Abstract
Further education in England is a diverse sector which typically provides education for the 16 - 19 age group. This study investigates efficiency levels by subject of study within further education (FE) colleges. Mean overall technical efficiency is found to vary from 75% to 86% in the worst- and best-performing subject areas, respectively. Statistical analysis of efficiency reveals that, while student and teacher composition and regional characteristics affect efficiency in each subject, the strength of these effects can vary by subject. This has the clear policy implication that strategies to improve efficiency in English FE must be devised and operated at subject rather than provider level.
Highlights
The system of education in the UK is organised into four broad sectors: primary schooling, which terminates at age 11; secondary education, completed at around the age of 16; further education which typically serves students between the ages of 16 - 19 and is pre-degree level; higher education which serves the 18/19+ age group and is degree and post-degree level
The Foster Report [1] highlights the need for assessing the quality of further education (FE) provision, and this has been reiterated in a White Paper [2], which calls for the construction of performance indicators to allow clear and meaningful comparisons between FE providers, and to create incentives for the providers to focus on the achievement and progression of their students
Previous research in the context of English FE concluded that FE providers need to implement strategies for improving achievement and retention amongst the most at-risk students, namely white males [3]
Summary
The system of education in the UK is organised into four broad sectors: primary schooling, which terminates at age 11; secondary education, completed at around the age of 16; further education which typically serves students between the ages of 16 - 19 and is pre-degree level; higher education which serves the 18/19+ age group and is degree and post-degree level. The proportion of students achieving a qualification, known as the “learner success rate”, has risen from 59 percent in 2000/01 to 72 percent in 2003/04, whereas the retention rate, which is another key performance indicator, has remained reasonably stable at around 84 percent. Despite the increase nationally in the learner success rate over a
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