‘A shared endeavour’? The experiences of further education practitioners and higher education researchers on a collaborative research project

Abstract

This article draws on the experience of a research project designed to bring together practitioners and researchers in further education (FE) colleges and the higher education (HE) sector in pursuit of ways of creating more accessible learning opportunities for students in colleges. Here we explore some of the assumptions underlying the collaboration, and discuss the intended aims and actual outcomes of practitioners' involvement in the research. We suggest that the reality of the differing cultures of the two sectors of further and higher education played a part in some of the difficulties encountered along the way, while also accounting for some innovative and productive collaborative research activity and insightful understandings. Ultimately, however, we suggest that the research is ‘owned’ by those in the more influential position of HE, despite claims that the research is ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ FE.

Keywords:

• further education
• higher education
• collaboration
• researchers
• practitioners
• cultures