 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
This is the March 2008 E-Bulletin from FACE (Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. This message is sent to colleagues in the sector, members and non-members alike. This FACE e-bulletin will be sent to you each month. If you would prefer not to receive it please contact Jim Tate at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk and your details will be removed immediately.
FACE - the inspiration for a new national network in Sweden!!
15 years on from FACE being established as the UK's network for lifelong learning and access to HE it has been, in turn, the inspiration for the setting up a sister network in Sweden with the equally inspirational name INCLUDE. FACE Chair John Storan, who has been working closely with Swedish colleagues on the new network, said at a recent conference in Stockholm. " I am delighted that the Swedish network is being organised and that FACE has been such an important role model for Swedish colleagues in planning their network. I know that FACE members and their institutions have hosted study visits and we have also been pleased to see many Swedish colleagues participating in our annual conferences. It's wonderful news that all this collaboration has contributed to INCLUDE being set up. On behalf of all FACE members I would like to send warmest fraternal wishes to INCLUDE and its members and look forward to further collaboration between the two networks."
The INCLUDE website, which is still under construction, makes direct reference to FACE and can be found at http://www.include.nu
A formal invitation has been forwarded to the INCLUDE steering group for a representative to speak at the FACE 2008 Annual conference where I am sure we will hear a lot more news about the INCLUDE network.
The FACE Research and Development Fund 2008
For the second year FACE is supporting five pieces of research into Access and Continuing Education through its Research and Development Fund. FACE recognizes the crucial role that research plays in Access and Continuing Education. It also recognizes the challenges that members often face in identifying the resources to deliver such research, especially when funding streams are often focused narrowly on particular themes or topics. FACE can assist its members here through our Research and Development Fund. For further information, contact Graeme Atherton athertg@wmin.ac.uk
FACE Research and Development Fund 2008 – ACCEPTED PROPOSALS |
|
|---|---|
| Project Title | Practitioners |
| Written off ? Learners perspectives on the efficacy of an intergenerational project |
Angela Fish and Kathryn Addicott University of Glamorgan |
| Investigating the development of Skills for Independent Learning in an FE Access to HE course |
Nick Davy Westminster Kingsway College |
| Not for the likes of us – White working class men’s journeys into HE |
Tony Hudson University of East London |
| Lifelong Learning Networks and Progression Agreements: Building the Model |
Sarah Adibi, South London Lifelong Learning Network, Kingston University |
| There’s more to learning than earning - the Wider Benefits of Lifelong Learning |
Sheila Mary Hughes Bangor University |
Looking forward to . . . FACE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008
|
In addition to the annual Gala Dinner, this year there will also be a "Ghost Walk". (Bring your own garlic and silver bullets.) |
|
Conference Keynote Speakers this year will include:
|
||
Professor Robert Cormack was appointed a Lecturer in Sociology at Queen's University of Belfast in 1973, and has spent 28 years at Queen's, becoming successively, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of Sociology. From 1993-95 he was Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences before becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor in 1995. He was the Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Higher Education - a joint research centre of Queen's University and the University of Ulster. He has worked on a number of Council of Europe projects over the years most notably on a working party set up to advise on the restructuring of Pristina University in Kosovo after the war. In 2001 he was appointed the Director and Chief Executive of UHI Millennium Institute - the institution charged with creating the University for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. His title was changed to that of Principal in January 2003. He is the author of many articles, reports and books mainly on equal opportunities issues in the context of Northern Ireland and on HE matters. |
||
Professor Claire Callender (BSc, PhD) has recently moved to Birkbeck, University of London to take up the post of Professor of Higher Education Policy. She is an expert on student finances in higher and further education and has written widely on this topic. She has undertaken research for some of the most significant inquires into student funding in the UK and been called upon to give evidence to the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee on several occasions. Claire was awarded a Fulbright New Century Scholarship for 2007-08 and spent last semester at Harvard Graduate School of Education conducting comparative research on student funding in Britain and the USA. Claire has just started a new longitudinal study on part-time students and career-making, including an investigation into employers’ attitude to part-time study. |
||
 |
Professor Callender is making a return visit to conference. Her keynote at FACE 2004, hosted by the University of Portsmouth was for many delegates the highlight of the event. FACE 2008 FINAL Call for Papers Book Online https://secure.yorksj.ac.uk/FACE |
|
|
||
Speakers Corner
 |
As a member-oriented organisation FACE would like to invite individual colleagues to have their say on any issue of concern in UK education policy and practice. This is a purely personal point of view and should not be thought to represent any institution, organisation, or official body. To have your say, email James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk This month's contribution is from Martin Webster, who asks: 14-19 Diplomas – Missing the opportunity? |
 |
"The government has set out its stall with regards to reforming education across the country, and name above that stall is diplomas. They will help to make education more relevant to young people in our ever changing society and may well eventually replace GCSEs and A’ levels. As we will all be aware the first five lines of learning will be taught by consortia across the country from September 2008. However it has become apparent to me over recent months that the real concern should not (and will not be) whether or not universities will accept this new qualification, but whether or not schools will successfully deliver it. As a parent of a child who is currently having to pick his options in year 9 I attended his school’s parents’ information evening. During the evening we were given a presentation which presented the options he could follow: Option 1: The broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils will study a range of subjects giving them an excellent basis upon which to build on in their future educational careers. Option 2: The specialised curriculum. Pupils will focus on one single area. So within the ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ pupils can pick from a variety of exciting and challenging subjects, delivered by the school and in the school. However, despite the school stressing that diplomas were an excellent opportunity, pupils who follow the specialised diploma will not be able to pick any other options and the school is unable to guarantee the quality of the teaching as much of it will be carried out at other institutions. Also the school were keen to stress the potential pitfalls of pushing young people down a career path at too early and age. It will therefore come as no surprise that the majority of fellow parents that I spoke to during the evening were intent on persuading their children to give diplomas a wide berth and were going away from the event with a negative attitude towards the new qualification. The success of diplomas as a progression route to Higher Education rests not with universities. If the diploma does become the qualification of choice for young people then our sector would not have a choice. The key to success lies in the hands of schools. Both parents and pupils rely upon the advice of professionals when choosing the route to follow. If my son’s school is typical of schools across the country GCSEs and A’Levels will continue to be considered as the ‘gold standard’ for progression to an undergraduate degree and the diploma could end up as yet another failure in the world of educational reforms. This strikes me as a great shame. The majority of the colleagues that I have spoken to in Higher Education view the diploma with the cautious optimism, and any caution is only to be expected with a new qualification. We need all schools to embrace diplomas and offer them as a viable alternative to the existing curriculum. If this does not happen then the sceptics (of which we know there are many) will be proved right and we will continue to deliver a school curriculum that Higher Education has complained about for years as failing to adequately prepare students for study at degree level."
|
||
Martin's piece is very topical. See also Parents are baffled by diplomas on BBC Education 19th March 2008
The 2008 Conference Season - what else is on this summer?
"The Teaching - Research Interface: Implications for Practice in HE and FE"
29th / 30th April 2008, ESCalate conference, University of Stirling
Keynote speakers include
Professor Gert Biesta: Professor of Educational Theory, University of Exeter.
Professor Terry Mayes; Emeritus Professor, Glasgow Caledonian University.
Professor Dai Hounsell: Professor of Higher Education, University of Edinburgh.
Professor Gill Crozier: Professor of Education, University of Sunderland.
Further details: ESCalate, Room B33, Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling, Stirling.
Phone: 01786 467940 ESCalate@stir.ac.uk
Seminar on "Informal Adult Learning" - Educational Centres Association
6th May 2008, Central Hall, Westminster
The ECA is hosting a seminar at which David Lammy MP Minister for Skills will speak on the subject of environmental sustainability and informal adult learning. The aim is to inform responses to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills consultation “Informal Adult Learning Shaping the Way Ahead”. Confirmed speakers include David Lammy MP, Minister for Skills, DIUS ; Professor Bob Fryer, Chief Learning Advisor for the Department of Health; Sophie Duncan, Project Executive for Breathing Places, BBC Learning; Joy Greasley NFWI Vice-Chair and Chair of Training Committee; Peter Templeton, Director of Education, Quality and Strategy, Workers' Education Association; Alan Tuckett, Director of Niace and Mark Walton, Head of Every Action Counts. For further details, go to www.e-c-a.ac.uk
NIACE - Public call for evidence on lifelong learning and poverty reduction
Deadline for submission of evidence 8th May 2008
The Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, sponsored by NIACE, is putting out a public call for evidence on lifelong learning and poverty reduction. Interested individuals and organisations are invited to submit written evidence to the Inquiry by 8th May 2008. The Inquiry will report in June 2009. Experts from government, business, academia, trade unions, public service, providers and the voluntary and community sector, as well as learners, are brought together to identify a broad consensus for the future direction of adult learning policy in the UK. The Inquiry invites evidence on the following areas:
What does the evidence tell us about the relationship between lifelong learning and poverty reduction? What do we know about the effectiveness of particular lifelong learning policies and initiatives which have sought to tackle poverty and social exclusion?
Where are the gaps in evidence in relation to this theme?
What key messages for the Inquiry we should extract?
What approaches to poverty reduction might we take in the future, particularly in the context of debates on definitions of poverty and the 'social minimum', and what might the role of learning be within these?
Find further information about the Commission of Inquiry at http://www.lifelonglearninginquiry.org.uk/ More information in submitting evidence is available from http://www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry/Evidence-poverty.htm Submit evidence to lifelonglearninginquiry@niace.org.uk .
“Exploring learning trajectories”
Conference to launch the Widening Participation Research Centre, Edge Hill University
20th and 21st May 2008, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire
Day 1 will share research and evidence-based practice from a broad range of methodologies and perspectives on educational equality and widening participation. Day 2 will workshop to develop ways of working together focussing on research, publication and practice. The outcomes of the workshops could include research bids, an edited book, journal articles and a practitioner network to share expertise. The conference will be addressed by Professor Diane Reay, University of Cambridge and Professor Gus John, Institute of Education, visiting professor at University of London and University of Strathclyde. The cost of the conference is £100 for the 2 days excluding accommodation. Delegates should arrange their own accommodation and transport to the conference. For further information, contact Angela Daly Angela.Daly@edgehill.ac.uk
South West Workshop on the "Accreditation of Prior Learning" (AP[E]L)
22nd May 2008, 10:30–16:00 the Taunton Conference Centre, Somerset College of Art and Technology
The SWLLN is joining up with the WVLLN (Western Vocational LLN) to host a free Workshop Day for learning and training providers across the whole of the South West from Cheltenham to Penzance to Bournemouth. The theme is (AP[E]L), both certificated and through experience. Aims of the day include sharing and comparing institutional practice in credit and AP[E]L; how AP[E]L can be used to improve HE progression opportunities for vocational learners; new models for accrediting work-based learning and experience including the SWLLN’s Competencies Framework; the usefulness of AP(E)L units as a progression tool. Further Details/Booking: Christine Pateman, Telephone: 01202 961221 Email: cpateman@bournemouth.ac.uk Participants will not be charged for this event. Lunch is included though not travel or parking costs. Places are limited so please book early. Please note that priority will be given to admissions staff. A full programme and details will be available on the SWLLN website by the end of March 2008.
2008 Aimhigher LIFE National Conference
"Tackling the targeting issue: practical approaches to identifying the target cohort"
29th May 2008, The Bournemouth Highcliff Marriot Hotel
The day will give participants the chance to learn about and discuss the
practicalities of Aimhigher targeting at a sub regional level. As well as regional
and national speakers the day will contain interactive sessions,
detailed information on the approaches taken by the LIFE partnership,
discussions on available data sources and the challenges of targeting.
Please note that this is a FREE conference but spaces are limited so
please return your booking form as soon as possible to guarantee your
place. For further information,
contact Ed Bickle ebickle@bournemouth.ac.uk
Download Conference Details (pdf) Download Booking Form (Word).
"Vocational Admissions" Conference
Wednesday 11th June 2008 at the Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University
|
Conference Objectives
|
National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP) Annual Conference 2008
24th and 25th of June 2008, Barcelo Daventry Hotel, Daventry, Northamptonshire
For programme details and further information, go to http://www.nadp-uk.org/events/conf2008/index.php
What’s in the News?
The Guardian http://education.guardian.co.uk
The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/education
The BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/default.stm
The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education
The Times Higher Education http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
DCSF News Centre http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi
DIUS Press Releases http://www.dius.gov.uk/pressreleases.html
LSC News http://www.lsc.gov.uk/News
If you wish to respond to anything in this E-bulletin or contribute to the March issue, please email Jim Tate at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk