In further education (FE), teachers and trainers are not legally required to undertake continuing professional development (CPD), with this mandate removed in 2013. Nevertheless, the Education and Training Foundation has emphasised the importance of maintaining and updating professional knowledge. Literature highlights CPD's contentious role among…

Critical pedagogy in the UK has traditionally been practised in the Lifelong Learning sector. However, the sector has become constrained by funding cuts, instrumental curricula and accountability measures, and teachers can feel that they have little room for professional autonomy and therefore the practice of critical pedagogy. Yet some do…

This research investigates learners' responses to the use of literature as a means of literacy learning in level 2 Functional Skills in English. Data were gathered by way of observation, questionnaire and informal dialogue with learners. Teaching and learning was underpinned by the philosophy of critical pedagogy and was therefore learner-centric.…

This article explores the nature of provision of higher education (HE) within the further education (FE) context and discusses the prevalent cultures of delivery. Attention is drawn to the skills and pedagogic methods prevalent within FE that could offer significant benefits to the delivery of advanced-level apprenticeships and applied…

This paper explores integrating a range of digital media into classroom practice to establish the effectiveness of the media and its encompassing modes as a pedagogical tool with a focus on assessment. Directing attention on a communication skills module, research indicated that bringing a range of digital media into the classroom motivated and…

The research examines further education (FE) students' engagement with virtual learning environments (VLEs) and, in particular, the barriers that may affect the students' access and use of Moodle. To date, existing research related to VLEs has been conducted primarily within higher education (HE) contexts. In contrast, this study explores the…

The flipped classroom seeks to remove didactic instruction from the classroom and deliver it via electronic videos outside of the classroom, leaving contact time free for more interactive and engaging teaching and learning activities. This paper has two distinct aims: (1) to conduct a literature review of published UK-based "flipped…

This article presents the results of a qualitative study into how adult literacy learners perceive reading. Individual interviews and focus groups were used to ask 37 adult literacy learners at a London further education college what reading is. It follows a grounded theory approach to build a model, or narrative, of reading in the form of six…

This article draws upon research undertaken with 28 teacher education mentors, managers and trainee teachers within the SW Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) in 2008, following the introduction of the new revised Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) standards. The first part of the article locates and contextualises the policy context in…

This article draws on a small-scale case study of English pre- and in-service Further Education (FE) trainee teachers from a northern university. It explores their understanding of notions of well-being and health. In particular, it examines trainees' orientation to care as well as their constructions of learners. It analyses two contradictory but…

This paper questions the assumption underpinning recent government initiatives, both at national and international level, that the Further Education Sector is "an enterprise free zone". As part of the drive for global competitiveness policies to improve the business start-up rate as well as engender enterprise skills and capabilities…

Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and…

Following the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, local education authorities (LEAs) lost control of further education in England. Now, after spending almost two decades out in the cold, from 2010, local authorities are set to become re-involved in the further education system. Given this, this paper takes the opportunity to look back on the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how knowledge of different kinds is put to work in workplace education programmes for adults with low skills and adults with higher skills. A novel framework, which has moved beyond narrow conceptions of "transfer" to concentrate on different forms of knowledge and the ways these are…

Problem-based learning (PBL) and Context-based learning (CBL) are often cited as having a positive impact on student learning. However, the discourse of these innovative teaching approaches often centres on gifted and/or experienced learners. The aim of this article is to report on the development of resources for a mixed ability cohort of…