Exploring the professionalisation of further education teachers in England

Abstract

The paper captures the professionalisation of teachers in the further education sector by shining a light on their everyday struggle to uphold their ethical goals in support of their students in a climate of performative and regulatory expectations. It reports on a small scale qualitative study in which the six participants were either on the Postgraduate Certificate in Post Compulsory Education course (PGCE in PCE) or on the Masters degree in Professional Practice and Lifelong Education (MA PPLE). They were therefore either student teachers or experienced teachers with different lengths of experience. Students were asked to rank order a set of cards and clarify their decisions. Semi- structured interviews were then undertaken in which the participants were asked to bring artefacts of their choice (potentially from their course of study). Reflection points included the construction of self as teacher and the tensions and impact of a range of expectations nationally and locally. Participants shared responses to continuous change in the sector, their institutions and within their practices. All expressed a common and sustained mission to make a difference, no matter how small, to their students’ lives.