LSRN Strategic Workshop

The national agenda for research, development and evidence about Vocational Education and Training

Wednesday 3 June 2015

80 The Strand, London WC2R 0RL

CONTENTS

Page

The workshop 2

LSRN values and purpose 3

Speaker biographical details 4

Information from participants 9

LSRN contacts 21

1

THE WORKSHOP

This event is hosted by Pearson. Planning for the event was supported by a small grant made by the Education and Training Foundation to support the work of LSRN during 2014-15.

The LSRN event planning team were: Andrew Morris and Anne Thompson. It was organised by the NFER Events and Conference Team on behalf of LSRN, in liaison with Pearson.

INTRODUCTION

Vocational education is central to the many contributions the Learning and Skills sector makes to the life of the nation. Historically the role of VET has been understated in political and cultural life in this country compared to many others. There are many suggestions about why this is so but, whatever the cause, the issues of skills, apprenticeship and vocational education more broadly seem to have risen up the political agenda in recent years.

The relative neglect historically has not only impaired the provision of vocational education but also the degree of research about it. As a consequence, less evidence has been available to those planning and delivering VET than you might expect for one of the major public services. Research is needed to throw light on all aspects of VET, as it does in other areas of education, for example: teaching and learning in specific vocational areas; participation by age, socio-economic status, region, locality, occupational area; career guidance; employer-college collaboration; curricular trends; routes of progression and a host of other related issues.

Recognition of the need for change has been apparent over the past two years with the reports from CAVTL and the setting up of the new BIS Vocational Education Research Centre. These two initiatives have inspired LSRN to focus today on research and the use of evidence in VET.

LSRN workshops are designed to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to share thinking on a topical issue. The format enables thoughts to be shared in working groups following presentation of key information. The ultimate purpose of the event is to work out collectively key points to be relayed to the leaders of the initiatives and, more widely, to professionals in the sector and the public more generally. We hope you will feel free to contribute your thoughts, experiences and evidence in the Working Groups and plenary discussion.

2

LSRN PURPOSE AND VALUES

Purpose

The network aims to help people, in going about their professional practice, engage with research and development.

The network seeks to:

Demonstrate the value of research and development by: assisting practitioners to undertake effective research and development assisting practitioners and policymakers to understand the outcomes and processes of

research and development encouraging the growth of a research culture at institutional, national, regional and local

levels.

Help build the capacity of the sector by: putting people in touch with each other providing opportunities to present and discuss research and development organising opportunities for professional development develop opportunities to undertake research and development work, collaboratively or

otherwise.

Exploring ways of increasing the influence of findings by: encouraging work across sector and discipline boundaries encouraging collaboration between parties developing conduits through which findings can be assessed and disseminated.

Values

In pursuing its purpose, the network places particular value on: An inclusive approach which:

recognises the variety of relevant methods and topics involves participants from a wide range of backgrounds, including practitioners, researchers,

developers, managers and policymakers identifies the specific role of practitioners and others in evaluating and implementing

findings.

Applying research to the concerns of practice and policy by: encouraging reviews of existing knowledge before new research is undertaken distilling and communicating key messages in appropriate ways for different audiences.

Addressing capacity by: building practitioner training into projects encouraging engagement with research through professional development activity demonstrating the value of research and development to budget holders maximising connections between regional groups.

3

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Richard Atkins, Principal, Exeter College and President of AoC

Richard Atkins has been Principal of Exeter College since 2002, and was previously Principal of Yeovil College for seven years. He was elected President of the Association of Colleges (AoC) for 2014/15.

Richard has held a number of national roles over the past twenty years whilst being a college Principal including President of ACM, a member of the LSC's Adult Learning Committee, a Commissioner on the CAVTL and a member of the AoC Board from 2007 until 2013. Richard is also Chair of AoC Sport, the sector owned organisation responsible for the development of sport and physical exercise in colleges. Locally Richard and his colleagues have developed strong partnerships with employers, schools, local authorities, and the voluntary sector.

Prior to joining Yeovil College Richard worked as a lecturer, teacher and manager in schools and colleges in Chichester, Guildford and York. After leaving school Richard spent several years working in business in London, mainly at Harrods. He successfully completed part time, employer sponsored vocational training programmes.

Richard returned to higher education after a short career in business and attended the Universities of Reading and Surrey. His current professional interests include leadership development, funding for colleges, teaching and learning and college sport.

Sue Dare, Principal of Northbrook College, Sussex

Sue has worked in the FE sector for over 25 years and as Principal of Northbrook College, Sussex for the past five years. During this time the College has obtained Beacon status for its work in the Health and Social Care Sector and secured a Good/Outstanding profile with Ofsted and good QAA outcomes.

Northbrook is a medium sized GFE college with 25% of its provision in HE offer. The majority of its degree courses are in the Creative Industries and Engineering.

Sue is Vice Chair of the Mixed Economy Group of FE Colleges with high volume HE and Chair of the Skills Funding Agency’s Qualifications Advisory Group which advises the Agency and government departments on the publicly-funded 19+ qualifications. She is also a member of two AOC national principal groups for HE and for 14-19.

4

Tami McCrone, Research Director (Impact), NfER

Tami McCrone, Senior Research Manager, was a senior lecturer, course leader and lead tutor in a FE college before joining NFER. She has recently completed a secondment to NFER’s Impact Team where, as Project Director, she took a key role in leading NFER’s efforts to ensure that our research engages effectively with policymakers, teachers and lecturers, and others involved in the education sector, and leads them to do things differently as a result. She led a project to investigate the uses and perceived impact of engaging with research on teaching and learning. The project was carried out by NFER in partnership with United Learning. Additionally she helped to develop new ways of communicating NFER research findings and recently worked in partnership with ASCL, ATL and the 157 Group of Colleges to produce a good practice brief for leaders in schools and colleges on careers engagement. She is also a member of the Learning and Skills Research Network national planning group and on the executive body of the Forum for Adult and Continuing Education (FACE).

Tami manages one of the strands of NFER’s programme of research - From Education to Employment. This has involved reviews of careers’ professionals’ involvement with schools, NEET approaches and employer involvement in education. She is also currently directing an innovative partnership project titled Improving Employability, Enriching our Economy which aims to contribute to the improvement of employability skills among the future workforce by helping employers to engage more effectively with schools and colleges. The project has identified emerging examples of good practice, and has produced resources to support SMEs, schools and colleges. Tami is also currently leading a study focusing on sharing innovative approaches and overcoming barriers to delivering 16-19 study programme work experience for DfE. Additionally, she has argued that there is an urgent need to significantly enhance the quality and consistency of careers guidance and for a fundamental change to the way we view vocational education. NFER believes that changing attitudes is the next key step in transforming our education system into the inclusive and productive one we need to prosper in the global market place.

Professor Sandra McNally, Director, Centre for Vocational Education Research

Professor Sandra McNally is the Director of the Centre for Vocational Education Research and is based at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics (LSE). Sandra also leads the Education and Skills Programme at CEP and is a Professor of Economics at University of Surrey.

Her expertise lies in the economics of education and she has considerable experience of evaluating programme interventions using both non-experimental and experimental methods. Recent work includes research on the effects of school resources on student outcomes and the role of careers-related information on students' attitudes to future educational decisions. Sandra is an adviser to different government departments and gives regular presentations to policy-makers. She is Co-Editor of the Economics of Education Review and member of the ESRC Peer Review College.

Information about the CVER can be found on the centre website:http://cver.lse.ac.uk/

5

Andrew Morris, LSRN National Planning Group

Andrew is an active member of the LSRN National Planning Group. He led the setting up of the network in 1997 when head of research at the then Further Education Development Agency (FEDA). As Director of the National Education Research Forum he worked on improving the links between research, practice and policy across education. Currently he works as a freelance with many organisations and individuals to continue this.

In a former life he was a teacher and senior manager in FE and Sixth Form Colleges in Waltham Forest and Islington.

Ian Nash, Freelance Journalist

Ian Nash is a freelance education journalist, media consultant for Nash&Jones Partnership and former Assistant Editor at the Times Education Supplement, where he created FE Focus. His books and other publications include Seriously Useless Learning, on the writing of former NIACE Director Alan Tuckett; FE in the 21st Century: What’s in it for adults? and Overcoming Social Exclusion through Adult Learning, commissioned by the OECD.

6

Professor Gareth Parry, Director, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Sheffield

Gareth Parry is Professor and Director of the Centre of the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Sheffield. The Centre undertakes conceptual, empirical and policy research in the field of post-secondary and higher education. Its specialist interests include: system change and policy reform; European and comparative higher education; widening participation and professional education; and curriculum, knowledge and pedagogy.

The CSHE website can be found here: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/education/research/groups/cshell

From October 2015, Gareth will also be one of three Programme Leaders in the new ESRC/HEFCE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE). Funded by the ESRC and HEFCE for five years, it is the first social science research centre dedicated to the study of higher education and its future. The centre is a partnership led by Professor Simon Marginson at the UCL Institute of Education with the University of Sheffield and Lancaster University plus eight international universities.

The objectives are: to conduct basic and applied research in three integrated programmes; to build theory about higher education and new methods of inquiry and research; and to maximise its impacts in higher education policy in the four UK nations and worldwide.

The three research programmes and associated projects are:

1. Global-local engagement (Leader: Professor Simon Marginson)

1.1 The public good contributions of higher education (Marginson)1.2 Higher education engagement with industry (Tijssen)1.3 Financial sustainability of English higher education (Chapman)1.4 University governance in UK and Europe (Scott)1.5 UK international graduates in East Asia (Mok)

2. Social and economic impact (Leader: Professor Claire Callender)

2.1 Higher education participation and macro-economic fluctuations (Carpentier)2.2 Higher education choices and post-higher education destinations to age 25 (Dearden)2.3 Heterogeneity of the graduate labour market in the UK and Europe (Green)2.4 Graduate perceptions of the impact of debt in the USA and England (Callender & Heller)

3. Local-global engagement (Leader: Professor Gareth Parry)

3.1 Alternative, emerging and cross-border provision (Parry)3.2 The future higher education workforce (Locke & Whitchurch)3.3 Knowledge, curriculum and student agency (Ashwin)3.4 The transformative potential of MOOCs and contrasting on-line pedagogies (Laurillard)

The CGHE website can be found here: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/research/112125.html

7

Anne Thompson, LSRN National Planning Group

Anne Thompson is a long term member of the LSRN national planning group. During a career in the FE sector, concluding as Vice Principal of Waltham Forest College, she worked on a number of research projects related to Access, alternative entry to HE, and HE in FE. She has co-authored books and HEFCE publications in these areas including Readings in Post-compulsory Education with Yvonne Hillier showcasing winning papers presented at LSRN conferences.

Since leaving the college she has worked on a series of projects funded by ESRC, HEFCE and BIS related to HE in FE/CBHE and as a consultant.

Jenny Williams, Director of Vocational Education and Training, The Education and Training Foundation

Jenny has been Director of VET at the Foundation since it was established in August 2013. She has over 20 years’ experience of developing policy and practice in further, vocational and adult education and training locally, regionally and nationally.

Jenny led the work of the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning and was the author of the Commission’s report It’s about work… Excellent adult vocational teaching and learning published in 2013. Before joining LSIS as Head of Policy in 2010, Jenny managed the NIACE Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning and co-authored two of the Inquiry’s supplementary research papers; on public and private investment in adult learning, and work and learning.

At local level, Jenny started her career in education-business partnership work at Dorset Training and Enterprise Council, before moving to Southampton to run the City’s adult learning service and develop its Learning City strategy. After a secondment as policy adviser to the executive director and chair of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LSC, she spent 4 years as NIACE’s regional development officer for the South East, promoting the interests of adult learners.

8

INFORMATION FROM PARTICIPANTS

All participants had the opportunity to provide information about current research they have conducted and/or activities and publications which can inform today’s discussions.

Name: Nick BaileyRole: Vice PrincipalOrganisation: Thurrock Adult Community CollegeEmail contact: n.bailey@tacc.ac.uk

Summary of work:ETF Research Development Fellowship: Examining Continuing Professional Development and the relationship with performance management and observation in Further, Adult, and Vocational Education. Survey undertaken (now closed) and results being analysed and report prepared. A summary will be available at the ETF Research Conference 7th July 2015.

Teach Too (phase 2) – ‘maths in Childcare’: Looked at the maths content of childcare roles with learners, employers and teaching staff to better understand the needs of learners and employers. Final report in preparation and following an extension to the project, we are looking to engage more employers through visits and a further workshop for employers. The findings have influenced our teaching and a maths module is being prepared to be delivered from September to Childcare learners. The project has also influenced our maths teaching – particularly GCSE. We are contributing to the understanding of how maths should be taught in Vocational programmes and questioning the appropriateness of GCSE maths as a ‘passport’ qualification for such programmes and professional qualification.

Name: Tim ChewterRole: Research & Project ManagerOrganisation: Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP)Email contact: tchewter@aelp.org.uk

Summary of work:AELP has, for the last few years, carried out research for government departments, agencies, sector improvement bodies and think-tanks to inform policy developments and identify sector support needs and good practice. AELP also offers a research service to its member organisations.

Research into the thinking and approaches of new leaders in the FE and skills marketThe FE Trust for Leadership (FETL) was launched in 2014 as a think tank providing grants, bursaries and fellowships to providers and sector organisations to give leaders the space to think and reflect, and through this build the evidence needed to change policy and develop practice. In December 2014, AELP, supported by 157 Group and Jean Kelly (former CEO of the Institute for Learning), submitted a bid to conduct research focusing on new leaders in the sector and was one of five successful organisations to apply.

9

The FE and skills system has always been subjected to significant and rapid changes in government policy. Having continuity and stability in the workforce allows leaders to draw on extensive sector knowledge and experience (and that of their staff) in responding to new policy changes and demands, whilst ensuring a high quality training offer remains for both learners and employers. However, this continuity in the workforce, particularly among senior managers, can also be a danger – making sector leaders vulnerable to working in a furrow, taking outdated and stale approaches to leadership, and innovation being stifled. Indeed, research carried out by the Association of Colleges looking at the ‘Leadership Pipeline’1 identified that senior leaders and governors often recruit leaders ‘in their own image’ and place too much emphasis on traditional sector experience and not on appropriate leadership traits and qualities.

Little research has been carried out focusing on the leadership styles and approaches of new senior managers in the FE and skills market, and so the project will seek to map the thinking of new leaders, sharing the outcomes with established leaders within the sector and in so doing stimulate thinking around the impact of how ‘new blood’ in leadership could impact on practice and organisations.

Starting in March 2015, the research team have already conducted 25 interviews with new leaders in order to start mapping:

How an individual’s leadership thinking evolves in the first year of their position What leadership thinking is transferred from previous experience/industries to the FE and

skills sector The similarities, mismatch and innovation of leadership thinking compared with that of

established leaders in the sector

The research draws on a number of qualitative research methods, including detailed interviewing, literature reviews to map findings against existing models of leadership, roundtable focus groups, deep-dive case studies to measure the evolution in leadership thinking over a six-month period, and a sector-wide impact assessment survey to evaluate the wider impact of the research.

The research has several stages and won’t complete until June 2016. A report of findings will be published in March 2016, which AELP will circulate to the group.

Any queries about AELP’s research activities can be directed to Tim Chewter, Research & Project Manager: tchewter@aelp.org.uk

1 http://www.et-foundation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Leadership-Pipeline-Phase-2-final-report-.pdf

10

Name: Nick DavyRole: HE Policy ManagerOrganisation: Association of CollegesEmail contact: nick_davy@aoc.co.uk

Summary of my work: My major role is to promote, represent and support colleges who deliver higher education in England. One aspect of my work is to identify funding opportunities that will meet the developmental needs of colleges offering higher education. One such opportunity is the HEFCE Catalyst Fund – and in November 2015 AoC, in partnership with NUS, HEA and QAA, successfully bid to the fund to support colleges enhance their staff’s scholarship and enhance student learning.

Catalyst Fund Project AimsThis project aims to support the development and embedding of a distinct CHE scholarly ethos across the sector associated with technical education at levels four and higher, by creating a ‘scholarship framework’ that can be adopted by all colleges, and one which is firmly centred on enhancing the learning experience for students.

Specifically, the project will continue to encourage individual staff to develop their own scholarly profiles and explore how these might be better integrated into a distinct CHE scholarly context. This will include support for colleges in developing a more strategic and institutional approach to scholarly activity. In addition the project will explore the ways in which CHE students might become more scholarly in their higher learning activities, and how links with local employers might become a more central feature of the scholarly profile of CHE.

Conceptual underpinningThe project is informed by Boyer's influential conceptualisation of four scholarships (Boyer 1990). In particular, the value of the scholarships of integration, application and teaching in the CHE context will be explored and evaluated. A clear focus on enhancing the practice and impact of these forms of scholarship to enhance teaching and learning will be central to the framework for the project and the resources to be produced by the project.

For example, the project will provide an opportunity for project participants to explore ways in which curricula and pedagogies might explicitly and effectively integrate life and work experience with academic studies (the scholarship of integration); encourage staff, students and local employers to develop productive knowledge exchange networks (the scholarship of application); and seek ways to enhance peer support and mentoring particularly in work-based contexts (the scholarship of teaching). In essence, the project will explore ways to effectively enhance ‘the three-way partnership between the learning provider, the learner and the employer” (CAVTL 2013, 19).

One focus will be to link these forms of scholarship with, first, relevant partners in teaching and learning initiatives (Healey et al 2014), and, second, by further developing the practical application of the concept of re-contextualisation (Simmons 2014). For example, the project will provide opportunities for students to work with staff on enhancing the integration of theory and practice in learning contexts, particularly in scholarly ways, including how the HE curriculum might best integrate traditional discipline knowledge with work-based contextualised knowledge.

OutputsA CHE Scholarship Framework will be designed, tested and refined in partnership with participating

11

colleges and college consortia, to include:

A clearly-articulated technical education pedagogy, informed by prior research and incorporating the principles of co-creation and co-inquiry;

An aligned set of principles and practical implementation guidelines for different stakeholder groups including: institutional leaders and managers; teaching staff; learning support and development staff; students; employers;

A suite of practical resources (toolkits) to support implementation of the Framework, providing exemplars and tools for use by the different stakeholder groups;

A kite-marked set of agreed performance indicators and impact measures related to the Framework, adoptable by all colleges that offer HE.

SummaryThis project will contribute to the dynamism of the HE sector by enabling colleges to make an offer to prospective higher education students that is both distinctive and appealing, building on colleges’ strengths of close alignment with local labour markets. The project seeks to provide opportunities for CHE to embed and evaluate distinct forms of scholarly activity which enhance teaching and learning, along with appropriate measures of impact, and, more widely, to contribute positively to the further practical embedding of the notions of students as partners in learning (Healey et al 2014b), and the conception of higher level students as producers not just consumers of knowledge (Neary 2014).

The project runs from May 2015 for three years. For more information on the project please contact the Project Director, John Lea or the Project Administrator: Barbara Baidoo: projects@aoc.co.ukA project website will be launched in mid-June

Name: Claudia HupkauRole: Research Economist / Research Co-ordinatorOrganisation: Centre for Vocational Education Research – Centre for Economic Performance, London School of EconomicsEmail contact: c.hupkau@lse.ac.uk

Summary of work:I am a research economist at the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE and research co-ordinator of the recently launched Centre for Vocational Education Research (cver.lse.ac.uk). The new Centre aims to advance our knowledge of ‘what works’ in vocational and further education. We aim to shed light on what high quality vocational education means, how it can be measured, who has access to it and who does not, and how better information can help individuals make better education decisions.

12

Name: Martin JohnsonRole: ResearcherOrganisation: Cambridge AssessmentEmail contact: johnson.m2@cambridgeassessment.org.uk

Summary of work:I am a researcher at Cambridge Assessment, the parent organisation of OCR, Cambridge International Examinations, and Cambridge English Language Assessment. The organisation develops and administers assessments, including vocational qualifications, for use in schools, colleges, and workplaces. I’m interested in how competence is defined, and the processes through which competence can come to be acknowledged. This includes an interest in the assessment development process and the methods used to collate data about skills performance. I am currently serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

Selected publications:Johnson, M. and Lewis, C. (2013) 'Can you dig it?’: developing an approach to validly assessing diverse skills in

an archaeological context. Journal of Vocational Education and Training 65(2), 177-192.Oates, T. and Johnson, M. (Eds) (2011). Recognition of Prior Learning Outcomes: Recognising

learning, transferring innovation. Cambridge: Cambridge Assessment.Johnson, M. (2008) Grading in competence based qualifications - is it desirable and how might it

affect validity? The Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32 (2) 175-184.Johnson, M. (2008) Exploring assessor consistency in a Health and Social Care qualification using a

sociocultural perspective. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 60 (2) 173-187.Johnson, M. (2008) Assessing at the borderline: Judging a vocationally related portfolio holistically.

Issues in Educational Research, 18 (1), 26-43.Johnson, M. (2007) Does the anticipation of a merit grade motivate vocational test takers? Research

in Post-Compulsory Education, 12 (2) 159-179.Johnson, M. (2006) A review of vocational research in the UK 2002-2006: measurement and

accessibility issues. International Journal of Training Research, 4 (2) 48-71.

13

Name: Emily JonesRole: Head of ResearchOrganisation: NIACEEmail contact: emily.jones@niace.org.uk

Summary of work:NIACE is the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, the national voice for lifelong learning. We are an internationally respected development organisation and think-tank, working on issues central to the economic renewal of the UK, particularly in the political economy, education and learning, public policy and regeneration fields. NIACE has undertaken a range of development and research work around the Vocational Education and Training agenda, the most recent of which has focused on the traineeship and Apprenticeship programmes.

Launched in August 2013, traineeships are a key part of the Government’s plans to tackle youth unemployment. A traineeship is an education and training programme designed to give young people the skills and experience they need to make a successful transition into stable employment or an apprenticeship. NIACE has undertaken a range of research and development activity to support the design and implementation of traineeship policy, including:

Identification of early good practice in the delivery of traineeships. Situational appraisal in the Dorset LEP area exploring the potential of STEM traineeships -

http://www.niace.org.uk/our-resources/improving-system/can-and-how-might-traineeships-work-stem-within-context-lep-area

Strategic partner in the delivery of the Traineeship Staff Support programme – http://www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk/

Events, case studies and briefings to support JCP staff and providers to develop effective local partnerships.

STEM Traineeships in the Humber - demonstration pilot project, in partnership with Humber LEP.

Traineeships learner audience insight research.

NIACE’s expertise can support providers, LEPs, local authorities and other stakeholders to develop effective traineeship programmes that meet strategic priorities and secure maximum impact.

In June 2013, the Skills Funding Agency commissioned NIACE to develop a toolkit for employers to support them in hiring and supporting disabled apprentices. In order to develop the toolkit, NIACE researchers conducted a literature review and primary research with employers, learning providers and disabled apprentices. The primary research included an online survey of employers; 15 qualitative telephone interviews with employers and providers; case study visits to five employers/providers who demonstrated good practice in recruiting and supporting disabled apprentices; and three workshops with stakeholders to ‘test’ the findings from the research and how they might translate into a meaningful toolkit for employers. The research concluded that: Although some employers had a strong track record of hiring and supporting disabled

apprentices, many more still faced barriers. More than half of the employers were unaware of the support available to them when hiring

and supporting a disabled apprentice, and many did not access this support. In order to overcome the barriers employers wanted: information about additional support and

resources; profiles of common disabilities and their implications for employers; and case studies of employers who have successfully employed disabled apprentices.

14

The types of support requested by employers were developed and included in NIACE’s Creating an Inclusive Apprenticeship Offer toolkit, which can be found at www.employer-toolkit.org.uk.

Name: Samantha JonesRole: Advanced PractitionerOrganisation: Bedford CollegeEmail contact: sjones@bedford.ac.uk

Summary of work:The study aimed to consider the factors that may assist with the development of effective CPD across an FE college at a time when budgets for CPD are being reduced.Literature around CPD revealed regular recommendations to focus time and resource on collegiate, collaborative and sustained CPD. Such approaches are felt to have a significant impact on practice; yet a dichotomy exists that Bedford College presents few such opportunities for lecturers.This study initially interviewed a range of lecturers to understand their motivators and barriers to CPD. It proceeded to select five lecturers from a range of provision across the college, to work collaboratively to identify their development needs, design CPD interventions to meet these needs and decided how the success of the interventions would be evaluated. Results were analysed using grounded theory.

ConclusionsMotivation appeared to improve where lecturers saw a link, either to improving self-confidence, practice in the college or sharing with peers; but where this link is not evidenced, it appeared motivation drops. This was compounded when lecturers are compelled to attend CPD sessions.The data indicates where lecturers find whole-college CPD irrelevant, they find it demotivating. However, where personal interest is higher lecturers’ motivation improves and they are able to display significant agency to access CPD. Data suggests staff choose to engage with their own ‘unofficial’ CPD outside the college programme.Sharing and collaboration were the prevalent learning models chosen, as was context specific CPD reflecting the vocational practice or identity of the lecturers.

15

Name: Professor Bill LucasRole: DirectorOrganisation: Centre for Real World Learning, University of WinchesterEmail contact: bill.lucas@winchester.ac.uk

The Centre for Real World Learning (CRL), led by Director Professor Bill Lucas, was established in 2008 at the University of Winchester by Bill Lucas and Professor Guy Claxton. Bill and Guy are both internationally regarded as speakers and widely published in the field of learning. CRL was joined by Dr Ellen Spencer, in 2010, and Dr Janet Hanson in 2013. Guy Claxton is now Professor Emeritus but remains in close contact with the Centre. In 2014, following its acclaimed research into vocational pedagogy – How to teach vocational education: a theory of vocational pedagogy, CRL was instrumental, with City & Guilds, AELP and the 157 Group in creating an alliance for research into vocational education.

Summary of workCRL undertakes research into a wide range of aspects of real world learning – lifelong, in the workplace, professional development within schools, colleges and hospitals, families and among school and college students. Our focus is on dispositional teaching (DT) in schools and colleges, in understanding which dispositions most help learners achieve success, how these are cultivated and how these are assessed. Generic dispositions such as perseverance in the face of difficulty, reflective checking of assumptions, or willingness to seek and act on feedback, are crucial mediators of students’ success as learners, so teaching methods that impact on the development of learners’ dispositions towards and beliefs about learning are the focus of our research. From this we derive tools that enable teachers in a range of settings to inculcate effective learning habits, cultivate a positive mind-set towards the challenges of learning and correct dysfunctional beliefs. Our research is of two kinds: literature-based theory-development and empirical assessment of the efficacy of derived tools and pedagogical processes.

We focus on the development of positive learning dispositions in three main contexts: Vocational education in schools/colleges Creativity in schools/colleges General education in schools/colleges

Vocational EducationCRL has developed its approach to vocational dispositional teaching through research commissioned by a number of organisations dedicated to furthering excellence in vocational education, including the Edge Foundation, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, NESTA, Australian Council for Educational Research, NIACE, 157 Group, SSAT, City and Guilds, UNESCO-UNEVOC and the Royal Academy of Engineering. In a report for City & Guilds we developed a theoretical foundation for a distinctively dispositional vocational pedagogy (Lucas, Spencer and Claxton 2012). CRL argued that vocational pedagogy should aim at the development of dispositions such as ‘craftsmanship’, as well as technical skill and knowledge, and that this had deep implications for the way that vocational education was constructed. This work has been expanded through further commissions from City and Guild to explore apprenticeships (Lucas and Spencer 2015), craftsmanship, and the relationship of character and resilience to employability (reports due Summer 2015). The value of dispositional teaching in engineering is being explored in a two year study into engineering habits of mind in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering (Lucas, Hanson and Claxton, 2014), and into science habits of mind with the Primary Science Teachers’ Trust.

16

CreativityIn collaboration with Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) and OECD, CRL researched, designed and trialled a tool that teachers could use to assess the effectiveness of their attempts to cultivate dispositions associated with creativity (Lucas, Claxton and Spencer, 2013). In April this year, Bill Lucas led a session at the OECD in Paris for the 8 countries, including Finland, USA and China, which will be using CRL's 5 dimensional model of creative habits of mind as a way of cultivating and tracking creativity in young people.

General educationThe theoretical framework for dispositional teaching underpinning our vocational education and creativity research was originally developed by Guy Claxton in collaboration with Bill Lucas (Claxton, 2009; Lucas and Claxton, 2010). CRL supports school leaders and teachers develop dispositional teaching methods through an action enquiry approach to continuing professional development through its coordination of the Expansive Education Network (eedNET) http://www.expansiveeducation.net/ . Most recently Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton have written a popular book, Educating Ruby (2015) which is a call to action, drawing on the learning sciences, for an education system which focuses both on character/dispositions and subject knowledge.

Offer to othersWe undertake commissioned research on behalf of organisations. We collaborate on bids for funding. We act as expert advisors to organisations and initiatives.Professor Lucas is available for keynote, consultancy and other knowledge exchange activities.

ReferencesClaxton, G. (2009). ‘Cultivating positive learning dispositions’, in H. Daniels, H. Lauder and J. Porter

(eds), Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning, Vol 1, Critical Perspectives on Education, London: Routledge.

Lucas, B. and Claxton, G. (2010), New Kinds of Smart: How The Science of Learnable Intelligence is Changing Education, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Lucas, B., Claxton, G. and Spencer E. (2013) Expansive Education: teaching learners for the real world. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research

Lucas, B., Claxton, G. and Spencer, E. (2013), ‘Progression in Student Creativity in School: First Steps Towards New Forms of Formative Assessments’, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 86, OECD Publishing

Lucas, B., Hanson, J. and Claxton, G. (2014) Thinking Like an Engineer: Implications for the education system. London: Royal Academy of Engineering.

Lucas, B. and Spencer, E. (2015) Remaking Apprenticeships: powerful learning for work and life. London: City & Guilds.

Lucas, B, Spencer, E. and Claxton G.L. (2012) How to teach vocational education: a theory of vocational pedagogy. London: City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development.

Claxton, G. and Lucas, B. (2015) Educating Ruby: what our children really need to learn. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing.

WebsitesCentre for Real-World Learning: http://www.winchester.ac.uk/realworldlearningProfessor Bill Lucas on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bill_Lucas2Professor Guy Claxton on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guy_ClaxtonDr Janet Hanson on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Janet_Hanson3Professor Bill Lucas on Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.co.uk/citations? user=PtR5k4sAAAAJ&hl=en

17

Name: Jenifer Ruiz-ValenzuelaRole: Research EconomistOrganisation: Centre for Economic Performance, London School of EconomicsEmail contact: j.ruiz-valenzuela@lse.ac.uk

Summary of work:I am a research economist at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, where I am part of the Education and Skills group. I have also recently started to collaborate on research projects that are part of the new Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER). My research lies mainly within the field of the Economics of Education.

Name: Dr Carol Savill-SmithRole: Senior Researcher, Research & Analytics’ DepartmentOrganisation: City & GuildsEmail contact: Carol.Savill-Smith@cityandguilds.com

Summary of work:My role is to design and deliver research projects on topics related to the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at the City & Guilds.

The current project I am working on is investigating how important the workplace context is in the UK for developing learners’ maths/numeracy and English/Welsh/literacy skills/communication skills (up to Level 2), and thus their ability to do their job and progress at work from both the employer and employee perspective.

Name: Peter Tunnicliffe and Hayley WoodRole: LSRN East Midlands LSRN Regional Convenor and Senior LecturersOrganisation: University of DerbyEmail contact: p.tunnicliffe@derby.ac.ukh.wood@derby.ac.uk

Summary of work:For the academic year 2014-15, the University of Derby working in partnership with LSRN, have established a collaborative research cluster for colleagues delivering College of Education programmes within an FE environment. The cluster aims to promote and enable practitioner led action learning projects and allow colleagues to engage in scholarly activity in a supportive environment. Colleagues are investigating areas of practice in relation to teaching and learning higher education students and their own subject disciplines.Colleagues have responded positively to the initiative and currently there are two action learning projects in their infancy. These cover themes such as factors which impact upon successful collaborative partnerships at a strategic leadership level and vocational pedagogies and the role of

18

the dual professional in FE.

Further details about the projects are as below:

Project 1Collaborative College Partnerships: Strategic SuccessThis research aims to investigate and consider factors that are critical to the success of strategic partnership working at collaborative partner colleges.This will be achieved by:

1. Identifying the features of successful partnerships at a strategic level including flexibility, responsiveness and opportunities for development.

2. Examining the choice making and experiences of strategic managers at FECs in selecting HEI partners for collaborative work.

The purpose of conducting this study is to inform partnership developments in the current period of unprecedented growth in the numbers of collaborative partners working with the College of Education at the University. It is envisaged that both the FE Collaboration team at the University and FEC partners will benefit from the study as models of effective partnership working are identified and sustainable partnership relationships are maintained and/or established.By identifying the features of successful partnership working from both the point of view of an HEI and FECs, then models of working can be developed which are responsive to the needs of both agents in the relationships. Dyadic working relationships can be cemented further through open and honest discourse and positive relationships sustained.

Project 2Examining current practices in the development of ‘dual professionalism’ among Further Education teachers in workshop settings; and to propose practical measures for its enhancementObjectives:

To carry out a comprehensive literature review of published literature in this and contingent fields, including current policy documents and academic sources;

To identify the key dimensions of professionalism in relation to both pedagogic and vocational aspects of professional practice

To collect qualitative interview data from staff teaching and supporting workshop sessions in colleges across a range of sites in the UoD College of Education teacher training partnership

To identify on the basis of data analysis the extent to which current practice draws on identifiable professionalism specific to these vocational areas

To identify any barriers to the development of professionalism in these settings. To produce a set of proposals for the enhancement of dual professionalism across

the partnership

Project 3To Flip or Not To Flip: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis of Flipped TeachingIt has become fashionable to use the term “flipped” in further and higher education when referring to ‘innovative’ teaching strategies. Expressions like flipped learning and flipped classroom are often used interchangeably as an indication of innovation, flexibility, creativity and pedagogical evolution. This investigation is an exploratory study on this topic following the Critical Interpretive Synthesis methodology for analysis of the literature. The authors initial findings indicate that the term “Flipped Learning” is misleading and that, in fact, the synthetic concept behind it is “Flipped Teaching”. Therefore two models synthesised from the research models highlights the potential benefits promoted by flipped teaching and also the consequent issues which might affect its success in practice. These models allow STEM course tutors not only to make informed decisions about

19

whether to flip teaching or not, but also to better prepare for flipping.The authors, Franquiera and Tunnicliffe, have submitted the initial paper for dissemination at the KES Smart Education and E-Learning conference in June 2015, but will be carrying out an empirical investigation in this area during the coming academic year. The initial paper is available by contacting Peter Tunnicliffe at the email address indicated.

Project 4Reducing maths induced anxiety in undergraduate students using a constructivist approach and new technologiesThis is a new project being conducted by a colleague teaching in a hospitality and hotel management context. Her students are essentially engaged in HE courses based in an FE setting at Cesar Ritz College, part of the Swiss Education Group. Her aim is to gather both primary and secondary evidence to dispel the 12 Math Myths put forward by Mind over Math by Stanley Kogelman and Joseph Warren (1978). By gathering real-time information the author hopes to identify exactly what maths induced anxiety is, and how it manifests itself in practice. By defining the problem the author then hopes to investigate whether adopting constructivist approaches and interventions can help to reduce or even remove the perceived barriers to participation and achievement for students. An intergral part to the study will be to invetsigate if the use of technology might assist this process. The author, Giuseppina Menconi, can be contacted by emailing Peter Tunnicliffe, and would be really pleased to hear from colleagues who are either engaged in similar studies, or who have case study examples that they might like to discuss with her.

The research cluster meets on a regular basis and colleagues are supported in all aspects of their scholarly activity. The aim is for colleagues to produce briefing papers and disseminate these at a variety of events and conferences. As well as working on our own action learning projects, the cluster provides an opportunity for all colleagues to review recent developments in the sector, share ideas and research and engage in healthy debate.Meetings are held at the Kedleston Road campus of the University of Derby, and will take place in October, February and May, 2015-16

For further details about the cluster and our work, please contact Peter Tunnicliffe (p.tunnicliffe@derby.ac.uk) or Hayley Wood (h.wood@derby.ac.uk)

20

NEWSLETTER

A regular newsletter is produced and circulated. Please contact Andrew Morris (a.j.morris@blueyonder.co.uk) to be included on the circulation list and the editor Rob Smith (rob.smith@wlv.ac.uk ) to include material.

REGIONAL AND LOCAL NETWORKS

Regional networks were created following the first national conference in 1997. Their level of activity has varied over time and across the country. During the time when LSDA provided support and links with their regional coordinators regional conferences were held and regional research projects supported. More recently the networks are entirely reliant on volunteers and support in kind from institutions. However, there continue to be regular network meetings in most regions as well as regional events, and convenors are members of the national planning group. Recently local groups are also being organised often based around a city or lead college.If you would like to find out about these activities please contact the relevant convenor.

East Mike Smith mikesmith1706@btinternet.comEast Midlands Peter Tunnicliffe P.Tunnicliffe@derby.ac.ukLondon and South East Sai Loo S.Loo@ioe.ac.uk(co-convenors) Rania Hafez rania.hafez@mail.comNorth East Maggie Gregson maggie.gregson@sunderland.ac.ukNorth West Joel Petrie Joel.Petrie@liv-coll.ac.uk(co-convenors) Lydia Redican Lydia.Redican@liv-coll.ac.ukSouth West Claire Gray claire.gray@plymouth.ac.uk(co-convenors) Robert Cook robert.cook@plymouth.ac.ukWest Midlands Rob Smith rob.smith@wlv.ac.ukYorkshire & Humber Kevin Orr K.Orr@hud.ac.uk

People who organise activities at a local level which are open to external participants are encouraged to provide contact details. Currently these include:Bristol area: City of Bristol College Eunice.Wheeler@cityofbristol.ac.ukSouth Coast: University of Brighton/City College Brighton P.lugton@brighton.ac.uk

Martyn Howe: MH1@ccb.ac.ukContact Andrew Morris to be added to the list ajmorris@blueyonder.co.uk

21

http://lsrn.wordpress.com/

22