Abstract
The impact of government intervention and external change on the structure and governance of further education colleges, and the restructuring of vocational education, provide the context for this paper. It explores the way in which markets, outputs, finance and managerialism find their expression in tensions between lecturers and managers In further education. Drawing upon an in‐depth case study, policy initiatives are discussed in relation to the contradictory demands they make at the level of lecturers’ practice. The implications for educational reform, and the political context of educational management in the sector, are highlighted