Practice Enquiry Circles: An inclusive approach to problem-solving in Further Education organisations

The Practice Enquiry Circle (PEC) model has the potential to create the conditions for complex conversations to happen whilst also loosening up organisational hierarchies through its underpinning philosophy of co-production. In a very practical sense, this model requires problem solving to occur in a democratic space, which not only deepens our knowledge of the topic under exploration, but also empowers participants to discover their own voices in this context. In order to build genuinely collaborative partnerships, it is necessary to redistribute power. Our hope for this guide is that we might be able to support FE professionals who wish to open up spaces in which each participant has an equal stake in the conceptualisation of, and solutions to, a shared problem. It is this process that allows us to identify new or unexpected solutions.