In this paper we discuss perceptions of the benefits of learner-generated podcasts for supporting postgraduate engineering students in a mathematics-intensive course. The course under study had previously been highlighted as one in which students had struggled to attain knowledge that formed an essential underpinning to their degree programme.…

This paper presents a summary of preliminary findings regarding the perceptions of the legitimacy and quality of the higher education (HE) student experience through the lens of those studying animal/equine studies foundation degrees and BSc degrees within a small, ostensibly further education (FE) land-based college setting. As part of a PhD…

Each year, around 250,000 16-year-olds in the United Kingdom finish their GCSEs and begin studying for their Advanced (A-) levels, many of them at further education (FE) college. Students study their A-level courses at FE college for a number of reasons, including a more mature relationship with teachers. As we approach the 64th anniversary of…

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a two-year senior school certificate available to secondary students in Victoria, Australia, and has been operational for almost a decade. It is delivered by secondary schools and further education providers. In 2010, two programmes from each of these providers were reviewed and considered in…

The dissonance between Eastern and Western learning approaches is regarded as an obstacle for Chinese students in adjusting to Western education environments, and one of the reasons is the lack of an understanding of Chinese learning approaches, that is, Chinese learners are uncritically perceived as rote learners. This paper investigates Chinese…

The article presented evaluates the experiences and aspirations of learners enrolled on the Advanced Diploma (level three 14-19) as well as documenting the thoughts of developers, managers and practitioners who have been responsible for the implementation of the award. In order to gain a clear picture of existing research, analysis of the…

As a policy initiative to improve student achievement, a number of jurisdictions have introduced compulsory literacy and numeracy standards for senior secondary students, the meeting of which forms a hurdle requirement for the award of the senior secondary exit certificate. While such a requirement is sometimes justified by policymakers as a…

This paper seeks to illuminate the crucial and contradictory features of Higher Education (HE) in Further Education (FE) student experience as seen through students' perceptions. The empirical study of Foundation degree (Fd) students studying in FE Colleges using a critical hermeneutics approach, raises a contrasting perspective on the HE in FE…

The study is a phenomenological case study into the lived experience of teacher candidates and associate teachers in Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to gain a phenomenological sensitivity to the "lived" experience of the participants and through that to identify key structural and conceptual impediments to meaningful professional learning. The…

This paper considers conceptions of the term "academic identity" amongst lecturers delivering higher education business programmes (HEBPs) in further education colleges (FECs). A brief look at leading authors' work on the subject of identity is considered first, which then moves on to offer a preconception of the term "academic". The data were…

The new requirements for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses for the Learning and Skills sector mean that mentors now have a more significant role in the formal assessment of their mentees' practical teaching. This research looks at the emerging dilemmas and challenges and investigates the changing and complex relationship in institutions…

This paper reports findings from the first year of a UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), "Widening participation: Diversity, isolation or integration in Higher Education?" Over a three-year period this project will explore issues of diversity and integration, social cohesion and separation, equality and discrimination as…

This article presents the results of a qualitative study into how adult literacy learners perceive reading. Individual interviews and focus groups were used to ask 37 adult literacy learners at a London further education college what reading is. It follows a grounded theory approach to build a model, or narrative, of reading in the form of six…

English further education (FE) has traditionally been dominated by men. For decades FE, with its emphasis upon vocational education and training, was characterised by a preponderance of male staff and students and a somewhat masculine culture. However, the past two decades have seen a significant numerical and cultural feminisation of FE. Whilst…

This article explores the provision and effectiveness of student support in higher education through a review of literature and a case study of the support available to students in one English post-1992 university. Our investigation focuses on students' awareness and experience of both university-wide student support and guidance services and the…