Research & Publications

The members of WFCP disseminate and exchange knowledge and information to strengthen and inform their work. The following resources are provided by members. If you wish to have your resources posted on our site please fill out the resource form.

Demonstrating the Value of FE Colleges in Wales: Analysis of the Social and Economic Impact of Learning

FE colleges in Wales create value in many ways. The colleges are committed to putting learners on the path to success and play a key role in helping them increase their employability and achieve their individual potential.

With a vast range of courses and apprenticeships, the colleges’ provision enables learners to acquire qualifications and develop the skills they need in order to have a fulfilling and prosperous career. Th e colleges also provide an excellent environment for learners to meet new people and make friends, while participation in the colleges’ courses improves the learners’ self-confidence and promotes their mental health. All of these social and employment-related benefits have a positive influence on the health and well-being of individuals.

In this report Economic Modelling Specialists International (Emsi) assesses the economic value of FE colleges in Wales to their key stakeholder groups: learners, society, taxpayers, and the local community.

Read the Executive Summary or the full report.

The practical and policy implications of the Well-being of Future Generations Act on the FE sector in Wales

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 supports a more collaborative approach to operations in the public sector, as a result ColegauCymru have commissioned a report to guide the FE sector on responsive methods to the requirements of the Act. The work was undertaken by The City and County of Swansea Sustainable Development Unit and Netherwood Sustainable Futures.

Click here to read the report.

Involvement of Welsh Further Education colleges and institutions in EU Funding – an overview of the financial uptake

This report has been commissioned to identify how Further Education Institutions (FEIs) in Wales have accessed EU funding and the roles that they have played in the economic development promoted by EU funding. The aim is twofold; firstly, to enable FEIs to play a full role in the successful delivery of the current EU funding programmes, and secondly, to start preparing for “Brexit” when EU funding resources will not be available, at least in the current form. The report thus outlines what potential issues and barriers lie ahead and the financial gap in resources that this scenario could create.

Click here to read the report by ColegauCymru/CollegesWales.

Gammon, egg and chips in the pub night after night

The retail, tourism and hospitality (RTH) industries have undergone significant change over the last decade, with the further expansion of internet shopping, online booking of accommodation and the rise of travel and experience review sites such as Trip Advisor, to name but a few.

The majority of RTH businesses are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises which face particular issues in terms of training and skills. Further Education institutions are keen to meet the needs of these businesses and understand the challenges they face. With this in mind, ColegauCymru / CollegesWales sought to gain a better understanding of the skills requirements and challenges facing small businesses in the RTH sector and commissioned research in this area.

The research took place in two stages: a quantitative approach looking at issues related to skills and qualifications in SMEs; and a second, more qualitative, interview-based piece of research focussing on SME skills needs, recruitment, the differences between the training needs of businesses in retail, hospitality and catering, and importantly, how to meet these needs with a focus on how Further Education (and, in some cases Higher Education) should react in terms of developing courses and approaches to teaching and learning more widely. The current report is a summary of the second stage of the research and the qualitative interviews undertaken.

Read the report here.

Academic Advising: Measuring the Effects of “Proactive” Interventions on Student Outcomes

Researchers at Mohawk College and the Education Research Initiative, funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO)’s Access and Retention Consortium, have completed a two-phase study on “proactive” advising services. Proactive advising services refer to deliberate advising interventions, which aim to enhance students’ motivation. Proactive advising takes the form of more frequent outreach, anticipates students’ needs, and fosters strong relationships between students and advisers. The study found that first-year students who received repeated emails encouraging they participate in advising services, were less likely to drop-out.

The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario is a provincial government agency that uses research, evaluation and policy advice to use evidence-based research to promote the continued improvement of postsecondary education in Ontario.

Read the full study here.

Green Skills for Sustainable Economic Growth: The Role of Canadian Colleges and Institutes in Advancing Education for Sustainability in Canada and Overseas

Following the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015 and the adoption in the same year by the United Nations General Assembly of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a new sense of urgency about escalating the global response to climate change. This should drive an increase in demand across the globe for new types of skills—“green skills”—that will equip people to drive “clean” or “green” economic growth. For Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in both developing and developed countries, the challenge is not only building the capacity to deliver a “next generation” of technical skills development, but the need to rethink education “post-2015”—in effect, to reconsider the culture of education as it is known, in order to respond to the pressing issues of our time.

This report, commissioned by Colleges and Institutes Canada, positions Canada’s colleges, institutes and Cégeps within the rapidly changing global landscape of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It examines the capacity of Canadian colleges and institutes to contribute to, and partner in, what is now increasingly known as the “Greening” of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (GTVET). It provides an overview of this capacity against the backdrop of a growing demand for transforming education and skills development systems globally to address climate change. The study also serves as an important first, though far from comprehensive, effort to assess the range and scope of what might be referred to as the “greening” of Canada’s colleges and institutes and how these activities measure up with the current state of knowledge and practice in ESD and GTVET.

Read the report here

Skills Development as a Means to Women´s Empowerment: Integrating Gender Equality in TVET

The paper and its executive summary are available for download at the following address:

Full Report
Exec. Summary

Colleges and Institutes Canada commissioned this research piece to take stock of the work its members have done to strengthen women’s economic empowerment and gender equality through its international projects. Our Education for Employment programs in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, Mulheres Mil in Brazil, and initiatives in other countries, have worked to build education sector capacity in the developing world. Responding to local partners’ needs, these initiatives have scored some significant gains in advancing women’s inclusion.

The paper looks at recent research about the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and the role TVET institutions can play in advancing women’s social and economic inclusion. It also takes a critical look at how TVET institutions sometimes put up barriers that prevent women from accessing and completing technical education and achieving improved economic outcomes. Based on a review of lessons CICan has learned from its international projects as well as international research sources, this paper offers a number of recommendations with respect to program design and strategies to bring down barriers to access, strengthen women’s participation in TVET and ensure better transitions to decent work.

Higher Apprenticeships: a real alternative to full-time study?

Higher Apprenticeships deliver higher technical skills, higher earnings, increased innovation, improved productivity and greater social inclusion. We explore the contextual requirements for successful Higher Apprenticeships, namely Government commitment, employer support and industry-standard teachers.

This paper was produced following research amongst members of the Mixed Economy Group of English FE colleges (MEG.)  MEG represents 43 FE colleges which deliver significant volumes of HE in addition to FE. Each college has a minimum of 500 FTE HE students and relies on a partner university or universities to validate all or part of their Prescribed HE offer. A number of other FE colleges deliver HE to smaller numbers of students, bringing the total number of public FE colleges offering HE across England to 244, compared with 160 public universities. Collectively, FE colleges provide just under 10% of English undergraduate HE, or almost 160,000 students in 2016 (AoC, 2016), which is largely delivered by 52 FE colleges. (Parry et al, 2012)

Read more here: MEG_WFCP 7 February 2017

Shanghai Consensus: Recommendations of the Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training "Transforming TVET: Building skills for work and life"

Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, 14 to 16 May 2012

The third UNESCO International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (VET) meeting in Shanghai, PR China (14-16 May 2012) reviewed major trends and policy developments in TVET, since the second international Congress held in 1999.

The Congress discussed challenges faced by TVET systems and explored appropriate responses, aimed at building a better understanding of the contribution of TVET to sustainable development and at defining strategic directions for cooperation among countries with the international community to support TVET for all, within the framework of the overall efforts in favour of access, inclusion and equity, education for sustainable development and a culture of peace.

This document can be accessed at the following link : SHANGHAI CONSENSUS‎

The Bonn Declaration

Bonn, Germany, March 31 to April 2 2009.

The Bonn Declaration resulted from a UNESCO meeting of international experts on technical and vocational education and traning.  Conference participants exchanged best practices on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from all world regions. They developed mechanisms for enhanced cooperation in the implementation of the UN Decade, especially focusing on the exchange between developing countries, those in transition and industrialized countries.The conference followed four objectives: to highlight the relevance of ESD to all of education; to promote international exchange on ESD, especially between the North and the South; to carry out a stock-taking of the implementation of the UN Decade and to develop strategies for the way ahead.The Bonn Declaration reflects the discussions held during the Conference and provides a strategic orientation for the second half of the Decade. It attests the importance of ESD in the current world situation. It calls for making a compact with the global DESD movement aimed at improving knowledge, skills and competencies and strengthening values and attitudes oriented towards a transition to a more just, fair and viable world.The Bonn Declaration, adopted by the participants of the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (Bonn, Germany) is now available in eight languages, namely in English, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Danish. Visit site for download in the language of your choice.

Nine principles of good practice for assessing student learning

As a systematic process of gathering, interpreting and using information about student learning, assessment is a powerful tool for educational improvement. This article, developed by the American Association of Higher Education, presents 9 principles of good practice for assessing student learning.

Download the full article (pdf).

La formation continue et l'accompagnement du personnel enseignant du collégial

**IN FRENCH ONLY**

This first book of the PERFORMA Collection presents a collection of Faculty research and Innovation projects, and identifies key lessons to support teachers in their research and innovation efforts.This book is first and foremost intended towards those in position to support and mentor teachers.

Ce premier ouvrage de la Collection PERFORMA fait état de résultats de recherches ou de projets d’innovations portant sur le personnel enseignant et en dégage les principales leçons pour l’accompagnement des équipes d’enseignantes et d’enseignants. Il s’adresse donc d’abord à celles et à ceux qui ont pour mandat d’accompagner ou d’encadrer le personnel enseignant.

For more information / Pour plus d’information:

The Association of Colleges (AoC) International Charter

The Association of Colleges (AoC) is proud of the excellence and commitment Colleges bring to their international work. The AoC International Charter embodies the unique qualities of UK Colleges, presenting the sector’s work to key domestic and international stakeholders and ensuring Colleges maximise their international opportunities…Association of Colleges International Charter [PDF]