Survey reveals trends in leadership and management in post-16 learning

Citation

(2003), "Survey reveals trends in leadership and management in post-16 learning", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445gab.009

Survey reveals trends in leadership and management in post-16 learning

Survey reveals trends in leadership and management in post-16 learning

The average age of leaders and managers in the UK's post-compulsory learning organizations is increasing, says a report from the Learning and Skills Development Agency. More than 40 per cent of leaders and managers in further education (FE) colleges and in adult and community learning are aged 50 years or more. Furthermore, trends over the past five years show an increasingly ageing management workforce within FE colleges. But the survey also reveals clear trends towards the increased take-up of management qualifications.

The report, Tomorrow's Learning Leaders, provides a snap-shot of the characteristics of chief executives and managers in FE colleges, adult and community learning (ACL) and work-based learning (WBL). Based on the responses of almost 2,000 people from various management levels, the report provides an insight into the attitudes and values of leaders and managers in post-compulsory learning, what they do, the qualifications they hold and the skills they most need to develop. It throws light on alleged inequalities of gender and ethnicity and warns of a possible succession crisis among the next generation of leaders and managers as the current cohort of leaders nears retirement age. The findings also show how attitudes and practices have changed since the previous survey in 1997.

The main findings are:

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  Four out of five respondents from all three sectors (FE, ACL and WBL) were over 41 years of age and there is as a clear trend towards older managers in FE colleges over the past five years. In 1997, 24 per cent of managers in FE colleges were aged 50 and over, but by 2002 this had increased to 42 per cent.

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  Managers at senior levels remain predominantly white and male. The proportion of female managers in FE colleges remains roughly the same as it was five years ago, with no evidence of any moves to smash the glass ceiling. A similar pattern exists for FE college managers from ethnic backgrounds, with only 3 per cent of all respondents of African, Indian, Pakistani or Chinese descent in both the 1997 and 2002 surveys.

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  More than one third of all managers now hold recognized management qualifications and there has been significant growth, over the past five years, in acquiring management qualifications within FE colleges. But opinion on their value is divided, with junior and supervisory managers placing greater emphasis than senior managers on the need for management qualifications.

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  Professional development is viewed as a higher priority among middle and supervisory managers. Within FE colleges, executive and senior managers perceived they had significantly fewer professional-development and support needs than lower-tier managers.

Three top priorities emerged as important development needs for all managers. These were: dealing with conflict; making effective use of management-information systems; and evaluating financial proposals. The greatest need for professional development was among ACL managers and among junior and middle management across the learning and skills sector. There were also clear preferences among all managers for learning through experience, planned project work, one-day seminars, shared practice and mentoring. Lack of time was the greatest obstacle to participating in professional development. There were also significant differences over priorities and preferred learning styles between managers from different sectors. For instance, "planning to achieve a vision" was a high priority and work secondments was a preferred learning style within FE colleges, but less so in the two other sectors.

The survey also raises concerns about the lack of diversity among managers, which need to be addressed. These are significant factors affecting the new Leadership College's ability to tackle growing skills gaps and skills shortages.