I saw a wonderful tweet from North Hertfordshire College this week. It is sending 40 public service students to work on its local fireworks display. It reminded me of how much scholarship there is in FE. Staff don’t seem all that comfortable in using that term, but scholarship is something that FE is full of, and something we need to celebrate. 

Those who teach in college-based higher education (CBHE) may be familiar with the concept of scholarship: in fact, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has just completed a project led by John Lea to encourage the development of scholarship in CBHE. 

It used Ernest Boyer’s scholarship model as its foundation - a model which identifies four forms of scholarship: the development of teaching and pedagogy, creating new knowledge, application of knowledge across disciplines and applying knowledge in the service of community. 

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Boyer preludes the idea of scholarship, albeit in rather old-fashioned and American language, as this: “Teachers and students alike are profoundly moved by the desire to service the democratic community… all the colleges boast of the serviceable men they have trained, and regard the serviceable patriot as their ideal product.”

College students helping the community

He presents a world in which teachers and students follow an arguably broader concept of education than one of simply passing exams. In his vision, people are developed to contribute to their employer and society in general, so that they live rich and fulfilled lives. The example from North Herts embraces this idea by applying students’ knowledge in the service of the community.

There are many other examples right across the sector of the development of teaching and pedagogy as a form of scholarship. For example, the Education and Training Foundation’s Industry Insights scheme, which gets vocational teachers back to industry to update their knowledge and skills. In many colleges, advanced practitioners work to develop practice with individuals and departments. 

Creating and using new knowledge

The sector also creates and uses new knowledge, albeit in slightly different ways to the traditional academic protocols. Practitioner-led action research allows individuals to use knowledge from academic and other sources to gather data and understand how this knowledge works in their context and with their students. Equally, when lecturers or students learn about new technology or industrial practices and bring it into classrooms, they bring valuable new knowledge to the sector. 

In my own college, there is even a lecturer researching whether Euphorbia plants grow best in silence or accompanied by different sounds. This creates opportunities for staff and students to engage with new knowledge and understand the process through which it is created.

Multi-disciplinary work is often found in real-life projects. For example, when designing a garden for an exhibition, staff and students will need to consult their horticultural knowledge as well as looking at things like planning and budgeting. Construction projects that involve trades working together, rather than separately, may bring together students with different banks of knowledge and encourage joint-problem solving. These kinds of experiences are so useful for students’ employment opportunities.

Scholarship in FE

Applying knowledge learned at college when serving the local community often happens when FE institutions work with local businesses. Again, often originating from these “real-life” projects, students can work with local and national businesses to problem-solve and create. I’ve recently been told about a great initiative at City of Bristol College, where arts and health students are creating and delivering activities at South Bristol Community Hospital to create a bridge between the classroom and work: a perfect example of sharing knowledge in the community.

The benefits of these initiatives are seen in the genuine enrichment of the vocational curriculum and the development of more engaging assessment and learning activities and of industry-contextual skill,  such as communication and problem-solving, becoming deeply embedded into teaching and learning.

Looking back at Boyer’s definition of scholarship, we’re not only providing a service to our community, we’re also helping to shape the workers, working practices and knowledge of the future.

And yet, we are shy of calling what we do scholarship. Sometimes, it’s called employer engagement or it may fall under the banners of careers or enrichment. However, I’d argue that none of these terms really reflect the richness and potential of the activities in the way that scholarship may. Maybe as a sector we need to revisit this term, which seems to be as valid for further as higher education? So, come on FE, show us your scholarship. 

Sam Jones is a lecturer at Bedford College, founder of FE Research Meet and was FE teacher of the year at the Tes FE Awards 2019