KATIE CROMPTON, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, LEARNING AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK
JONNY KAY, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT IN TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
REBECCA MORRIS, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, LEARNING AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK
Further education (FE) in England is a large and diverse sector, serving over two million learners. It offers a wide range of provision, including academic qualifications, technical and vocational courses, apprenticeships and adult learning. FE plays a critical role in supporting social mobility, local economic growth and progression into employment or higher education. However, the sector faces persistent challenges. Funding constraints continue to shape how colleges operate (Committee of Public Accounts, 2025). At the same time, significant difficulties in recruiting and retaining teachers have been widely documented (Crisp et al., 2023; NAO, 2025; Scott et al., 2026). These challenges are compounded by increasing complexity in learner needs, including attainment gaps and support requirements among students entering FE (Jones, 2026; Scott et al., 2026).
Alongside these systemic pressures, there are emerging concerns regarding student behaviour. Recent commentary has drawn attention to practitioners’ experiences of low-level disruption, disengagement and, in some cases, more serious behavioural incidents (Hill, 2024; Patel, 2024). Despite these concerns, there is still a notable lack of research focused specifically on behaviour in FE settings – particularly studies that foreground practitioners’ perspectives.
The importance of student behaviour in educational contexts is well established in the school-based literature. Positive behaviour is associated with stronger relationships, feelings of safety (both physical and mental) and higher levels of engagement and attainment (EEF, 2024; Fenizia and Parrello, 2025). Conversely, behavioural difficulties and a weaker sense of school belonging are linked to poorer engagement, wellbeing and educational outcomes (Fenizia and Parello, 2025). Challenging behaviour in secondary schools has important implications for the FE sector, where many of these students subsequently enrol. Evidence suggests that transitions between school and FE are not always fully aligned, and continuity of support can be variable (Packer and Thomas, 2021). As a result, some students move from highly structured school environments into more autonomous FE settings without sufficient preparation.
Behaviour is also a critical factor for teachers: challenges in classroom management are associated with increased workload, stress and reduced job satisfaction (Scott et al., 2026; NAO, 2025); and where there is also a lack of support for managing behaviour, teachers are more likely to leave the profession (Perryman and Calvert, 2020). At an institutional level, behaviour contributes to overall culture and climate, influencing performance, inspection outcomes and community reputation.
In FE, these issues may be further complicated by the diversity of the student population, including varying levels of prior attainment, motivation and support needs. Many learners enter FE having previously underachieved at GCSE level, often arriving with more negative perceptions of education shaped by prior school experiences. As such, FE institutions are frequently positioned as a ‘second chance’ for re-engagement, placing additional importance on the role of supportive relationships, consistent expectations and effective classroom management (Lupton et al., 2021). Recent work on effective practice in delivering 16-to-19 English and maths also points to the importance of classroom climate and engagement in supporting learner progress (Crisp et al., 2023; DfE, 2026). Yet despite the clear relevance of behaviour to both student and staff outcomes, empirical research in FE and post-16 contexts remains extremely limited.
In response to this gap, this exploratory study set out to better understand current practitioner perspectives on behaviour in FE. The aim was to identify the types of challenges, if any, that teachers are experiencing, and to consider where further research, policy and practice development might be most beneficial.
Hearing from the FE workforce
A sector-wide survey was developed by this article’s second author as a way of exploring staff perspectives and experiences of student behaviour in FE. The survey was designed in alignment with the government’s schools white paper on behaviour (11–16 phase) (DfE, DWP and DSIT, 2025), enabling comparison with school-based findings while capturing FE-specific experiences. It was disseminated in December 2025 to January 2026, through professional networks and sector contacts, and as part of the second author’s ongoing CPD (continuing professional development) and consultancy work within the FE sector. The survey received a total of 272 responses.
Respondents represented a broad cross-section of the FE workforce, including teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders (e.g. heads of curriculum and assistant principals). The sample was experienced, with approximately half reporting over 15 years in teaching. The majority (over 90 per cent) had experience teaching 16–19 learners, with nearly three-quarters working exclusively within this age range. A range of subject areas were represented, although the sample was skewed towards those who teach English and maths (49.6 per cent). The remaining 50 per cent worked across a wide range of vocational areas, including construction, health and social care, and creative arts. Institutional representation was geographically diverse, with approximately 20 per cent of responses from the South West, 20 per cent from the North East, 17 per cent from the West Midlands and the remainder distributed across other regions in England. Just one per cent (n = 3) of respondents were from Wales and Scotland (the survey was not directly targeted at colleagues from these nations, but we have included these responses within the analysis as they were relevant and valid).
Participation was voluntary and anonymous. No identifiable personal data was collected, and all responses were stored securely in accordance with data protection requirements. This approach ensured confidentiality and encouraged candid reporting on a potentially sensitive area of professional practice.
Behaviours experienced by staff
Across the sample, disruptive behaviour appears as a consistent feature of the FE classroom, though its nature is typically ‘low-level’, rather than extreme. When asked to consider the previous week of lessons, 27 per cent of respondents claimed that disruptive behaviour was prevalent in most lessons, with nearly 40 per cent reporting it in some. The most frequently reported behaviours included talking during lessons, late arrival, calling out and answering back.
The most dominant issue, by a considerable margin, was mobile phone use: nearly 75 per cent of respondents reported that mobile phones were present in most or all lessons, making this the single most pervasive behavioural challenge identified in the data. This finding is particularly notable given that over 90 per cent of respondents teach 16–19 learners, suggesting a strong relationship between this age group and the prevalence of mobile phone-related disruption. While other challenging behaviours occur regularly, mobile phones appear to underpin or exacerbate many of them, acting as both a distraction and a source of disengagement. Survey respondents expressed their frustration, highlighting the inappropriate use of phones by students and the impacts of this, as well as some of the difficulties of enforcing rules designed to prevent this. The excerpts below are illustrative of the wider picture that we saw from the data:
Mobile phone usage is a huge issue… they are always out. Learning in lessons can be limited because students spend so much time on phones. It can be very challenging to attempt to prevent this from happening without a huge backlash, which can make the working environment even worse.
the “sneaky” use of phones for non-permissible purposes is perhaps best described as relatively commonplace. Phone use is addressed every day, but there is a universal acknowledgement that students repeatedly break classroom rules on this. To survive, we have to reduce our own emotional response to this as it would otherwise become an impossible situation…
Overall, survey respondents report significant disruption to learning time as a result of managing poor student behaviour. A substantial proportion of staff report frequent interruptions, with almost a third of teachers (32 per cent) estimating that the cumulative impact equates to around 7.5 hours of lost learning time per week. While most incidents are relatively minor in isolation, their cumulative effect is considerable, resulting in meaningful and persistent reductions in instruction time, and negative impacts for both the disruptive students and also for their peers within the class.
Teachers and leaders’ responses to behaviour challenges
The survey revealed that staff perceptions of behaviour are complex and, at times, contradictory. On one hand, respondents reported feeling very or extremely confident in their ability to manage behaviour (52 per cent), suggesting a workforce that is – at least on an individual level – relatively secure in its classroom management.
This confidence, however, sits alongside an awareness of the challenges presented by wider institutional contexts. A significant proportion of staff expressed concerns about clarity and consistency in behaviour systems (as also highlighted earlier in relation to inappropriate mobile phone use). Notably, nearly 40 per cent of respondents reported that students do not understand the consequences of poor behaviour. This indicates a potential disconnect between college-level policy implementation and student understanding, possibly undermining the effectiveness of teacher-led behaviour management strategies in the classroom.
Perceptions of fairness and consistency further reinforce this tension. While many respondents (82 per cent) indicate that rules are applied at least some of the time, the data emphasises perceptions of a lack of standardised, enforceable approaches within and across college settings, as highlighted by this teacher:
I feel it [challenging behaviour] is more about varying expectations. They [students] will be allowed to eat in one class and then expect to be allowed to do it in mine. If a lecturer finishes classes 20 minutes early every time, they start getting fidgety and wanting to leave in mine. I think college-wide training and ensuring all are following the expectations would greatly improve the ethos.
This inconsistency may contribute to the uncertainty around consequences highlighted above, potentially leading to variable or unpredictable experiences for students.
The survey data also shows some clear differences in perspectives between teaching and leadership colleagues. While leaders most commonly identify inconsistency in staff practice as the primary issue, teaching staff perceive systemic issues, such as unclear policies or insufficient follow-through, as equally – if not more – significant.
Consistency, clarity and capacity emerge as key challenges in managing behaviour. While leaders tend to attribute inconsistency to differences in staff practice, teachers point to wider issues with policy, leadership and follow-through, suggesting that the issue is one of system coherence as well as individual practice. Unclear expectations and inconsistent enforcement, particularly around mobile phone use, may further contribute to disruption and disengagement. The resulting loss of learning time and additional workload, alongside uneven access to behaviour-focused professional development, indicate a wider gap between the scale of the challenge and the support available to staff.
Next steps
These survey findings highlight a systemic tension around behaviour in post-16 settings. While many staff feel confident in their own practice, they are calling for stronger consequences, greater consistency and, in some cases, changes at institutional or national level. Understanding where the primary challenges sit and what can realistically be addressed at classroom, college or system level remain open questions.
This work is an initial step in opening up a conversation about behaviour in FE – an area that remains underexplored in research. It raises important questions for educators, researchers and policymakers:
- What should behaviour expectations and policy look like in FE, and how can these be effectively communicated?
- To what extent can colleges adopt more structured approaches in a sector defined by autonomy and diversity?
- Where does responsibility sit between practitioners, institutions and wider system conditions?
- What evidence is needed to move beyond anecdote towards a more coherent, shared understanding?
If poor behaviour is both a daily reality and a growing concern, then the challenge now is to determine how the sector can work together to push for meaningful change and to better support both the workforce and outcomes for all learners.
We would welcome the chance to continue this conversation, whether to explore these findings or to collaborate on what might come next. Do get in touch if you would like to discuss this topic further.
