Managing further education: learning enterprise

The incorporation of the further education sector in 1993 was followed by a period of extreme turbulence. Colleges plunged into the complex task of managing huge organizations while under pressure from cuts in funding and a steady expansion in the number and range of students. While financial scandals may have attracted attention, the success of the further education sector in continuing to provide a vital educational service for millions of people has been less recognized. Despite the significant contribution of the sector to education and training, practitioners struggle to find adequate research evidence on which to base reflection and practice. They need material relevant to the specific situation of managers working within this very hybrid sector, part public sector education and part commercial organization, catering for an age and ability range greater than that of any other educational sector. Based on a national survey of college managers, this book investigates how managers are responding to the challenge to increase the numbers and range of students and to improve learning and teaching. The author shows what it means to lead in a college and how the culture has evolved. Each chapter focuses on an aspect of management. The book concludes that 'learning enterprise' is an apt description of further education, a sector which has retained learning at its core and has learned to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit to shape its future.