Riding the Waves of Policy? The Case of Basic Skills in Adult and Community Learning in England

Autor/inn/en	Hodgson, Ann; Edward, Sheila; Gregson, Maggie
Titel	Riding the Waves of Policy? The Case of Basic Skills in Adult and Community Learning in England
Quelle	In: Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 59 (2007) 2, S.213-229 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-6820
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Educational Policy; Policy Analysis; Transformational Leadership; Research Methodology; Adult Basic Education; Performance Factors; Community Education; Interviews; Lifelong Learning; Government Role; United Kingdom (London) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Politikfeldanalyse; Research method; Forschungsmethode; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult education; Erwachsenenbildung; Leistungsindikator; ; Gemeinschaftserziehung; Nachbarschaftserziehung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Life-long learning; Lebenslanges Lernen
Abstract	This paper draws on data from secondary sources and in-depth interviews to explore the question: What is the impact of policy on teaching, learning, assessment and inclusion in Adult and Community Learning (ACL) "Skills for Life" (SfL) provision? In particular, it focuses on the government's use of five policy-steering mechanisms--funding, inspection, planning, targets and policy initiatives (in this case SfL). The design of the study allows us to use evidence from four sets of interviews with teachers, learners and managers of ACL in eight sites of learning (four in London and four in the North East) over a period of 26 months of considerable policy turbulence. We argue, first, that there is a symbiotic relationship between ACL and SfL provision; and second, that while the combined effects of targets and funding have the most powerful effects on tutor and manager actions, inspection, planning and tutors' and managers' own professional values also have an important role in shaping the teaching of literacy and numeracy in ACL sites. We conclude by suggesting that professionals at the local level should be allowed to play a greater role in SfL policy-making to ensure effective policy and practice. (Contains 4 notes.) (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10