Practitioners in the further education sector need to develop confidence in their own research practices and establish recognition within higher education of practitioner research in further education. This book will help staff in this sector to develop their professional practice through their research.

This fascinating guide will provide an overview of three key policy initiatives in FE - Success for All, Skills for Life and the new qualification framework. For each initiative, Yvonne Hillier discusses the implications for implementing policy within particular institutions, and how change and working with staff can be managed to best achieve the intended aims of each policy. As all these initiatives are fast changing, an important theme throughout the book will be the need to keep up to date. Essential reading for every manager in FE.

The editors provide an illuminating commentary to eleven key articles covering the main issues affecting the post-compulsory education sector today. Contributions include an analysis of what influences students to drop out from their learning programs, how the participation of hard-to-reach learners can be widened, how adults with basic skills can be encouraged to learn, and how research can help make sense of the 'muddle' of middle management in Further Education colleges.