Developing Leadership in FE: the Practitioner Research Programme.
Submitting Institution
Lancaster UniversityUnit of Assessment
Business and Management StudiesSummary Impact Type
SocietalResearch Subject Area(s)
Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology
Summary of the impact
In response to the declining number of applicants for leadership posts in
Further Education, David Collinson developed the Practitioner Research
Programme. Funded by the UK Government's Learning and Skills Improvement
Service, the programme offered FE leaders and managers the opportunity to
produce research-informed answers to challenges they were facing in their
own practice. Findings were developed into 88 practitioner research
reports that were disseminated to every FE college in England and Wales
and made available online. Research engagement enhanced knowledge and
understanding of leadership issues, stimulating organisational change and
improving the performance of individuals, teams and organisations. Key
themes were presented at a national conference where outstanding projects
received awards for the impact of research on their own FE organisation,
the local community and leadership development. Findings were extensively
cited in the `Independent Commission on Colleges in their Communities'
report, and in the Foster Review of UK FE.
Underpinning research
The UK FE sector comprises a diverse range of organisations, including FE
colleges, sixth form colleges, training organisations, work-based learning
and adult and community learning. This research programme contributed to
all these sub-sectors. The Practitioner Research Programme (PRP) started
in 2006 when FE colleges were facing a leadership succession crisis. In
the previous five years the number of applicants for principal posts had
been steadily declining (Austin 2006). Research suggested that many
qualified candidates perceived FE leadership positions to be highly
stressful and not for them (Collinson 2006a and b). Managed by Professor
David Collinson, as National Research Director for the Learning and Skills
Improvement Service (LSIS), from 2006 to 2010, the PRP was designed to
develop future leadership capacity in the FE sector.
Research informed answers to leadership challenges:
The PRP introduced participants to contemporary leadership theory and
practice and encouraged them to engage in projects that could produce
research-informed answers to leadership challenges. It took as its
starting point the view that practice and theory are mutually reinforcing
and that empirical research is most effective when positioned within wider
debates. These ideas were elaborated in a series of workshops delivered at
Lancaster covering leadership theory and research, methodology and
analysis, and dissemination and impact. In addition to providing
guidelines on `Good Research Practice' and `Writing Research Reports',
participants were introduced to contemporary mainstream, post-heroic and
critical leadership perspectives. The primary conceptual approach was to
emphasise the value of addressing the dialectical interplay between
leaders, managers, followers and contexts (Collinson 2005).
Informed by earlier empirical research in FE, the workshops also
emphasised the value of `blended leadership' practices (Collinson and
Collinson 2005, 2009). This research had found that FE employees often
value leadership practices that combine elements of both heroic and
post-heroic approaches. They prefer leaders who are, for example, decisive
but who also consult; detached enough to provide strategic direction but
also close enough to be involved in day-to-day issues; and focused on
`internal' as well as `external' communities and stakeholders. This hybrid
model of `blended leadership' informed the policy of LSIS, formerly the
Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL). Highlighting the significance
of these findings in the Times Education Supplement (2005), the CEO of CEL
explained that they are, `now working towards a blended leadership model,
which retains a principal who is definitely in charge, but is supported by
a range of "engaged and contributive" middle managers.' These ideas were
included in a submission to the Foster Review of UK FE in 2005 and the
Leitch Review of Skills in 2006 and subsequently published in an appendix
to the Foster Review.
References to the research
The following research has been published in international, peer-reviewed
journals:
1. Collinson, D. and Collinson, M. (2009) `Blended Leadership: Employee
Perspectives on Effective Leadership in the UK Further Education Sector',
Leadership, 5(3): 365-380.
4. Collinson, D. (2006c) `Rethinking Followership: A Post-Structuralist
Analysis of Follower Identities' The Leadership Quarterly, 17(2):
172-189.
5. Collinson, D. (2005) `Dialectics of Leadership' Human Relations,
58(11): 1419-1442.
Details of the impact
Independent evaluation of the programme:
LSIS commissioned an impact evaluation of the PRP by an independent
consultant (Matthews 2009). The report highlighted the value of the
programme as an important vehicle for leadership development and capacity
building in the FE sector — `It is clear from the stories of
participants on the practitioner research programme that engaging in the
research has had a much bigger impact on them and their organisations
and communities than they ever expected, outside the bounds of the
research brief.' The report findings demonstrated that:
- Researchers felt much more confident in their leadership role, and
their commitment to FE and education had been rejuvenated;
- Senior managers now placed a much higher value on practitioner
research;
- Some organisations now had their own research budget for staff (as a
result of recognising the impact of practitioner research);
- Mutually beneficial relationships with other colleges had been
developed and sustained; and, for some, involvement in practitioner
research had been `life-transforming'.
By engaging in research, practising FE leaders and managers enhanced
their knowledge and understanding of leadership in theory and practice.
Engagement with the research process helped to build skills, confidence
and self-esteem and increase awareness and knowledge. It resulted in more
critical and reflective practice, enhanced teaching delivery, and more
reflexive learning cultures within the sector. The programme provided
practitioners, as current or potential future leaders, with the
opportunity to develop their own research question(s), explore how other
organisations work, reflect on current practice, network with colleagues
across the sector, and produce findings that could stimulate
organisational change. It enabled them to examine how they could improve
their performance as individuals, teams and organisations.
Participant led projects:
The annual research programme began with a highly competitive tendering
process in which only one third of submitted proposals were funded
(approximately 25 projects). Each project started with a clear research
question, agreed definitions, principles, methodologies and practices.
Participants were supported throughout the programme and their report
findings identified key messages, from which conclusions and
recommendations could be made. A particularly distinctive feature of the
programme was that projects were typically conducted by those working in
leadership and management positions. The seniority of these research
practitioners enhanced the credibility and impact of the findings, and
meant that they were well placed to promote organisational change. The
programme also facilitated formal staff development programmes in FE. LSIS
practitioner research publications were used on leadership and management
programmes, and colleges accredited staff participation in research
projects as part of their continuous professional development.
The Principal of Northern College in Barnsley corroborates that `taking
part in the research and reading the research reports was invaluable as
I moved from senior management to an FE Principal's post. Impact in
terms of the sector can be judged both anecdotally, by the number of
colleagues who have referred to the research in discussion, and from the
excitement and buzz of the national conference where much of the work
was disseminated.'
Conference and impact awards for programme participants:
The impact of the programme was showcased at the first National
Practitioner Leadership Research Conference in London in 2009, where
practitioners presented their published reports and discussed what they
had learnt on the programme. Over 100 researchers and delegates from
across the UK attended and commented on the high quality of the
presentations. The conference included an awards ceremony to celebrate and
commend the impact of practitioner research on (a) the researcher's own FE
organisation, (b) the local community, and (c) leadership development:
a) Impact on organisation- awarded to Stoke-on-Trent FE College
for research on leadership and disabilities which resulted in campus-wide
mandatory disability awareness training for all staff and significant
changes to the design of new buildings.
b) Impact on local community - awarded to research at Highlands
FE College, Jersey for examining the positive effects of training middle
managers in `Solutions-Focused' coaching. In addition to alerting other FE
colleges of its value, the solutions-focused approach was rolled out to
the whole of the States of Jersey Education Service. All primary and
secondary schools are now undertaking solutions-focused appraisal training
supported by the College, as is the States of Jersey Post Office. The
Principal and Chief Executive of Highlands commented that the programme `output
speaks for itself, volume after volume of well researched, practical
research that has made a difference in colleges. In my own college the
Practitioner Research Programme has changed our culture. It has
stimulated our own research and importantly this new scholarly activity
underpins our Foundation degree programme and I know the same is true
for many other colleges who are developing their HE profile'.
c) Impact on leadership development - awarded to the Grimsby
Institute of Further and Higher Education (GIFHE) for research on
leadership and management strategies used by FE colleges in striving for
excellence. It identified critical success factors common to successful
colleges that could be used by organisations seeking to maintain quality
during periods of rapid growth. At GIFHE this led to improved staff
induction and management training/mentoring, and the embedding of a
college research culture. The college also started its own research
journal showcasing work by practitioners, underpinned by a series of
research seminars.
Several reports also received commendations for impact. Research on
employer engagement at Wigan and Leigh College explored how FE colleges
can best respond to employer needs. As a result of the research, the
college now has a dedicated quality manager for employer responsive
provision (see also Kelly, 2007). Research at Worcester College examined
the value of collaborative leadership in the context of `study centres',
leading to improved student retention and an enhanced learning
environment. The Worcester report generated extensive interest, nationally
and internationally. By 2010 more than 400 staff from over 50 FE colleges,
HEIs and schools, from as far afield as Serbia and Poland, had visited the
college to observe how the study centres operated. Research at Oxford and
Cherwell Valley College outlined a set of recommendations for colleges in
creating multi-faith support teams, highlighting the key importance of
engaging stakeholders at all levels and in identifying faith team
ambassadors to champion the initiative. At Sheffield College research on
learner voice resulted in much greater student confidence, to give
feedback to the college and to speak for themselves.
The publication of FE leadership reference materials:
The FE sector was previously under researched and as such little material
was available to the sector to aid development. Through this programme a
`research footprint' was created which comprises: 12 edited volumes of practitioner
research reports (71 papers in total) and 17 individual practitioner
reports. Hard copies of all reports were disseminated to every FE college
in England and Wales, as well as to other learning and skills providers.
Electronic copies (and executive summaries) were uploaded to the LUMS
and LSIS websites. The edited
volumes (published or re-published within the impact period) included
extended editorial introductions by Professor Collinson and focused on key
FE leadership themes:
Vol. 1 - Researching Leadership in the Learning & Skills Sector: By
the Sector, On the Sector, For the Sector
Vol. 2 - Developing Middle Leaders
Vol. 3 - Leading Quality Improvement
Vol. 4 - Leadership and the Learner Voice
Vol. 5 - Collaborative Leadership
Vol. 6 - Researching Disabilities
Vol. 7 - Leading Employer Engagement
Vol. 8 - Distributed and Shared Leadership
Vol. 9 - Leadership Development and Succession
Vol. 10 - New Directions in Leadership Excellence
Vol. 11 - Personalising Learner Voice
Vol. 12 - Leadership and Self Regulation
The 17 individual practitioner research reports also focused on
impact-related leadership themes including: Performance Management
Strategies for Organisational Improvement; Self-
Regulation
for Local Authority and Third Sector Providers of Adult Learning and
Skills; Gender and Ethnicity; and Partnership
Delivery of Higher Education by FE Colleges and Universities. Being
relevant and topical, the publications were valued and respected by the
sector and encouraged new collaborative partnerships and the sharing of
good practice between FE organisations. Practitioners at Abingdon and
Witney, Grimsby, Hackney, North Devon, Oxford, Wigan, Wrexham and
Worcester all reported significant quality improvements in their colleges.
Impact on policy:
In November 2011 the LSIS practitioner leadership research reports were
extensively cited and discussed in the Final Report of the Independent
Commission on Colleges in their Communities by Baroness Sharp (`A Dynamic Nucleus: colleges at the heart of local communities'). This
inquiry investigated the role that FE colleges play within their
communities, and the added public value they bring in their role as
leaders of learning. Research from the LSIS programme was cited on over 30
occasions in the final report. Key findings of the Practitioner Research
Programme were also submitted to Ofsted and published as a report `The
CEL/LSIS Research Programme: Responding to Ofsted' (Collinson,
2008).
Sources to corroborate the impact
- Matthews, J. (2009) `Who would have thought it?: An evaluation of
leader participation in research projects', commissioned by LSIS
(available upon request).
- Executive Director at Improvement Services, LSIS and Executive
Director, 157 Group (previously CEO of CEL) — corroborates the relevance
of the research findings and recommendations for the FE sector.
- Principals of Barnsley College, Highlands College Jersey and Blackpool
and Fylde College contributed testimonials available on the LUMS
LSIS website.