Further education colleges (FECs) are vital to widening participation in higher education (HE) among underrepresented social groups. Yet college-based HE (CBHE) remains under researched and can often be overlooked in HE policy and practice. 

Focusing exclusively on college-based higher education (CBHE), five further education colleges (FECs) are participating in a student-staff collaborative partnership aimed at supporting flexible pathways and effective transitions in CBHE. As outlined in our introductory blog post, students and staff have been engaging in iterative reflective practice using the cycle of collaborative observation (O’Leary and Cui, 2020) to develop teaching and learning across ten case study groups.

To support each project, CBHE students and staff were invited to training sessions held earlier this year at Birmingham City University. Training sessions gave researchers, college leaders, staff, and students opportunities to work together, reflect on current approaches, and plan projects suitable to the context of each group. These sessions facilitated cross-institutional dialogue between staff and students and helped to develop a shared understanding between participants.

In a reflection task, staff and students were asked to share their thoughts based on a series of prompt questions. When staff were asked how they would consider approaches to collaboration with students, a range of answers were offered including allowing discussion time and safe spaces for students as well as the importance of good relationships. 

Alongside practical concerns like time and space, the importance of interpersonal factors are highlighted here with consideration of being open to criticism of existing practices. Such considerations of time, space and relationships are important to reflect upon at the beginning and throughout the project as competing priorities and institutional norms may present challenges when ideas are put into practice.

As these answers indicate, adapting to academic writing styles are a concern for students with conventions around referencing and citations highlighted. These are only two examples, but they may raise further questions for college staff and students. How might these challenges be overcome, and how can staff and students engage in overcoming these challenges together? A final response offers some indication for maintaining and sustaining collaborative practices throughout the course of the project.

This response suggests the important of close, supportive, ongoing relationships. This is strong advice for all involved in the project, from students to staff, to college leaders and university researchers. Yet, further questions emerge about how we all might best maintain close support while also giving due consideration to different personal and institutional demands, targets and even timetables throughout the entirety of the project to ensure meaningful impact on quality teaching and learning for all involved.

It is central to the aims of this project to allow students and staff to learn together through collaborative and cooperative interaction, by sharing insights and experiences with each other. It is therefore important to facilitate and encourage ongoing opportunities for reflexive dialogue and collective meaning making throughout the project. Creating the right conditions for dialogic exchange between students and staff is fundamental to developing greater awareness of the strengths and areas for development in their practices.

Throughout the project, we aim to support the creation of shared environments for reflexive pedagogical dialogue on teaching on learning, with the aim of empowering students and staff, supporting pathways and transitions in CBHE and improving learning experiences for all.