Coffield, Frank and Edward, Sheila and Finlay, Ian and Hodgson, Ann and Spours, Ken and Steer, Richard (2007) How policy impacts on practice and how practice does not impact on policy. British Educational Research Journal, 33 (5). pp. 723-742. ISSN Print: 0141-1926 Online: 1469-3518
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Abstract
Our project attempts to understand how the Learning and Skills Sector functions. It traces how education and training policy percolates down through many levels in the English system and how these levels interact, or fail to interact. Our first focus is upon how policy impacts upon the interests of three groups of learners: unemployed people in adult and community learning centres, adult employees in work-based learning and younger learners on Level 1 and Level 2 courses in further education. Our next focus is upon how professionals in these three settings struggle to cope with two sets of pressures upon them: those exerted by government and a broader set of professional, institutional and local factors. We describe in particular how managers and tutors mediate national policy and translate it (and sometimes mistranslate it) into local plans and practices. Finally we criticise the new government model of public service reform for failing to harness the knowledge, good will and energy of staff working in the sector, and for ignoring what constitutes the main finding of our research: the central importance of the relationship between tutor and students.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is an electronic version of an article published in Coffield, Frank and Edward, Sheila and Finlay, Ian and Hodgson, Ann and Spours, Ken and Steer, Richard (2007) How policy impacts on practice and how practice does not impact on policy. British Educational Research Journal, 33 (5). pp. 723-742. British Educational Research Journal is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/01411920701582363 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | England Adults Post-compulsory educational institution (not HE) Educational reform Public policy analysis |
| Subjects: | Departments > Continuing and Professional Education |
| Depositing User: | IOE Repository Editor (2) |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2010 12:19 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jun 2012 22:26 |
| URI: | http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/1499 |
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