There has been some criticism about the apparent lack of critical dialogue in the spaces occupied by the further education research community. To me, this viewpoint highlights two things. First, the maturity of practice in FE that knows that there isn’t a “right” answer to the trad/prog pseudo-debate that, from the outside at least, seems to rage around mainstream eduTwitter.

Second, that attempts to “own” the space, to suggest you have the “right answer” or the silver bullet of teaching practice, isn’t really what the FE research space is all about. It is far more collaborative, it is far more about understanding and it is more nuanced. It is about sharing and developing knowledge and skills and, in this respect, does require far more critical engagement than a binary bun fight.

A great example of this is the recent publication by the #FEResearchMeet crowd, Working and living in FE during the COVID-19 pandemic: 27 FE practitioners’ voices.  Edited by Jim Crawley, Jo Fletcher-Saxon, David Powell and Kerry Scattergood, with a cover by Jen Lindsell, the publication contains the experience of 27 sector staff, who were inspired to write after attending the first online #FEResearchMeet in the summer of 2020. 

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The fact that the event took place at all is a pretty good advertisement for collaboration. A pre-Covid decision to run a #FEResearchMeet by Scattergood and Annie Pendrey looked like it had run into a dead end when the pandemic struck. They were initially unsure about how to hold an event online but, fortunately, David Powell was on hand to share his Zoom experience and so #FEResearchMeet transitioned from a face-to-face offering to a digital one. 

The need to share, collaborate and connect over the initial Covid period was widely documented and the new-format ResearchMeet, running across three mornings, allowed for the sharing of knowledge and experience from keynotes and workshops in order to explore the sector, it’s practices and challenges.

A space that puts a focus on development, sharing and collaboration rather than arguing who owns the high ground is always likely to be a more dynamic environment, moving, questioning and developing through the praxis opportunities offered by these environments. And so it was with ResearchMeet, because not only did it moved on line but it recognised the need to capture this movement in time - and the fluidity and co-operation found in the space allowed this to happen.    

Recording experience

Focusing on a common purpose allowed those who conceptualised the publication to persuade others of the importance of recording their experience at this point. 

The rich knowledge and experience of the team began to create a vision for the publication, shaping the requirements for the authors and support via the peer review process.  For me, this is where the magic happens because this experience develops the skills and experience of all involved, leaving the FE community a richer and more highly skilled place. 

Those who wrote for the first time about their practice may better understand it through the sometimes painful process of trying to articulate it to others. These individuals will have learned so much about writing and publication, and this will hopefully encourage them to re-enter that space and contribute ideas and experiences in the future, thus arguably adding to what is known about the FE sector.

The experience of the publishing team also brought learning opportunities. The knowledge gained will be used to further develop other publication opportunities in the sector. I am pleased to say that Scattergood is editor of the Research College Group (RCG) journal, so the experience will be used in this space to develop sector practice. Through the collaborative opportunities that the RCG offers, other staff will be able to work alongside and learn from Scattergood. Thus, what she has learned will become part of the development of the capacity and skills within the sector.

I would argue that collaboration is a far bigger lever to the development of skills and knowledge in and of the FE sector than any Punch and Judy-style exchange.