Abstract
Many authors have contributed to this book with its stated aim ‘to directly interrogate how formal power is exercised in further education (FE)’. The primary focus, though not explicitly stated, is FE as it is organized and provided in England, with some specific departures, particularly in Part 2.
The authors share an angst about the current state of FE in England some 25 years after the enactment of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 on 1 April 1993 (an appropriate date for many observers for the tasteless and long-lasting joke played on the FE sector; I’ll reserve my position on the transformation of local-authority polytechnics).
The contributing authors want more and better from FE in England. Thus, the search for effective leadership towards the new world of FE, where teacher agency, student engagement and participation, innovation, democratic practices and accountability to communities replace the current, tired business model of ever larger and inevitable regionalization of colleges. This book provides a comprehensive review of the broad malaise resulting from successive governments’ policies built upon that FHE Act 1992. Before we completely descend into Bunyan’s slough of despond, I have been to enough student success events and celebrations over recent years to make it clear to me that FE is still a powerful transformational force for many people. The excitement and self-esteem from such learner success reminds me that there is, despite the policy set-backs and performativity, a vibrant FE college sector in England. But the authors of this book rightly want more. Whatever interest you have in FE (from student to teacher to senior staff to governor), this book has much to stimulate and entertain the reader.
Some of the entertainment and insight comes from application of the device (the ‘metaphorical lens’) used throughout the book, that of Nicollò Machiavelli’s The Prince. It is a neat play to create the overlap of The Prince with The Principal. But I wonder about aspects of this ‘playful but deadly serious’ (p. xxvii) foundation for the book. Anecdotally, many colleagues in colleges would agree with the parallel between Machiavelli and college principals they have encountered. However, the book, through its various contributors, does not actually get to the core of being a principal and chief executive. There is no discussion of the defined responsibilities of the current role of the principal and the levers available to the principal to achieve these responsibilities. Being a principal during the 25 years of the FHE Act has required an evolution of leadership practice – this is also overlooked. Perhaps most surprising of all is the absence of consideration of the critical relationship between the principal and the chair of the governing body. Principals are employed by the college governing body (acting as an FE corporation), and so the governing body is usually a significant influence on the direction for the college and can define the part the principal is expected to play in that journey. What of the possibly confused status of principal as chief executive and principal as a member of the governing body? The exercise of decision-making by the principal is often shaped by the culture and conditions set by the governing body. Furthermore, how the professional identity of the principal is formed and supported could have featured as a chapter. For example, what part does the current Further Education Strategic Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford play?
Thus, surprisingly, there is not enough about The Principal and perhaps too much about The Prince for me in this broadly entertaining book. We are advised not to judge a book by its cover, but that picture of Nicollò is distracting; 43% of college principals in England are female (Association of Colleges, 4 January 2018). If this book is about the here and now, perhaps a more gender-representative cover would have been advisable. That complaint is continued within the book, with many quotes about the exercise of power to stimulate the reader. The majority of these selected quotes are…from men. I should also comment on the artwork included within the book depicting ‘power’ in mainly abstract ways. I think this aspect added little to my enjoyment of the book, but perhaps that says more about me and my approach to abstract art.
The final word on the book contents literally rests with the student voice. There is a contribution from the President of the National Union of Students, and this includes a section that begins ‘This is my advice to principals…’. All principals, aspiring principals, governors and college stakeholders should read and respond to this section.
Read this book to learn something of Machiavelli’s ideas, appreciate aspects of the FE power field in England and beyond, and gain some understanding of the setting for college principals who have chosen to be leaders of FE learning. As Tim Parks explains in his introduction to The Prince (Penguin Classics, 2009), what is at stake is personal survival; anything extra is luxury. Many principals will identify with that interpretation and, from necessity, have to locate much of their decision-making within that context.