Abstract

What do practitioners in FE colleges say about the conditions, attitudes and implementation of national education policy?

Who wants to know and why?

This review’s overall aim was to support the further development of teaching and learning. Educational policy implementation has been the focus for this review. Specifically, this review looked at post-16 practitioners’ perceptions of implementing national education policy at the local level. The findings of the review are relevant to the tasks of framing, presenting and administering effective policy: that is to be able to harness the potential of local settings in the pursuit of improving teaching and learning.

The review focused on the sector of post-compulsory education and training (PCET) and identified a number of national policies that have recently been implemented in the sector. The attitudes of local practitioners and their descriptions of their local context/conditions of work in relation to the policy implementation process were sought.

The review is therefore relevant to those working on education policy formation, its implementation, and managers and practitioners in local educational settings. The review examines the impact of a number of national policies that have recently been implemented in the PCET sector. The attitudes of local practitioners and their descriptions of their local context / conditions of work in relation to the policy implementation process were sought. The results identify a number of issues and strategies that could contribute to the future development of education policy and its effective implementation in local settings.