Development through partnership: how learning representatives are helping to meet the challenge of upskilling Scottish FE lecturers

Abstract

In Scotland, both the present Scottish Government and previous Scottish Executive have put a great deal of emphasis on the continuing professional development (CPD) of educators. The further education (FE) sector has not been exempt, notably with the introduction of the Teaching qualification (Further Education) (TQFE) followed by The review of Scotland’s colleges: Inspiring achievement. These and other initiatives have given the lifelong learning and professional development of FE personnel and the role of union learning representatives (ULRs) greater impetus within the Scottish lecturing profession. To date there has been no attempt to analyse and discuss the activities of ULRs in the post‐compulsory sector in any part of the United Kingdom. This article seeks to redress this imbalance and will deal specifically with the activities and experiences of the Educational Institute of Scotland’s first cohort of FE LRs based on a study of their activities and experiences and the impact they are having on the lifelong and professional development agendas in Scottish FE.