New ways of being public: the experience of foundation degrees

Craig, John (2009) New ways of being public: the experience of foundation degrees. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 33 (1). pp. 23-31. ISSN 0309-877X

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Abstract

This article explores the recent development of new spheres of public engagement within UK higher education through an analysis of the foundation degree qualification. These, according to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), were designed to equip students with the combination of technical skills, academic knowledge, and transferable skills increasingly being demanded by employers, and they have been identified as being at the forefront of educational agendas aimed at increasing employer engagement in the higher education (HE) sector. As such, they might be regarded as an expression of the 'increasing privatisation' of HE. However, this article argues that, on the contrary, they have enabled the development of new areas of public engagement relating to the design and delivery of courses as well as providing new opportunities for the pursuit of public policy goals such as widening participation. Such outcomes, it is argued, are the result of a number of factors that explain the 'publicness' of the qualification and that should be sustained to ensure the implementation of the 2006 Leitch Report in a manner that further develops public engagement.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an electronic version of an article published in Journal of Further and Higher Education, 2009, 33(1). Journal of Further and Higher Education is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=0309%2d877X&volume=33&issue=1&spage=23
Uncontrolled Keywords:	publicness; foundation degrees; employer engagement; privatisation; higher education
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Schools:	School of Human and Health Sciences
Related URLs:	Author
Depositing User:	John Craig
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2009 09:36
Last Modified:	03 Dec 2016 00:29
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/5634

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