{"title":"An institutional ethnographic investigation into the pastoral work of course leaders for college-based higher education","authors":"C. Sutton","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2253653","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2253653","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to investigate the pastoral work carried out by Course Leaders of College-Based Higher Education (CBHE), asking the question of how does the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE happen? Taking the standpoint of Course Leaders for CBHE and using the work of Dorothy E. Smith, I adopted an institutional ethnographic approach to investigate the pastoral work. Informants were purposively sampled, and data was collected from interviews with Course Leaders and managers, observations of Course Leaders, field notes and texts relating to the work of Course Leaders. I found that the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE was taking place. It was taking place in the talk of the Course Leaders and visible through the observations I carried out. Yet this work was unseen in terms of the documentation relation to the work of the Course Leaders and the absence of facilities in which to carry out this work. However, pastoral work is something that is required for Course Leaders to deliver with the requirements of their role due to the audit culture inherent in The College Group, driven by the need for accountability and financial stability.KEYWORDS: College-based higher educationcourse leaderspastoral workinstitutional ethnographyaccountability Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Additional informationFundingThe research formed part of my thesis of a PhD. There was no external funding or grants involved.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"154 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135901558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Employability: a core role of higher education?","authors":"Malcolm Tight","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2253649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2253649","url":null,"abstract":"The topic of employability has been much discussed in higher education policy and research contexts in recent years, as higher education has been re-positioned as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. This article aims to review and synthesise the various arguments that have been made in favour of, or against, the adoption of employability as a core purpose or value of higher education. The article makes use of the techniques of systematic review. It discusses the origins and meaning of the term employability, its application and practice, and the issues and critiques that it has raised.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"89 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135901379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teaching practices that are conducive to supporting the positive emotional well-being of learners in post-compulsory education","authors":"Mary-Ann Preece","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221117","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Emotional well-being of learners in post-compulsory education is a growing concern for educators. It is well documented that there has been a continued increase in mental health difficulties amongst young people over the last decade. In an attempt to be part of the solution to this growing concern, this study explores the theories of positive psychology and PERMA (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment) and the implementation of this theory within teaching practices in post-compulsory education. The aim was to be able to evaluate the impact of teaching practices that had the potential to have a positive impact on the emotional well-being of learners within this sector. This study took place in a large further education college with eight participant teachers across a range of subjects and their first-year learners. The data was collected through online questionnaires, group interviews, and classroom observations. Findings revealed which teaching practices were most conducive to supporting the positive emotional well-being of learners.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"390 - 417"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42972979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Surveying TEFL MA students’ attitude towards research and research methodology course: a mixed research approach","authors":"Mojtaba Asaie, M. A. Farsani","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221120","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Research Methodology (RM) is the backbone of any TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) MA programme. Although a burgeoning body of research has investigated students’ attitude towards research and RM course in various disciplines, students’ attitudes towards research and research methods courses in TEFL research has remained a relatively unexplored area. This mixed-methods study aimed to contribute to this gap in the present research literature. To this end, we administered a 33-item close-ended questionnaire with two open-ended questions to 171 TEFL MA students studying at Iranian universities. IBM SPSS (version 26) was used to analyse quantitative data, and MAXQDA (version 2020) was used to analyse qualitative data. The integrated findings revealed a substantial interest in research and highlighted the right attitude towards RM courses. However, the findings singled out the barriers and impediments EFL students encountered during MA studies. We provide implications for EFL policymakers, EFL departments, and research instructors.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"460 - 484"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45345433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The importance of economic, social and cultural capital in understanding professionalism in English Further Education: a Bourdieusian approach","authors":"Paul Tully","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221122","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this article, Bourdieu’s theory of capital is used to examine differences in the professional attitudes of staff who work in the English Further Education (FE) sector. Little empirical work has been conducted in this field despite evidence that positionality can influence how professionalism is experienced. Bourdieu distinguishes three forms of capital that can determine an actor’s social position and the attitudes and practices that flow from this: economic, cultural and social capital. By developing measures of each capital, differences in perceived professionalism are explored. A survey of 461 staff responses revealed that each capital has a net effect on professionalism. Of the three capitals, cultural capital has the largest effect, reflecting the importance staff assign to expertise and professional development. The article confirms the value of using Bourdieu to explore the factors that shape professional attitudes and includes practical implications for sector leaders and policymakers.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"505 - 529"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48610460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teacher vulnerability in teacher identity in times of unexpected social change","authors":"Daniela Bacova, Amanda Turner","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221115","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected challenges to the lives and professional practice of teachers regardless of their institutional context. Our understanding of how teachers viewed their impact on their perceived sense of professional identity is largely unexplored, especially concerning teachers working in the post-compulsory sector. This article discusses the findings from a small-scale qualitative research project that aimed to investigate, `what teachers’ reflective stories tell us about their perceptions of their professional identities in times of unexpected social change.’ To explore how teachers perceived their professional roles in these challenging times we used a reflective narrative approach in the format of McAdams’s life-story interview (1993). Seven volunteer participants who formed a purposive sample of professionals from a variety of post-compulsory education institutions in the UK were asked to describe key episodes to capture their experiences covering the period from March 2020 to the end of May 2021. The findings focused on how unexpected social changes impacted on teachers’ perceived sense of professional identity, specifically through their sense of vulnerability. Three main themes were identified: vulnerability resulting from questioning professional credibility; vulnerability in the changing dynamics of relationship development; and vulnerability in the pastoral role.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"349 - 372"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43451826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"College higher education commuter students’ experiences of belonging, mattering and persisting with their studies","authors":"Isabel Hallam","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221116","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT When attending predominately residential universities, commuter students are the minority and typically have poorer outcomes than residential peers. Research demonstrates commuter students identify factors impacting on their persistence and success, include time taken to commute, lack of social integration and a poor sense of belonging. In contrast, most students studying in UK college higher education are commuter students. They are already embedded in local communities, with their family and friends outside of university, and have a different sense of university belonging. Data collected during 13 online focus groups over six months explored college higher education commuter students’ sense of belonging and persistence. Reflexive thematic analysis identified that in contrast to the much-researched notion of belonging being important to students’ persistence, in this group of non-traditional commuter students, the notion of mattering was more important. Students spoke about how college higher education staff, particularly their personal tutors, demonstrated students mattered, and this feeling was reciprocated. Feeling like they mattered helped them to engage with learning and persist with their studies. This paper offers insight for higher education providers with high proportions of commuter students, and recommendations about how providers can foster mattering in their students to develop their persistence and success.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"373 - 389"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41349592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Voices from the deck: lecturers’ and middle managers’ perceptions of effective FE sector professional development","authors":"Andy Goldhawk, R. Waller","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221121","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article discusses the findings of research into further education (FE) lecturers' and middle managers’ perceptions of what constitutes effective professional development. This focus addresses an area of paucity in the literature that requires attention in this historically under-funded, yet evermore burdened, education sector which can ill afford to divert scarce resources to forms of professional development that do not result in salient learning, and consequential improved student outcomes. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that effective professional development is perceived to involve: the participation of lecturers in determining the focus of their own professional learning; opportunities for reflection; active learning and an element of fun; and learning within communities of practice.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"485 - 504"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41451106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In pursuit of equity vocational education and training and social justice","authors":"J. Avis","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221119","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The paper problematises conceptualisations of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and its relationship to social justice by examining a number of debates. It explores a post-structural policy analysis which is sensitive to the manner in which, through research, we constitute the object of our inquiry and as a result of this process subtly change it. This initial discussion leads into an examination of hegemonic constructions of VET. Subsequently, the paper addresses the contours of inequality as they apply to VET and English further education. This is followed by an examination of conceptualisations of equity, equality and meritocracy. In conclusion, the paper poses a question – how far can VET be shifted from its occupational moorings in order to contribute towards a socially just society, or is it compromised by its close association with the needs of capital and employers? This is not merely an empirical but also a political question that hinges on conceptualisations of social justice and power as well as the manner in which these are addressed in the struggle for a fairer more just society.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"439 - 459"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42387867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Factors influencing discipline-specific facilitators’ roles in a multi-tiered professional learning programme in higher education","authors":"Hessa Al-Thani, Youmen Chaaban, Xiangyun Du","doi":"10.1080/13596748.2023.2221123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2221123","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study investigated the roles of eleven discipline-specific facilitators in a multi-tiered professional learning programme implemented in a higher education context. The study also examined the factors supporting and hindering their emerging roles, as they facilitated professional learning opportunities to other faculty in their colleges, while also being supported by programme coordinators. Using a phenomenological approach, data were generated from multiple qualitative sources, mainly portfolio entries and interviews conducted with the eleven facilitators at the end of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the programme. Data analysis revealed the emerging facilitation roles, as well as the intricacies of the factors that were either supports or constraints to the different facilitators. Implications for the role that facilitation played in transforming teaching and learning in a centralised context are discussed. Specifically, this study delineated the need for both bottom-up approaches supported by top-down structures, which can enhance teaching and learning pedagogies and practices. This mix of bottom-up agency and top-down authority was shown to better support discipline-specific facilitators and faculty participants alike.","PeriodicalId":45169,"journal":{"name":"Research in Post-Compulsory Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"530 - 549"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44088472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}