The reinvigoration of Scottish further education sector: an exploration and analysis of the recent reforms

O’Donnell, P., Murphy, M. and Normand, C. (2015) The reinvigoration of Scottish further education sector: an exploration and analysis of the recent reforms. Scottish Educational Review, 47(2), pp. 59-77.

Abstract

In July 2012 the Scottish Government published ‘Reinvigorating College Governance: the Scottish Response to The Report of the Review of Further Education Governance in Scotland’. The Report advanced a radical new structure for the Scottish Further Education (FE) sector and the overall impact has been unparalleled, creating seismic transformations to its operating structure and governance. The newly emerging paradigm overturned previous structural and governance arrangements, rescaling the Scottish FE landscape. This paper analyses the recent policy context unfolding within the Scottish FE sector; illuminating the central driving forces and legitimising discourses behind the current restructuring, cognisant of the emergent European educational policy space. It argues that the emerging policy reforms for Scottish FE, commonly referred to as ‘regionalisation’, is simultaneously a continuation and departure from the governing structures set in place in the early 1990s. The paper offers productive ways of framing thinking about the regionalisation of Scottish FE. Consequently, it will be of interest to Scottish Government policy makers and those working within or in partnership with the Scottish FE sector.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Murphy, Dr Mark
• Authors: O’Donnell, P., Murphy, M., and Normand, C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education; College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Educational Leadership & Policy
• Research Group: Robert Owen Centre
• Journal Name: Scottish Educational Review
• Publisher: University of Stirling, School of Education
• ISSN: 0141-9072
• ISSN (Online): 0141-9072
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 Scottish Educational Review
• First Published: First published in Scottish Educational Review 47(2): 59-77
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy