'I Travelled Among Unknown Men': basic skills tutors' perceptions of the National Probation Service as a foreign culture and the implications of this for cross-cutting policy

Abstract

This article uses the case study of basic skills specialists' perceptions of the National Probation Service (NPS) as a foreign culture, to discuss some issues in developing and implementing cross-cutting policy on basic skills in the NPS. The article draws on three sources of qualitative data, collected as part of the evaluation of the NPS basic skills pathfinder. As educators, tutors experienced the following aspects of NPS culture as alien: its language, values and priorities, environment, and working with offenders. A typology of tutors as explorers, tourists and the stay-at-home type is used to present the extent to and ways in which tutors coped with the NPS. Possible implications of tutors' perceptions for policy development and research on basic skills in the NPS are discussed. The article concludes by relating the case study to broader issues in cross-cutting policy.