Page, Damien (2010) Routine resistance and the absence of trust: first tier managers in Further Education. In: 9th Discourse, Power, Resistance Conference, 30 Mar - 1 Apr 2010, Greenwich, London, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study of first tier managers in four Further Education colleges as they attempt to manage perpetual change within a context of performativity and mistrust. Drawing on Prasad and Prasad’s (1998) categorisation of routine resistance, the research revealed a wide range of resistant strategies from lecturers against ever increasing control and surveillance. First tier managers, trusting of lecturers yet distrustful of senior managers, faced the dilemma of colluding with resistance to maintain cooperation or challenging the behaviours and risk becoming the target rather than the audience of routine resistance. This paper also presents evidence of the resistance of managers themselves. In a role that is highly contested, elastic and poorly defined, first tier managers were found to be highly agentive in their own resistance to the immediate gratification needs of senior managers: principled dissent, exploitation of forgetfulness, manipulation of data and cognitive escape were seen not just as resistance but methods of getting through each day.

This paper concludes that despite the demonisation of critical opinions in the lifelong learning sector, resistance in further education, far from contravening the principles of academic citizenship, is a form of educational fundamentalism and an attempt to prioritise learners in the face of financial and managerial imperatives.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Additional Information:	Paper presented at 9th Discourse, Power, Resistance Conference, held 30 March - 1 April 2010, University of Greenwich, London, UK.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	resistance, further education, trust, first tier managers
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General)
Pre-2014 Departments:	School of Education School of Education > Department of Lifelong Learning & Teacher Education
Related URLs:	Organisation Organisation
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2019 09:19
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/5491

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