Colleges and students

Discussing students’ experiences of FE is complex as the FE student body is not homogeneous: it is diversifying and changing. What little research has been undertaken tends to focus on a specific age group such as post-16 (Bloomer and Hodkinson, 1997, Bates and Riseborough, 1993, Furlong, 1992); young adults (Harkin et al., 2001); or mature adults (Gallacher et al., 2000). A minority of studies cut across both age groups (Ainley and Bailey, 1997; Green and Lucas, 1999d) or include FE students as part of a wider study (West, 1996). As mentioned in earlier chapters, the traditional image of FE college students as mostly white, working-class youths taking apprenticeship courses, is no longer true although this image remains today in people’s consciousness. Adults now constitute a significant proportion of college students to the extent that they can be described as an adult college rather than a young person’s college. College students are a microcosm of society as a whole in that all groups of people (post-16) are reflected in the student population. Relationships between colleges and its students have changed as a result of incorporation. The new language of marketisation means that students have become transformed into clients or customers with a more contractual type relationship. At the same time, students as fee payers are expecting more in terms of facilities, quality and standards.