putting the i into identity and other stories

Edited by Rebecca Turner, Julie Hughes & Tony Brown

Scholarly approaches to the professional identityand development of HE practitioners in FE Colleges

Putting the Iinto Identity andother Stories:

Joint HELP CETL/ESCalate Publication

A H E L P C E T L / E S C A L A T E P U B L I C A T I O N

Joint HELP CETL/ESCalate Publication

Edited by Rebecca Turner, Julie Hughes & Tony Brown

Putting the I intoIdentity and otherStories:Scholarly approaches to the professionalidentity and development of HEpractitioners in FE Colleges

This publication reports on the work of HELP CETL Award Holders whohave undertaken research projects and/or continuing professionaldevelopment activities to support the teaching and learning of HE in FE.Award Holders who had completed these activities between 2005 and2008 were invited to participate in a writing group to reflect on theirexperiences. Between July 2008 and March 2009 the Award Holdersattended a planning event, writing retreat and follow up workshop wherethey were given the time, space and support to develop narratives thatconsidered their development as HE in FE professionals. Their narrativesare presented in this publication along with an overview of theirpersonal/professional experiences and their research/continuingprofessional development activities.

The workshop and writing retreat provided a forum for discussion aboutthe nature and purpose of scholarly activity for busy further educationprofessionals. Structured and open writing tasks also providedopportunities to work on stories of professional development, growthand identity.

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Preface

University of Plymouth CollegesUniversity of Plymouth Colleges (UPC) is the primary provider of HE in FE inSouth West England. UPC was established in 2003 and supports anetwork of 19 colleges delivering higher education to students in their localarea. From a modest start in 1989 with just 450 students, provision hasgrown to more than 10,000 students in 2008 who are supported by 1,800lecturing and support staff. Those studying on foundation degrees alsohave the opportunity to progress to the University of Plymouth where theycan ‘top-up’ to an honours degree.

The HELP CETL The HELP CETL is part of a national network of 74 CETLs which arefunded by HEFCE to reward excellence in learning and teaching and topromote educational research. The HELP CETL is funded (2005-2010) tosupport HE in FE development. It built on the existing excellence of theUPC partnership within the South West region and seeks to workwith individuals, groups and institutions in the development of HE in FEpractice.

ESCalateThe UK Subject Centre for Education is part of the Higher EducationAcademy. We are a discipline-focused team with expertise across thediverse world of Education in HE. We work with staff and students inEducation Departments in universities and further education collegesproviding HE programmes in Education. We support teaching, studentlearning, curriculum and resource development across the UK Educationsector.

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PUTT ING THE I INTO IDENT ITY AND OTHER STOR IES

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Introduction Putting the I into identity and other stories 6

Maureen Mason The impact of receiving a CETL Award 9on my practice and professional identity:a post-colonial perspective

Alison Banks What CETL did for me 12

Janet Bardsley My reflection on being involved in 16the CETL Award Holder Scheme

Yvette Bryan Conversations about research... 20

Liz McKenzie Climbing the hill – how the HELP CETL 23Award has supported me

Amanda Isaac My life as an HE in FE Learning Resources 26Coordinator, or, the impact of a HELP CETLAward on my personal and professionaldevelopment as HE in FE support staff

Julie Osborn White water rafting through a maze 30

Judith Mann HELP CETL and the experience of 34teaching HE in FE

Martin Rowe The impact of a HELP CETL Fellowship Award: 38the exploration of a Higher Education identitywithin a Further Education institution

Claire Gray The learning cycle of a HELP CETL Award Holder 41

Rachel Wilkinson Communities of practice: research, 44re-visions and realities

Mark Stone Endnote 48

Biographies 50

Award Holder Scheme details 56

Project Overviews 58

Bibliography 63

Contents

In 1997 the FE sector was placed at theforefront of the planned expansion of HE thatwas supported by the introduction offoundation degrees (NCIHE, 1997; DfES,2003). This resulted in a change in lecturers’working practices as they adapted to newcollaborative arrangements with universities, anew qualification and quality systems; they alsohad the freedom to design courses. For thoseindividuals with responsibility for delivering andsupporting HE in FE colleges, HEFCErecommended provision be made for HErelated staff development which should includeopportunities for scholarly activity and research(HEFCE, 20031). In 2005 the Higher EducationLearning Partnership (HELP) Centre forExcellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)introduced the Award Holder Scheme whichwould provide lecturing and support staffworking within the University of PlymouthPartner College network (UPC) opportunities toundertake continuing professional

development (CPD) and/or engage withscholarly activity and research (see page 56).Through Award Holder narratives thispublication showcases the work they haveundertaken and the transformational impact ofsuch opportunities on their sense of identity asHE professionals and their confidence inworking as researchers.

To date a diverse range of CPD activitieshas been undertaken by Award Holders,including course/conference attendance,institutional visits and time to write up and/orexplore good practice. Research anddevelopment projects have been carried outinto a range of areas relevant to the teachingand supporting of foundation degrees and HElearners e.g. work based learning, employerengagement and blended learning. AwardHolders’ engagement with the HELP CETLextends beyond their time undertaking theirCPD activities/research project. On receipt oftheir Award they all become members of the

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Putting the I into identityand other stories: scholarlyapproaches to the professionalidentity and development ofHE practitioners in FE colleges

1 HEFCE cited a range of activities (e.g. industrial placements, action research and higher qualifications) under the heading of

scholarly activity. The HELP CETL staff have extended this definition by drawing on the work of Boyer (1990) whereby scholarship

encompasses knowledge discovery, application, integration and teaching.

Award Holder community which wasestablished to enable them to share theirexpertise and also to overcome isolation theymay experience as HE lecturers working in FEcolleges. Through this community variousevents and developmental opportunities havebeen organised to support their continueddevelopment as HE practitioners. The AwardHolder writing group from which thispublication originated was one suchopportunity organised in collaboration withESCalate.

The purpose of the writing group wastwofold. Award Holders had frequentlyexpressed a desire to write for publication witha view to sharing their research with a wideraudience, but were keen to do this in acollaborative and supportive environment. Theeditorial team was also keen for this publicationto act as a voice for practitioners within anemerging yet often unheard sector. AwardHolders from the first three years of theScheme were offered the opportunity toparticipate in the writing group as the editorialteam felt that they had sufficient time to reflecton their experience and consider how it hadcontributed to their professional practice. This

was the focus of Award Holders’ originalsubmissions to participate in the writing group.An overnight retreat was organised forparticipants in an isolated corner of SouthDevon which would take them away from thepressures of work and give them the freedomto consolidate their thoughts and reflect ontheir experiences. Upon arrival at the retreat,Award Holders commented on the sense ofisolation from the outside world, partly due tothe lack of mobile phone access, but also thestriking nature of the physical environmentaround them. This provided them with astimulating environment in which to write, andeven influenced several of the final narratives.

The narratives produced by participants inthe writing group are presented in thispublication, along with overviews of theirresearch/CPD activities and biographiestracking their personal and professionalprofiles. In collating these narratives theeditorial team has made few changes to theAward Holders final submissions. This was toensure that this publication could act as a voicefor practitioners working within anunderrepresented sector. Participants in thewriting group represented lecturing and

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“...ensure this publicationcould act as a voice forpractitioners working withinan underrepresented sector”

support staff employed on either full/part timeFE contracts. They are drawn from a range ofdisciplines including Health & Social Work,Computing and Performing Arts. The status ofHE within their colleges is variable reflecting thelongevity and size of provision. Despite thisdiversity, common themes emerge from theirnarratives that reflect the challenges andprofessional satisfaction they gain fromworking within HE in FE that will resonate withothers in this sector. Each narrative touchesupon issues of identity formation; from AwardHolders’ experiences of growing up (Maureenand Alison) to the challenges faced whenprofessional identities do not sit comfortablywith institutional or organisational agendas(Janet). Others consider the journey they haveundergone as researchers and the subsequentimpact that their engagement with researchhas had on their perception of themselves asHE lecturers working within FE colleges (Yvetteand Liz). There is also an element of serendipityin their journeys as researchers and HE in FEprofessionals. Julie and Amanda consider theimpact of an accidental meeting andconversation on future opportunities.Engagement with research gave the AwardHolders, in particularly Judith and Martin, aspace in which to reflect on the changes thathad taken place within HE through theintroduction of foundation degrees and theimplications this had on their practice. As Clairediscusses, the Award provided practitionerswith a nurturing environment in which theycould develop as researchers and explore theiridentities as HE in FE professionals. Central tothis nurturing environment were theconnections Award Holders made through thecommunities they joined, which for Rachelgave her a sense of belonging which hadpreviously been absent.

There is an energy and enthusiasmcontained within each of these narratives. TheAward Holders have demonstrated how events

and experiences at different stages in their liveshave informed their professional practice,shaped their identities and their commitment totheir students. This publication contains aunique collection of narratives that reflects thedynamic and passionate personas ofprofessionals working within the sector. Forthis group of individuals their professional liveshave been enhanced through engagementwith the scholarship of their practice and thispublication represents a milestone within theircontinuing development as HE in FEprofessionals, and they are already consideringtheir next steps.

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References Boyer, E.L. (1990) Scholarship reconsidered.New Jersey: The Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching

DfES. (2003) The Future of Higher Education.London: HMSO

HEFCE. (2003) Supporting higher education infurther education colleges: policy, practice andprospects. Bristol: HEFCE

NCIHE. (1997) Higher education in the learningsociety. London: HMSO

Abbreviations used in this publicationContinuing Professional Development CPD

Further Education FE

Further Education College FEC

Higher Education HE

Higher Education FundingCouncil for England HEFCE

Higher Education Institution HEI

Higher National Diploma HND

National Vocational Qualification NVQ

Post Graduate Certificatein Education PGCE

University of Plymouth Colleges UPC

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Receiving a HELP CETL Award gave me anumber of opportunities for professionaldevelopment. But perhaps more importantly, ithas allowed me to reflect on, and reconstruct,my professional identity.

My early life, growing up as the daughter ofIrish migrants in an English city, sensitised meto issues of hegemonic power, ‘otherness’,and hybrid identities. These issues have cometo seem relevant to working in the FE in HEsector.

When I first started teaching HE in an FEC,in 1992, the Certificate that I managed was‘franchised’ (interesting term) to our Collegefrom the University of Plymouth. Althoughteaching the course was creative andstimulating, and the students were committed

and appreciative, it was an uncomfortableexperience for me. In those days there wereno well documented procedures or partnercollege handbooks, detailing what wasexpected. I would approach exam boards,panels, programme committee meetings andthe like filled with dread. More often than not,there would be an embarrassing momentwhen it emerged that we hadn’t completed avital document or report. The unspokenmessage seemed to be that we should knowabout these procedures. It felt shameful not toknow how things ‘were done around here’,and we FE staff regularly felt affirmed in our‘otherness’ as somehow lesser beings –cruder, less intelligent, and not really capableof working to the same standards.

Maureen Mason

The impact of receiving aCETL Award on my practiceand professional identity:a post-colonial perspective


For many years, I carried this sense ofinferiority in my dealings with the University.Encounters were characterised by minorhumiliations, or, at best, by a benevolentcondescension. We would approachvalidation panels, cap in hand, not alwaysconfident of the protocol, hoping favourswould be granted. Of course we didn’t feel asmeek as we looked – we resented thehegemonic power of the University, just as anycolonised group would when submitting to thedemands of their rulers.

HE in FE grew, particularly with the newfoundation degrees, and although informationbecame more accessible, it still wasn’tcomfortable territory to inhabit. Our FEcolleagues eyed us with envy – accusing us ofhaving an easy life with motivated students.Yet their working life seemed simpler and lessfragmented. We felt looked down on by ourUniversity colleagues. We were generally not‘research active’; we lacked their superiorconfidence. We questioned our own ability toprovide an ‘HE experience’ for our students.Were we short-changing them? Ourmanagers, pressured with FE notions of

productivity, gave us mixed messages,sometimes suggesting we needed to beinvolved in research, other times piling up ourteaching hours, expecting us to fill ininappropriate paperwork, and police our(largely adult) learners as if they wereteenagers and still living at [the parental] home.

Scholarly activity, and in particularresearch, seemed the holy grail of ‘HE-ness’.But finding the time, getting started, producingsomething worthwhile, generally eluded us.Enter HELP CETL.

Gaining a HELP CETL Award gave me thepower to buy enough time out of teaching tocarry out a small research project. Not only didI get the time, but I was also provided withstructured support, supervision andencouragement from the HELP CETL staff. Myteaching, and commitment to students, stillremained at the centre of my work, andconsumed most of my hours, but now I wasalso developing some work of my own. Thisdistinction was an important one for me. Irealised I knew as much as anyone about myarea (employability and counselling students). Ipresented my findings at a national

“Scholarly activity, and inparticular research, seemedthe holy grail of ‘HE-ness’.But finding the time, gettingstarted, producing somethingworthwhile, generally eludedus. Enter HELP CETL.”

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conference. I didn’t feel that my project in itselfwas brilliant, but the process of carrying it outand presenting it enabled me to developprofessional skills and confidence. Thisconfidence prompted further moves. We hada third year in counselling studies validated,enabling our students to progress to anhonours degree. When a request for anexternal examiner came up for a counsellingdegree in a northern university, I applied for itand was accepted. I told a HELP CETLresearcher that I now felt like a ‘proper’ HElecturer.

In retrospect, this identification of myself asa ‘proper’ HE lecturer was a turning point. Isaw how I was privileging the kind of taskstraditionally carried out by HE lecturers overthose of the FE sector. In Fanon’s (1967)terms, I was aspiring to identify with thecolonisers. I began to realise the extent towhich I was undervaluing my craft as ateacher, and the contribution I was making tothe lives of many ‘non-traditional’ students. Ofcourse I had been a proper HE lecturer allalong! How many students had qualified, beenaccredited by the professional body, and wereworking as counsellors? Why did I consider itwas only the tasks valued in the University thatcounted?

So it could be said that my involvementwith HELP CETL has ultimately had asubversive influence. It has provided me withthe opportunity to realise some of theaspirations that had risen through wanting toidentify with my ‘betters’, and it has alsoenabled me to question the value of theseaspirations in relation to the traditionalteaching strengths nurtured in an FEC.

More recently a HELP CETL organisedwriting retreat has again given me the time toread, reflect and discuss with others the HE inFE experience. I have a growing sense,highlighted by Turner et al. (2008), that we are

creating an exciting new culture. Just as withinmy personal identity, I came to realise that Iwas neither purely Irish, as my parents andancestors were, nor completely English asmany of my contemporaries are, so is itbecoming clear that HE in FE is neither aninferior and cheaper type of HE, nor a slightlyharder version of FE, but rather a brand newculture.

This new hybrid culture could offer thestrengths of both the sectors it has arisenfrom. We could have exciting, relevantlearning, based on research and cutting edgethinking. We could address local needs,including those of industry and students, bothtraditional and non-traditional. Given a genuinepartnership, universities could be faster andmore flexible in validating new programmesand adapting existing ones. We could bebeacons in our community, real centres oflearning and development.

Or we could cling to the past. Universitiescould continue to see themselves as thesuperior partner. FE managers with no visioncould continue to treat the sector as though itis the same as FE. Staff could continue to findthemselves oppressed by the dual demandsof HE standards with FE targets and workingconditions. HE in FE could offer cumbersome,watered down, largely irrelevant and out ofdate programmes.

I know where I would rather work.

References Fanon, F. (1967). Black Skin, White Masks. NewYork: Grove Press

Turner, R., McKenzie, L.M. & Stone, M. (2008). Thechanging professional identifies of lecturers workingwithin HE in an FE context. Paper presented atBERA Annual Conference 3-6th September 2008.Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.


I was not brought up to be an ‘academic’; amnot particularly bright, being from the ‘wastedpool of talent’ (Ball, 1995) of the failed 11 plusbrigade of the 1960s, and certainly neverintended to be a teacher. Yet here I amseveral years later, involved in ‘scholarlyactivity’, reflecting on how an interest to findout why things happen has developed into aresearch project and subsequently a full-timecareer in education. This is the story of how ithappened.

Was I normal? At school I conformed to what I have laterdiscovered was expected of me; I didn’tquestion what I was taught, how I was taughtor the social grouping I was placed in – it wasfar more important to fit in. My favouritesubject was Cookery. All my friends tookCookery too; there were no boys to spoil ourgirly tasks and I could take home the tea, thusproving that I would eventually be able toprovide for my own family one day.

Changing directionSince leaving full time education my life inhospitality took me to many parts of the world

and opened my eyes to the human behaviourtraits and cultures of an internationalworkforce. I discovered that I was good atadapting myself to these different situationsand I began to think about the choices I couldmake without the restrictions of self-doubt andfitting in, that had guided my early years. It wastherefore only a matter of time before I headedback to the classroom to search for athunderbolt of enlightenment. After findingsomeone there who seemed full of enthusiasmand passion for his job, I was enticed intoenrolling on a teacher training course that, Iwas told, could lead to a lecturing job at thelocal catering college. This sounded promising– no more working summer and Christmas;weekends and evenings free – what could bebetter than that?

My vocational expertise in how to cleanhospitality outlets was snapped up by thecollege and I became a part time lecturer andperipatetic assessor in housekeeping subjects.I congratulated myself on not only changingcareers but in having the enviable position ofbeing able to see what was taught at theCollege and then seeing the learning in practiceby visiting candidates in the workplace.

Alison Banks

What the HELP CETLdid for me...

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Arrival of HELP CETLBecoming a teacher started some brainactivity not previously apparent and I couldn’tquite understand why I was being asked tocarry out some of my duties. The question‘why’ seemed to be on the tip of my tonguealmost constantly and to such a degree that if Ivoiced this word too often, some may haveassumed I was an agitator, hell bent ondestroying a safe environment which for somehad become somewhere to while away theyears until retirement. I can recall being told onnumerous occasions ‘that’s on a need toknow basis’ implying that I did not need toknow.

But I wondered why the past students Imet in the workplace didn’t follow the teachingthey had been given at College? Why had themajority of workers I saw never been toCollege and had no intention of doing so?They seemed to have got where they wantedto be without qualifications, or did this just giveemployers the excuse to pay staff less if theywere perceived to be unqualified?

The lecturing role I had at college involvedlearners across the spectrum from NVQ Level1 to HND/foundation degree in Hospitality andseemed to have little relevance to the studentswho would one day enter the workforce. Istruggled to make lessons interesting in aclassroom environment, especially trying toteach a vocational subject.

Everything I had learned in my teachertraining lessons regarding Kolb’s (1976)learning styles and experiential learningseemed to be disregarded in the struggle tofollow the College’s targets for pass rates.

I often speculated about whether the fulltime hospitality students would not onlylearn more but be in employment if theywere to get a job rather than attend College.The work based learners were so muchmore focused in achieving their qualificationsand could relate their experiences to thetasks set.

My inquisitive mind was a constantsubject of discussion with my line manager,who to her credit, gave me an applicationform for a HELP CETL Teaching FellowshipAward one day and told me to go and findout some of the answers and to myamazement I was accepted.

I had based my HELP CETL proposal onone of the first questions I had when enteringthe world of FE – why teach cateringstudents in a college and not in a cateringoutlet? This is particularly relevant to parttime foundation degree students who want tocontextualise what they are learning to theactual practice of their jobs – the reason theyoften enrol on the course in the first place.The HELP CETL was giving me anopportunity to finally start looking foranswers.

“The question ‘why’ seemedto be on the tip of my tonguealmost constantly and to sucha degree that if I voiced thisword too often, some mayhave assumed I was anagitator.”

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My journey as an Award Holder began withan awareness that I was entering unfamiliarterritory and had maybe embarked onsomething that would involve more time andcommitment than I had anticipated. Although Ihad been searching for a direction to satisfymy questioning mind, I now felt hesitant toleave the safety zone I had developed formyself over a number of years. Had I reachedthe pinnacle of my ambitions already? What if Iwas out of my depth? What if I exposed myselfto failure again?

Although eager to try something different Iwas unsure if I would have the confidence tofulfil the requirements of the researchproposition I had initiated or the capabilities toundertake scholarly activity, yet I was alsoexcited that I had been recognised for writinga proposal based on my observations andreflections about my teaching practice andthat I had been given the opportunity todevelop these thoughts.

Getting answersMy initial misgivings were very quicklyforgotten when I began the research for myproject as it became clear that myinvestigations were providing so muchinformation and positive feedback from thosefrom whom I sought assistance, that anyoutcomes were going to change the methodsof current teaching practice within my place ofwork as well as provide some personalemployment opportunities.

Under the umbrella of carrying out researchactivities, I was able to develop relationshipswith employers interested in staff developmentand ask pertinent questions about their futureneeds without appearing to sell courses tothem. I found out that the majority ofemployers thought that the College staff werethe experts(!) which I found very humbling andfelt a little guilty at their assumption of my

ability. This experience was a great motivatoras I not only had to prove to myself that I wascapable of producing academic research, butit had to be of value to local industry.Employers, I discovered, would willingly letpart of their premises be used to teachstudents as well as gain work experience intheir practical areas – after all it’s free labour!Some wanted to help set assessments, othersto come into College to talk to the studentsand even some prepared to take on amentoring role. Yet they had rarely if ever beenasked.

Having the Award enabled me to take thetime to actually think about whether currentpractice was relevant, to meet with colleaguesacross UPC and share thoughts and findingsand to give factual feedback to my linemanager rather than just constantlyquestioning the current curriculum.

What has the HELP CETL done for myteaching?In the two years since completing this project,the impact of it is still being felt both personallyand professionally. The structure of thefoundation degree programmes in hospitalitynow recognises and utilises the experiencegained in the work place of students. Thenumber of learners has more than doubledand local employers, who now have a betterunderstanding of the importance of staffdevelopment, and foundation degrees, havebecome an integral part of both the formationand delivery of courses that will benefit theirbusiness. The information gathered at the timeof the Award has been used to re-writeprogrammes that reflect the needs of bothemployers and learners and has led tocontinuous dialogue between interestedparties to ensure flexible foundation degreecourses for the future.

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What has HELP CETL done for me?When I reflect on the personal journey that Ihave taken since becoming an Award Holderbegan, there is no doubt that it has changedmy life. I became recognised as someone who‘did research’ rather than the NVQ cleaningexpert, and my opinion about future foundationdegree courses was not only asked for, but putinto practice and subsequently my new careeras the departmental coordinator of HE began.

Not only do I have a rewarding job that isboth enjoyable and empowering, but I have theconfidence and self belief, once lacking, tocontinue to succeed and for which I will alwaysbe grateful.

So what made me change?In order to try and answer this I return to why Iliked cookery in the first place. Was is as Deem(1978) suggests, a route that was the mostbeneficial for girls as it would make us goodmarriage material and as Burn (1996) writes,fulfil the expectations of my gender? But, I wentto college! So was I already trying to change thenormalised identity planned for me? Not if welisten to Slattery (1997) or Purcell & Quinn(1994) whose investigations into the managerswithin hospitality lament the lack of academicability in those following the HND in Hospitalityroute, like me.

I started life as a classic specimen describedby Dweck (1999) as an entity theorist – I had afixed level of intelligence, suffered anxiety aboutschoolwork and assumed I would do badly,especially in exams. But was it me who decidedto label me so young? Or was it the educationsystem in what Dweck (2006) refers to as thefixed mindset that put me in the box of girl =cook (or some sort of domestic occupation)? Iwill never know, but upon reading Lankshear’s(1996) theory of looking at our identities, my‘change’ began once I experienced life, or whatGee (1996) calls ‘coordinations’. Gee suggeststhat different people and places can help us to

‘recruit’ different parts of ourselves thuschanging our identity to suit the situation. Thiswill then naturally affect the narratives we tell, orwrite, as the coordinations to get there have allbeen different. Dweck (2006) carried out astudy that suggests you can change the theoryof your own intelligence and learn to use a‘growth mindset’ in order to take on newopportunities but this doesn’t fully explain why Iwanted to change. Maybe as Claxton (1997)states; my brain just needed time to get going.

References Ball, S.J. (1995). Intellectuals or Technicians – theurgent role of theory in educational studies. BritishJournal of Educational Studies, 43, 255-271.

Burn. S.M. (1996). The Social Psychology ofGender. New York: McGraw Hill

Claxton. G. (1997). Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: WhyIntelligence Increases When You Think Less.London: Fourth Estate

Deem. R. (1978) Women and Schooling. London:Routledge

DfES (2004). Foundation Degree Task Force Reportfor Ministers. London: HMSO

Dweck. C.S. (1999). Self-Theories, Their Role inMotivation, Personality and Development.Philadelphia: Psychology Press

Dweck. C.S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychologyof Success. New York: Random House

Gee. J.P. (1996). Foreword: A Discourse Approachto Language and Literacy in C. Lankshear (ed.)Changing Literacies: xiii-xix. London: Routledge

Kolb. D. A. (1976). The Learning Style Inventory:Technical Manual. Boston: McBer.

Lankshear. C. (1996) Changing Literacies,. London:Routledge

Quest, M. (1997). Colleges Face Mounting Criticismof “Academic Drift”. Hospitality Matters, 9, August.

Purcell. K. & Quinn. J. (1994). HospitalityManagement Education and EmploymentTrajectories. Oxford Brooks University.

Slattery. P. (1997) Are We Heading For Mediocrity?Hospitality Magazine, July/August, 4-25.

The engagement with the HELP CETL hasbeen an enjoyable and encouragingexperience for me on both professional andpersonal levels. It has made me feel morepositive about myself, my role, my skills andmy contribution. It seems that the process hasbeen of some outside body being needed togive me value, and make me reassess what Ican do and offer. The reason for this is at theheart of my reflection. I have tried tounderstand a how a scheme with status,University and academic legitimacy, andmoney (and therefore with relevance in theperspective of my managers) can producesuch changes.

In trying to consider the impact of the HELPCETL, the starting point of your situation as anHE lecturer in FE is important. I recognise thatmy personal perception is that as an HElecturer in an FE setting I fail to meetexpectations in all directions.

You are not in a universityYou are not a university and so there is feelingof an immediate inference of inferior academicrigor and intellectual capacity that is brought toyour teaching. I am not implying that teachersdon’t have the necessary degrees,qualifications or intelligence to teach HE levelin FE, but would they cut it at the university?Nor am I referring to the differences in pay andconditions in the two sectors apparentlydelivering the same teaching. The institution ofthe university is about developing knowledgeand pushing forward the barriers ofunderstanding. While acknowledging this is asomewhat caricatured and potentially outdated view of teaching and learning atuniversity, the point remains. Universityappointments are concerned with theexpectation of contributing to a wider researchand scholarly agenda. In contrast,appointments to teach at HE level within theFE sector are not.

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Janet Bardsley

My reflection on being involvedin the HELP CETL AwardHolder Scheme

You are not an HE teacherTeaching HE within FE does not feel valued bymanagers within FE. It is not their “corebusiness”. It is something of an exotic extrathat can flatter and give kudos, but it must notthreaten their main task of FE to the 16 to 19year olds. Differences in systems, styles andattitudes implicit within HE must alwaysultimately be accommodated within an FEframework. There is often a tension betweenthe two. For the HE teacher in thisenvironment there is also the appreciation thatwhen the stakes are high, it is the HE provisionthat will lose out. It is in the devilish details ofeducational provision and differences thatemerge in registers, tutorials, library space,research time etc, you know that it is alwaysthe FE mode that will win.

You are not a practitionerSo as a teacher, if your value and credibility isnot upheld by your intellectual capacity andactivities, or your institution’s recognition ofyour role, you always have your credibility as apractitioner in your own professional context. Iteach social workers and part of myprofessional identity is as a social worker. I amengaged and enthusiastic about myprofession and committed to the education ofhigh quality social work practitioners. But thisenthusiasm and confidence crumbles in thelight of that cruel maxim “those who can do,those who can’t teach”. While being woundingand undermining to those of us teachingvocational or professional subjects, there isthe more significant divide between theory andpractice. Teaching social work graduates whohave embraced “criticality in practice” maymake you at odds with the expectations oflocal practitioners.

This dichotomy is not unique to teachers ofHE in FE, and is a dilemma faced by our HE inHEI colleagues teaching vocational and

professional subjects. What may be different,as a lecturer working from an FE setting, aresome of the protective cultural and statusbarriers available to colleagues in a universityenvironment. It creates another tension for youto manage in your engagement with peopleyou would have previously perceived ascolleagues, but now have to view as real orpotential customers. Some of your credibilitywith the students also lies within your ability toconvince them that you know about doing thejob and can make your exploration of practicelive and relevant. But again as you invest morein your development as a teacher, this time isnecessarily taken from subject specialism. As Ibecome better as a teacher of social workersat what point do I stop being a social worker?

But your students are closeDespite my awareness of keeping “practicecredibility” with my students, it is myrelationship with them that gives me therecognition and reward for my job. Contactwith students, smaller class groups than areusual in university, and the “availability” culturethat is the norm within the FE setting betweenstudent and teacher, does lead to a satisfyingworking environment. I get the chance to getto know people and to witness at closequarters their personal growth anddevelopment. It is thrilling and often makes upfor the wider devaluing context I have beendescribing. But students are also nervy andedgy creatures. There is a necessarycautiousness in our relationship. They areaware of my ultimate role in judging theirscripts. And I am cautious of them in ourrelationship. I know they can be fickle andirrational and moved by group processes. Soalthough this student teacher relationship isthe source of satisfaction and validation in mywork it is an unsubstantial and insecurefoundation.

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How did the HELP CETL Award help? I have to reflect whether this an undulynegative view of the situation of an HE lecturerin an FEC, or does it say more about my owninsecurities? It is in this context thatsomething like the HELP CETL Award HolderScheme has provided a life line. Thetransformation has been the way in which theAward has helped me see an alternative andconstructive response to what I perceive asthis beleaguered and powerless situation.

Something of my ownBeing part of the Scheme has not affordedme particular recognition from anyone withinmy college, other than my already supportivecolleagues. But I have been able to developmy own research in a manner that has beenachievable in a setting that doesn’t expect orsupport research activity. Perhaps I need toqualify this. My College does not block orinhibit time in doing research, but it has tohappen after all other duties are fulfilled. It isthe same reason practitioners are not“research active”, it is not about their

intelligence or qualifications, but about time,support and expectations.

A bridge to what was important to mein my practice lifeThe research I was funded to undertakelinked to my practice as a social worker, andso has informed my practice as a social workteacher. This meant it took me back to anarea of work that I was confident in andenjoyed, a way of working that I missed aboutmy previous life and that I had foundreinforcing. It allowed me to integrate the twoworlds in a way that was personallysustaining.

Money…it makes the world go roundThe sense of powerlessness was alsosignificantly reduced by the budget thatallowed me to consider my own needs, beingable to think about what I needed to carve outthe space and support to make somethinghappen. Money in a working environment thatappears to value only money gives a feeling ofpower and control.

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“...dual responsibilities andconflicting loyalties that couldbe seen to sum up my owndilemmas about identity.”

Some clever people keeping aneye on meThe outside validation of the HELP CETL teamwas also important. This happened byproviding connections to a wider academicaudience that came from the requirement topresent the work I had done The otherelement was the detailed feedback andsupport provided by the project coordinator interms of the academic quality of the work andthe ideas I was developing. Access to thissupport and supervisory oversight andfeedback was important for me to build myconfidence in contributing to a wider agenda.

A third way of HE in FE? The danger of such reflections is that theybecome unduly negative about workingconditions, dare I even say wingeing? We canconstruct a sort of educational hierarchy ofstatus and satisfaction. FE in an FEC, HE in anFEC, HE in an HEI, teaching or research time.The grass is always greener with each of usfeeling conditions are better somewhere else.My experience of the HELP CETL is that is hasprovided me with a constructive way forwardto consider my professional identity. It has alsoallowed me to begin to explore how todevelop and support a robust “third way” ofHE in FE, i.e. a model of thinking and workingthat is not FE or HE.

Concerns about professional identity maybe a uniquely sensitive area for those of usteaching social work. Lyons (1999) in a surveyof 57 social work educators noted thepersistence in respondents describingthemselves first as social workers, despitemany years out of direct practice. Many ofthese teachers undertook additional roles andresponsibilities outside their academic work to

keep in touch with social work. They felt thisalso informed their teaching of social workstudents. They describe the same issues of“dual responsibility and conflicting loyalties”that could be seen to sum up my owndilemmas about identity. The sources of thisperceived conflict may be seen to lie in atradition of anti-intellectualism and a valuebase which challenges elitism within socialwork (Jones, 1996). How you qualify tobecome a competent social worker is asource of rich debate within education, socialwork and amongst the general public (BBC,2009). The requirement of a graduatequalification for registration as a social workerwas introduced as recently as 2002(Department of Health, 2002). However therepersist ideas that skills of critical thinking andacademic rigor required of graduatessomehow acts to the detriment of practiceskills and abilities. It is perhaps thisbackground that also contributes to myinhibitions in developing a stronger academicidentity as an alternative to the contribution Ioffer from my practice skills and experience.

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References BBC (2009) Spotlight on social work training.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7939916.stm (accessed 20.04.09)

Department of Health (2002). Requirements forSocial Work Training. London: HMSO

Jones, C. (1996). Anti-intellectualism and thepeculiarities of British social work education” in N.Parton (ed.) Social Theory, Social Change andSocial Work: 190-210. London: Routledge

Lyons, K. (1999) Social work in Higher Education:Demise or Development? Aldershot : Ashgate

20


Yvette Bryan

Conversations about research

Because working in HE in an FE institution means you probably don’t have much time to read ‘stuff’in journals I’ll make this quick. Represented below is the story of how an opportunity to ‘doresearch’ came about and the impact it had. It starts with one of those conversations in the staffroom…

MOORFFATS MOOR�SSALC RODIRROC

A lot of the conversations that I have with mycolleagues are about students, often snatched inthe staff room in between lecturers. Its notjust that we’re all busy but I’m part-time sosometimes these brief chats are the only face toface chats with my colleagues I get.

Corridors are another place whereinformation is shared. In fact it wasduring one of these that one of mycolleagues mentioned the HELP CETLproject.

I’ll forward youan email – it’san opportunityto do someresearch – Ithought youmight beinterested?

Yeah, he’s a betterlecturer than her. They don’t make

any notes theyjust sit there!!

What did theyexpect the 3rdyear of a degreewould be like?

Yeah, he’s good.

OK

Often what we talk about is what we’ve justobserved or overheard in the classroom.

1. Conversations…

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That corridor chat got me thinking. Some ofthose conversations in the staff room werejust like the ones this time last year. Come tothink of it so were some of the students’comments!

Then I looked at the application process andstarted to panic a bit (well actually a lot).Research – its not a word you hear bandedabout in the staff rooms of FE colleges even ifyou do teach HE. Staff researching????

It’s not that I and my colleagues don’tthink about how we could improve ourpractice its about time. We’re so busy‘delivering’. Scholarly activity (as itsreferred to) is taken up by compulsorytraining sessions about new administrativeprocesses. You need TIME. TIME COSTSMONEY. Enter HELP CETL.

Same old conversationsin the staff room??

Same old conversationsin the class room??

No time to research

Same problems

HELP CETL Plymouth UPC

Get a grip! you’re not a researcher

Actually otherinstitutions haveexperienced this…

So lets involvelecturers andstudents

My colleagues were pleased that I receivedfunding and were very supportive. And itwasn’t just the people that I usually talkedto in the staffroom. I began to become partof other communities not just in my collegebut with other HE lecturers in collegesthroughout the South West.

And what about me in all this, whatdifference has it made? Two words; confidence and community. Confidence to become a researchingpractitioner, confidence to have a voice,confidence to become a part of,and contribute to other communities.

Yes I can talk aboutresearch…

Recently I carried outresearch into…

I’m currentlyresearching…

I’m a part time HElecturer in an FEinstitution – no not auniversity.

At the core of the research were the students andthe lecturers and all those conversations. Using amodel discovered from a review of the literature,data was collected and used for a focus groupwhich gave all those involved a chance to discussperceptions and expectations. This has nowbecome part of the induction programme forbusiness students.

Really – what didthey do? Whatcan we do?

Induction for BABA Students

Discussing student and lecturerperceptions of lecture quality

Here you needto… But I thought…

This is where youcan get help withthat

Really At my last college...

2. Thoughts…

3. Impact…

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The teacher as a researcherIt is over 30 years since Lawrence Stenhouseused the phrase ‘the teacher as a researcher’(Stenhouse, 1975) to propose the involvementof the practitioner in educational research. Inpart this was in response to criticisms ofteachers and their professionalism. Hebelieved that experience was context specificand could generate a valid form of professionalknowledge. The explosion in action research isin some part evidence of the response of theacademic community to Stenhouse’sproposal. And it is concepts of community andidentity that I am concerned with here.

For me, practitioner research can berepresented by a social theory of learning,encompassing community, identity, meaningand practice (Wenger, 1999). As a part timeHE practitioner in an FE institution I couldpresent myself as being a member of anumber of different communities. I couldassociate myself with a wider HE community,generally considered to mean universities,academics and research. I work alongsidecolleagues who teach FE, a mix of FE and HEor solely HE in a predominately FE institutionso I am part of an FE community. With itsemphasis on locally provided vocationaleducation notions of academic research arenot normally associated with this community.Terms of employment are a mix of full time,proportional and fixed length contracts tocover a working day that provides provisionfrom 9am to 9pm. Within my subject disciplineI am part of a team, some members of which Irarely see and others I have never met. Whenpaths do cross in the staff room it’s often verybriefly. Sometimes it can feel that you are onthe edge of a community.

There are other ways of identifyingcommunities of practice (Lave & Wenger,1991) but I have used my institution and how Ilocate myself within it. Being on the edge of a

community is also how I see HE in FE. In asense it straddles the two differentcommunities of FE and HE with researchbeing associated with the latter.

So where does this leave a part time HEteacher wanting to research in an FEinstitution? Stenhouse (1975) noted thatengaging in research was not easy, timeconstraints, developing research skills and theneed for support of researchers and co-workers were issues. These are all still relevantbut as anyone engaged in the sector knows,ultimately it’s about funding, and this is wherethis story takes a turn. In 2005 funding wasmade available from HEFCE to PlymouthUniversity to support practitioner research inits partner colleges. The cartoon related to thispiece explains the research that wassupported by this funding. It may seem an oddway to present academic research but my aimwas to create something that could be quicklydigested by busy practitioners. Hopefully itillustrates the essence of the research.

Carrying out practitioner research led to adifferent interpretation of my professionalidentity. With confidence gained from myexperience as a practitioner researcher andthe support of others I have been encouragedto create links with new communities, which inturn has led me to redefine myself withincurrent communities.

References Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning:Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press

Stenhouse, L. (1975) An Introduction to CurriculumResearch and Development. Oxford: Heinemann

Wenger, E. (1999) Communities of Practice:Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press

I’d applied for the writing retreat with theintention of writing papers for publication frommy thesis, however, a badly broken armresulting in three months’ sick leave shifted thefocus to getting the thesis written.

As part of my preparation for the weekend Ideliberately chose to take meandering, sceniccountry roads to the venue, rather than thebusy A38. On arrival I sat and relaxed overcoffee with a colleague. As we looked at thespectacular views down the cove to the sea, Inoticed a craggy hill and spontaneously said ‘Iwant to walk up there’. As I spoke there weredoubts in my head, I wasn’t sure how far itwas, whether there was a route I couldmanage or if there would be time. Othersarrived and we set out for a walk to the beach.As we neared the beach the path forked, onebranch leading to the beach, the othertowards the cliff top and the distant hill. Thegroup split, some followed the beach path,while three of us climbed to the windy cliff top,before joining the others on the beach to allhead back up the valley for lunch.

Back at the hotel I looked out at where we’dbeen, it was well on the way towards the hill,so maybe it was not too far, perhaps I couldmake it up there.

After lunch I sat down to write. I started acouple of pieces, but I kept seeing the hill inthe distance, the sun shining on it, the bluesea and sky, with fluffy white clouds. My mindreally was on that hill and my desire to climb itwouldn’t go away. I reasoned that I shouldwrite first, and then take a ‘reward’, but Icountered that, thinking that later would bedark, and tomorrow the weather might not beas good. I was reminded of Robin Williams inDead Poets Society – seize the day! So, totallyout of character for me, as I usually get workdone first and often miss out on delights, Ipacked up and set out on my own.

Starting down the path, the hill looked quitea long way to go – now I was on my own,could I do it? The limits of my physical bodyhad been made very clear to me over thepreceding months, my fitness depleted, mybalance impaired and my arm, although

23


Liz McKenzie

Climbing the hill - how theHELP CETL Award hassupported me

mending, was still weak. Ahead of me I couldsee someone else, also striding out alone,which inspired me on. I initially set myself atime limit, I’d walk for an hour, and then I’d goback and write. As I walked on I realised thetime didn’t matter, it was just another self-imposed target, which I was free to alter, orremove entirely.

There was a clear path to follow, withsignposts, indicating different places whichcould be reached, but the hill was in my sightsand I forged on single-mindedly. I struggledwith the clip on the gate, unable to open it, butdetermined to continue, I climbed theadjoining low fence. I walked on towards thebeach and the path to the hill, where I hadwalked before in company. Could I do it on myown? It looked quite a long way. I was stillunsure if I could make it. In places the pathwas uneven, and I knew I needed to take carewith my balance due to my arm.

I kept going, climbing towards the hill. Theperson in front of me went along the top, veryclose to my hill, eventually reached it anddisappeared from view. Seeing them attain mygoal spurred me on. I kept going, stoppingoccasionally to look at the views all aroundme. Climbing the path, I reached the pointwe’d got to before, familiar territory to me

now! I stopped to take in the view as before,but now pressed onwards.

I took a stony path which brought me to thetop of the ridge, where I was buffeted by thewind, sea to the left of me and green fields tothe right, seagulls playing on the wind abovethe cliffs. I could see a simple wooden seat atthe summit – to sit there would be like sittingon top of the world!

I made it to the top, sat on that seat, drankin the views all around me, relished the wind,the sunshine and the tossing waves out tosea.

Having reached the top the path didn’t stopthere, it went on, further along the cliff, but Ihad got to where I wanted to be, I didn’t wantto go any further today – but it was good toknow it was there, as I might take that route inthe future.

I followed a different path down, buoyed upby my success in reaching the top of the hill,my confidence boosted, I had the courage tostep away from the familiar and try somethingnew. The way back down was smooth andeasy, a more sheltered route than I had takenon the way up. I strode happily onwards,planning what I would write on my return.

I managed to undo the clasp on the gate I’dstruggled to open on my way down to the

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“buoyed up by my success inreaching the top of the hill, myconfidence boosted, I had thecourage to step away from thefamiliar and try something new.”

beach, – a different angle of approach? Hadsomeone else loosened it when they passedthrough? Or was I just more confident in myapproach?

My pace slowed as I climbed the hill,perhaps a little tired? Or perhaps because myenergy was now with my thoughts, myreflections on the walk, how I had achievedthat target and how strong and confident I feltabout my ability to achieve others. Above all, Iwas now ready to write and keen to getstarted.

Stevens (1996) suggests that metaphor iscentral to the ways in which we experience theworld; similarly Lakoff & Johnson (2003) arguethat metaphor pervades our very existence,structuring our perception, thoughts andactions. When I returned from my walk and satdown to write, I realised that climbing the hillrepresents a metaphor for achieving mydoctorate. That’s how I’ve been seeing it in myhead – a hill I have to climb, and it was onlythrough physically climbing the hill today that Irealised the significance of what I was doing.My seemingly flippant comment about wantingto be ‘up there’ has much deeper significance.I want to be ‘up there’ in my academic life, Iwant to achieve my doctorate, that’s at thetop of the hill. Saban (2006) considers howmetaphors structure our view of the world andStevens (1996) comments that metaphorsmay either illuminate or obscure ourunderstanding. My realisation of the operationof the metaphor in my thinking has helped meto understand my experience and enabled meto move forward.

Hunt (2006) refers to ‘way markers’providing guidance through unfamiliar terrainand the HELP CETL Award Holder Schemehas provided a series of ‘way markers’ for mydevelopment as a researcher. Just as I set outon a walk with a group of other Award Holdersand the company of a couple of them took me

towards my goal, making me realise it wasachievable, so the Award Holder Scheme hassupported me in my journey towards mydoctorate. I remember how I felt when I heard Ihad been successful in getting my HELP CETLAward, the first stage ‘way marker’. Justgetting the Award made me feel that what Iwas doing was worthwhile and that externalvalidation gave me the confidence andcourage to continue. Meeting other AwardHolders from different colleges, hearing aboutothers’ research interests and feeling part of aresearch community was tremendouslyvaluable. That community support has keptme going with my research, and supportedme to attend and present at conferences,each of which represents another ‘waymarker’ in my development as a researcher.

As I continued my writing, the sun wasfading, the wind rising, the fluffy white cloudsmassing as a heavier, darker grey... across thesky. As I concluded my writing the rain startedto rattle on my window, the droplets tricklingdown the glass. The blue sea had turned deepgrey and the sun disappeared amid the heavyclouds to slip below the horizon. I could feelthe chill of the evening through the window. Ichose the right time for my walk, I’m so glad Idid it when I did, as I wouldn’t have started itonce the weather changed, and who knowsabout tomorrow.

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References Hunt, C. (2006) Travels with a turtle: metaphors andthe making of a professional identity. ReflectivePractice. 7(3), 315-332.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (2003) Metaphors we liveby. London: University of Chicago Press.

Saban, A. (2006) Functions of Metaphor inTeaching and Teacher Education: A review essay.Teaching Education. 17(4), 299-315.

Stevens, R. (1996) Understanding the Self. London:Sage Publications.

What stimulated the idea of applyingfor a HELP CETL Award?Some time ago, while waiting for a trainingsession, I accidentally sat in on a HELP CETLtalk about research funding. I work in an FEcollege Learning Resources (LR) department:a very different beast to the type of universitylibrary setting in which I originally trained andworked. I am a member of a team that makesa difference to students’ experience oflearning through supporting their informationliteracy, and I’d influenced change in our workenvironment, yet I was frustrated thatrecognition of this somehow still hadn’tallowed me to develop professionally or

personally. My job role didn’t allow me toimplement my own ideas, and my ideas thatdid make it into the team then became‘owned’ by the group and lost to me. I wasdesperately in need of a change, but trappedby the need to support my children, unable tomove away from the area I live in (where jobsare few) because of their schools and exams.Listening to the HELP CETL visitor, I felt theidea take hold – I would apply for an Awardbased around my ideas for developinginduction and workshops to support HEstudents, something I had wanted toimplement for several years and for which Ialready had a plan. I was convinced that to

26


Amanda Isaac

My life as an HE in FE LearningResources Coordinator or theimpact of a HELP CETLAward on my personal andprofessional development asHE in FE support staff

help students more effectively, the expertiseand experience in LR needed to be betterintegrated into the structure of the foundationdegree courses, and more clearly explained tothe teaching staff. I also wanted to help createmore of an academic environment for the HEstudents, who regularly expressed in varyingways the desire for a ‘community’ of their ownwithin the FE-ness of the College. I hadnothing to lose, and at the very least it wouldbe interesting to see what happened. Idiscovered a colleague from another collegealso had strong views about developingsupport for HE, and we joined forces. This wasexactly two years ago. The HELP CETLAwards have been for me a rescue after yearsof working in a role I loved but which hadgrown stale. I am no longer bored andfrustrated. (Actually I now feel constantly indanger and exposed, but at least it is mychoice, and makes a change!)

What did the Award enable you to doin terms of your practice as a memberof HE in FE support staff?I was awarded a Mini Teaching Fellowship bythe HELP CETL in 2007 with my projectpartner Karen Foster, who at the time wasmanager of the Learning Centre at SouthDevon College and has since moved into asimilar role at Yeovil College. We applied jointlyfor a Teaching Fellowship Award; we wereboth very keen to develop the support for HEstudents within our FE settings. We wereconvinced we had a good bid, and thought weshould aim for the top and see whathappened!

Neither of us was really convinced thatHELP CETL would realise the merits of ourplans, as within FE colleges it is not easy toconvey the importance of learning resourcessupport and contribution to the learning andteaching process, and at that time we had no

reason to suppose that the University wouldbe any different. I had been trying for someyears to develop the support for our HEstudents through a structured scheme ofworkshops at my College, but had made littleheadway. We thought that our project couldbe a good way to point up the contributionmade by College LR teams to the skillsdevelopment, and to the ‘graduateness’ offoundation degree students, and we werekeen to share good practice across theUniversity partner college network. It wasincredibly exciting to hear we’d beensuccessful. We were the first support staff tobecome Award Holders, and one of only a fewcollaborative projects.

The Award would give me the legitimacy Ineeded to try ideas I’d wanted for years toimplement in the LR department at myCollege; personally I felt proud and relievedthat an external, unconnected review boardhad seen merit in our plans, and I probablywasn’t crazy after all! I wanted to work onliaison with teaching staff, and thought theAward would give me the opportunity and thecredibility I needed to push for change: I wouldhave an identity as a CETL Award Holder,officially backed by the University of Plymouth.I was looking forward to working with myproject partner, who has the enviable ability totake weird and woolly ideas and turn them intosuccinct, sensible concepts, a good foil for myrandom over-enthusiasm and desire forimmediate results! Our original bid was veryambitious, and we were asked to narrow ourfocus to researching barriers to foundationdegree students using e-resources, lookingparticularly at the IT skills students have onentry to their foundation degree course. Thisseemed very restrictive, didn’t go down toowell with either of us at first, however it did turnout to be the first of many really excellentpieces of advice from the HELP CETL team.

27


We struggled just to collate, interpret anddisseminate the huge amount of datacollected over the year, never mind using it asgood evidence to support the changes we feltit pointed towards.

I’d never done any research before, andlooking back, we were very naïve. We vastlyunderestimated the time we’d need to collectand analyse our data, and then to writeeverything up. Not even knowing thequestions we needed to ask about dealingwith data, we must have re-invented severalwheels along the way, and that not veryeffectively. Colleagues at work were reallysupportive, but I learned that just having theideas is not what counts. Putting them intopractice and carrying everyone with you is farmore important. I’m still not sure whether Ipersuaded and encouraged people to workwith me, or whether they just caved in underthe barrage.

I certainly did a lot of talking at the end ofthe summer term 2007, particularly withteaching staff, who were all, to my relief,wonderfully positive about our plans. Theircooperation was crucial to our project, as wasthe support of the HE administration office,and remains key to the effectiveness of LRsupport for HE students. The responsibilitywas quite frightening though, especially when Ithought of the presentation we would have togive the following summer, along with our finalreport. However, it was a great opportunity tore-structure the workshops offered by the LRteam to our foundation degree students,which was what I really wanted to do.

Working with a project partner was also anew experience; luckily Karen and I found thatthe project fitted well with our strengths (andweaknesses), although being based atopposite ends of the county made it hard, wecoped by creating vast amounts of emailtraffic, and it has been a very rewarding

experience. Getting out of the college ‘box’,meeting new people with a whole set of freshapproaches has for me just been the most re-invigorating experience for years. It was such awonderful experience to be seized by aproject, and given the space and resources tosee what would come out the other end.

I’ve really enjoyed the literature review andthe writing, even though the struggle to getdown to it has taught me more about myselfthan I really wanted to know! I’m professionallymore aware of the work of others, and thewriting up has forced me to present coherentarguments. The Award has fed directly into mydaily work by making me justify my ideas, andthis has given me the professional confidencethat I’d lacked. I’ve discovered thatpresentations can actually be fun when youhave something you are pretty obsessed with,and want to talk about, and the interest fromLR colleagues across the partnershipsurprised me, as did the support within myCollege.

The experience has also driven ideas forimproving support for foundation degreestudents and I can see all sorts of excitingpossibilities for developing a stable network ofHE support across all the UPCs, working withthe University library, and developing contactswith other partnerships beyond the SouthWest. It has been difficult controlling all theseideas, and not letting myself get distractedfrom the Award project itself, as well as takingcare of the day to day work. At times I havebeen very aware that I haven’t been able toput as much into the LR team as I shouldhave; however being able to step back a littlefrom the frantic day-to-day pace of work in theLR department has allowed me to see more ofthe wood and less of the trees, and one of thepositive things for me has been that I am nowless inclined to think that I can take care ofeverything alone.

28


The Award led to a really intense andfulfilling year, at times very stressful. The lastcouple of years have been such a learningcurve, but ultimately well worth the sleeplessnights. There were times when I just wished itwould all go away, but the great support fromKaren, who understood everything, the HELPCETL team, and my own pride kept me going.Appendices made me feel quite professional,and sending off the finished report was just thebest feeling! We now have a further Award tocontinue tracking the students who had givenus so much helpful information into theirsecond year, as we were loathe to stop beforegetting to the heart of our original project: tocollect and disseminate good practice acrossthe University partner college network insupporting the development of informationliteracy in foundation degree students. OurColleges had all made changes to the supportoffered, and we wanted to see how thestudents would feel about the development oftheir information literacy skills with the benefitof hindsight. This would also give us moreevaluation of the changes in support, and feedback into more development.

It is not all easy: Work now consists ofjuggling my job role demands with HELP CETLdemands, and although I do really enjoy thechallenge, it is hard to find the time to dojustice to everything. There is also a price. As asingle parent with two school-age children Inow have no time for myself, and very little forthem (and none for cleaning the house…). Onthe plus side they understand, have learnt tocook, and are much better at tidying up!Personally and professionally I have found afocus that is constantly generating more ideas,plans and development, and I enjoy coming towork again – though I could now do with areally good holiday...

29


Bibliography Burkill, S., Rodway-Dyer, S. Rodway & Stone, M.(2008) Lecturing in higher education in furthereducation settings. Journal of Further and HigherEducation. 32 (4), 321-331.

Chowaniec, J. (2005) Exploring identity. Teaching inHigher Education. 10 (2), 265-270.

Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P.(2006) The personal and professional selves ofteachers: stable and unstable identities. BritishEducational Research Journal. 32 (4), 601-616.

“Getting out of the college“box”, meeting new peoplewith a whole set of freshapproaches has for me justbeen the most reinvigoratingexperience for years.”

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Becoming a Teaching Fellow can only bedescribed as white water rafting through amaze. You never quite know where you willend up but it’s exhilarating and intriguing at thesame time.

During a typical day as Disability SupportManager at the City of Bristol College, Ireceived an email requesting expressions ofinterest for a research bursary. It had beensome time since I had done any research and Isuddenly felt inspired to do something. Thiswould allow me to use my rather rustyresearch skills for a topic that was of interestto me. Working with disabled learners I wasaware of the inequalities that still existed inprovision and wondered how research mightimprove the recruitment, retention andachievement of disabled learners.

The deadline was quite tight but withguidance and support from colleagues at theCollege I put together an application andbreathed a sigh of relief. I was sure that thesubmission would not be worthy of the£10,000 Award as I was not sure of the

expected standard. I concluded thatuniversities must be after a highly academicpiece of work which would be beyond my skilllevel. When the email arrived confirming thatthe application had been successful with aninvitation to a presentation ceremony I wasextremely surprised. When the surprisepassed I then began to wonder how I wouldcarry out this work over the new academicyear. I wondered if this was the dilemma facedby lottery winners contemplating the reality ofhow you manage so much money.

Summer passed, term started and Ireceived polite emails reminding me that I wasan Award Holder and how was it going? Inreality nothing was happening, but in betweena thousand other priorities I considered how toimplement the research proposal. The projectdrifted but this isolation was interrupted by aninvitation to attend an Award Holder day at theHELP CETL office. The event proved a realenergiser to counteract my lack of progress todate. The room was full of enthusiastic yetnervous people who, like me, weren’t quite

Julie Osborn

White water rafting througha maze

sure what was expected of them. I was struckby the diverse and varied projects that peoplewere doing. There was a sense of freedomand creativity which was actively encouragedand supported. New opportunities seem to beavailable during every turn. Networking,meeting inspiring people, learning new skillsand refreshing forgotten ones were just someof the things that were available. The potentialbenefits of being involved in this research wereenormous. I was now midstream in a fastcurrent unsure if I was being swept along orpaddling in new unchartered waters. It wasexhilarating yet alarming at the same time.

The reality of carrying out a piece ofresearch was that it was very time consumingand difficult to juggle around existingcommitments. I appointed a researchassistant but supervising the project still tookup a lot of my time. Progress was initially slowand we seemed to be going nowhere fast. Anexciting breakthrough came when wemanaged to engage a group of disabledlearners to provide their accounts of studyingwithin HE in FE. The way they described theirexperiences provided a whole new dimensionto the project.

During a video conference call with AnneMcDermott (Project Supervisor) and RebeccaTurner (Scheme Manager) I described theinterviews and how inspirational andinformative they were. They immediatelysuggested videoing the participants so thatthis important information could be capturedfor future use. Anne walked out of the roomand reappeared with two men who offered tofilm for a day, and then edit the tapes. Thesynergy that was evident through this processis typical of being part of HELP CETL. Ideasget floated then captured and developed intoreal tangible products. This was a definingmoment for me and made me aware howgroups of people can achieve unexpected and

beneficial results. The video was made and Idiscussed it with the HE Manager at the City ofBristol College. She was interested andsuggested I put forward a bid to get the roughcopies made into a professional video thatcould be used for publicity for students in theSouth West. The HELP CETL research led tothe creation of a video and enabled me todevelop confidence in putting forward bids forprojects.

After much hard work the project came tofruition and the report was handed in on time. Iwas disappointed that things were coming toan end as I felt it had been an exciting journeythat I wasn’t ready to stop just yet. I had mettravelling companions and if I wasn’t involvedin HELP CETL I would not longer have areason to maintain these links. I need not haveworried! As a result of the HELP CETL I havebeen involved in many other activities. I havebeen successful in bidding for £10,000 fromthe AimHigher Funds to produce a marketingpack for disabled learners in HE.

One event that will always stand out isattending a writing event based at Soar MillCove where we could look at the sea and itschanging scenery from the hotel. This eventprovided space and freedom to considermany things. Mobile phones didn’t workbecause of the lack of network coverage so itreally was away from everything. I certainlyfound this experience of a retreat extremelychallenging. With so much space I just foundmyself totally lost. I ended up in an emptyopen wilderness with no means of navigation.There was a minimal brief and no targets orgoals to work towards. We were givenpermission to just be quiet. I retreated to myroom and reflected on why I found it hard togive myself permission to make time to reflect.I felt unsettled so walked down the corridorwhere I bumped into Rachel and Amanda. Wehad met a various events in the past but never

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exchanged much more than pleasantries.Rachel invited us to her room and wecollectively shuffled along the corridor. Westarted talking about the one thing we had incommon, no mobiles to connect with theoutside world! We soon moved on todiscussing our experiences as HELP CETLAward Holders. It was surprising to me howsimilar we felt that the impact of being part ofthe scheme had had on us both personallyand professionally. The experience had givenus greater self esteem and a real sense ofachievement. Whilst we were carrying out thiswork alongside our regular roles within variouscolleges it was clear that we were allcommitted to achieving results and getting apositive outcome. As HELP CETL AwardHolders we had all been through very similarexperiences but in isolation. The retreat helpedus to interpret these experiences in a differentway and enabled us to recognise how we haddeveloped through this experience. We left theretreat refreshed and energised. We keep intouch and plan to work collaboratively todevelop our ideas and project together.

The HELP CETL has given me the opportunityto work with people from such variedbackgrounds. It’s useful to contact someonewho works in an entirely different field to get anew take on a problem.

I now feel quite skilled at white water raftingthrough a maze. It’s a whole new outlook onlife but each time I see a route forward I take it.It may lead to a dead end but I can getnavigational support from my new colleagues.The journey continues and remains as excitingand as challenging as ever.

The freedom to roam the high seasReflecting on my experience of carrying out aresearch project allowed me to consider whatopportunities are available to practitionerswithin an FEC to investigate topics of interestand relevance to their field of knowledge. Ihave worked in FE for 10 years andcompleting this research project has been aunique opportunity. Becoming a TeachingFellow provided me with the opportunity toinvestigate a topic that was of particularinterest and, as the research outcomes

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“New opportunities seem to beavailable during every turn.Networking, meeting inspiringpeople, learning new skills andrefreshing forgotten oneswere just some of the thingsthat were available.”

demonstrate, of importance to the successfulrecruitment and retention of disabled studentsin HE. Having gained so much from thisexperience, I wanted to consider why I had notdone this before. I felt that there wereorganisational barriers that prevented me fromgetting involved in research. Researchcertainly lacked status and was not somethingthat was included as part of my appraisalreview. I would have been at odds with theorganisation if I had opted to take time out toresearch a topic that I considered interesting.This encouraged me to consider the issue ofacademic freedom within FE.

Academic freedom has been the focus ofvigorous debate amongst academics for manyyears. Quinn (2004) notes that the harassmentof academics throughout Europe in the 1930sand 1940s was well documented but pointsout that less attention has been paid to morerecent events. As an example he cites Africanscholars and universities who experiencedinternational conflict and resource deprivation.The persecution of scholars is a human rightsissue and far removed from the experience ofstaff working in an FE setting in the UK.However, the principle of freedom remains aninteresting theme that on a lesser scale canapply to the experiences of Award Holders.Fellow Award Holders described the variousconstraints that they operated within tocomplete their projects. Examples includedbeing asked to justify taking part in activitiesrelated to the project, financial constraints and

being required to prioritise other events.Many people spoke of carrying out researchactivities almost in secret or during their owntime. This is surprising given the tangible,beneficial outcomes that arose out of thework.

FE has a very different attitude to researchthan universities and this is reflected in the lackof status placed on carrying out researchwithin the FE sector. However, with thesynergy of HE in FE and HE this may change.Providing FE practitioners with the opportunityto take part in research can have manybenefits including developing research skills,greater self-efficacy and a valuablecontribution to the knowledge of specificareas. However, given my experience andthose of fellow Award Holders of carrying outresearch, FE will need to evolve a new cultureto ensure that practitioners have both thefreedom and the support to engagemeaningfully in carrying out research. Furtherdebate is needed to action this goal. It may beuseful to consider the experiences of theHELP CETL Award Holders who havesuccessfully pioneered a route to achievesuccessful research within FE.

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References Quinn, R. (2004). Defending “dangerous” minds:reflections on the work of scholars. ITEMS & Issues.5 (1-2), 1-5.

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The motivation for HELP CETLMy motivation for applying for a HELP CETLAward was to enhance my development withinmy job role. This was set in the context of thedifficulty in finding time for development workin a busy schedule of teaching andprogramme management. There was a desireto ‘step outside the day-to-day’, and to have abroader view of what I was trying to achieve.The HELP CETL Award seemed to afford thisopportunity.

The contextTeaching HE in FE requires a balance of theorganisational needs of the institution, (largelydominated by the FE agenda) and thebureaucratic demands of a large FEorganisation, which now extends well beyondthe boundaries of the original FE College. Theother element to the background is theCollege’s goal of producing an improvedOfsted report at the next inspection and, likeall colleges, to improve retention andachievement. This appears to necessitate the

standardisation of quality systems across thecorporation, which differentiates little betweenFE and HE although the context of theteaching is somewhat different. (This latter, initself, is a matter disputed amongst seniormanagement at the College, some of whomdo not see the distinction between the twotypes of teaching as so marked.)

The Department (previously SocialScience, Social Work and HealthProfessions), now a FacultyOur Department has a well established coregroup of staff, who have been teaching HE foron average ten years. The above systems andpreoccupation of the larger organisation,(which has grown considerably in that time),are quite frequently seen as less than relevant,because we are already subject to the qualitysystems of the University of Plymouth. Ittherefore seems like a duplication of our effort.It also requires us to modify our systems inorder to meet College requirements. This oftenproves very frustrating and time-consuming.

Judith Mann

HELP CETL and the experienceof teaching HE in FE

There arises a conflict between concentratingon improving the student experience (includingthe teaching) and meeting the organisation’srequirements for audit and inspection.

The experienceMy experience and motivation for teaching hasalways been the development of the individualstudent. This is something that I still findsustaining, even in the present climate. Havingstarted my teaching career with the College asa sessional lecturer, I mostly had students whowere more mature, rather than the youngerstudents straight from school. There was, andstill is, an enormous satisfaction in seeingthem grow in confidence and achieve theirqualifications. I firmly believe that education isa strong support to self-esteem. Because themajority of my students are female, andbecause of the nature of the industry, Healthand Social Care, this growth in self-esteemseems even more marked.

The nature of HE within FE encourages amuch closer working relationship andsupportive environment with students. Thishas always been a factor in the FE tradition,and was noticeable when I was teachingyounger students for whom school, foreducational or family reasons, had not been aparticularly positive or fruitful experience. Forthe more mature students, there is some timethat has elapsed since they have left school,during which they have already started tobring up families. Their approach to their workis often fraught with anxiety until they havegained some confidence in the learningenvironment. Their personal tutor is often akey to providing or finding them theappropriate support. I personally find it moresatisfying to ‘bring on’ students who lackconfidence in their own abilities, than to enablestudents who already have the advantage ofconfidence and ability. I therefore feel that I am

rightly placed within my existing teaching role,in terms of my own sense of job satisfactionand my feeling that I have a useful role.

SummaryI find myself in a situation of having many rolesto play. I have to meet the requirements of theorganisation – this is something that all HE inFE staff are required to do. As a programmemanager and programme lead, there areadditional responsibilities in terms ofprogramme recruitment, induction,organisation and monitoring and keepingabreast of changes in the industry. Thisincreasingly requires more administration, at atime when administration support is not soeasily provided. As a teacher and tutor, I haveto deliver classes and ensure that the learningneeds of the students are being met. I alsoneed to keep updated with my subject matterin the modules that I teach. Where there is theopportunity for staff development, I need totake advantage of this.

What have my HELP CETL Awardsgiven me?The requirements to investigate aspects ofteaching and learning have enabled me tothink about the subject matter, for examplework-based learning, and how it is beingdelivered. In the process of this reflection andresearch, I have updated myself on relevantliterature, for which there is not always a givenamount of time available because of mynormal workload. This has enabled me tomake significant changes to our programme(the Foundation Degree in Health andCommunity Studies) which, I believe, hasenhanced the delivery. This experience hasgiven me extra confidence in what I have beendoing. In addition, the requirement todisseminate has forced me to present atworkshops and conferences, which has

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gained me some credibility at my own Collegeand outside. In many ways it is the sameservice that I try to provide to my students thathas been provided to me by the HELP CETLteam. As one of my students said to me aftergraduation this year – ‘you believed in me, so Ibegan to believe in myself’. (She achievedstudent of the year at the College, havingachieved a BSc, and intends going on to doan MA in Social Work.)

The HELP CETL Award has added to theworkload, but it has definitely enhanced it. Ithas not always been possible to gainsufficient, and the right sort of, cover to buymyself out of enough teaching. There also stillremains the overall responsibility for thedelivery to the students. Aspects of the work,such as work-based learning and employerengagement are very time-consuming.Employers are very busy people and cannotalways afford the time to come to the College,making arrangements to include them inactivities rather complex.

Dissemination at conferences raises theprofile of HE in FE teachers generally, as weare sometimes looked down upon by ouruniversity peers. Much of this, I believe hingesaround subject specialisms. HE in FE teachersdo have some specialisms, but because of theextra hours demanded from us, we areincreasingly expected to teach across widersubject areas and also, in some instances,across FE and HE. There are someimplications for professional developmenthere. Having started my career at the Collegeas an FE teacher, I am not now keen to teachFE, as I believe that I have developed anexpertise in teaching at HE level. I do not want

now to reverse this process. I would like moretime to be able to concentrate on subjectspecialisms, but instead of this I feel that myrange of specialisms has become wider inrecent years, rather than to have a narrowerfocus. However it can change from one yearto another with the requirements of the job.Some more recognition of the requirementsfor keeping up-to-date in the field of Healthand Social Care, amongst many othersubjects, would be very useful. However Icannot see this being very likely in the presentclimate.

Whilst there is an expectation forscholarship, rather than research from HE inFE teachers there is little allowance by theemploying organisation for this. There ishowever, some expectation that weparticipate in these activities, often in our owntime. The HELP CETL Awards give thisprocess some structure and recognition, andenabled participants to build their scholarship.I feel that there is scope for greater recognitionof this contribution by their employingorganisation. There is a momentum in theHELP CETL which contributes significantly toongoing professional development of presentand past Award Holders, should they chooseto continue participating in and valuing theopportunity. The value of this seemsoverlooked in terms of both savings in andenhancement to Colleges’ staff developmentbudgets. It may be coincidental, but I havetaken on additional managementresponsibilities from the beginning of thisacademic year, which may or may not, be as aresult of my development from my HELP CETLactivities.

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Thinking (The first stage)Thinking about...an opportunity, wanting to do something different,getting bored with the status quo. Raising my research profile.Thinking of a topic – something that might relate to HELP CETL prioritiesand that I was interested to explore....ah... workplacementoring/employer engagement.Thinking about how to undertake the application, how to create animpression... About how to go about the project and putting togetherthe proposal.Taking advice and preparing the application. Experience in putting a bidtogether.

CreatingCreating the idea and putting together the research concept.Getting creative and looking for illumination. Reading about mentoringand mentoring in the workplace and how this relates to work basedlearning on the foundation degree.Getting creative with the idea and how to do it.

Researching Seeing what is available on the topic and learning more aboutmentoring.Changing the focus of the research.

Being surprised!Dealing with the unexpected. Sometimes the outcomes were differentto those that were expected and involved keeping an open mind.Developing one aspect of the work opened a door to another.

Acting while doingLed to refocusing on the work based learning and changing theassessment.

Putting forward some permitted changesThe changes were related to the work based learning element of theprogramme and linking that with the Professional Development module.

The innovation was to have a work based learning module in Year 1 anda work based learning module in Year 2 of the programme. The secondyear module was delivered online using the College virtual learningenvironment – Moodle as well as by tutorials and other activities.

The idea took off. It gave a chance to evaluate within the timeframe ofthe Award. It was extra work, but worth it.The final report…and being recognised!

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The HELP CETL Journey

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When I received the Award I could have beendescribed as a well qualified Lecturer in anFEC with the responsibility for the delivery andmanagement of an HE (Foundation DegreeComputing) course. I deliver just over half ofthe modules on the course as well asmanaging the Study Skills and Work BasedLearning modules. I am also the tutor for boththe Stage 1 and the Stage 2 students. Myteaching load was, and still is, 864 hours.

Exploring the literature during the timeallocated for the Award helped me to gain anunderstanding of the finer details of foundationdegrees and of current educational theory.The result was an analysis of the individualmodules and of the overall structure of thecourse and a series of modifications to thedelivery model of the course. Initially thesemodifications concentrated on the importanceof the Work Related Learning, the Study Skills,and the Tutorial modules. Student feedbackreinforced my belief that there was a linkbetween the literature and an improvedexperience for the students. This encouraged

me to read and reflect on other areas:widening participation, communities ofpractice (Wenger, 2007), blended learning(Downes, 2009), assessment, the scholarshipof learning (University of Queensland, 2009),personalised learning, and identity. I found myapproach to teaching changing fromexperiential (Kolb, 1984) to socialconstructivist. The result has been a richereducational experience for the students.

The reading, the modification of the course,presentations (during this time I had successwith speaking about the results of thesemodifications: locally at University of PlymouthSubject Forums and conferences, and morewidely at the University of Westminster WorkBased Learning International Symposium andat the QAA-HEA: Furthering Higher Education2009: Improving the HE in FE StudentExperience conference) and the change to thissocial constructivist educational philosophyalso gave me the opportunity to reflect on theconflicts between my initial reasons forentering the education sector (I am interested

Martin Rowe

The impact of a HELP CETLTeaching Fellowship Award:the exploration of an HE identitywithin an FEC

in how individuals learn) and on my currentrole as an HE lecturer in an FEC.

I questioned whether over time my initialbelief in the vocational aspect of teaching hadbecome diminished – perhaps because of arealisation of the institutional nature ofeducation. It seemed to me that sometimeseducational institutions appeared toconcentrate solely on the importance offunding (without which we would not have ajob?) and place a misguided emphasis onrecruitment, retention, and results (the threeRs). This, for me, led to a conflict with theinstitutional values and the identity I wasexpected to adopt, and with my owneducational values and my own vocationalidentity.

The Teaching Fellowship gave me thespace to explore this identity: How is the HE inFE lecturer role different from the HE (teachingin a university) lecturer role? And if there aredifferences, what opportunities do theyprovide?

One difference of the HE in FE lecturer’srole is in the amount of contact time allocatedto teaching in an FEC. One of the main issuesfor the HE in FE lecturer is the workload and

the apparent lack of time allocated for itscompletion. This imbalance between work andtime can be viewed positively: for me it hasresulted in growth and the exploration of thespace associated with the HE lecturer’s role. Ithas meant a flexible and creative use of time.

This flexible and creative use of time can beused in many ways e.g. assessmentfeedback, personalised learning, and thedevelopment of a community of practice. Thisflexibility and creativity need not conflict withthe emphasis on the three Rs of the FE sector.It can help to improve the experience of thestudents and therefore help to improverecruitment, retention and results. Theunderpinning of social constructivism canmean that the lecturer is not forever deliveringduring contact time. Delivering a degree ismore than ensuring that the students canunderstand and apply academic concepts tothe required level and pass the course.Students, and lecturers, need time and spaceto reflect and to grow.

A second difference of the HE in FElecturer’s role is the management of a smallerclass size. For me this has provided the spaceto develop a community of practice – the

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“Delivering a degree is morethan ensuring the students canunderstand and apply academicconcepts to the required level topass the course. Students andlecturers need time and space toreflect and grow.”

alternative was to try to develop a mirror of theuniversity experience. I am now exploring, andfor me this is the next step, the developmentof the community of practice into a researchcommunity: both lecturers and students asresearchers. How should this work? Should allassessments have an element of research?Do I choose one module and encouragedeeper research in this module? The TeachingFellowship provided for educational research –would funding be needed for further subjectresearch?

Would the weaker students be able tocope? Should I let this stop me? Do I applydifferentiation? Students on HE courses in FEinstitutions range from post A level and HNDstudents, mature students, and students on apart time route who work in the industry. Whatcan be said is that there is a real enthusiasmamongst HE in FE students. Most realise thatthey have an opportunity that did not existpreviously and react accordingly. Also, theylisten when research is mentioned – they knowthey have chosen higher education and thatHE involves research.

Perhaps questioning the different roles ofthe HE in FE and the HE lecturer begs a furtherquestion. Perhaps the real importance lies in

the exploration of the identity of ‘lecturer’.What are the responsibilities inherent in therole? – delivery – yes, but does it also involveat its core the responsibility to create the timefor academic study, for reflection, for research,and for the dissemination of the research.

Would I have asked these questions had Inot received the Teaching Fellowship?Perhaps – but not to the same level of detail.What would have been the result? Lessgrowth – for the students and for myself.

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References Downes, S. [www.downes.ca/],Accessed March16, 2009.

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: Experienceas the source of learning and development. NewJersey: Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs.

University of Queensland, Scholarship of Teachingand Learning [www.uq.edu.au/teaching-learning/docs/Scholarship-of-teaching-learning.doc], Accessed March 16, 2009.

Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of practice. A briefintroduction. Communities of practice[www.ewenger.com/theory]. Accessed March 16,2009.

Becoming an Award Holder was a turningpoint in my professional life. I have learnt to bereflective (again), I have engaged with somewonderful people, my perspectives havebroadened and I also got a new job. Theliberating thing about the whole Award Holderexperience is that it makes you engage inreflection in a supportive environment withinteresting and stimulating people. Simplethings like having a university identity andfinding that there are others like you who areexperiencing similar problems or have thesame concerns can be so liberating when youare used to feeling slightly at odds with themainstream ethos of your workplace. Beingtold that your work and your project and yourideas have value is worth bucketfuls of gold interms of self esteem, which can be acommodity missing for many HE in FE staff. Inbeing part of this, you start to realise someessential truths about yourself and yourpractice and professional development. Sowith this in mind these are the things that Ihave learnt through this process:

I am an HE in FE practitioner Actually I am not any more in the normal senseof working for a college and running andteaching on a HE programme as I used to. Inow work for the partner college faculty in astaff development role; however I still perceiveand align myself with my colleagues teachingHE in FE in colleges. I do not see myself as auniversity academic and have stoppedwanting to see myself in that role (as I oncewas at the start of my teaching career), adevelopment that probably dates from therealisation that I didn’t have to be physically atthe university to be a legitimate HE lecturer;the professional recognition that I got frombeing part of the Award Holder Scheme is acrucial element of this. I have come full circle inthe whole area of who I am and what I want tobe. The question that I have started to ask iswho do I want to help – how can I bestsupport the people and processes that Ibelieve in, which is the central aspect of myrole in the partner colleges faculty. My 360degree perspective – having experienced HE

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Claire Gray

The learning cycle of a HELPCETL Award Holder

from a number of different positions, hasenabled me to identify what it is that I believein because I have the evidence and knowledgeto say, hand on heart, that it works – it is worthfighting for and in a very pragmatic sense it isthe future.

Teachers or academics? What should come first in a HE lecturer? Forme it was always the academic interests, noquestion, until I started to see how the twoaspects are totally interdependent (Jones,2006) I can now see that part of what makes agood teacher is that desire to infect yourstudents with the passion that you have foryour subject area. For HE in FE lecturers this isparticularly true as when you develop yourown areas of academic interests you reallybecome alive and want to take your studentswith you. As an HE in FE practitioner this canbe really exciting when you get thatopportunity through developing your HEprovision and equally frustrating when you areexpected to flip between HE and FE in autilitarian manner. It is this frustration and dualidentity, or the perspective of being ‘thestranger’ (HE is for most practitioners a fringeactivity in an FEC) that is a hallmark of the HEin FE lecturer identity. On a more positive noteperhaps it is the concept of being ‘the

stranger’ (as identified by Schutz, (1943)) thatenables HE in FE practitioners to maintain adegree of detachment from the mainstreamactivity of the college and therefore developsome objectivity in their observations of theway that FECs operate.

The HE in FE problem –neither fish nor fowl Can a college provide an HE experience? Itcan’t be a university but there again there area range and variety of universities all offeringsomething different. What, without doubt, weare seeing is that an HE experience canhappen and flourish within colleges, just asthere are a variety of experiences within andacross universities. There is no standardformula because one size does not fit all ineducation; this is difficult but hardly arevelation. What makes an HE experience forstudents lies primarily in the hands of theirlecturers who open minds and challengestudents to think in different ways – hence theneed for professional recognition. It is differentintrinsically from the university HE experiencein terms of its vocational roots – and the rootsof any plant will shape the development andgrowth of it. What can be altered as the plantgrows is the care of it, the feeding, thepruning, the light and space for growth. I am

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“What makes an HE experiencefor students lies primarily in thehands of their lecturers whoopen minds and challengestudents to think in differentways.”

no horticulturalist but I know that you need abalance of these things. HE academics havetraditionally and stereotypically been highlyspecialised gardeners; they know what theylike to grow and cater for certain varieties –which tend to be the tried and tested varietiessuch as the traditional 18 year olds, studyingaway from home from predominantly middle-class backgrounds, although this is changingand it is wrong to make sweepinggeneralisations without begging for thereader’s indulgence. The FE practitioner livesin a different environment. It is more chaotic, itis usually designed for FE, and it is varied andthere may be many challenging and atypicalstudents, but today’s atypical student ismerely a construct by the prevailing majorityand from what the demographics show us, allof this is about to change at a very fast rate(HEFCE, 2006). The point is that HE in FE hasthe opportunity of taking many shapes butneeds people who can see through the day today miasma and have a vision and confidencein what they can achieve for the students. Thesuccesses can be phenomenal when wellmanaged, and by this I refer to the localmanagement of the lecturers. As is often thecase, it is the hands-on practitioners who,despite the culture of managerialism thatprevails in our education sector use theirdedication, passion and expertise to transformlives (Clarke & Newman, 1997; Holloway,Horton & Farnham, 1999).

The wonder of CPD HE lecturers need to keep developing andneed to have confidence in the currency oftheir knowledge. This confidence leads usback to where I began with the primacy ofdeveloping subject expertise. HE lecturersneed this confidence to help them take risksand create a climate of student enquiry whichbuilds from FE whist also embracing the best

facets of FE such as experiential learning anda focus on practical skills development. The‘wonder’ of it is however not just doing it andlearning from it and then applying it, but alsobeing recognised for it.

Gestalt!The personal story behind these reflections isa patchwork of experiences that have onlytaken on significance and meaning through aprocess sparked by the engagement with theAward Holder Scheme. On reading some ofthese reflections a colleague of mine asked thequestion of whether my reflections had beeninformed by the professional move that I madeand the transition to the University. I think theanswer like any good social scientist is bothyes and no! Yes, the move away from thesharp end of HE in FE has enabled me to takenot exactly a bird’s eye view, but be able tocontextualise my own experiences anddevelopment within a newly emerging anddistinct professional sector which I havebecome much more a part of. However, asany exponent of experiential learning knows, itis the experience that stays with you; yourinterpretation of it may develop but the storyremains embedded, just waiting for release…

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References Clarke, J. & Newman, J. (1997) The ManagerialState. Sage: London.

Jones, R. (2006) Scholarly Activity in the context ofHE in FE. Higher Education Academywww.heacademy.ac.uk/resources (accessed15/01/09).

HEFCE (2006) HEFCE strategic plan 2006-2011.London: HEFCE.

Holloway, D. Horton, S. & Farnham, D. (1999)Education in Public Management in Britain.Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Schutz, A. (1943) The Problem of Rationality in theSocial World. Economica. 10, 130-149.

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In retrospect, my reasons for applying to be anAward Holder are probably somewhatdifferent to the initial perceptions I had when Iapplied, as aspects of the research Iundertook encouraged me to view my ownexperiences in a wider context. That, in itself,indicates the impact of being a HELP CETLAward Holder. The landscape of communitieswithin HE in FE had seemed to be akin to adot-to-dot picture, which I never had quite thetime to join up. As I write this, I realise I’mtrying to illustrate an experience ofperspectives and fragmentation, which werethe driving themes of the research I undertookduring my project.

The process and aim of the project Iworked on was an investigation of thepossibilities offered by the creation andfacilitation of communities of practice and theirperceived benefit to staff and studentsinvolved in the delivery of HE in FE. Thisinvolved academic reading and study, mostlyundertaken in isolation as was inevitable giventhe nature of academic research. The applied

area of the project was very rewardingpractice-based research, including thedevelopment of a community of practice.

Research and reading into communities ofpractice, specifically the works of EtienneWenger, were truly inspiring, and the startingpoint for the whole investigation. This reflexive,inclusive approach that defines learning as asocial and communal activity reliant on mutualengagement and joint practice encourages anexpansive re-visioning of organisationalstructures. Fundamentally, in my project, itsuggested a way of initially conceptualising aforum that could bring together groups ofpeople who may have been initially separatedby current structures, and recognising theirempowerment to define and contribute toaspects of their own learning anddevelopment.

Focusing on participation rather thanacquisition is also particularly relevant tosuccessful practice within the creativearts/industries, which was the educationalsubject-base addressed in the project. The

Rachel Wilkinson

Communities of practice:research, re-visions andrealities

overall focus on community that rose from thisearly research remained embedded in theproject as it progressed. As an aspect of theresearch process, I conducted a mix of semi-structured interviews with other staff,research, and networking within the HELPCETL community. The latter was, I think, themost surprising experience.

The HELP CETL community is different tomy past experience of research groups. As apost-graduate student, I belonged to acommunity which was essentially subjectbased and subject driven. It was also, onreflection, rather edgy and inward-looking.This may have been in response to a narrowsubject focus within the group, and a far morelimited and rigid range of roles in themembership structure. Perhaps, also, thegroup was less self-aware, and indeed, self-awareness was not considered an importantfocus of the community. The subject of ourresearch was not ourselves, although weprobably constructed academic alter-egos forourselves as a part of the process. At times,the room bristled with terse identities.Community meetings were tense andsometimes overtly competitive, and althoughsome post-graduates established supportiverelationships, they seemed to exist as a side-line to the real business of ‘becomingacademics’.

The HELP CETL is not like that. At my firstmeeting, I tried to gauge the general nature ofthe community, having been out of anyresearch group for years, but rather in theposition of helping students develop learningcommunities which I could facilitate but neverbe an equal member of due to my role as alecturer.

In some ways, the room seemed full ofentirely disparate personalities, with verydifferent research interests. There was noobvious common theme, other than our

membership of UPC. The HELP CETL staff didnot take a straight-forward didactic role. Therewas very little conflict, very little vying forposition, and an atmosphere of polite enquiryand diverse but strong commitments. Evennow, after meeting other Award Holders atHELP CETL functions for the past two years,the community still defies my past experienceof academic strata.

As noted, a large part of my research wasinto communities of practice. This piece ofwriting is a reflective attempt to articulate themost important aspect of being an AwardHolder in relation to the empirical experienceof my research process: that I became amember of a vital community of practice, evenwhile I was too busy to notice. Thiscontextualised my own research intocommunities of practice in a way I had notanticipated.

The writing group events seemed to bringthis sharply into focus. They made explicit tome the opportunities and demands implicit inthe creation of a functioning community ofpractice, and the inclusive and creativeapproach to communication and structure thatcan be facilitated. The retreat at Soar Mill Covewas particularly effective in this way. At thestart of the retreat, I found myself in the middleof nowhere, unable to contact the outsideworld, with people I didn’t know I knew.

It was November; nature was notencouraging serene reflection and gentlecontemplation. The sea looked cold, remote,and very uninviting. The hotel was verycomfortable, but not homely. It was thesecond half of an endless term, and I wastired. I spent the first day pacing round myroom, feeling my usual roles drop from me likeexhausted petals. These metaphors wereemphasised by the amount of time I spentgazing out of the window at the hillsidewithering in accordance with the season. I

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honestly did not know what was left of me bythe evening.

What was left, I discovered, wasperspective as striking as the coastline I hadbeen studying all afternoon. It was amicrocosm of the whole HELP CETLexperience. I say that, because I emergedfrom my room and bumped into Amanda, whoI didn’t know, but with whom I had sharedsome moments of empathic eye-contact.Within five minutes, we realised that we werehaving an almost identical experience. Meetingup with Julie, later, this was confirmed by ourthree-way conversations. The opportunitieswhich the retreat had given us were sounexpected that their initial impact wasdisorienting, but the chance to reflect on this;to share our experiences and perspectives; tofacilitate a shared experience, was aswelcome as it was startling.

It wasn’t my identity that had beendropping away from me all day; it was thedistractions I am so used to having that Imistake them for my self. Sometimes, thesedistractions can become one’s dominant topicof communication in a narrowing and isolatingway, as one strives for perspective whichcannot be achieved on one’s own. Being anAward Holder is hard work; even buying time

to study only serves to double one’s work loadas projects build and gain momentum. TheAward Holder community of practice has nosingle identity or dictatorial purpose. It ispowered by the needs and enthusiasms ofpractitioners from areas so diverse theycannot be listed without a form of procrusteanreduction. It has changed me, but not in animmediately quantifiable way.

My understanding of HE in FE,communities of practice, and sharedexperiences within the UPC environment has,on occasion, stripped down my sense ofmyself, and my professional identity, asresearch encourages re-examination and re-vision of my roles. It has also complicated andenriched my connections to others. I feel as if Iam in the middle of a process which isinsisting on both shared growth and clarity, asmy work continues. I doubt that this wouldhave happened if I had not become an AwardHolder, as the dialogues, challenges andexchanges of my own involvement in acommunity of practice have contextualised myresearch in ways I could not have anticipated.They have also encouraged me to recognisethe atmosphere of sharing and mutualenrichment that can be developed in researchcommunities. I cannot yet finally review how

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“The landscape of communitieswithin HE in FE had seemed tobe akin to a dot-to-dot picture,which I never had quite the timeto join up.”

this has impacted on my own processes, but Iam aware that it has definitely altered myperceptions and my understanding of thefunctions of community. It has alsoencouraged me to further examine myacademic identity.

Reflecting on the relationship between myresearch, both academic and practice-based,and my participation in a community ofpractice, I found myself re-considering someof the ideas that had initially fired my interestwith an expanded awareness of theirimplications.

In an interview with Seth Kahan, Wengerdiscusses shifting notions of identity in modernculture, suggesting that identity is the ‘fuel forinnovation’, and that this dynamic approachoffers to organisations the opportunity todevelop knowledge exchange systems basedon activity and participation. The focus is, hesuggests, on ‘knowledge-producing activity’which is in a constant dialogue withperformance, and is expressed by movementand multiple discourses, rather than the urgeto a more static quantification andaccumulation of knowledge which has beenthe more traditional approach of learningcommunities:

Being engaged to the fullest of one’sidentity is the source of creativityrequired for participation in a knowledgeeconomy,” says Wenger. “Theengagement of identity, if you will,replaces the whip of the early industrialmodel,” he adds wryly. “In the industrialmodel, you told people, ‘Forget youridentity. Leave it at the door! Leave yoursense of meaningfulness at the door.

Instead, do what I tell you to do. Then,when you are done, you may go back,put your identity back on, go into theworld, and do whatever you want.’That’s the industrial model. In the newmodel, you can’t do that, because theidentity you want people to leave at thedoor is precisely the resource they haveto be creative (Kahan, 2004)

Engaging in a community of practice canbe an invitation to re-vision one’s work-placeidentity, to rediscover aspects of creativity,openness, and multiple-perspectives that canget lost in the day to day demands, and finely-developed focus of high-performanceworkplaces. Experiential knowledge, individualperception, and a multi-disciplinary approachoffer the chance to develop innovative andcreative strategies to share both expertise andinteraction. My research prompted, andexperience confirmed, a developing and attimes exhilarating awareness that, as with anindividual, a community of practice is infinitelymore than the sum of its parts.

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References Kahan, S. (2004). Engagement, Identity &Innovation: Interview with Etienne Wenger.www.sethkahan.com/Articles_and_Resources/engagement_identity.aspx (Accessed 16.03.09)

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice:learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

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I attended the writing retreat that started theprocess of creating this publication. As well assupporting the process, I thought it sensible topractise what I was preaching and join theAward Holders at the retreat in working on apiece of new writing. As with many of thosepresent, I focused on the impact of CETLinitiated or inspired work on my professionalidentity. I took the time to reflect on and makesense of a log or structured blog of criticalincidents that I have recorded during my timeas a CETL lead bid writer and subsequentDirector.

Whenever I work with the HELP CETLAward Holders Community I am uplifted bytheir enthusiasm and reinvigorated by theirdedication to their students. I am extremelypleased that the CETL funding has allowed usto bring together a package of support thathas enabled the Award Holders to focus ontheir professional development and to reach awider audience with their insights into thedelivery of HE opportunities in FECs.

However this is not a new impression.When preparing this endnote I revisited theentries in my critical incident log related to theAward Holder Scheme. Outlined below areextracts that show why my enthusiasm tosupport HE in FE professionals remainsstrong.

In year one I wrote

... the [Award Holder talking heads video]clips were very coherent and an impressiveadvert for the quality, commitment andfocus of HE in FE professionals.

The Award Holder Scheme has exceededour expectations... The enthusiasm of theAward Holders has been amazing... At the2006 UPC summer conference [and atother events] the Award Holders made itabundantly clear the personal value thathad been achieved.

Mark Stone

Endnote

One Award Holder commented [paraphrased]... it's about the relationship – working withcolleagues in a supported environment – forfive years is unprecedented – I will build uplinks and change my working practices out ofall recognition...'

The impact of the Award Holder Scheme inone college has... been to raise the profile ofresearch and scholarly activity... and toincrease the requests for support in theseactivities...

At an individual level... xxx has done well withher Fellowship, she has raised her profile notjust within her college but become a...trailblazer for UPC with a direct connectionto the Dean.

It is interesting that odd off-the-cuff commentscan encapsulate what is going on... ‘In thediscussion after their ...conferencepresentation [two Award Holders] ...said “Thisis the next stage of our research.” This was asmall, subtle but significant change in the useof language; neither would have talked of 'theirresearch' a few months ago’.

Past Award Holders were asked to talk at theevents promoting the Scheme which wethought was more powerful than just the teamspeaking... ‘They were very different in whatthey said and spoke about but they were bothinspirational. I was so impressed with theirclarity of delivery and depth of reflection ontheir own experiences and insights offered forthose that follow’.

At the end of the writing retreat I noted downwhat I said to the group... If I had known Iwould be sitting here and hearing/seeing whatwe have at the start of the CETL, I would havebeen very happy and I am now very proud ofall your work and what we have done to helpyou in your endeavours.

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“Whenever I work with theHELP CETL Award HoldersCommunity I am upliftedby their enthusiasm andreinvigorated by theirdedication to their students.”

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Alison Banks([email protected])HE coordinator of HospitalityCity College Plymouth

I started my working life after leaving collegewith an Hotel and Catering InstitutionalManagement Association qualification byspending a year working in a Swiss hotel. Mydesire to travel as well as work in hotels led meto many other parts of the world includingBahrain, Senegal and the Turks and CaicosIslands before finally settling in London andthen Cornwall to develop my experiences tomanagement level.

I became involved with the local FEC inPlymouth about 10 years ago after visiting thehospitality department hoping to gain someteaching experience to accompany a City andGuilds 730 teaching certificate I wasembarking on. My experience in hotelhousekeeping resulted in the initial offer ofNVQ assessing for the College and theopportunity to continue my education. I tookup my current post of HE Coordinator forHospitality over two years ago.

Janet Bardsley([email protected]) Social Work Programme Lead Cornwall College, Camborne

I worked as a social worker for 18 years,mainly working with people with learningdisabilities and their families. I worked inBirmingham and got the chance to develop arange of different sorts of services andopportunities for people with disabilities. Thismeant I worked a lot within the FE sector andcame to work in Cornwall College in 2000 tocontinue this work. I became more involvedand interested in education and in 2003became part of the HE team in the Collegedelivering the Diploma and then Degree inSocial Work.

Oh, and if I am writing my biography, I alsohave a life outside these events, which meant Ipicked up a partner and two children to joinme in Cornwall.

Biographies

Tony Brown([email protected]) Director of ESCalate – National SubjectCentre for Education/Facilitator of theAward Holder Writing GroupUniversity of Bristol,Graduate School of Education

Tony Brown initially worked in Hertfordshire,teaching physics and mathematics insecondary schools before working in primaryeducation. In the 1980s he worked in Cornwallas a school curriculum advisor before takingup a lecturing post in the University of Wales.He has remained in HE, teaching educationand psychology as part of Education Studiesand teacher education programmes. Mostrecently he has been teaching organisationalleadership to international Masters students atthe University of Bristol. He has trained andworked as a counsellor for Relate. He wasHead of the Centre for Learning Developmentat the University of Hull before becomingDirector of the UK Subject Centre forEducation at the University of Bristol. His OpenUniversity doctorate, completed in 2000,explored student identity and transition inmathematics education. He has a Mastersdegree in Psychoanalytic Studies awarded bythe University of Sheffield. His current researchand writing applies psychodynamic theory toissues of pedagogy and identity in HE.

Yvette Bryan([email protected])HE Lecturer in BusinessSomerset College

Since 2002 I have been a part-time lecturer atSomerset College teaching on business andmanagement programmes.

Prior to starting to teach I worked in servicerelated industries. Although I started as agraduate trainee in banking working in the city,a major part of my career was with a Europeancar rental company where I worked incorporate planning. During this time Icompleted a Masters in BusinessAdministration. A move into computer servicesresulted in various roles including managingthe education and training function. A finalspell as European Operations Director for anAmerican software company and too muchtime spent travelling prompted a careerchange.

In 2005 I successfully bid for funding fromthe HELP CETL to carry out research intowhat students and lecturers perceived werethe qualities of a good lecturer. The researchgave students and lecturers an opportunity todiscuss their expectations of each other priorto starting the final year of a top-up degreeprogram. The exercise has since beenincluded in the induction program forsubsequent students. The research has beendisseminated to partner colleges.

I am currently studying part-time for aDoctorate in Education at Exeter University.My thesis is on management education.

Claire Gray([email protected]) Staff Development Coordinator University of Plymouth Colleges,University of Plymouth

I gained my undergraduate degree in Politicsfrom the University of Portsmouth where Isubsequently taught on a number ofprogrammes within the School of Social andHistorical Studies. After a period of workingoverseas I completed a PGCE in Education

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and Training from the University of Wales andjoined Plymouth College of Further Education(PCFE – now called City College Plymouth) in1998 as a lecturer in Public Services. I wasresponsible for the development of the HND inPublic Services for the college and then theFoundation Degree.

I completed a Social Policy MA with theOpen University in 2004. I have acted as acurriculum advisor for the University ofPlymouth Accessing Higher Education project,and was a HELP CETL Award Holder in2005/06. In January 2006 I was appointed asthe HE and Progression Co-ordinator atPCFE. I joined UPC in September 2006 as theStaff Development Co-ordinator.

Julie Hughes([email protected]) Principal Lecturer School of Education,University of Wolverhampton

Julie Hughes has worked in the School ofEducation at the University of Wolverhamptonsince 2002. Prior to this she worked inTeacher Education in FE. For the past fiveyears, along with her students, she has beenhappily exploring and researching the benefitsof e-portfolio-based learning in professionalcontexts such as PGCE and FoundationDegrees. Julie is particularly interested inexploring student transition narratives and howthe use of dialogic technologies can supporttransitions and notions of ‘becoming’ both inrelation to HE-ness and teaching.

She was awarded a Higher EducationAcademy National Teaching Fellowship in2005 and has been seconded to ESCalatesince 2007 where she works on HE in FE andblended learning projects.

Amanda Isaac([email protected]) Learning Resources Coordinator North Devon College

I work in Learning Resources at North DevonCollege, where I am currently LearningResources Coordinator for HE.

I qualified as a librarian in 1995 from theUniversity of North London, whilst working inthe university social sciences library atLadbroke House.

Following my degree in French Studiesfrom the University of Sussex (where I was avery independent learner…) I worked at PublicHouse Bookshop, a small independentbookshop in Brighton, followed in turn by avery cold stint as a field archaeologist for theMuseum of London. Addicted to the thrill-power of 2000AD (at the time a very superiorcomic) I went back indoors to work for a whileat the original Forbidden Planet Bookshop inDenmark Street; a highlight of which was thepremiere of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ withsurround sound and vibrating seats in theDominion Theatre on Tottenham Court Road.I then moved to the design company AssortediMages (too many highlights to mention),where I worked until I left for China, small childin tow, arriving there on the eve of theTiananmen Square massacre. I have alsoworked for Ottakers Bookshops, and spent awhile running a pub.

I now frequently find I am issuing booksabout the designers I worked with and CDs forwhich I did the artwork, archaeological textson excavations I took part in, histories ofevents in China in 1989. This makes me feelquite old, but also mildly amused.

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Judith Mann([email protected]) Senior Lecturer in Health & Social WorkCornwall College, Camborne

Having graduated from Sheffield Universitywith a degree in Sociology, her first career wasin Social Work, with a particular interest inAdult Mental Health and then Child Psychiatryand Family Work. She obtained a MastersDegree in Applied Social Work Studies whileworking for Hampshire Social Services andjoined the staff at Southampton University, ona part-time basis, as a study supervisor andplacement tutor. Judith joined CornwallCollege in 1988 as a sessional lecturer, takingon a permanent role a year later. At theCollege Judith has taught on Health andSocial Care, Education, Counselling andSocial Work courses. She also contributed to‘Managing People’ (a joint project betweenCornwall Business School and the OpenUniversity) and for five years was a member ofthe South West Centre for Counselling,Therapy and Training.

Judith’s current teaching commitments areon the Foundation Degree Health andCommunity Studies and third year Health andSocial Care degree (to which she also hasProgramme Management responsibilities).She also teaches on the Combined SocialSciences degree. Her areas of teachinginclude Interpersonal and Professional Skills,Mental Health, Child Care and Mental Health,and Management. She recently contributed achapter on ‘Interpersonal and CommunicationSkills’ to a textbook on foundation degrees inHealth and Social Care, published by Sage inJanuary 2008.

Maureen Mason([email protected]) Programme Manager BA (hons)Counselling StudiesCornwall College, Camborne

I grew up in Leicester, the oldest of fivechildren, in an Irish Catholic family. After a bitof travelling around I came to Cornwall, andhave lived here now for over thirty years.

My professional life has involved mostlyteaching, counselling and teachingcounselling. My earliest teaching experiencewas in Casablanca, as an English teacher, andcurrently I work at Cornwall College, teachingon the degree and diploma programmes incounselling.

Liz McKenzie([email protected]) Deputy Team Leader EducationTruro College

Liz McKenzie is a teacher educator at TruroCollege, where she teaches on the Universityof Plymouth validated Certificate inEducation/PGCE programme for the post-compulsory sector, foundation degree forTeaching Assistants and the IntegratedMasters Programme. After gaining a degree inPsychology and a Masters in ChildDevelopment she gained a range ofexperiences teaching Psychology, ChildDevelopment and Education from ‘A’ level todegree level, including Open Universitytutoring. She then trained as a Primary schoolteacher and taught in primary schools forfifteen years, before taking up her currentpost. Along the way she gained a Masters inEducation and a PGCE for HE and taught onthe national induction programme forTeaching Assistants, as well as continuing her

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Open University tutoring. She is currentlyseconded to work part-time with the HELPCETL and the department of Education andLearning Technologies at the University ofPlymouth. Liz is registered on the EdDprogramme with the Open University and isresearching trainee teachers’ experience ofreflection. She has run workshops andpresented papers on reflective practice at localand national conferences organised byESCalate, BERA and the QAA/HigherEducation Academy HE in FE Liaison Group.Liz is a member of BERA, the BritishPsychological Society and a Fellow of theHigher Education Academy and Institute forLearning.

Julie Osborn([email protected]) Manager of Disability,Mental Health & Dyslexia Services City of Bristol College

Julie manages Disability and Dyslexia SupportServices at the City of Bristol College whereshe has worked for 10 years. In 2008, shecompleted a research project funded by theHELP CETL which looked at the experiencesof disabled learners who are studying HE in anFEC. The results of this research have enabledimprovements in the support provided tolearners and there has been a dramaticincrease in the recruitment of disabled learnersat the College.

The results have been of interest to HEIsnationally and Julie has disseminated findingsat several events including a workshop at theQAA/Higher Education Academy HE in FELiaison Group conference, and the UPC winterconference. More recently, she has alsoobtained a grant from the Higher EducationAcademy for Research Seminar Series to

deliver a workshop entitled “Hidden andMisunderstood? Experiences of disabilitysupport for learners in post-16 education”.

Julie has a background in psychology andis currently studying part-time for an MSc inOccupational Psychology at Birkbeck,University of London.

Martin Rowe([email protected]) Programme Manager FoundationDegree in ComputingNorth Devon College

After working in various jobs I realised at acertain point in my life that I wanted an“education”. I took a first degree and thenspent another eighteen months gaining aMasters. After this I worked in the computingindustry for two years. During the end of thisperiod I found myself running a training coursefor a local council. This led me to take a PGCEat the college of St Mark and St John inPlymouth. After this I taught in a school for fiveyears (dues paid) in the South East. During thistime I took a part time Masters in Education atSussex University. After this I moved into theFE sector at Yeovil College. I then worked for alarge computer training company as aTechnical Training consultant and foundmyself teaching in offices in London. Iescaped back to the South West and into theFE sector and have been at North DevonCollege for the last eight years.

I have been the Programme Manager forthe Foundation Degree in Computing for thelast seven years and teach the followingsubjects: Web Design, Object OrientedProgramming, Systems Analysis and GroupProject.

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Mark Stone([email protected])Director of the HELP CETL University of Plymouth

After reading economics and politics at theUniversity of Central Lancashire he went on to aMasters degree in Employment Studies atUniversity College Cardiff. He spent five yearsworking in industry, during which time heachieved membership status within theChartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment.

Mark has an interest in people management;leadership; organisational learning and change;knowledge management; communities ofpractice, learning technology, interactive,reflective and distance learning. Prior to leadingthe HELP CETL, Mark directed the HEFCEfunded Student Progression and TransferProject (SPAT) www.spat.ac.uk. He is also anon executive director of a University ofPlymouth web technology spin-out companyICO3 Limited www.ico3.com.

Rebecca Turner([email protected])Educational Research & Developer(Award Holder Scheme)/Facilitator of theAward Holder Writing GroupHELP CETL, University of Plymouth

Rebecca joined the HELP CETL in October2006 after completing her PhD research whichexplored Late Quaternary fire histories in theEastern Mediterranean. She spent the firstthree months of her role getting to know the firsttwo cohorts of Award Holders and developingan awareness of the realities of working in HE inFE. Based on these experiences Rebecca hasdeveloped resources, arranged various eventsand mentored Award Holders to ensure theyhave been able to maximise their experience of

engaging with scholarly activity and research.She has also established links withorganisations such as the Higher EducationAcademy and its Subject Centres in order tocapitalise on the opportunities Award Holdersmay have to become part of wider academiccommunities outside of the UPC network.Rebecca has been researching the impact ofthe expansion of HE in FE on lecturing staffwithin the UPC network. This research hasconsidered the nature of the HE culture that isdeveloping within the partner colleges. She isalso exploring the emerging professionalidentities of HE in FE lecturers.

Rachel Wilkinson([email protected])Lecturer & Programme Manager for the FdAPerformance Production Exeter College

Rachel’s background is in Performing Arts,English and Creative Writing. In 2008 shecompleted a research project funded by theHELP CETL which explored the benefits to HEteaching and learning of establishing aCommunity of Practice within the Creative Arts.The project sought to make some preliminaryexplorations of the issues associated with thecreation of a self-sustaining Community ofPractice, including an awareness of the place ofappropriate academic research as an aspect ofsuccessful delivery of HE curricula.

The project findings were disseminatedthrough UPC Subject Forum events, and at theUPC Summer Conference, and Rachel iscurrently exploring the challenges andopportunities of the continuity of the project,and other opportunities for dissemination,perhaps beyond the UPC community, asappropriate to current expansion anddevelopments in HE in FECs.

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HELP CETL Award HolderScheme

The Award Holder Scheme was introduced by the HELP CETL as amechanism to recognise the existing expertise of HE in FE lecturing andsupport staff and to reward their contributions to learning and teachingacross the UPC network. Annually, from 2005 until 2010 the Award HolderScheme provides opportunities for HE in FE staff to undertakepersonal/professional updating or engage with scholarly activity andresearch. With this in mind the Award Holder Scheme aims to:

1. Build a supportive environment for lecturing and support staff toundertake research and scholarly activity;

2. Integrate Award Holders into Communities of Practice to share theirexisting expertise and ideas throughout UPC to enhance the HEculture across a dispersed network of professionals.

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The Award Holder Scheme is comprised offour types of financial Awards.

1. Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD) Award – Awardsof between £500 and £3,000 aimed atpersonal/professional development e.g. tosupport attendance to conferences orprovide time to write up practice. ExistingCPD Award Holders could apply for aContinuity Award to develop their work intoa Teaching Fellowship.

2. Teaching Fellowship (TF) – An Awardof up to £10,000 to carry out a substantialresearch or development project that willbe of relevance not only to the UPCnetwork but also the national HE in FEcontext.

3. Mini Teaching Fellowships (MTF) –An Award of up to £3,000 aimed at thosewho felt their idea was insufficientlydeveloped for a TF and/or wanted to carryout smaller research project or pilot study.

4. Continuity Awards (CA) – Existing CPDAward Holders can apply for a CA ofbetween £5,000 and £7,000 to developtheir work into a TF.

The Award Holder Scheme has now enteredits fifth cohort. In that time over 90 Awardshave been given to 75 lecturing and supportstaff from across the UPC network. A diverserange of CPD activities has been undertaken,including course/conference attendance,industrial placements and institutional visits.Research and development projects havebeen undertaken in areas such as employerengagement, work based learning, e-learningand education for sustainable development.Those individuals who have completed theirAwards have produced a range a teachingand learning resources, developed oramended their teaching practice and becomepart of a wider network of HE in FEpractitioners.

For many Award Holders as they reach theend of their Award, and their focus movesfrom the CPD activity or research project theywere originally funded to undertake, theirrelationship with the HELP CETL evolves. It isat this time that many Award Holders becomechampions for the HELP CETL and UPC.They begin to work with the HELP CETL toidentify opportunities for dissemination,networking and further funding. They alsowork with the HELP CETL to mentor newAward Holders as they are keen to share theirexperiences with them and ensure theymaximise the opportunities that will bepresented to them.

Alison Banks Teaching Fellowship 2005-06The use of realistic environmentsfor teaching part time foundationdegrees in the management oflicensed premises

The projects aim is to question the value ofutilising real life work place environments todeliver part time foundation degree modulesin the management of licensed premises.

Would it enhance the learning andsubsequent success of students to studyoutside of the traditional classroomenvironment? With the support of interestedpartners, including those identified below, it isproposed to produce a suggested template

for the future development of a foundationdegree curriculum that identifies alternativedelivery mechanisms and locations.

The activity will commence by addressingthe needs and preferred learning styles ofthe learners, followed by the requirements ofhospitality employers for a future workforce.By developing the relationship with NetworkHospitality, an investigation into a culture ofmentoring by employers to assist studentlearning will be undertaken to establish thedegree of support that is realisticallyavailable. It is envisaged that the completed projectwill provide an innovative resource that canbe shared by the relevant stakeholderswhen planning learning opportunities.

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Project Overviews

The Award Holders who participated in this writing group carried outtheir CPD activities and/or research projects in the first three years of theScheme. As part of their initial application for funding from the HELPCETL they were required to put together an overview of their researchproposal. These overviews are presented below to give an indication ofthe range of research/CPD activities Award Holders have undertaken,and the contribution the Award Holder Scheme has made to theprovision HE in FE in South West England. Further details of theoutcomes of these research projects can be found on the HELP CETLwebsite (www.help-cetl.ac.uk).

Janet Bardsley Continuing Professional DevelopmentAward 2006-07Continuity Award 2007-08How can non-disabled researcherswork in an inclusive frameworkwith people with learningdisabilities?

I have been responsible for initiating andestablishing a research discussion groupconsidering issues in the lives of people withlearning disabilities. This group consists ofpeople with learning disabilities themselves,and professionals working in this field fromhealth, adult social care and the voluntarysector. There is also participation fromundergraduate and postgraduate students.

This group has planned a series of meetingsas a pilot and aims to:• Explore a research methodology that

includes people with learning disabilities; • Identify a research agenda shared by

disabled and non disabled people inCornwall;

• Develop my own research skills alongsidethose of local practitioners and peopleconcerned with issues for people withlearning disabilities;

• Provide a link between local practitionersand the College to inform the educationand learning of social work and social carestudents;

• Develop the research skills of people withlearning disabilities.

I would wish the Award to provide me with theopportunity to:• Write up the process of this group and its

developing methodology; • To disseminate the learning along with

members of the group;

• To contact other researchers working inthis way at Exeter University “Folk Us”Group, University of Plymouth“Development Delay Research andEducation Group” Conference, CornwallDisability Network, Norah Fry Institute inBristol, Lancaster University DisabilityDepartment, Anna Kettelsaa, NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology,Trondheim;

• To further develop issues that arise fromthe running of such a collaborative forum.

Yvette Bryan Continuing Professional DevelopmentAward 2005-06; 2009-10What makes a good lecturer?

The aim of this research project is to recordstudents’ views on what good lecturingqualities are. The lecture still plays a major partin HE delivery and it is therefore important toreview practice in this area. Data will becollected through questionnaires and theoutcomes will be used as a basis for aworkshop with students to explore students’expectations of lecturers.

It is planned that this information could beused to facilitate transition and studentsupport from the Foundation Degree inBusiness to the ‘top up’ BABA programme inPlymouth University, Somerset College orCornwall College. A workshop deliveredduring the induction of ‘top up’ students willfacilitate student discussion on expectations ofteaching and learning delivery and will bedesigned for any discipline which useslectures as a delivery method.

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Claire GrayContinuing Professional DevelopmentAward 2005-06Progression from FE to HEin an FEC

I will conduct a preliminary examination of theeducational experience, barriers, motivators,and perceptions of students progressing to afoundation degree in Public Services.

The project will use a qualitative approach(primarily focus groups and some personalinterviews) to investigate the perceptions ofstudents coming into Year 1 of the FoundationDegree in Public Services.

The focus of investigation will be in theareas of:1. Personal and family background. 2. Educational achievement, experience,

and attitudes.3. Career aspirations.

The process will begin on enrolment inSeptember 2005 and the cohort of studentsfrom PCFE will be tracked through until May2006. By charting the environmental andsocial landscape of the students it is hopedthat a reflexive understanding of theeducational experiences and perceptions ofthe diverse student body will be gained andsome understanding of the specific needs ofthese students will also emerge. In particularthe project will add to the awareness of thechallenges facing the widening participationagenda in terms of identifying factors, whichlimit progression in education for the identifiedstudents.

Amanda IsaacMini Teaching Fellowship 2007-08Continuity Award 2008-09Exploring barriers to FoundationDegree student use of onlineinformation retrieval in threeUniversity partner colleges

The initial impetus for this project was to worktowards the collation and dissemination ofbest induction practice and portal trainingwithin UPC, to drive a move towardsharmonising and developing the HEexperience for UPC students, and facilitatetransition to final year studies for students andfor the University of Plymouth. As our ideas developed, it became apparentthat students across the UPC network havedifficulties with the portal, and staff in UPCinstitutions are often unconvinced of thebenefits of user training; we would investigatethe reasons behind poor use of onlineinformation retrieval, particularly concentratingon training, signposting, how this can beembedded in courses, and the importance ofsuitable training space.

Using student focus groups as well asliaison with academic staff, we would worktowards providing a basis for developingstrategies to get the best out of the portal. Theresults would be made readily available acrossthe UPC network and to the University ofPlymouth, with the aim of minimisingduplication of time and resources indeveloping induction support materials, butalso informing future development of portalaccessibility.

Multi-college working will add depth andcredibility to the contribution of the LearningResources to HE delivery within FE, developthe professional relationships andcommunication with HE teaching staff, andencourage use of the professional skills andtraining of Learning Resources staff.

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Judith Mann Continuing Professional DevelopmentAward 2005-06 Continuity Award 2007-08Blended Learning on a FoundationDegree: Working Towards a Blend

The intention of my Award is to produce amentoring guide for employers who areproviding work based learning opportunitiesfor students on the Foundation Degree inHealth and Community Studies. In order toachieve this I will be contacting other collegesto see what progress (if any) has been made inthis area. This will hopefully provide anopportunity for collaboration with anotherpartner college.

A further opportunity for collaboration maybe afforded by making an employer link(proposed to be in the voluntary sector) to gaininput into the project. A spin-off will thereforebe closer collaboration and partnershipworking, informing best practice andsupporting student learning.

Maureen Mason Teaching Fellowship 2005-06 Will your course help me get a job?

The project is intended to examine the extentto which the Diploma in Person-CentredCounselling and Therapy is preparing studentsfor employment.

Former students will be sent aquestionnaire, and invited to attend focusgroups. We also hope to interview localemployers to obtain their views.

Liz McKenzieContinuing Professional DevelopmentAward 2005-06; 2007-08Trainee teachers’ experience ofreflection

In my practice I have encountered individualswho do not readily engage with the reflectionprocess, which raised questions in my mindabout the role of reflection in developingpractice. In addition, a recent study (LSDA,2003) found that many newly trained FE staffreported that they had no time for reflection intheir full time teaching role.

I aim to explore trainee teachers’experience of reflection and theirunderstanding of what it is they are doing andif/how they perceive this as benefiting theirpractice. I am using questionnaires to obtaingeneral information about experiences ofreflection and also to identify individuals forinterview to explore their models of reflectionin more depth. I am particularly interested inthose individuals who experience difficulty withthe concept.

LSDA (2003) Recollected in tranquillity?: FEteachers' perceptions of their initial teachertraining. www.LSDA.org.uk

Julie OsbornTeaching Fellowship 2007-08Routes into HE and strategies forthe successful retention andachievement of HE for disabledlearners

Learners have an ever increasing variety ofroutes to obtain a higher level qualification.These options enable individual learningpathways to be selected. Learners willconsider the best match between a learningpathway and their individual preferences when

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making decisions about HE. Disabled learnerswill also consider how their additional supportneeds can be met by an institution. Theavailability and type of support may be acrucial factor in a disabled person decidingwhether or not s/he takes a HE course.Support will also be a critical factor in theretention and achievement of disabledstudents.

Martin RoweTeaching Fellowship 2005-06How do we judge value added onFoundation Degrees?

Students from non traditional backgrounds onfull time and part time pathways faceinteresting challenges. The study, conductedthrough extensive interviewing and reflectiveanalysis of assignment and exam grades, willmonitor students and clarify the commonproblems they face. The results of the studyshould give a clearer picture of where thestudents are academically when they beginthe course and where they are when theycomplete.

These results could enable other partnercolleges to measure ‘how far the studentshave travelled’, inform the enrolment process,improve retention and achievement. This studywill also help the academic community todevelop a culture of academic honesty,encourage independent learning, and help todevelop the professional ethics sought after byemployers.

Rachel Wilkinson Mini Teaching Fellowship 2007-08Developing HE communitieswithin HE in FE

The creation of an HE Forum for the CreativeIndustries would aim to establish and furtheran HE culture among current FE staff at acollege that is making an acceleratedtransition into the delivery of HE. This wouldcover issues relating to staffing, curriculumdesign and delivery, academic research,resources and the promotion of an HE ethos.

An exploration of the creation of a culture ofresearch and scholarly activity for HE in FE atExeter College. This would include researchinto other FE in HE partnerships (e.g.Staffordshire, Leeds Metropolitan and theUniversity of Central Lancashire, Preston), anda review of literature on HE in FE andCommunities of Practice. We would aim tobuild on the UPC knowledge of the Universityof Wisconsin and Californian Colleges modelsthrough consultations with Chris Groucutt andIan Tunbridge. The development of the Forumcould also involve employers, for example,consultancy, or project work, as one of thedefining characteristics of HE in FE is itsvocationalism and links with employers.

The curriculum development aspect of thisproject would be to research, organise andestablish joint pathways in foundation degreesin the Arts, Media and Performing Artscurriculum areas and embed collaborativecurriculum design across the creative arts inour HE provision.

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Ball, S.J. (1995). Intellectuals or Technicians – theurgent role of theory in educational studies. BritishJournal of Educational Studies, 43, 255-271

BBC (2009) Spotlight on social work training.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7939916.stm (Accessed 20.4.09)

Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered. NewJersey: The Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching.

Burkill, S., Rodway-Dyer, S. & Stone, M. (2008)Lecturing in higher education in further educationsettings. Journal of Further and Higher Education.32 (4), 321-331

Burn, S.M. (1996) The Social Psychology ofGender. New York: McGraw Hill

Chowaniec, J. (2005) Exploring identity. Teachingin Higher Education.10 (2), 265-270

Clarke, J. & Newman, J. (1997) The ManagerialState. London: Sage

Claxton, G. (1997) Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: WhyIntelligence Increases When You Think Less.London: Fourth Estate

Cunningham J. and Doncaster K. (2002)Developing a Research Culture in the FE Sector: acase-study of work-based approach to staffdevelopment. Journal of Further and HigherEducation. 26 (1), 53-60.

Deem, R. (1978) Women and Schooling. London:Routledge

DfES. (2003). The Future of Higher Education.London.

DfES (2004) Foundation Degree Task Force Reportfor Ministers. London: HMSO

Dweck, C.S. (1999) Self-Theories, Their Role inMotivation, Personality and Development.Philadelphia: Psychology Press

Dweck, C.S. (2006) Mindset: The New Psychologyof Success. New York: Random House

Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P.(2006) The personal and professional selves ofteachers: stable and unstable identities. BritishEducational Research Journal. 32 (4), 601-616

Department of Health (2002) Requirements forSocial Work Training. London: HMSO

Fanon, F. (1967) Black Skin, White Masks. NewYork: Grove Press

Downes, S. (Stephen Downes Web Site)[http://www.downes.ca], (Accessed 16.03.09)

Edward, S., Coffield, F. Steer, R. and Gregson, M.(2007). Endless change in the learning and skillssector: the impact on teaching staff. Journal ofVocational Education and Training 59(2), 155-173.

Gee, J.P. (1996) Foreword: A Discourse Approachto Language and Literacy (in) C. Lankshear (ed.)Changing Literacies: xiii-xix London: Routledge

HEFCE. (2003). Supporting higher education infurther education colleges: a guide for tutors andlecturers. Report 03/15. Bristol.

HEFCE. (2003). Supporting higher education infurther education colleges: policy, practice andprospects. Report 03/16. Bristol.

HEFCE (2006) HEFCE strategic plan 2006-2011.London: HEFCE

HEFCE (2009). Supporting higher education infurther education colleges: policy, practice andprospects. Report 09/05. Bristol: HEFCE.

Hicks, H., Lintern, M. & Dismore, H. (2009). Whatdo Foundation Degree graduates do? Part 3. HELPCETL.

Hicks, H., Lintern, M., Dismore. H. & Saxton, H(2008). What do Foundation Degree graduates do?Part 2. HELP CETL.

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http://escalate.ac.uk

http://escalate.ac.uk/5395

http://escalate.ac.uk/1503

www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/institutions/heinfe

www.help-cetl.ac.uk

www.theresearchcentre.co.uk/link/learning-skills-research-network-lsrn

www.tlrp.org/capacity/rm/wt/teg/

Useful websites

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Higher Education Learning PartnershipsCentre for Excellence in Teaching & LearningUniversity of Plymouth3 Endsleigh PlaceDrake CircusPlymouthPL4 8AA

Tel: 01752 587900Contact: [email protected]

www.help-cetl.ac.uk

Joint HELP CETL/ESCalate PublicationPutting the I into Identity and other Stories: Scholarly approaches to the professionalidentity and development of HE practitioners in FE Colleges

ISBN 978-1-905788-98-9 June 2009

putting the i into identity and other stories

Documents