Aidan Arnold

Thesis title: ‘The Edge of the Maze’: What are the causes and effects of increasing managerialism within the United Kingdom’s Further Education (FE) sector? A hermeneutical examination of the divide between educato

Start year: 2018

Contact: 18088445@brookes.ac.uk

Research topic

This study aims to develop findings from my MA dissertation through focusing on the causes and resulting impacts of increasing supervisory–focused cultures within Further Education. This piece will utilise interpretivist and hermeneutical methods in order to examine the difference in thoughts/opinions of individuals employed in both teaching and managerial positions. An additional finding of prior MA research was the identification of a perceived ‘divide’ in thinking between front–line educators and those in managerial positions. The usage of interpretivist methods will allow for commonalties and differences between participants to be explicitly identified and discussed for potential meaning in the hope of the nature of this ‘divide’ being overtly outlined.

Direct experience of educational leadership and management combines with particular personal interest in this field. It is hoped that this study will contribute to literature surrounding educational leadership and management, helping to identify effective strategies for both groups of educational stakeholders to find common ground in an increasingly turbulent sector of education.

Keywords

Management, Leadership, Teacher Training, Further Education, Career, Hermeneutics, Interpretivist, Values, Ethics

General research interests

Hermeneutics, Interpretation, Cognitive Decision Making, Curriculum Development, Further Education, Teacher Training Programmes, Hidden Curriculum, Educational Psychology

Academic school / department

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

Further details

Academic and professional training

  • 2010–2013 BA (Hons) Business and Management, Bournemouth University
  • 2013–2014 PGCE in Post-Compulsory Education, Oxford Brookes University
  • 2016–2018 MA in Education, Oxford Brookes University