Richard Evans is the Chairman of the CIPHE’s Education and Training Group. In this issue of ETM, he looks at some of the financial problems affecting colleges. We need action! Yet again parliament is discussing the future of the Further Education Sector. During this period of austerity the topic is very much alive as the government tack- les, or should that be attacks, public sector spending. FE has always been an easy target, little understood or given the recognition it deserves. Massive cuts are being introduced across college budgets e.g. 24%+ at Liverpool College and as a result staff are
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The Free Market
A Landscape of Contradictions and Paradoxes There are manifest schisms at the centre of the UK government and little joined up thinking. Dr Dick Evans explains why. It has often been said that we live in a time full of contradictions and paradoxes many of which have been brought about by the operation of the so-called free market, questionable political interventions and ambiguous political slogans e.g. ‘the third way’, ‘choice’ and the latest nonsense the ‘opportunity society’. Many commentators see the continuing introduction of the market by successive governments into the public services as a cynical way of reducing costs
The Engineering Team
Dick Evans discusses the importance of colleges of further and higher education in maintaining the quality of the UK’s engineering workforce. It’s all been said before, but here is my version. Many of my statements will be massively generalised and simplistic but they are made to provoke debate and discussion. Numerous reports over many decades have attempted to tackle the ineffective state of education and training and our track-record in this area compared with our major competitors. The majority of these reports focus on particular stages of education and training, e.g. secondary, technical and higher education. Very few attempted to
The Darwinian Paradox
One of the more acceptable and helpful tenets of good management theory is that managers should adopt a reflective stance. Continuous, systematic and careful reviews of the processes and outcomes of the business are, indeed, an invaluable and essential aid to the effective manager. The Further Education (FE) sector, as all the educational sectors, has much to reflect on at present. The parenthesis model of management has never been more valid. As you will remember, the parenthesis model challenges the whole of the existing thinking on organizational theory. It identifies a new type of person, namely, the parenthetical person, one who
The Concern of Declining Numbers in Science Education
We live in a world dominated by science and technology. Yet many countries struggle to educate and train sufficient numbers of qualified people in these strategically important disciplines. Malta is by no means alone in needing to increase participation in science and science related subjects, especially at the post-16 stage. Dr Richard Evans takes a vast look at the issue. Employers have voiced concerns over the years about the quantity and quality of school leavers, graduates and undergraduates entering employment and lacking scientific and mathematical capability and skills. In many countries this is now seriously threatening their ability to compete
The Chinese Zodiac
A fascinating topic. The Chinese Zodiac – Sheng(1) Xiao(4) is based on a twelve year cycle. Each year is represented by an animal. The table below shows the animals: Rat – Yhu(3). Ox – niu(2). Tiger – hu(3). Rabbit – yu(4)zi. Dragon – long(2), Snake – she(2). Horse – ma(3). Goat – yang(2). Monkey – hou(2). Rooster – ji(1). Dog – gou(3). Pig – zhu(1). Just as in other astrology, each of the Chinese animals represents a different personality types and a person’s general attributes and possible careers. Theories have been developed to predict one’s personality, fortune and major life
The Challenges of The New Deal – 18 to 24 Element
The Government, before they were elected, stated clearly that one of their flagships was The New Deal (ND) for young people and long-term unemployed people. Now they are elected, the initiative is very live and real. The New Deal will have major implications for these individuals but also for the partners who will be needed to make it a success and colleges of further education are most certainly going to be a major player in the delivery of this initiative. So what is The New Deal? The basic proposals are as follows: New Deal: will help young people aged 18-24
The Challenges of Introducing Environmental Issues into the Skills Agenda
Dr R G Evans FCGI. Education and training must play a significant part in addressing the critical issues currently confronting the planet including those associated with the environment. These include energy, food and water shortages and the consequences of global warming, pollution control, land reclamation and over population. Clearly in spite of a number of sceptics, many people recognise the dangers of overlooking these issues. There is a growing consensus that science and technology can provide some of the solutions in addition to creating new jobs and occupations. In spite of the current economic climate of austerity, recession and high
The Appliance of Science.
Dick Evans continues his ground-breaking explorations into the past, looking at the growth of societies and groups promoting public interest and awareness in science and technology. It was the advent of the industrial revolution that powered growth in public interest in science during the late eighteenth century, just as much as it powered the mills and factories springing up across the land. Interest in such matters during the previous century had stemmed from the more cerebral thinking of the Enlightenment, and this was reflected in the formation and proceedings of the Royal Society (1660), whose deliberations were focused on the
The Academy Movement
There’s nothing new under the sun, especially in education, as Dick Evans demonstrates in his latest dig through the archives. Academies are all the rage these days, with schools turning into them, large businesses making them up for their own workforces and Sector Skills Councils jumping on the bandwagon left, right and centre. It may be salutary, therefore, to remember the existence of a small number of dissenting academies during the eighteenth century that made a lasting contribution to scientific and technical education, particularly through their former students and tutors. The Academy founded in Warrington, which flourished from 1757 to