College and University libraries for a range of texts and journals.
Internet access.

You will be required to prepare a set of bullet points and accompanying notes on one or a combination of the contemporary issues studied on the course, as if you were going to give a presentation. (However you will not be required to give a presentation of the slides). The total wordage of the slides and accompanying notes should be up to 1800.

You will be expected to:

- Explain the importance of this topic to your institution

- Identify the actual or potential implications for your area of work

- Suggest workable strategies to facilitate progress with this issue in your area of work.

- Reflect upon your current or potential future role in relation to this issue

Due to the ever changing nature of the post compulsory education working environment, the content of this module is likely to be equally dynamic.
This module introduces you to a selection of institutional and externally driven factors which affect the priorities of post compulsory education. You are exposed to a variety of contemporary organisational and/or legislative issues and are asked to consider the effect of these on not only your own professional practice, but also the team within which you work.

A variety of learning and teaching strategies will be used such as presentations by specialist practitioners, group discussions, case studies and task-centred investigations. There will be a strong emphasis on activity-focused learning and you will be expected to engage actively in all sessions.

In addition you will be required to engage in independent study in order to consolidate and build upon your learning from the taught sessions. This will take the form of follow-up tasks, linking learning to the workplace, and reading relevant contemporary sources.

The method of delivery will be appropriate for the needs of each cohort. Possible delivery patterns may include 10 weekly 2 hour workshops, or 3 day long workshops. Opportunities for additional assignment workshops will normally be available on request.

All participants must be currently working in a post compulsory education establishment, e.g. FE college, private college, prison education, voluntary sector.

The rationale for a website-based reading list is that this course focuses on contemporary, and, therefore, continuously changing, issues in post compulsory education. Recent research reports, media reports and FE agency websites will inform participants¿ thinking. We also hope that participants will continue to engage with these sites and identify relevant information in future, beyond the module.

Agency / professional body websites

Skills Funding Agency:
http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/

Young People¿s Learning Agency:
http://www.ypla.gov.uk/

Ofsted:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/

Learning and Skills Improvement Service:
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=320139

Department for Education:
http://www.education.gov.uk/

Equality Challenge Unit:
http://www.ecu.ac.uk/

Action on Access:
http://www.actiononaccess.org

Media websites

Education Guardian
http://education.guardian.co.uk/

BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk

Times Education Supplement:
http://www.tes.co.uk/