The Future of Further Education: Dilemmas, Dualisms and Dialectics

The Future of Further Education: Dilemmas, Dualisms and Dialectics

This is the second public lecture by Professor Doel drawing upon study and reflection from his tenure as the FETL Chair of Leadership in Further Education and Skills. Re-watch Professor Doel’s first lecture online.

About the lecture

With the successive publication of the Wolf, Richard, Sainsbury and Augar Reviews, further education has been unusually prominent in education policy discourse over the past 5 years. Each of these reports has underlined the importance of the diverse provision that is lumped together under the term ‘further education,’ but also its perceived shortcomings.

In his second professorial lecture, building upon his first concerned with the implications of the failure to define clearly, and comprehend fully, further education, Martin Doel will consider what next for further education? In doing so, he will conceive the future through the lens of a series of dilemmas: competitive or collaborative, local or national, generalist or specialist, second chance or first choice, and simple or complicated.

He will argue that these apparent dilemmas are in fact inevitable and necessary dualisms within an exceptionally diverse sector. In each case, following a dialectic process, the future will lie in achieving a synthesis between absolutes according to prevailing political, economic and social circumstances. Approaching the future in this way will have ramifications for policymakers, agencies and further education providers of all kinds.

The lecture will be followed by a wine reception.

About the speaker

Martin Doel was appointed as the first Further Education Trust for Leadership Professor of Leadership in Further Education and Skills at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) in April 2016 after having previously been the Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) from 2008.  Prior to this Martin served for 28 years in the Royal Air Force where his final appointment was as Director of Training and Education for all three Armed Services, working in the Ministry of Defence, the largest employer of apprentices in the UK.

Martin’s particular research interests at the IOE have been concerned with the distinctive contribution that further education can make to national prosperity and individual well-being, and the leadership challenges facing further education providers of all kinds.

In April 2019, Martin moved to visiting status at the IOE, and at the request of the Further Education Commissioner, Martin was appointed Interim Chair of West Kent and Ashford College which became only the second college in England to be placed into education administration.

He is also a Trustee of the Royal London Society for the Blind and of The Challenge, a social integration charity delivering the National Citizen Service, the independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Institute for Technical and Further Education and Governor of Cambridge Regional College.

He was appointed OBE in 1998 for his work in support of operations in the Balkans and for his contribution to Anglo-German relations and CBE in the 2016 New Year Honours for his contribution to education.  

Access Profile

• There is step free access into the lecture theatre.
• Wheelchair accessible toilets can be found on Level 4.
• There is not fixed furniture within the lecture theatre.
• This venue does not have working a hearing loop facility available.
• BSL interpreters can be organised with advance notice.

We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible so if you have any accessibility requirements or enquiries that are not covered in the above access profile please contact the events team at [email protected]. If you could contact us allowing for as much time as possible before the event we will be able to ensure where required the appropriate measures are taken. More information about the venues accessibility can be found on the AccessAble website.

Please note photographs and recordings taken at this event may be included in future publications or on the UCL Institute of Education's website. If you do not wish to be included in any IOE media, please opt out by contacting us at [email protected].

Lecture Hashtag: #FutureofFE

For information on other upcoming IOE events please visit: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news-events/events