In this article, we examine the role of the Principal within Further Education colleges in England and explore the often neglected issue of succession planning in the sector. To provide background and context to the current situation, key policies and developments over the past 30 years are reviewed and challenges identified. Interviews with…

Following the unexpected lockdown of education in March 2020 and again in February 2021, this research looks at the subsequent online learning that took place during the second lockdown at a vocational further education college located in the south of England. These online sessions used Google Meet as a forum and teachers at the college suddenly…

This research draws on the concepts of practice architecture, middle leader and scholarship and uses narrative analysis drawn from a 'community of practice' of HE in FE practitioners. Whilst being an existing 'community of practice', the university concerned changed the collaborative framework of support and this provided a platform for the…

Previous research investigating perceived stress and mental health in UK university students has used a sample population from higher education institutes (HEIs). To the authors' knowledge, there is no literature specifically examining stress in a student population within a higher education in further education (HE-in-FE) environment. The aim of…

The role of the middle manager has proved to be a difficult one to define due to the fluid nature of the tasks performed and the heterogeneity of understanding that exists for the term. This is further complicated by the differences associated with the context in which individual manager's work. This research, which explores the drive towards…