FE providers need to define a clear purpose for their institution if they are to succeed and create a distinct identity, according to Martin Doel, the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) professor of leadership in FE and skills at the UCL Institute of Education.
In his lecture at UCL tonight, which was sponsored by FETL, Mr Doel said that since 1917, the FE sector had been defined as what it was not - education not received in school but distinct from university education - rather than as what it was.
This had a range of consequences, he explained. It meant that it was viewed by policymakers, wider stakeholders and even FE leaders and staff as complex and without a clear purpose. “There are complex and often conflicting ideas of what FE is,” he said, adding that most people, therefore, found it difficult to “make a compelling case for FE”.
‘FE as an ecosystem’
In search of a more appropriate definition, he suggested that thinking of FE as a system, rather than a sector, would be helpful. “A system of systems, sometimes overlapping, sometimes conflicting, sometimes reinforcing, gets closer to the mark. It should be thought of as an ecosystem - an ecosystem that is constantly changing.”
However, Mr Doel concluded: “In absence of a definition, individual institutions should give greater consideration to their own distinct purpose in their own ecosystem within which they sit. That is what I call self-determination.
“Defining a core purpose is not easy work, but it is the first and foremost task of governing bodies in FE.” This, the former chief executive of the Association of Colleges explained, would then allow institutions to establish a strong identity for themselves. “To pay clear attention to their core purpose is a means to moving forward in a more sure-footed way,” he said.
In response, Dame Ruth Silver, FETL’s founding president, said she believed FE’s lower funding levels were not down to a lack of definition. “We are underfunded because we are the only place government can turn to. Schools are protected by law, and universities are protected by Royal charter,” she argued.
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