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The aim of this project was to add to our knowledge and understanding of how learning and working in Further Education in Wales relate to each other. It drew from educational studies, the sociology of education and policy sociology. The distinctive focus of the project was on the ways in which learning of all kinds are a product of the social interaction between students and teachers and the ways in which learning processes are influenced by the policy framework through which Further Education in Wales is regulated, as well as the wider economic and social context in which learning and these interactions take place.
The approach adopted distinguished between those determinants internal to learning settings, such as classrooms and those which originate externally, such as the wider social context or from the previous experiences of students and teachers. Individual interviews with teachers and students and the completion of reflective journals, focus group interviews with students and ethnographic classroom observation provided a rich data source.
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