The evolution of the role of the principal in further education: a follow-up study

Abstract

This is the third article of a series that updates the experience of some college principals who were employed in Further Education Colleges during the early period of Incorporation (post-1992). The two earlier articles concentrated on the period 1993-95 and dealt with the experiences of principals and staff during that time. In 1999, four years later, this article uses the same techniques to follow up the views and experiences of six of the initial 13 principals who were originally interviewed. The interviews, on this occasion, covered the major aspects of the intervening four years, the changing role of principals over that time and the development of the effects of Incorporation which I had highlighted in the earlier articles. These issues included the role of Governors, Labour Relations, Teaching, Strategic Planning, the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and Support Staff. The material from the interviews points to the increasing influence of central government with a stress on the development of larger institutions. Nevertheless, the variations between institutions and the way in which they respond to their environment continues, as do the variations in management style of their principals. A cautionary tale which emerges from the series is the difficulty of forecasting the exact pace and shape of national trends, especially as interpreted at a local level. Individual principals remain the primary interpreters and what happens to them cannot easily be estimated in their personal and professional contexts