British Further Education: A Critical Textbook provides a coherent account of the system of Further Education in Great Britain, which is defined as the public provision for the education of persons who have left school, other than at universities, colleges of education, or establishments run by the armed services. This book discusses the aims of the national system of Further Education; how Further Education is provided; education for industrial skill; and part-time day education for all under 18 years of age. The topics on youth service; Further Education for the disabled and handicapped; and commonwealth relations of British Further Education are also elaborated in this publication. This textbook is beneficial to students and researchers conducting work on the expansion of education in Great Britain.

Chinese students in the UK have been increasing in number for many years, yet competition from other Western educators and increasing investment in China’s own education system has led to concern that UK institutions may soon see a decline in their market share. Dr. Reynolds addresses this issue in Chinese Students in UK Further Education by attempting to understand students’ experiences from their perspective. Beginning with an exploration of why these students choose to come and study in the UK, and why they are coming at younger ages, the book goes on to discuss topics such as risk, technology and diversity, in order to understand which factors have the greatest influence on where they choose to study and whether they choose to remain at an institution. Drawing on data from two different education institutions, providers of GCSE A-level programmes for students aged 16–18 years, Dr. Reynolds attempts to understand what these students experience during their studies, how they manage new social relationships, and whether, upon course completion, they achieved the results they desired at the outset. Moreover, the book aims to ascertain whether the students feel, in hindsight, that the decision to risk investing in UK further education was right and what they might communicate about UK study to contacts in China and elsewhere. The book examines what further education institutions do well and where they might improve, to help develop Chinese students’ educational experiences. As such, it will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduates in the fields of further education, sociology of education, international and intercultural education and mobility studies.

This book offers a rich account of how quality improvement agendas, informed by neoliberalism, create contradictory and complex contexts in which teachers produce different types of practices for specific purposes. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s analytical tools, archaeology and genealogy, this book weaves together findings from classroom observations, field notes and interviews to explore the dichotomies between practices focussing on day-to-day pedagogies and practices concerned with performance management and accountability initiatives. By attending to a Foucauldian conception of power and counter conduct, it explores new means of defining quality in teaching spaces. After considering existing quality assurance judgements, the book illuminates the significance of moving slightly away from an institutionalised enterprise culture and loosing relations with reductionist approaches as a starting point. While doing so, it reworks the idea of quality by presenting other ways of looking at the complex character of pedagogical real(s) with new insights into an emergentist and process-oriented conception of teaching practices. The book argues that we need to unlearn our existing knowledge of quality that overlooks contextual constraints and opportunities enmeshed in teaching practices. It questions the assumptions that the existing methods of observation are capable of quantifying the quality of education in a classroom or in a college in toto. By introducing the idea of documentisation, the book breaks new theoretical ground to show that this so-called system of robust accountabilities is not as self-evident as we believe and why we must rethink quality by unthinking our current common sense. Written for researchers in educational studies, practising teachers and policy makers, this book combines profound insights from theory and contemporary teaching practices with clear guidelines as to how educational policy making should be approached.

In 2001, the newly established Learning and Skills Council (the Council) took over a programme of capital works in the further education sector, to renew an estate that was too large, with much of it in poor condition and no longer fit for modern educational purposes. By March 2008, a total of £4.2 billion of projects had been approved 'in detail', including grant support from the Council of £1.7 billion, and about half of the estate had been renewed. Since April 2008, there has been a very serious failure in the management of the programme. It approved 'in principle' 79 colleges' projects, which required nearly £2.7 billion of Council funding more than it could afford. Before the current problems arose, the programme had achieved some successes, enabling the estate to be reduced in size, and the buildings are generally of good quality and are contributing to increased learner participation. The economic downturn could affect colleges' ability to fund projects by restricting their access to loan finance or their ability to sell surplus assets. The indebtedness of the sector is rising. The Council needs to monitor closely the financial health of some colleges, particularly those that have borrowings that exceed 40 per cent of their annual income. In 2010, the Council is expected to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency. There needs to be clarity about responsibilities for the capital programme, and additional administrative burdens on colleges must be avoided.

This book offers unique insights into the impact of the rise of a managerialist culture in Further Adult and Vocational Education (FAVE) in England. It will also raise awareness of the consequences of the imposition of top-down models of educational change and improvement upon the practices of educational leaders, middle and senior managers and policy professionals across the FAVE sector. The overall aim of this book is to understand the language, policies, values and approaches currently espoused in post-16 learning. Often these are driven by, or measured by, technical-rational approaches which can have a negative impact on individuals working in the sector, lead to a narrowing of the curriculum and range of assessment opportunities, and do not support student progression. The authors propose tentative, researched, and evidence-based suggestions for new ways of working which might, ultimately, have a significant benefit to post-16 learning. The book will appeal to those engaged in researching education – either as academics, policy makers, trainees, or practitioners who are interested in ways of reflecting on, researching into, and improving practice.