MA Leadership and Management (Further Education)

Godfrey Pryce Hurley, Mike Jones, Gavin Thomas

IPDAInternational Conference

30 November – 1 December 2007

Belfast

Workshop Objectives

• Context of MA Programme• Why?• How?• What?• Aspects of Delivery• Nature and Scope of Provision• Research Themes• Future Developments

Why?

• Training needs analysis:– FE institutions in Wales = 25– Total Number of learners = 300,000 (75% part-time,

25% full-time)– Funding allocation 2007/08 = £238mn– Employees = 3,000 Full-time teachers

7,000 Part-time teachers

7,000 other staff- An estimated 800 Managers- Information from institutions – clear lack of bespoke

Management Training and Qualifications for FE staff in Wales

Why?

• Succession planning in FE institutions- Ageing profile of the FE Workforce (50% of the

workforce could retire in the next 10 years)

• External factors:– Welsh Assembly Government commitment to improving

public sector management– Estyn (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and

Training in Wales) concerns about the quality of middle management training

– FENTO/LL UK leadership and management initiatives– Professionally qualified workforce

How?

• Partnership arrangement: University of Wales, Newport and fforwm (Association of 25 further institutions in Wales)

• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales – main support of funding support

• Education and Learning Wales (ELWa) financial support: one-off grants for management training

• Support from individual FE institutions for participants

What?• Programme Structure :

(i) 3 Core Modules Credit Rating• Current and Continuing Issues 30

in Education and Training

• Leadership and Management Theory and 30

Concepts

• Management in Practice 30

(ii) Independent Study/Research Methodology 30

(iii) Dissertation 60

Total 180

Award Structure and Credit Rating

Postgraduate Certificate - 60 Credits

Postgraduate Diploma - 120 Credits

MA - 180 Credits

Action Research – Institutionally or Sector Based

• Programme incorporates much of the FENTO National Occupational Standards for Leadership and Management published in 2002 and more recently the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership

• Action research : definition of the problem; data collection and research methodology, analysis, conclusions and recommendations

Aspects of Delivery

• 2 x 2 days per semester

• Videoconferencing

• Personal tutors

• Mentoring

• Moderation and Quality Assurance

• External Examiner

• Assessment (note : Welsh medium)

• Written assignments of :– 5,000 words : Modules 1, 2 and 3– 6,500 words : Independent Study– 20,000 words : Dissertation

Nature and Scope of Provision• Total Enrolment : 124

• Participation: - 21 out of 25 FE institutions in Wales (including WEA; YMCA)

- Higher Education - Voluntary Sector

- Local Authorities - Learning and Skills Sector (England)

• Males 50 (40%); Females 74 (60%)

• Average age on entry : Males 42.5 years; Females 41.5 years

• Designation of Participants : Curriculum Areas 75 (60%); Functional Areas 49 (40%)

• Successful completion : Summer 2007– MA (Full Award) - 25– Diploma - 2– Certificate - 3

• Promotion – 15 participants

Research Themes

Examples include :

• An investigation into the effectiveness of the link between financial and strategic planning at a college of further education.

• An investigation into the management of the student services function, in colleges within England and Wales, with critical evaluation of models based on service level agreements.

• Striving for excellence: an investigation into factors influencing the development of a strategy to improve the quality of teaching and learning within a college of further education in Wales.

• How can senior managers in FE colleges, working towards Total Quality Management, successfully bring about a change of culture?

• An investigation into the factors influencing the effective management of a tutorial system at a FE college.

Research Themes

Examples include :

• The impact of self-assessment on teaching staff performance.

• Mentoring for success : An investigation into the feasibility of establishing and effective mentoring system for teaching staff within a further education college in Wales.

• An analysis of the quality and effectiveness of the leadership and management of further education colleges in Wales offering automotive engineering education and training to the retail automotive industry.

• An investigation into the feasibility of introducing the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification into a FE college.

Characteristics

• High retention and completion rates• Bilingual – in line with ‘Iaith Pawb’• Accreditation of Prior Achievement• Contextualisation of action research assignments• Networking• Mix of academic/functional managers• Use of expert practitioners to present case studies to

provide tutorial support• Enhancing the ‘promotability’ of managers and succession

planning• Impact of the research on individuals, institutions and the

FE sector• Partnership between the FE Sector and HE in Wales

Future

• Certificate in Management in Practice for front line managers

• Links :– Centre for Excellence in Leadership– Lifelong Learning UK– Wales Management Council– Higher Education

• Research Observatory

• Publications

• Concerns :– Funding– Coherent direction of Leadership and Management in Wales– Tutors: Recruitment of experienced practitioners