This document summarizes an MA Leadership and Management program for staff in further education institutions in Wales. The program was a partnership between a university and further education association. It aimed to address a lack of management training and qualifications for the growing number of managers in Wales' 25 further education institutions. The 180-credit program involved core modules, independent study, and a dissertation on an action research project. It was delivered part-time over 2 years with 124 initial participants. Research themes for dissertations focused on improving leadership, management, and quality in further education. The program was successful with high completion rates and helped to develop managers and succession planning in the sector.

1. MA Leadership and Management
(Further Education)
Godfrey Pryce Hurley, Mike Jones, Gavin Thomas
IPDA
International Conference
30 November – 1 December 2007
Belfast

2. Workshop Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Context of MA Programme
Why?
How?
What?
Aspects of Delivery
Nature and Scope of Provision
Research Themes
Future Developments

3. Why?
• Training needs analysis:
– FE institutions in Wales = 25
– Total Number of learners = 300,000 (75% part-time,
25% full-time)
– Funding allocation 2007/08 = £238mn
– Employees = 3,000 Full-time teachers
7,000 Part-time teachers
7,000 other staff
- An estimated 800 Managers
- Information from institutions – clear lack of bespoke
Management Training and Qualifications for FE staff in
Wales

4. Why?
• Succession planning in FE institutions
- Ageing profile of the FE Workforce (50% of the
workforce could retire in the next 10 years)
• External factors:
– Welsh Assembly Government commitment to improving
public sector management
– Estyn (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and
Training in Wales) concerns about the quality of middle
management training
– FENTO/LL UK leadership and management initiatives
– Professionally qualified workforce

5. How?
• Partnership arrangement: University of Wales,
Newport and fforwm (Association of 25 further
institutions in Wales)
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales –
main support of funding support
• Education and Learning Wales (ELWa) financial
support: one-off grants for management training
• Support from individual FE institutions for
participants

6. What?
•
Programme Structure :
(i)
•
3 Core Modules
Current and Continuing Issues
in Education and Training
•
Leadership and Management Theory and
Concepts
30
•
Management in Practice
30
Credit Rating
30
(ii) Independent Study/Research Methodology
(iii) Dissertation
Total
30
60
180

7. Award Structure and Credit Rating
Postgraduate Certificate
Postgraduate Diploma
MA
-
60 Credits
120 Credits
180 Credits

8. Action Research – Institutionally or Sector Based
•
Programme incorporates much of the FENTO
National Occupational Standards for Leadership
and Management published in 2002 and more
recently the National Occupational Standards for
Management and Leadership
•
Action research : definition of the problem; data
collection and research methodology, analysis,
conclusions and recommendations

9. Aspects of Delivery
• 2 x 2 days per semester
• Videoconferencing
• Personal tutors
• Mentoring
• Moderation and Quality Assurance
• External Examiner
• Assessment (note : Welsh medium)
• Written assignments of :
– 5,000 words : Modules 1, 2 and 3
– 6,500 words : Independent Study
– 20,000 words : Dissertation

10. Nature and Scope of Provision
•
Total Enrolment : 124
•
Participation: - 21 out of 25 FE institutions in Wales (including WEA;
YMCA)
-
Higher Education
Voluntary Sector
Local Authorities
Learning and Skills Sector (England)
•
Males 50 (40%); Females 74 (60%)
•
Average age on entry : Males 42.5 years; Females 41.5 years
•
Designation of Participants : Curriculum Areas 75 (60%); Functional
Areas 49 (40%)
•
Successful completion : Summer 2007
– MA (Full Award)
– Diploma
– Certificate
•
Promotion – 15 participants
-
25
2
3

11. Research Themes
Examples include :
• An investigation into the effectiveness of the link between
financial and strategic planning at a college of further education.
• An investigation into the management of the student services
function, in colleges within England and Wales, with critical
evaluation of models based on service level agreements.
• Striving for excellence: an investigation into factors influencing
the development of a strategy to improve the quality of teaching
and learning within a college of further education in Wales.
• How can senior managers in FE colleges, working towards Total
Quality Management, successfully bring about a change of
culture?
• An investigation into the factors influencing the effective
management of a tutorial system at a FE college.

12. Research Themes
Examples include :
• The impact of self-assessment on teaching staff performance.
• Mentoring for success : An investigation into the feasibility of
establishing and effective mentoring system for teaching staff
within a further education college in Wales.
• An analysis of the quality and effectiveness of the leadership
and management of further education colleges in Wales offering
automotive engineering education and training to the retail
automotive industry.
• An investigation into the feasibility of introducing the Welsh
Baccalaureate Qualification into a FE college.

13. Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
High retention and completion rates
Bilingual – in line with ‘Iaith Pawb’
Accreditation of Prior Achievement
Contextualisation of action research assignments
Networking
Mix of academic/functional managers
Use of expert practitioners to present case studies to
provide tutorial support
• Enhancing the ‘promotability’ of managers and succession
planning
• Impact of the research on individuals, institutions and the
FE sector
• Partnership between the FE Sector and HE in Wales

14. Future
• Certificate in Management in Practice for front line
managers
• Links :
–
–
–
–
Centre for Excellence in Leadership
Lifelong Learning UK
Wales Management Council
Higher Education
• Research Observatory
• Publications
• Concerns :
– Funding
– Coherent direction of Leadership and Management in Wales
– Tutors: Recruitment of experienced practitioners