellbeing by school pupils reveal negative impacts of school closures in terms of social deprivation and education on many pupils at secondary schools and FECs. The findings highlight that there have been both positive and negative impacts on the self-perceived wellbeing of school-aged children, with almost one third reporting sleeping and feeling better.

The EMFFE Project

This chapter looks at where this ambition started with the national UK project called the E-Maturity Framework for Further Education (EMFFE). This project ran for 18 months with a brief to design an e-learning ready institutional model that UK, English, Further Education Colleges and other providers of post-compulsory education could adopt, both individually and as a sector working as adaptive institutions across collaborative networks. This chapter examines in detail the elements that make up this development framework for vocational colleges and post-compulsory education providers (provided in full in the Appendix) from which the authors developed the idea of organizational architectures of participation, which drives this book.