This article compares and contrasts the policy context of Vocational Education Teacher Training (VETT) in Scotland and England by setting this within its wider socio-economic context, one emphasising lifelong learning and competitiveness. This facilitates a comparison of the two nations and enables an analysis of VETT responses to globalisation…

The article draws on the findings of a longitudinal study of an opportunistic sample of full-time further education trainee teachers attending an English new university. The study commenced in 2002 seeking to examine the processes through which trainee teachers entered the profession. Initially the research explored the routes followed and…

Further education has become pivotal to English educational policy with the sector being central to strategies that seek to raise educational standards and widen participation. This article derives from a study of trainee further education (FE) teachers on a full-time, postgraduate certificate course in the Midlands. It seeks to examine trainee…

Exploration of the social and economic context of further education in England shows increased collegiality and a culture of continuous improvement have transformed teaching and learning. These changes take place within a modernizing strategy focused on value-added education and economic competitiveness. (SK)

An exploration of the experiences of reentry and part-time students in British further education colleges focuses on cultural processes, positioning, and student identity as learners. It examines similarities and differences in students' orientation to education. (SK)