Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges

England’s Further Education (FE) sector is in permanent flux with policy interpretations and translations taking place at multiple levels within increasingly large and complex multi-site organizations. Devolved responsibility gives managers considerable influence in policy enactment processes which...

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Main Authors: Dalby, Diane, Noyes, Andrew
Format: Article
Published: Taylor and Francis Online 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51045/
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author Dalby, Diane
Noyes, Andrew
author_facet Dalby, Diane
Noyes, Andrew
author_sort Dalby, Diane
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description England’s Further Education (FE) sector is in permanent flux with policy interpretations and translations taking place at multiple levels within increasingly large and complex multi-site organizations. Devolved responsibility gives managers considerable influence in policy enactment processes which can lead to within-college tensions between vocational and mathematics teachers. This paper examines two within-college policies affecting students’ mathematics learning opportunities: 1) subject choice, and 2) examination entry levels. These policies have produced inequitable opportunities for students on different vocational study programmes. Given the strategic importance of improving mathematics education, this paper explains how multiple actors and structures interact in the enactment of policy in complex FE college settings. Such understandings are needed to inform better policy design and implementation that in turn can improve mathematics education in Further Education colleges in England.
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spelling nottingham-510452020-05-04T19:33:36Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51045/ Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges Dalby, Diane Noyes, Andrew England’s Further Education (FE) sector is in permanent flux with policy interpretations and translations taking place at multiple levels within increasingly large and complex multi-site organizations. Devolved responsibility gives managers considerable influence in policy enactment processes which can lead to within-college tensions between vocational and mathematics teachers. This paper examines two within-college policies affecting students’ mathematics learning opportunities: 1) subject choice, and 2) examination entry levels. These policies have produced inequitable opportunities for students on different vocational study programmes. Given the strategic importance of improving mathematics education, this paper explains how multiple actors and structures interact in the enactment of policy in complex FE college settings. Such understandings are needed to inform better policy design and implementation that in turn can improve mathematics education in Further Education colleges in England. Taylor and Francis Online 2018-04-26 Article PeerReviewed Dalby, Diane and Noyes, Andrew (2018) Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 70 (4). pp. 564-580. ISSN 1747-5090 policy enactment; mathematics; further education https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13636820.2018.1462245 doi:10.1080/13636820.2018.1462245 doi:10.1080/13636820.2018.1462245
spellingShingle policy enactment; mathematics; further education
Dalby, Diane
Noyes, Andrew
Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title_full Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title_fullStr Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title_full_unstemmed Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title_short Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges
title_sort mathematics education policy enactment in england’s further education colleges
topic policy enactment; mathematics; further education
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51045/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51045/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51045/