12.2 Unlocking the potential for improvement in Skills for Life teaching and learning at the local level

This reading draws on a range literature to explore how the instruments for the imple- mentation and evaluation of SfL policy have operated in the past to shape English/literacy and Maths/numeracy (Skills for Life – SfL) practice in ways that produce unintended, negative consequences. For example, recent ways of using the ‘Individual Learning Plans’ have been shown to limit the choices of tutors to ‘a limited range of procedural decisions’ that marginalize so much that should be included in an education that prepares learners for the work of life. It is argued that in order to unlock the potential of this classroom practice, alternative ‘democratic discursive spaces’ need to be established where policy- makers and practitioners can share their knowledge and expertise to improve both policy and practice. When reflecting on this reading, consider the following question: how could ‘front- line’ teachers of SfL be included in the evaluation and revision of implementation processes of English/literacy, Maths/numeracy and ESOL provision? Edited from: Gregson, M., and Nixon, L. (2011) ‘Unlocking the potential of Skills for Life (SfL) tutors and learners: a critical evaluation of the implementation of SfL policy in England’. Teaching in Lifelong Learning, 3 (1), 52–66. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield Press