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The role of a manager within any organisation is often complex and multifaceted. Overtime management theory has developed in an effort to appreciate these complexities and suggest frameworks from which managers should operate. However, should management and the role of a manager be considered generic? Or, instead should we appreciate the distinctions dependant on the context in which a manager is operating in? This paper focuses on education middle managers working in vocational education and training using the Further Education sector in England as a case study to investigate the role. Utilising systematic review the paper will discuss literature on management theory, competency theory and further education management. It considers a range of management theories such as scientific, human relations and open systems theory discussing how these have informed the development of competency theory and frameworks, highlighting the strengths and limitations of prior studies. Building from these studies, this paper creates a new way to develop management competency frameworks. This is illustrated by proposing a contextualised literature-informed competency framework for further education middle managers. Challenging the generic approach to management competency frameworks and providing a platform for empirical studies that develop frameworks contextualised to the external operating environment of the manager. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study draws on mixed methods research with further education middle managers across England in order to explore whether there are gendered differences in management. There remain debates about whether there are gender differences in management or leadership. The study adds to this debate with results that reveal that women and men are behaviourally flexible, employing a repertoire of knowledge, competencies and skills, which are not necessarily gendered, in order to manage change in an increasing neoliberal further education working environment. We therefore propose a novel theoretical contribution of neo-androgynous management, which suggests 'undoing gender' in management in an education sector that has seen increase in women's employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on gender differences in work-life conflict have shown that women often report higher levels of work-life conflict due to social mores of undertaking a larger proportion of childcare and household work. Similarly, emergent research on the impact of the Covid pandemic on work-life conflict have shown that women experienced more work-life conflict. During the pandemic, educational work and provision took place within the home. The current study therefore sought to investigate work-life conflict for employees in the further education sector during the pandemic. The findings of the current study suggest that there were no gender differences, at least in the case of the further education sector, which is contrary to extant research on work-life conflict. Thus, there is scope to explore through future research whether there is trajectory towards gender equalitarianism in the sharing of household work, whether the pandemic as a crisis was an episodic event that necessitated gender equalitarian work distribution, or whether the blurring of boundaries between work and non-work domains is a continuum of neoliberal institutional demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilising new empirical research this study adapts an existing literature‐based competency framework into a hierarchy of competencies needed for education middle managers in England to be effective in their role. The study involved a national survey (n = 164) of further education middle managers and is the first quantitative study investigating the role since 2002. The original contribution of the study is the development of a new ladder of competencies for education middle managers which outlines a suggested ordering of competency development with due consideration to prior training and qualifications. This can enable an improved approach to recruitment, selection and development of education middle managers. The paper presents parameters for consideration when developing competency frameworks for roles more widely which include: prior training, experience, expectations, and challenges of the post‐holder as well as the external working environment. It highlights the value of such considerations and demonstrates the importance in paying due regard to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The further education sector is a challenging working environment with expectations to deliver high-quality education against a backdrop of continuous policy and structural reforms. Further education managers play a key part in how further education institutions respond to this dynamic operating environment. However, despite the importance of this role there is an absence of an agreed set of professional expectations for further education middle managers. Sector bodies have commissioned research to address recruitment challenges and support workforce development, but this is often directed towards teachers. As a result, the credibility of further education teachers has increased markedly, which is welcomed. However, further education middle managers who are responsible for the management of teachers and operationalisation of organisational strategies have not benefited from comparable opportunities for professionalisation. In contrast, they suffer from a lack of support when assimilating into the role. This paper investigates the role of further education middle managers through the lens of those responsible for their recruitment and development, human resource managers. Through the administration of a national survey of human resource managers, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper establishes a new theoretical framework: four pillars of professional expectations for further education middle managers. Furthermore, it highlights the value in a contextualised approach, moving away from generic management standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a turbulent working environment with varying expectations and challenges is it fair to expect further education teachers and managers to maintain and improve standards? This article highlights that with the incorporation of colleges began a series of initiatives to professionalise the FE sector. This coupled with pressures for those who work within it to meet key performance indicators in a climate of financial constraint and inconsistency of policy decisions led to a culmination of challenges. By reviewing current literature, the article goes on to suggest that a conceptual shift in our thinking about teachers and managers based within the further education sector is necessary; one that considers the parallels in the two roles and the similarities in the expectations and challenges of each. This could considerably assist our understanding of the commonalities between these roles, and that instead of discussing teachers and managers as separate and seemingly opposing forces, it will develop a teacher–manager relationship model. This model creates an opportunity for further research to build upon, to either consider how the roles may seek a collegiate response to challenges; or, how the gap in expectations may be narrowed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers wellbeing in the context of those working in the further education (FE) sector in England and how this has been affected by the Covid pandemic. There has been a growth of research into the impact of the pandemic on the workforce in the higher education sector and some considerations for schools. However, research that examines the FE sector's workforce, an education sector which is often considered under-resourced, can be lacking. Our empirical research seeks to begin to address this gap and provide a unique contribution through the replication of a pre-pandemic national FE workforce wellbeing study commissioned by the Education and Training Foundation. The current study uses the same scale framework as the 2019 study to assess the wellbeing of FE sector employees. The results from 347 responses show that the pandemic had a negative impact on the wellbeing of employees, but employees drew upon their resilience to cope with increasing demands in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]