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English Further Education Policy up to 1993: the Changing Roles of Central and Local Government and Local Further Education Consequences

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English Further Education Policy up to 1993: the Changing Roles of Central and Local Government and Local Further Education Consequences English Further Education Policy up to 1993: the changing roles of central and local government and local Further Education consequences A B Webster MPhil 2012 English Further Education Policy up to 1993: the changing roles of central and local government and local Further Education consequences A B Webster A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the University‟s requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy 2012 Coventry University in association with the University of Worcester ABSTRACT Local authorities were involved in Further Education (FE) from 1889 to 1993, but it was not until 1944 that LEAs were obliged to provide facilities for FE. This study considered economic, political and social factors when examining changes in the roles of central and local government and other policy changes. Such factors included national economic policies, recessions, two World Wars, and changes in dominant political views. Policy changes and local implementation were examined by analysing contemporary national and local documents. The Local Education Authority (LEA) chosen for investigation in this study was Worcestershire which, after the reorganisation of local government in 1974, joined Herefordshire and the County Borough of Worcester to become the County of Hereford and Worcester. The Worcestershire FE College selected was Redditch College, which merged with North Worcestershire College in 1988 to form North East Worcestershire College. Changes in the relationship between central and local government were brought about by legislation and from 1964 by the introduction of agencies, such as the Manpower Services Commission. These agencies were established as one way of increasing the number of skilled workers. However, they also reduced the LEAs‟ control of FE, because they had to approve some FE college courses and provided funding. The advent of the Audit Commission in the mid-1980s further reduced the LEAs‟ control of the FE sector and ensured LEAs focused more closely on efficiency measures than they had previously. Legislation in 1968 and 1988 reduced the proportion of governors who could be LEA representatives. The movement away from local control exercised by elected politicians meant that central government had greater control over the implementation of FE policy. From the 1980s the Conservative Government‟s policy included developing a quasi-market in FE, while from the mid-1980s a new business discourse was found in both national and local FE documents. Since the 1860s governments have frequently regarded an inadequately skilled workforce as the reason for Britain becoming less economically competitive. One solution offered was raising the school leaving age, so that more pupils would be able to benefit from a scientific or technical education. It took from 1918 to 1972 for the school leaving age to be raised from 14 to 16. Compulsory part-time day courses for school leavers until they were 18 were proposed in 1918, and also recommended in 1943 and 1959, but they did not materialise. With the constant decline of manufacturing, fewer unskilled jobs and the increased complexity of skills required, the 2008 Education and Skills Act planned that by 2015 16 and 17 year olds would have to undertake some form of education or training until they are 18. The analysis in this study suggested some of the problems that might be encountered. While there was government exhortation for a more qualified workforce, there was less enthusiasm for making it compulsory that FE lecturers should have a teaching qualification. Some explanations were offered for this state of affairs until 2001. In memory of my mother, Renée Dorothy Hart, who always encouraged and supported my educational ventures. CONTENTS Glossary of abbreviations 1 Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 4 Chapter 1 The development of Technical Instruction before 1900 14 Chapter 2 The emergence of Further Education from 1900 to 1943 27 Chapter 3 The expansion of Further Education from 1944 to 1958 51 Chapter 4 Further Education from 1959 to 1965: further changes and expansion 78 Chapter 5 Further Education from 1966 to 1973: consolidation and cuts 113 Chapter 6 Further Education from 1974 to 1982: managing the youth unemployment crisis 147 Chapter 7 Further Education from 1983 to 1993: the road to Incorporation 167 Conclusion 201 Appendix 1 The economic purpose of FE 216 Appendix 2 FE Timeline 1888-1993 218 Bibliography 220 GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS ALF Average Level of Funding ATCDE Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education ATI Association of Technical Institutions ATTI Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions BEC Business Education Council CBI Confederation of British Industries CCCS Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies CEF College Employers Forum CGLI City and Guilds of London Institute CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy DES Department of Education and Science EEC European Economic Community ETS Employment Training Scheme FE Further Education fte full-time equivalent FEFC Further Education Funding Council GCE General Certificate of Education HMI Her Majesty‟s Inspectorate/ Inspector HNC/D Higher National Certificate/Diploma IMF International Monetary Fund ITB Industrial Training Board LEA Local Education Authority MSC Manpower Services Commission NACEIC National Advisory Council on Education for Industry and Commerce NAFE Non-advanced Further Education NATFHE National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education NCVQ National Council for Vocational Qualifications NEW College North East Worcestershire College NJC National Joint Council NUT National Union of Teachers NVQ National Vocational Qualification ONC/D Ordinary National Certificate/Diploma 1 RAC Regional Advisory Council SSR staff-student ratio TEC Technician Education Council TECs Training and Enterprise Councils TOPS Training Opportunities Scheme TUC Trades Union Congress TVEI Technical and Vocational Education Initiative WEA Workers‟ Education Association WMAC West Midlands Advisory Council YOP Youth Opportunity Programme YTS Youth Training Scheme 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lesley Hirons for giving me the confidence to become a research student. My tutors Kate Macdonald, Frank Crompton, and Anton Polan for their support and guidance. The staff at Worcestershire Record Office for their patience. Ex-colleagues at North East Worcestershire College for providing additional college and union documents. My husband, Ian, for his encouragement and understanding. 3 INTRODUCTION This study was about the history of the post-compulsory, non-advanced educational area of Further Education (FE) provision and policy, except when the development of advanced courses in FE colleges had an impact on non-advanced FE provision. Similarly, changes in the provision of schools were included when they had implications for FE. The primary aim of this study was to assess the changing roles of central and local government and the consequences for local provision of English Further Education. The secondary aim was to critique and analyse changes in English non-advanced FE policy and related local implementation. Brian Simon challenged the orthodox liberal-evolutionary accounts of gradual educational progress that such historians represented. 1 Simon said that the historical record clearly shows that there is nothing inevitable about educational advance. Far from progress being linear, advances are more often met by setbacks, by new crises, by ideological and political struggles of all kinds. 2 Thus the reasons given for the many changes in FE, and the apparent demise of other intended, or actual, innovations were examined. This study‟s primary objective, therefore, was to review and analyse changes in English FE policy, namely changes related to the roles of central and local government, the raising of the school leaving age, compulsory part-time education for school leavers, inclusion of general studies in the FE curricula, and increased provision for the training of technical teachers. National documents selected for analysis included Acts, White Papers, Reports, Cabinet papers, and The Times. The Local Education Authority (LEA) chosen for investigation in this study was Worcestershire which, after the reorganisation of local government in 1974, joined Herefordshire and the County Borough of Worcester to become the County of Hereford and Worcester. The Worcestershire FE College selected was Redditch College, which merged with North Worcestershire College in 1988 to form North East Worcestershire College (NEW College). Thus the secondary objective was to evaluate the process of local implementation of changes in national FE policy by analysing, for example, 1 McCulloch, G. (1995) „Speaking Volumes: Studies in the History of Education‟, The Times Higher Educational Supplement, 8 September, 1995. 2 Cited in Lawrence, I. (1992) Power and Politics at the Department of Education and Science. London, Cassell. Dr. Lawrence was a writer, lecturer and researcher on educational issues. 4 Further Education Sub-Committee minutes of Worcestershire and the County of Hereford and Worcester, and the Governors‟ minutes of Redditch College, as well as local newspapers, college prospectuses and internal documents of the colleges. When clarification was needed, Education Committee minutes were also examined. No copies of the Redditch College Governors‟ minutes from 1970 were found in the Worcestershire Record Office. This was probably because of the changes brought about by the 1968 Education (No.
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