‘You cram these words into mine ears!’: The experiences of HE in FE students

Students studying for Higher Education qualifications experience Further Education differently than other FE students. In this chapter, we present accounts that illustrate how HE in FE liberates learners, even whilst it circumscribes them, making them as likely to be immeasurably grateful for the opportunities it presents as they are seething with frustration at the demands and constraints it places upon them. In this, they are like both Ariel and Caliban in their relationship to Prospero in The Tempest. Prospero sets his subjects free from prior limitations, even whilst he tethers them to his tiny kingdom and commands their every action. Shakespeare’s masterful portrayal of this conflicted predicament gives us a rich and engaging way to gain fresh insights into the ambiguous, complex, contradictory relationships of HE students within FE settings.