Mediation, translation and local ecologies: understanding the impact of policy levers on FE colleges

This article reports the views of managers and tutors on the role of policy 'levers' on teaching, learning, and inclusion in colleges of Further Education (FE) in our research project, 'The impact of policy on learning and inclusion in the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS)'. Using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of vocational education & training 2007-06, Vol.59 (2), p.193-211
Main Authors: Spours, Ken, Coffield, Frank, Gregson, Maggie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrators
Adult Education
Colleges
Educational Environment
Educational Policy
England
Foreign Countries
Government Role
Inclusive Schools
Interviews
Labor Market
Managers
Mediation
Policy
Postcompulsory education
Student Recruitment
Translation
Tutors
Vocational Education
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Summary:This article reports the views of managers and tutors on the role of policy 'levers' on teaching, learning, and inclusion in colleges of Further Education (FE) in our research project, 'The impact of policy on learning and inclusion in the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS)'. Using data from five research visits conducted over two years in eight FE learning sites, we explore the processes by which colleges 'mediate' and 'translate' national policy levers and how this affects their ability to respond to local need. The paper tentatively develops three related concepts/metaphors to explain the complexity of the policy/college interface-'the process of mediation', 'acts of translation' and 'local ecologies'. We found that policy levers interacted with a complex set of national, local and institutional factors as colleges responded to pressures from the external environment and turned these into internal plans, systems and practices. We conclude by suggesting that national policy-makers, who design national policy levers, may not be fully aware of these complexities and we make the case for the benefits of greater local control over policy levers, where these interactions are better understood.
ISSN:1363-6820
1747-5090
DOI:10.1080/13636820701342889