ABSTRACT Further education policy across the UK has diverged significantly over the last decade. While in both countries colleges have been subject to a programme of restructuring and rationalisation, Scotland now has a largely ‘nationalised’ sector while England has adopted a more market-led approach which has been characterised in some quarters as a ‘free for all’. However, there are some signs that England is starting to turn away from this stance and it is, therefore, instructive to examine the influence of policy on the Scottish sector, particularly as England embarks on a programme of devolution to the regions. This paper draws on policy documents and interviews with key policy actors to examine the ‘Scottish Approach’ to policy and the effects of this on the performance of the sector. While this has undoubtedly resulted in a more coherent system it is argued that colleges have paid a price for this, foregoing much of their previous autonomy. Moreover, it is not clear that the approach has addressed the ‘skills gap’ as currently perceived. It is concluded that much can be learned by greater engagement across the border, informed by a clearer understanding of how policy contexts impact on the leadership and governance of colleges.

中文翻译：

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英国的继续教育：苏格兰大学治理的教训

摘要在过去的十年中，英国的继续教育政策大相径庭。虽然在这两个国家中，大学都受到重组和合理化计划的约束，但苏格兰现在主要是“国有化”的部门，而英格兰则采用了更加市场主导的方法，在某些方面，这种方法被称为“所有人免费”。但是，有迹象表明英国开始放弃这一立场，因此，考察政策对苏格兰部门的影响是有启发性的，特别是在英国开始实施向该地区转移权力的计划时。本文利用政策文件和与主要政策参与者的访谈来研究政策的“苏格兰方法”及其对行业绩效的影响。尽管这无疑导致了一个更加连贯的体系，但有人认为大学为此付出了代价，而这超出了他们以前的大部分自治权。此外，目前尚不清楚这种方法是否解决了“技能差距”。结论是，通过对政策环境如何影响大学的领导和治理有更清晰的了解，可以通过跨界更大的参与来学到很多东西。