College Sector Research Resource

This resource brings together resources relating to the college sector in Scotland including original research and links to the wide range of reports relevant to the sector. It is intended to provide a quick reference for researchers who wish to explore research themes, locate copies of reports or to compare and contrast their recommendations.

On this page we list the key reports with links to their locations. Links are checked regularly but please let us know if any are no longer functioning.

Research Article: Using Action Research in bicycle-maintenance classes to improve students’ life-chances

This article by Stuart Muir of Ayrshire College describes an action research project around meta skills for secondary school pupils being supported by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). Stuart was supported in his research by the CDN Step Forward programme and we are delighted to see his report of his work in print. You can read the report here.

Research Report: Digital Progression in Scotland’s Colleges

This new report researched and written by our CDN Research Associate Marc Fleming of UCEM examines digital progression in Scotland’s colleges in recent years. Through qualitative case study research, Marc highlights some of the key areas in which colleges are enhancing their digital practice and offers reflections on how digital progress can be sustained in the future. This is an insightful report for anyone interested in how colleges are developing innovative digital practice in areas from learning and teaching through to infrastructure and platforms. You can read the report here.

Research Report: Higher Education in Scotland’s Colleges

This new report researched and written by our CDN Research Associate Patrick O’Donnell of Perth College UHI looks at the development of higher education delivery in colleges in the UK and in Scotland specifically. In a detailed survey of the college landscape and its historical development, Patrick identifies the main drivers of higher education provision and how they are continuing to evolve. This is a valuable report for anyone interested in how our colleges have developed their unique provision and what will influence the next stage of their development. You can read the report here.

Research Report: Philanthropy in Scotland’s Colleges Survey Report

In 2022 FJ Philanthropy undertook a survey on behalf of CDN to look at current fundraising activity in our colleges. The report looks at the current picture and makes recommendations for future practice in this area. You can read the report here.

College Sector Research Spreadsheet

We have developed a spreadsheet resource that collates the reports and their corresponding themes, ambitions, observations and recommendations in a thematic and cross-referenced way, to facilitate easy access for college sector users of the information.

It is intended for use as an ‘at-a-glance’ tool for researchers. Recommendations are linked to 24 categories that can be used to identify key themes across all reports.

The resource can be filtered on any column, meaning that all the recommendations for one category across all reports can be viewed.

Please note that we are making this resource freely available for the use of researchers and those interested in the work of colleges. The resource is a free download in Excel format and while every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publication CDN is not responsible for any subsequent changes or updates made by those downloading the resource.

The spreadsheet is available to download here