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Dissertations are a common feature of final year undergraduate study, but there has been little research into their impact on student performance and satisfaction (Hammick, Marilyn. and Sandra. Acker 1998;Webster, Frank. et al. 2000;Pathirage, Chaminda. et al. 2004), and even less into the perceptions and attitudes of their academic are that the dissertation still has currency today, but needs to be evaluated to ensure that it is meeting the needs of different stakeholders. Further, that despite the existing academic rigour of the dissertation, the lecturers believed that it also gave students the ability to reach a level whereby they become autonomous learners.

Abstract:This article considers the views and perceptions of lecturers delivering Higher Education Business Programmes (HEBPs) in Further Education Colleges (FECs) on whether they desire to undertake research, thus enabling them to both become, and be viewed as specialists in their subjects. The methodology employed was from an interpretivist perspective, with a view to understand how lecturers interpret research, and whether they see it as part of their role. Twenty-six in-depth interviews were conducted throughout the Yorkshire and Humber region in the United Kingdom (UK). Some of the key findings were that although some lecturers would like to undertake research to specialise in their subject area, they felt that they did not have neither the time, or support of their individual institution.Key Words: Research, FECs, HE in FE, Practitioners, Further Education, Higher Education. Affiliation: The Business School, University of HuddersfieldIntroduction:

This paper explores the concept of culture within Further Education Colleges (FECs) from the perceptions of twenty-six lecturers delivering Business Higher Education Programmes (BHEPs). It offers a brief overview of the history of both FE and HE in England, and how they have evolved. This then will provide an understanding of the perceived/real differences between FE and HE culture, and whether these two cultures can merge together, or will become 'hybrids', as suggested by Parry and Thompson (2002). The study will in fact show that the culture of HE in FE [in England] is similar to that of an 'Exclave', but is developing within this, a culture which might be viewed as an 'Enclave'.

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