Improving Learning Cultures in Further Education »

David James is Professor of Education at the University of the West of England, Bristol, and Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Latvia. He is a former FE teacher.

Gert Biesta is Professor of Educational Theory at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter and Visiting Professor for Education and Democratic Citizenship at Örebro University and Mälardalen University, Sweden.

Through its unique theoretical framework - a cultural understanding of teaching and learning — this book develops a new way of understanding educational improvement, one which focuses on the formation and transformation of the practices through which students learn. Based on detailed ethnographic research of seventeen learning sites in further education colleges, this book generates a unique insight into a wide variety of practices of teaching and learning. Illustrated by case studies, it is structured around three key questions:

• what do learning cultures in FE look like and how do they transform over time?


• how do learning cultures transform people?


• how can people (tutors, managers, policy makers, but also students) transform learning cultures for the better?

Through a combination of theory and analysis, Improving Learning Cultures in Further Education makes a strong case for the importance of a cultural approach to the improvement of teaching and learning in further education, and provides practical guidance for researchers, policymakers and practitioners for implementing change for the better.

Part 1: What are the Issues? 1. Introduction to the TLC Project and the Book 2. An Outline of the Theoretical Framework Part 2: What Does the Research Tell Us? What are Learning Cultures in FE and How do they Change? 3. Learning Cultures Across the Sector 4. Learning Cultures Across Sites How do Learning Cultures Transform People? 5. The Practices of Learning 6. The Learning of Practices How Can Learning Cultures be Improved? 7. Managing, Mediating and Mitigating Learning Cultures 8. Policy, Professionality and Transformation Part 3: What are the Overall Implications? Methodological Appendix