Imitation is not always flattery! The consequences of academy schools in England for further education policy

Abstract

This article explores the consequences of the introduction of academy schools in England for Further Education. It is argued that the uncertainty of the remit of academy schools has indirect consequences for Further Education and that the employability agenda of the sector is challenged by academy schools. This appears to be happening because of years of government neglect of the Further Education sector in England. The research participants in the article are critical of the employability skills of young people in general and there is criticism of Further Education as the sector is regarded as not having developed employability skills in young people effectively. The research is based on a funded evaluation of an employability programme introduced into two academy schools in the northeast of England. The article applies the work of the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard by arguing that the academy schools are simulating the Further Education agenda. In simulation, a model of reality precedes what is real. The uncertainty surrounding the exact purpose of the academy schools appears to enable them to adopt agendas that have been traditionally associated with other sectors of education. This original argument forms the basis of the new knowledge in the article.

The Importance of Context: Assessing the Challenges of K-12 Computing Education Through the Lens of Biggs 3P Model

“…This issue is heavily influenced by government policy, that would influence every college within England, not just those who were interviewed. Unfortunately, for those that operate in the UK further education sector such as colleges, they have been subject to continuous and often contradictory policy and institutional changes [24,27], with the sector as a whole being described as lacking a coherent education philosophy [21]. For computing educators, this can only exacerbate problems.…”

Stakeholder Perceptions Regarding Level 3 `Digital Skills' Teaching: A Qualitative Case Study of Colleges in South West England.

“…Nevertheless, as discussed in the previous section of this chapter, level 3 qualifications are numerous with qualification reforms ongoing. For this reason, the author agrees with both Ingleby and Tummons (2017), who assert that the FE sector appears to be lacking in a coherent education philosophy, and Wolf (2011), who argues that England does not have a good educational system.…”

“…Their review on policy changes and its impact on FE is claimed to be influenced by the fact that ministers and policymakers are unlikely to 'make their mark' if they do not suggest change. The authors further contend that due to further education receiving less attention than schools and HE, a perception held by many other authors (Thompson, 2014;Burnell, 2017;Ingleby and Tummons, 2017;Augar et al, 2019), this gives government much greater freedom, and incentive to make changes in that sector (Norris and Adam, 2017), and clearly, these changes are both frequent and large in impact. The governments Post-16 Skills Plan (Department for Education and Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2016), acknowledges these changes and states that past reforms over the decades have often failed because they lacked commitment, with government changing plans before they could have any meaningful impact.…”

“…Due to vast array of qualifications that students can take, this can lead to qualifications having different values in the labour market (Norris and Adam, 2017). Subsequently, Ingleby and Tummons (2017) declares this will hinder young people in finding employment or progressing into HE. This is an ongoing concern with it being mentioned over a decade before both of these papers were published (Department for Education and Skills, 2006).…”

“…For this thesis, when the term college is used, it will refer to all these types of colleges collectively, unless specified otherwise 2 . The variety of institutions in the FE sector means that FE is multi-faceted (O'Leary and Brooks, 2014) with colleges catering to learners with a wide variety of backgrounds and educational needs (Ingleby and Tummons, 2017), and becoming providers of everything to everyone (Hill and James, 2017;Augar et al, 2019). Hence, teaching in colleges is important and complex work (Chowen, 2014;McCrone, O'Beirne, Sims, and Taylor, 2015), while colleges themselves have been subject to continuous change.…”