From teacher to manager: expectations and challenge in the further education sector. a relationship model

Abstract

In a turbulent working environment with varying expectations and challenges is it fair to expect further education teachers and managers to maintain and improve standards? This article highlights that with the incorporation of colleges began a series of initiatives to professionalise the FE sector. This coupled with pressures for those who work within it to meet key performance indicators in a climate of financial constraint and inconsistency of policy decisions led to a culmination of challenges. By reviewing current literature, the article goes on to suggest that a conceptual shift in our thinking about teachers and managers based within the further education sector is necessary; one that considers the parallels in the two roles and the similarities in the expectations and challenges of each. This could considerably assist our understanding of the commonalities between these roles, and that instead of discussing teachers and managers as separate and seemingly opposing forces, it will develop a teacher–manager relationship model. This model creates an opportunity for further research to build upon, to either consider how the roles may seek a collegiate response to challenges; or, how the gap in expectations may be narrowed.