The introduction of national standards and compulsory teacher education for further education college teachers in England: issues and challenges

Abstract

This article traces the development of national teaching standards, the introduction of compulsory teaching qualifications, and other recent policy initiatives for improving the quality of teaching in further education (FE) colleges in England. The article argues that the significance of these developments is that hitherto the FE college sector has been unregulated by Government with no statutory requirement for teaching qualifications or standards of professional practice. The article critically analyses the change from a local, voluntarist and unregulated FE sector to a much more nationally regulated one. I argue that although these developments represent a significant effort to raise the quality of teaching in FE colleges, there are contradictions between the growing regulation on the one hand and growing diversity of learners and learning contexts on the other. Furthermore, I suggest that in the absence of any clear professional identity and culture among FE college teachers, there is a danger that the national teaching standards are being mechanically and uncritically applied to initial teacher training courses and that the endorsement process has become a regulatory paper exercise, not focusing on teaching and learning. This article highlights and analyses the dangers of adopting an over-regulatory approach to teaching in FE colleges because of the wide diversity of practice required by FE college teachers to meet the diverse learning needs of FE college students.