The main aim of the project is to investigate the adequacy or otherwise of the current support provision to bilingual learners in further education – with a particular reference to a London further education college. The project investigates the academic support and guidance available to bilingual learners and establishes the relationship between the learner support and learner motivation, retention and achievement. The project also identifies ways of overcoming language barriers that prevents bilingual learners from achieving their educational goals. The project adopts a case study research methodology with some element of action research methodology as the work involves collaborations with tutors, support staff and the learners. The data collection instruments are: questionnaires, to find out the challenges faced by Bilingual learners as a consequence of their language barrier and how these could be overcome, and interviews, to identify the support and guidance provision available to the learners and attempt to answer the project questions listed below. In terms of outcomes, this project will be beneficial to the community by providing skilled workforce that will make positive contribution to their community. Empowering learners to achieve the skills and qualification they need to get their desired jobs. This will in turn benefit the community as a whole, since they are the future workforce of the community.

As a result of policy changes in adult literacy education in England in recent years, political and public narratives about adult literacy learners have become dominated by the notion of skills deficit, demonstrating a disregard for adult learners’ lives and life experiences beyond employment and skills. At the same time, research in the field of adult literacy education continues to highlight the importance and complexities of adult learners’ lives and literacy practices. Informed by these ongoing debates in adult literacy, this doctoral research focuses on two different narrative representations of adult literacy learners: their biographical narratives, constructed from life history interview data; and their Skills for Life narrative, in the form of learners’ individual learning plan (ILP) paperwork. Using these two different narratives as sources of evidence, the study explores the identities constructed by and for the adults, along with the meanings assigned to literacy learning within each. Within each of the two narrative representations, participants are found to engage in an important epistemological conversation regarding knowledge, a conversation with two specific sides: objectified knowledge and local, embodied modes of knowing (Smith, 2005). This knowledge conversation influences participants’ perceptions of and membership within different discourse communities (Swales, 1990) throughout their lives. A focus on the use of the ILP within the Skills for Life discourse community suggests that increasing textualisation can both support and reinforce the objectified knowledge side of the conversation, while providing participants with opportunities to challenge this by emphasising the importance of local, embodied ways of knowing. This study combines a number of methodologies to develop an original approach to life history research, with an emphasis on participant voice. Adding to the growing body of research around textualisation, paperwork and audit culture, the thesis openly acknowledges issues around carrying out research in a low-trust environment, thereby contributing to this, often overlooked, aspect of research.

This thesis investigates the relations between the literacy practices used in two community-based organisations and those of the young people in a situation of precarity (aged 16 to 30) who attended their activities in Québec (Canada). These organisations supported them to find work, housing, return to education, improve their social relationships, and integrate in society, which I refer to as social and professional insertion. Drawing on the New Literacy Studies (NLS), in this study literacies are considered as social practices rather than technical skills. The thesis brings together NLS and francophone studies on literacy, and uses terms originating in French and which have no precise equivalents in English. Examples are ‘rapport à l’écrit’ and ‘situation of precarity’. The methodological approach is ethnographic, critical, and participatory. The study had two phases of data collection. In the first phase, the chosen techniques were participant observation and semi-structured interviews, and the second phase involved participatory workshops. The findings indicate that the young people had extremely rich and complex literacy practices. The literacy practices used as part of the organisations’ activities and workshops for young people were hybrid; combining school-related, digital and vernacular literacies with practices associated with counselling, work, social relationships, and relations with the state. Some young people whose education got interrupted reconciled themselves with education and school-related literacy through their participation at Le Bercail and L’Envol. With the support of the youth workers, the young people were encouraged to learn by doing, a form of learning that can be identified as apprenticeship. The literacy practices used in the organisations were not exclusively controlled by the research participants. Some sponsors of literacy (e.g. the state and institutions) were imposing various literacy demands they had to respond to. The youth workers acted as literacy mediators with regards to some of these. Literacy mediation at Le Bercail and L’Envol can be qualified as a form of ‘powerful literacies’ since it can offer an alternative to counter dominant literacies and it can support learning. A new term―literacy intermediates―is suggested to describe the kind of literacy mediation that the youth workers were doing.

Legal studies occupy an important place in Colleges of Further Education as a necessary constituent of vocational training for business appointments. At the same time the ubiquity of legal considerations make such studies invaluable as part of a person's general education. This work is an enquiry into the extent and nature of these studies and an analysis of the information produced in order to test the validity of the many generalisations made concerning the teaching of Law. Both in quantity and in standard of work, Law is comparable with the other basic commercial subjects of Accounts and Economics. It appears in many courses and the characteristics of each will be outlined and discussed, with particular attention paid to national certificate, professional and degree courses and courses provided for the legal profession. Textbooks and library facilities, so important in the ease of Law, will be examined. She following four chapters will be devoted to syllabuses and examinations with emphasis upon the subject General Principles of Law, and its value as a first subject for legal study. Analysis of syllabuses and examination papers shows wide variation as between different examining bodies. Qualifications and duties of full-time and part-time lecturers will be examined together with the problems arising out of their appointment. The work ends with a discussion of the principal problems found in the teaching of the subject and some of the techniques and methods of presentation used in an attempt to overcome these. In conclusion, an attempt has been made throughout to suggest possible lines of future development when a considerable expansion of further education, foreshadowed by the Robbins Report, is anticipated.

This analysis of the exercise of power in and behind some of the important discourses in adult learning reform in England and Wales, 2000-2014, examines how the early narrowing of the concept of what constituted (publicly funded) lifelong learning – controlled through increasing entralisation of adult learning reform discourses - was to affect the conduct and course of described adult learning reforms, through the exercise of centripetal government power - and outlines some implications for current adult learning reform discourses. The author adapts an approach outlined in ‘Technologies of Truth’ (Heikinenn, et al. 2012) to reveal one distilled ‘catalogue of possibilities’ from ‘KPS’ analyses of ‘Knowledge’, ‘Power’ and ‘Subject’ relations, within the discourse of each ‘Public Work’ report recontextualised for this doctoral study; analyses the operation of (individual and institutional) subjects within those discourses and how discoursal subjects were constituted; calls on Foucault and Fairclough’s thinking and approaches to discourse analysis and on Blommaert’s work on ‘scales’ (Blommaert 2006), ‘indexicality’, ‘stratification’ and ‘text and context’ (Blommaert 2005) to further subject the results of KPS analysis to detailed questions concerning the discourses and their control. ‘KPS’ analysis shows repeated, observable patterns of discoursal control: Government (and those in its orbit), constrained the adult learning reform discourses described, ‘‘centering’ control over each discourse, narrowly circumscribing and stratifying lifelong learning and who should be publicly funded to pursue it; with contrasting government positions and approaches to establishing qualifications frameworks in Wales and England. What does this analysis mean for understanding how discourse in adult learning reform is controlled now? The author suggests (at least) a detailed analysis of recent and current discourses associatedwith Apprenticeships in England, scrutiny of key texts and guidance documents, further adapting the (Heikinenn, et al. 1999) approach, using ‘linguistic technique to answer social-scientific questions’ (Blommaert 2005: 237).

The 2012 UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on Skills Development refocused attention on the central importance of skills for development. Now on the cusp of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, which are set to include skills development and lifelong learning goals, there has never been a more important time to investigate whether a ‘radical’ new approach is required. Investigating adult learning participation through fieldwork at a conversational English skills development programme in Cambodia, this thesis argues that the current largely individualistic and productivist approaches to skills development are inconsistent with the reality of learners’ lives. Multiple purposes for learning participation beyond the productivist orthodoxy are identified and household members are found to play a key and central role in both influencing learning participation, and as beneficiaries of learning outcomes. The influence of individuals’ past experiences, and those of their household members, was also evident. In light of these findings, the thesis argues for a ‘radical’ new approach to adult skills development and lifelong learning based on the capability approach (Sen, 1999) and experiential learning (Kolb, 1984). The thesis further contributes to the literature on household strategies for learning participation, moving beyond the typical one-way inter-generational conception of parents facilitating or inhibiting the learning participation of children. Household strategies are identified as being two-way and both inter- and intra- generational in nature, with a particular emphasis on older siblings supporting the learning of younger siblings. A new way of conceptualising how learning outcomes are shared within households is also offered, and the terms ‘effective functionings’ and ‘proximate functionings’ are coined, based and building on Basu and Foster (1998). Together these findings both identify the need for, and offer the means to achieve, a ‘radical’ new approach to adult skills development and lifelong learning.

Despite the radical equal opportunities legislation of the 1970s and the more recent Equality Act of 2010, women are still under-represented in senior leadership roles across the professions and industries. In the case of Further Education, whilst the incorporation of colleges in the early 1990s stimulated a growth in the number of women middle managers, this has not been reflected in a corresponding number of women senior managers and leaders. Using narrative and autobiographical approaches, this study draws upon the experiences of seven past and current senior women leaders in the Further Education sector: - firstly, to identify the voices of a largely unheard minority group in an often overlooked educational sector - secondly, to explore largely male dominated leadership theory through the lens of the leadership practices of the women leaders. General leadership theory is investigated and gender specific aspects are discussed. A range of literature concerning women leaders in education is reviewed whilst the impact of past and present political and economic turbulence on the Further Education sector is charted. The findings indicate a high degree of commonality across the research participants in terms of leadership practice and identity and confirm the absence of a holistic leadership theory. Two key themes of a mosaic of leadership theories and the iterative nature of the personal and professional in identity are identified. Recommendations for policy, practice and further research are made to broaden understanding about, and opportunities for, women in senior leadership positions in Further Education.

In this study, the emerging methodology of linguistic ethnography is applied to the under-researched setting of the adult numeracy classroom. Students' naturally-occurring discourse is audio-recorded during mathematical collaborative groupwork, and analysed to provide privileged insights not always apparent through observing teacher-led interaction. In particular, the "funds of knowledge" brought by students to their formal learning is investigated, and findings are related to Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus, and Bernstein' theories of pedagogic discourse. Participating students were found rarely to draw spontaneously on numeracy funds of knowledge, and tended to ignore the supposedly "reallife" contexts presented by traditional word problems. However, some alternative activities did encourage students to relate classroom learning more to out-of-classroom practices, and the implications of these for pedagogy are discussed. The students were also found to draw on a broad repertoire of linguistic resources to express uncertainty and anxiety; to enhance group cohesion; to elicit contributions from other students; and to ease interactions with humour. However, students additionally brought to the classroom a "schooled habitus" which tended to constrain their discourse and activities to curricular expectations. A categorisation of students' knowledge contributions into "disruptive" and "conformative" is proposed. The study concludes that collaborative groupwork can be highly effective for adult numeracy learners, with participating classrooms demonstrating high rates of retention and achievement, but further research is urgently needed to extend these benefits to students with disabilities, learning difficulties and English as a second language. It further suggests that traditional word problems are not effective in helping learners relate mathematical skills to everyday numeracy practices. However, in introducing innovative and potentially more effective pedagogies, it is recommended that the schooled habitus of adults be taken into account. In particular, pedagogies designed for children and young people may not transfer unproblematically to adult classrooms.

Over £40 billion is invested annually in the United Kingdom by employers on business training and skills development in order to enhance the skills of the workforce and add competitive value to organisations. 216 general further education colleges in England, along with other public and private training providers contribute significantly towards this skills and training development. However, there is relatively little research that has been undertaken into investigating the impact leaders of further education colleges in England believe their organisations contribute towards business competitiveness. Within this thesis, a literature review prepares the way for new research on this topic through exploring theory on themes such as the nature of organisations, human capital, leadership and management and staff development. An analysis of research methodology on topics such as knowledge, ethics and mixed methods leads to a research design suitable for this investigation. Learning takes place throughout the research process. A pilot study provides the opportunity to revise questioning, understand and uncover topics of importance to leaders of further education colleges prior to the main research phase. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of respondents’ feedback along with face to face discussions provides first-hand information to develop a theoretical model for the flow of further education skills delivery leading to business competitiveness. It is proposed that contributions to knowledge and practice are made through the refinement of a theoretical research model which has the ability to be practically utilised across the sector, as well as the potential for adaptation at a further education college level. Additional contributions to knowledge and practice are also proposed. Incremental learning is uncovered through a staged and reflective approach to research which leads to discovery of poor stakeholder communications and a lack of impact measurement issues across the sector. Recommendations for practical improvements include more effective dialogue and stronger partnerships between stakeholders; potential for long-term cross-party planning and direction for the sector; and consideration of a consistent, national impact measure for the provision of further education college training to businesses. Limitations of the research are discussed and recommendations for further work considered, including widening the population feedback, sharing the research with the sector to further clarify or challenge the findings, as well as using elements within this research for others to build upon and further widen the field of knowledge on this and related topics.

In recent times, government led consortium strategies for collaborative procurement of major capital projects in the Further Education (FE) sector have been heralded as a vehicle to obtain best value and improve levels of quality. Yet there is still evidence of low levels of client satisfaction, owing mostly to poor cost and time predictability. The study aim explores the extent to which trust is a necessary part of this process and a viable tool in collaboratively procuring more successful UK Further Education projects. It gives greater understanding of how trust building mechanisms and initiatives can be designed and implemented for improving project outcomes. A review of literature identifies a framework for measuring the extent of trust building mechanisms under three group categories namely motivational, ethical, and organisational initiatives as the independent variables (IVs). The degree of trust is measured through established trust-related attributes and behaviours as the dependent variable (DV). A mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative methodologies is adopted, with the former using survey questionnaires and subjecting data to correlation analysis. The quantitative survey was administered electronically with 41 responses to the pilot and 79 replies received for the main study. The research population is restricted to those contracting, consulting and client organisations that have had experience of collaboratively procured Further Educational projects. The qualitative approach consists of eight semi-structured interviews where raw data is coded using content analysis and sorted into themes from transcribed recording for analysis. Study findings provide an insight as to why organisations may feel vulnerable about vesting trust in their partners and these include scepticism of realisable benefits, opportunism and inequitable working relationships. Potential trust building measures to overcome such dilemmas are presented such as, professional development, senior management commitment and team workshops. Furthermore, quantitative study findings have determined that there is a correlation of 0.87 between these trust building mechanisms/initiatives (IVs) and the degree of trust in collaborative working (DV) suggesting a very strong influence with p≤0.05. Future research is recommended to further explore how certain trust building initiatives linked to co-location, integrated project insurance and risk workshops can be designed and implemented in developing a framework for increasing trust in partnering strategies.