Abstract
Approximately 85,000 part-time teaching staff working in further education (FE) and adult and community learning (ACL) are often seen as 'a problem'. The intrinsic 'part-timeness' of these staff tends to marginalise them, and often they remain under-recognised and largely unsupported. Yet this picture is over-simplified. This article examines how part-time staff make creative use of professional autonomy and agency to mitigate problematic 'casual employment' conditions, reporting on results from Learning and Skills Development Agency-sponsored research (2002-2006) with 700 part-time staff in the learning and skills sector. The question of agency was reported as a key factor in part-time employment. Change is necessary for the professional agency of part-timers to be harnessed as the sector responds to ambitious sectoral 'improvement' agendas following the Foster Report and FE White Paper. Enhanced professionalisation for part-time staff needs greater recognition and inclusion in change agendas.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 39-53 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Research in Post-Compulsory Education |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 20 May 2008 |
Keywords
- professionalism
- part-time staff employment
- professional autonomy and agency
- FE and adult community learning
- learning and skills sector
- part-timeness