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A consultative management model of staff development in Colleges of Further Education

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Abstract

Over the last forty years there has been a growing awareness that staff development in Further Education has been neglected in terms of , research into its purpose, modes of operation and methods of evaluation.
Ever since the 1944 Education Act concern has repeatedly been expressed about one particular aspect of staff development, namely the professional teacher training of academic staff. Since the publication of the Haslegrave Report in 1969 the rate of change in Further Education , has markedly increased through the advent of new examining bodies such as the Business Education Council and the Technician Education Council. Additionally recent government measures directed at the plight, of the young unemployed through training initiatives taken by the Manpower Services Commission have increased the rate of change within Further Education.
This research project;is just one response to the plea for research ' information concerning staff development in Further Education. It has focused on the needs of full time academic staff employed predominantly in the non-advanced sector of Further Education (i.e. staff employed by the Polytechnics, Colleges of Higher Education etc., have been excluded from the research). It has attempted to define what the term staff development means by examining various perceptions expressed or described by academics, practitioners (i.e. staff actually operating staff development schemes in actual colleges) and specific agencies (e.g. Regional Advisory Councils, the D.E.S., the F.E.U., the Manpower Services Commission etc.).
The underlying philosophy adopted by the researcher is that staff development is essentially inextricably linked with organisational development and is therefore, in’ large part, a tool; of management:. A major
field survey was undertaken in order to obtain insights into how senior college staff (Principals and Vice-Principals in the main) perceive the process, what it is they think it aims to achieve, how needs are identified, how decisions are made and to what extent the process is evaluated. A sample of opinion from individual members of staff was also obtained.
Since staff development is a broad generic term embracing any activity designed to help an individual in his/her job role a restricted focus of attention had to be chosen. The research programme, which was being predominantly undertaken prior to the advent of the C.N.A.A. Cert.Ed. (FE), concentrated, in large part, on staff taking three courses namely the Certificate of Education, the City and Guilds Further Education Teachers Certificate and the Associateship of the College of Preceptors (Further Education Option).
The dissertation is in three main parts. The first describes various views of the concept of staff development i.e. from a historical and developing need perspective, from a practitioner perspective and from theoretical perspective. The second part describes several research field studies designed to obtain insights into vhat is actually happening within colleges. The analysis of the empirical data has produced some valuable new evidence about the decision making process and structures and practices relating to staff development. Perhaps one of the most valuable dimensions is the insight obtained into how individual institutions are coping with contemporary problems (such as the new M.S.C. courses). Part three essentially describes the conclusions drawn and develops a consultative management model which it is hoped will be useful to practitioners seeking to structure an appropriate staff development process within a Further Education college.

Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024

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