This case study examined the evolution of a partnership between a middle school mathematics teacher and a university researcher around discussions on the content and teaching of mathematics. In particular, the study sought to examine the evolution of the partnership, the constraints present for the teacher and researcher, the impact of the partnership on the mathematical and pedagogical issues that arose in planning, teaching, and assessment, and the impact on the tasks that the teacher chose and implemented in the classroom. Drawing from the literature on collaborations and the emergent perspective, the evolution of the partnership occurred through three stages, determined by the content-teaching tensions. The first stage focused on the mathematics content, with the agenda being set and run by the researcher. The second stage gave rise to the content-teaching tensions as the teacher shifted the discussions from content to a focus on lesson planning and teaching. Tensions were resolved in the third stage with the teacher taking a proactive role in the discussions of lesson design and teaching. The mathematical issues in planning and teaching reflected the shift in the partnership where in the beginning the discussions focused on the mathematical content, later discussions centered on a combination of content, pedagogy, and student thinking. The assessment discussions addressed differences between the language of the curriculum and the district and state tests.The shift in the partnership can be attributed to the teacher's choice of high level mathematics tasks, the subsequent adoption of a conceptually based mathematics curriculum and the effective management of the dialectic tensions by both partners. This study illustrated that generating perturbations and effective management of dialectical tensions has the potential for a fruitful collaboration between teachers and researchers.

This bachelor thesis, which is also the result of a Minor Field Studies scholarship, examines journalists’ situation in Cuba. The aim is to see the working conditions of the journalists by listening to how they themselves perceive their professional role, what their professional values are and what they see as opportunities and obstacles in their work. A major reason for undertaking this research is the theoretical perspective that emphasizes the importance of journalism studies in developing countries. The results are based mainly on fourteen qualitative interviews with Cuban journalists. By comparing the results with earlier studies including development journalism and studies about digital media in Cuba the study shows that Cuban journalists’ main duty is to defend the Communist Party. Many of the interviewed journalists experience self-censorship as a problem and blame it on Cuba's lack of a press law. Even if journalist salaries are extremely low, just like salaries of other professions in the state, the journalists highlight many positive aspects of their job. The education is free and some of the interviewees have opportunities to travel both within and outside the country because of their job. Cuban journalists are well educated, normally have a great passion for their profession and often have a strong desire to improve their work. The technological development in Cuba is slow but changes the conditions for the journalistic work and will continue to have a great influence on Cuban society.

The peculiarities of Lithuanian doctoral students’ professional identity and its multiplicity are analyzed. It is presumed that psychological, social and academic environmental factors may explain the doctoral students’ professional identity expression, which is observed through the professional roles: researcher-scientist, teacher and public service provider/practitioner. The theoretical part presents the problems of terminology regarding identity phenomenon, a disquisition of the professional identity concept by integrating identity and social identity theories, the peculiarities of the doctoral student’s professional identity formation within the career construction theory perspective, analysis of the factors that possibly explain doctoral student’s professional identity expression in the context of the systems theory, and finally, a theoretical model of the study is constructed. The empirical part covers the results of the study implemented in 2013. The sample consisted of 494 doctoral students from 22 higher education institutions in Lithuania. The results indicated that particular personality traits and thinking styles, subjectively perceived social support from various sources (scientific supervisor, colleagues and other students, employer, family and friends), as well as academic environmental factors (working conditions and scientific field) are significant for doctoral students’ identification with different professional roles. Modeling the interaction of factors... [to full text] / Daktaro disertacijoje analizuojama Lietuvos doktorantų profesinio identiteto daugialypiškumo problematika. Darbe keliama prielaida, kad psichologiniai, socialiniai ir akademinės aplinkos veiksniai gali paaiškinti doktorantų profesinio identiteto raišką, kurią stebime per atliekamus profesinius vaidmenis: tyrėjo-mokslininko, dėstytojo ir visuomeninių paslaugų teikėjo/praktiko. Disertacijos teorinėje dalyje pristatoma identiteto reiškinio terminijos problematika, profesinio identiteto sampratos aiškinimas integruojant identiteto ir socialinio identiteto teorijas, doktoranto profesinio identiteto formavimosi ypatumai per karjeros konstravimo teorijos prizmę, doktoranto profesinį identitetą lemiančių veiksnių analizė sistemų teorijos kontekste, pateikiamas teorinis tyrimo modelis. Empirinėje darbo dalyje pristatomi 2013 m. atliktos Lietuvos doktorantų apklausos rezultatai. Tyrimo imtis – 494 doktorantai iš 22 aukštojo mokslo institucijų Lietuvoje. Tyrimo rezultatų analizė atskleidė, kad tam tikri doktorantų asmenybės bruožai bei mąstymo stiliai, subjektyviai suvokiamas palaikymas iš skirtingų socialinių šaltinių (mokslinio vadovo, kolegų ir kitų studentų, šeimos ir draugų, darbdavio) bei akademinės aplinkos veiksniai (darbo sąlygos bei mokslo sritis) turi reikšmę doktorantų identifikacijai su skirtingais profesiniais vaidmenimis. Kompleksinis veiksnių sąveikos įvertinimas atskleidė, kad doktorantų profesinio identiteto raiškai tam tikri veiksniai yra svarbūs netiesiogiai, o per... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

The nursing education institutions play a major role in the training of nurses to curb the shortage of nurses in the country. Nurse educators assist with the primary socialisation of new nurses into the nursing profession. Likewise, new nurse educators need to be socialised into the nursing education system. Proper socialisation of new educators into the education system is vital for the continuity and reinforcing of professional values. The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the relationship between professional socialisation and job satisfaction of nurse educators of a provincial college in South Africa. A quantitative, descriptive correlational design was used for the study. The sample consisted of nurse educators (N=102) employed by the Kwa Zulu Department of Health with the Kwa Zulu College of Nursing (KZNCN). Data was collected using a structured questionnaire, which included both the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) questionnaire and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Statistical data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programmes. The results showed reliability of the NPVS-R questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha (α) ranging between .637 and .811 and between .798 and .883 for the MSQ. Confirmatory factor analysis for the NPVS-R and exploratory factor analysis for the MSQ both had p-value of .0001 concluding a statistical significance of the questionnaires with a sufficiently high correlation. Again a positive correlation coefficient (r>.328) was concluded amongst the demographic data and the NPVS-R and MSQ. The null hypothesis was rejected since a good correlation between the professional socialisation and the job satisfaction statements of nurse educators of a provincial college was concluded. Recommendations include: proper socialisation and mentorship of new educators into the new education role for both personal and professional development and the proper utilisation of individual skills and expertise in order to prevent animosity and job dissatisfaction. Moreover, strategies to improve the working conditions and remuneration of nurse educators so as to attract new nurse educators into the education system are vital. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis deals with the way that values get taken up by managers and leaders in international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), organisations which already have a rich history of public appeals to values. By ”values‘ I take to mean those generalised and idealising statements, such as the aspiration to ”mutual respect‘, ”equity and justice‘ ”honesty and transparency‘ in dealings with others, which usually accompany the organisation‘s vision and mission statements. The thesis sets out the argument that modern management methods based on systems thinking have been imported largely uncritically into the INGO sector, and in situations where the future is uncertain, or where there is difficulty or conflict, managers often attempt to cover over this conflict or uncertainty with an appeal to values which pictures an idealised future or an imaginary unity. Further, the thesis attempts to explore this phenomenon and to uncover some of the ethical issues that arise in the process of an appeal to unity when I am engaged as a consultant in working with managers in the INGO-sector. The thesis considers how my own practice as a consultant has changed and developed as a consequence of considering these phenomena more intensely and acting on the conclusions from these reflections. The research was prompted by my feelings of being co-opted into a process that encouraged conformity in INGOs in a way that left me feeling uncomfortable. In exploration of this discomfort and as student in a faculty pursuing the conceptual development of professional practice I have drawn broadly on the phenomenological tradition of research as a way of better understanding what I was encountering and how to make better sense of it. The method underpinning this thesis uses narrative, and reflection on narrative with a community of enquirers, which has included both fellow students on the course, as well as a wider group of interested academics. I have used as my research material my own experience of working with INGOs as a consultant and have reflected on those occasions when the discussion of values is very much to the fore. It has also meant my locating the discussion of values in a wider discourse of philosophy, sociology and psychology and mounting a critique of the dominant paradigm for understanding values in current management and organisational change literature, which is often understood as a tool for management to bring about employee alignment. Instead, I have set out an emergent understanding of values as radically social phenomena arising in the daily interaction between engaged human beings. I argue that, because of our interdependence, we are obliged to renegotiate our value commitments on a daily basis as a way of working out how we can continue together. This has involved developing a different understanding of the relationship between self and other, and a more nuanced insight into the workings of groups and the relationships of power that arise between people. Engaging with values in INGOs as a consultant invited into conversations in INGOs has thus involved my paying attention to power relating between myself and others, and the dialectic between the good and the right. Reflecting on the ethical aspects of my own consultancy practice has involved an investigation into what we might mean by ethical practice, which is generally understood to be following a series of linear rules and paradigms. I have begun to develop in its stead a theory of consultancy practice based on concepts of mutual recognition and mutual adjustment that create more space for movement within the broader social processes that can severely constrain what it is and is not possible to say and do. This thesis contributes to knowledge in the field of the management of INGOs by being one of the first to offer a critique of accepted paradigms of management theory, particularly as it relates to the appeal to values as part of strategy formation. Moreover, the emergent and social theory of values that I develop as a foil to more orthodox understandings of the role of values in the management of INGOs is also unique. My arguments concerning the ethical practice of consultancy in the domain, underpinned by a dialectical engagement of self and other, are particularly relevant to the field in which I am involved where the encounter with difference is inevitable. In the literature on management of INGOs, where research on consultancy practice is still rather thin and orthodox, my argument for a different understanding of ethical practice offers a considerable divergence of approach. In pointing to the similarities between the pressures facing INGO and private sector organisations I have also called into question the uniqueness that many scholars claim for the current management practice in INGOs. My attempts to use narrative and reflection on narrative as a method that strives to articulate what a different practice might look like should also make a new contribution to the debate about method, and ways of discussing management practice, in international development.

This study attempts to discover the major factors which promote or hinder the growth of trade unionism among white-collar workers, particularly those employed in manufacturing Industries, in Great Britain. Chapter I simply discusses the reasons for undertaking such a study, a few of the methodological and conceptual problems which arise, as well as the nature of the techniques and the analytical framework used in the study. Chapter II is concerned with the pattern of white-collar employment in Britain and reveals how the composition of the labour force is changing. Already almost four out of ten workers are white-collar employees, and it is probable that by the 1980's they will outnumber the manual workers. Clearly, if the trade union movement is to continue as a dynamic and effective force in British society, it must recruit these white-collar workers. The extent to which the trade union movement has already done this is considered in Chapter III. In particular, it assembles the data on the dependent variable of this study - the occupational and industrial pattern of white-collar unionism in Britain. The pattern reveals that there are considerable variations in the degree of white-collar unionism from one industry and occupation to another. All the remaining chapters analyse the factors which this study considers worthy of examination in searching for an explanation of this pattern. Chapter IV considers the socio-demographie characteristics of white-collar workers. Chapter V examines the white-collar workers' economic position, while Chapter VI analyses their work situation. The role which trade unions and employers play in union growth is explored in Chapters VII and VIII respectively, while the influence of the government and the social climate is investigated in-Chapter IX, Chapter X draws the various parts of the analysis together and tries to produce a few generalisations regarding the growth of white-collar unionism. The gist of these chapters can be briefly summarised. No significant relationship was found between the aggregate pattern of white-collar unionism and any of the following factors: (a) such socio-demographic characteristics of white-collar workers as their sex, social origins, age, and status; (to) such aspects of their economic position as earnings, other terms and conditions of employment, and employment security; (e) such aspects of their work situation as the opportunities for promotion, the extent of mechanisation and automation, and the degree of proximity to unionised manual workers; and (d) such aspects of trade unions as their public image, recruitment policies, and structures. While the evidence regarding some of these factors was not sufficiently reliable to permit them to be discounted completely, it was satisfactory enough to reveal that at most they have been of negligible importance. But the gist of these chapters is not entirely negative. The aggregate pattern of white-collar unionism was found to be significantly related to the following factors: employment concentration, union recognition, and government action. The relationship between these key independent variables and between them and the dependent variable can be usefully summarised in a two-equation descriptive model. D = f (C,E) (1) R = g (D,G) (2) where D = the density of white-collar unionism; C = the degree of employment concentration; R = the degree to which employers are prepared to recognise unions representing white-collar employees; and G = the extent of government action which promotes union recognition. The first equation specifies that the density of white-collar unionism is a function of the degree of employment concentration and the degree to which employers are prepared to recognise unions representing white-collar employees. The more concentrated their employment the more likely employees are to feel the need to join trade unions because of "bureaucratisation", and the more easily trade unions can meet this need because of the economies of scale characteristic of union recruitment and administration While employment concentration is a necessary condition for the growth of white-collar unions, it is not a sufficient condition. Employers must also be prepared to recognise these unions. The greater the degree to which employers are prepared to do this the more likely white-collar employees are to join unions. For they are less likely to Jeopardise their career prospects by joining, they can more easily reconcile union membership with their "loyalty" to the company, and they will obtain a better service because their unions will be more effective in the process of job regulation. The first independent variable makes white-collar employees predisposed towards trade unions, while the second makes union membership practical and attractive. But the degree to which employers are prepared to recognise unions representing white-collar employees is to some extent dependent upon the membership density of these unions. This is why the second equation is necessary. It specifies that the degree of recognition is a function of the density of white-collar unionism and the extent of government action which promotes union recognition. Employers generally do not concede recognition to a union before it has at least some membership. The only exception to this is when employers recognise a union prior to it having obtained any membership in order to encourage its growth at the expense of other "less desirable" unions. Even in these cases, recognition is at least partly a function of membership density - that of the "less desirable" unions* But while a certain density of membership is a necessary condition for any degree of recognition to be granted, the findings of this study suggest that it is generally not a sufficient condition. The industrial strength of white-collar unions, as determined by the size of their membership and their willingness and ability to engage in industrial warfare, has generally not been sufficient in itself to force employers to concede recognition. This has also required the introduction of government policies which have made it easier for unions to exert pressure for recognition and harder for employers to resist it. The model is claimed to give an adequate explanation of the growth of aggregate white-collar unionism in Britain, and, in addition, to have some important implications for research on this subject as well as for the function of unions in modern industrial society, and the future growth of white-collar unionism.

The research in this thesis explores Citizenship Education pedagogy at secondary school level in Ontario, Canada. Citizenship Education is a complex subject area and its teaching and learning within the classroom is contentious. The literature indicates the value of student voice and technology; however the ways in which these pedagogical tools can be incorporated into the Citizenship Education classroom have not been explored in great detail. This study uses a Practitioner Inquiry approach within an Action Research model to investigate the research question; how can student voice and technology be used in the engagement of students within the subject area of Citizenship Education in the classroom. The methods developed and used to collect the data for the study served a dual purpose of engaging and empowering the participants within the research and were based on the ethical considerations of researching with young people. The thesis uses an adapted interpretive ecological framework for the conceptualization, interpretation, and analysis of the findings from the study. It provides a rich and detailed description of the context, processes, and considerations that are involved in incorporating student voice and technology within the Citizenship Education classroom through the Action Research design. The results show that student voice and technology can be used pedagogically to help young people construct their own meanings of citizenship and a Critical Citizenship Education framework was developed to support adoption of these approaches more widely. Future directions for research into the use of innovative approaches to the teaching and learning of Citizenship Education in the classroom are considered.

This thesis investigates the influence of regional culture on young people's decision making when considering post-sixteen educational choices and directions from school. The data is provided by life story interviews with young people - aged eighteen to twenty years, 'born and bred' in Lincolnshire - who have followed four pathways from compulsory education. Within the context of Lincolnshire the influence of rurality is a major element of regional culture and figures in much of the discussion and analysis. The work of Pierre Bourdieu in defining culture through field and habitus is used as a theoretical perspective in the data analysis and conclusions. The research highlights the continued importance of family and community habitus in the decision-making processes of young people. The interviews are used to consider the relative field positions important in defining individuals' post-sixteen pathways. The nature of rurality as a social construct rather than simply a reflection of physical geography is discussed and conclusions offered as to its possible effect on preferred post-sixteen pathways. The relative importance given to physical and social characteristics of rurality is used to construct a series of cultural indicators for rural communities. The data would support the conclusion that new initiatives designed to increase participation rates in post-sixteen education are having some effect, but only among those young people predisposed through family habitus to continuing education. Those young people whose family habitus most closely coincides with pedagogic authority are most likely to operate comfortably within the educational habitus and hence continue with formal education beyond sixteen. The thesis suggests the real differences in habitus between urban and rural communities requires a shift in the policy debate if rural people are to participate fully in the notion of lifelong learning. NB. This ethesis has been created by scanning the typescript original and contains some inaccuracies. In case of difficulty, please refer to the original text.

This thesis investigates the experiences of generalist primary teachers, in Scotland, as they instigated curriculum and pedagogical change in physical education. Five primary teachers with an additional qualification in physical education, the Postgraduate Certificate in 3-14 physical education (PGCert), were followed within their school contexts over an academic year. In contrast to much of the preceding literature this research provides empirical work at the micro level on educational change from the perspective of the individual teacher: illuminating the reciprocal relationship between professional learning and educational change. A qualitative, interpretivist approach underpinned the gathering and analysis of data. This approach reflected the focus of the study which was to understand and make sense of the multiple realities, experiences and views of participant teachers evolving from their social, cultural and historical contexts. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews about teachers’ planning and observations of physical education lessons. The theoretical framework that was used to interrogate the data incorporated situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger, 1991), professional learning and educational change literature; in particular the work of Fullan was utilised to explore his concept of ‘change agentry’. The first line of analysis establishes how the participant teachers approached teaching and learning in physical education prior to engaging with the PGCert. Thereafter the PGCert is examined to ascertain how the format and structure of this professional development opportunity came to influence the participant teachers. In the final analysis, an over-view of each teacher’s narrative in regards to their role in the change process is presented, outlining the curricular and pedagogical changes they initiated within their school contexts. Taken together, these findings contribute to research on educational change providing detailed analysis over an extended period of time of the motivating factors, constraints and complex character of change from the perspective of teachers within their individual school contexts. In the present educational climate where teachers are expected to be leaders of curricular and pedagogical change this study provides empirical evidence of teachers exercising their autonomy and integrating professional learning within their practice as they initiate and implement change.

Teaching has been reported to be one of the most stressful professions in the UK (HSE, 2000). There is vast international literature that has documented for many years the negative implications that stress and burnout can have on educators’ health and well being and the wider systems and individuals’ connected to their work. The research also clearly documents that the development of school support systems can mediate the negative effects of stress for educators (Zellars & Perrewe, 2001). Given that teachers are one of the UK’s largest groups of public sector employees (Bowers, 2001) and that the education system is once more in a period of rapid change, it makes this piece of research timely in the current context of education policy and practice. This study calls for policy makers to recognise that stress in the education system is becoming an increasingly worrying trend and one that with the right kind of support systems in place could be alleviated in the future. Focus of thesis Two papers form this thesis. A flexible design consistent with an interpretive approach and a social constructionist philosophy has been adopted. Epistemology Social Constructionism Theoretical Perspective Interpretivism Paper One Paper Two Methodology Methodology Illuminative enquiry Action Research Methods Methods Semi-structured interviews Focus group Focus group Open questionnaires The purpose of paper one was to generate new understandings and gain insights into participants’ experiences regarding school staff stress, school support systems and the implications of this. The findings from the first paper informed my second paper. In paper two I worked with school staff to develop and evaluate a support-based intervention in order to address the gaps in support that staff identified in the first paper. This thesis was conducted in a large secondary community college, with a specialist subject status. This was located in a unitary authority in the South West of England. All participants that took part in this research were employed as teachers, support staff and/or members of middle or senior management team at the school. Paper one findings The findings in this study showed school systems to be complex environments, affected greatly by a range of internal and external factors. Participants’ experiences indicated that stress and burnout are a function of the quality of work life in the education system for many, with negative implications associated with those closely connected to them and the education system. This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge in this area by drawing participants from across the school meso system, as opposed from one part of the system, ensuring that all those working at different levels within the school were represented. A key issue uncovered by this study and adding to the existing literature in the field is the hierarchical nature of schooling. This hierarchy served to maintain the causes of stress experienced by my participants. These causes were systemic in nature as the issues raised were common across my participants and originated from the way the school system was organised and operated. The implication of this is that the focus of support needs to be aimed at adapting the school environment to reduce the main areas of stress faced by teachers and support staff and helping teachers to deal more positively with the stress factors within the environments and systems in which they work. The evidence also showed that my participants had a limited knowledge of the wider roles of the EPS and this may be significant area for the local authority in which this research was conducted to focus on in the future. This paper’s contribution is timely given the current context of education policy and practice Paper two findings The focus of this paper was developing and evaluating, in collaboration with participants, a staff support-based intervention. The staff’s support intervention of choice was a series of short training workshops focused on developing a better understanding of stress, promoting EHWB, assertiveness and methods of support. There were four stages to the creation of the intervention: Development of the intervention (through a focus group and the collaboration of school staff); Recruitment of participants (conducted through the senior management team through emails and staff reminders); Implementation of the intervention (five one hour, after-school workshops, using a range of teaching strategies, including practical skills; Outcomes (gained through an open pre and post training questionnaire which considered the practical strategies the participants had adopted from the workshop and applied to their practice). Despite working with staff including teachers, non teachers and senior staff to design the intervention, attendance at the after-school training workshops was poor, with only five members of the school’s support and special needs team attending. There were no teachers or members of the senior management team present. However those staff that did attend the training intervention provided positive feedback and found it useful in their practice. The questionnaires suggested that the training increased staff’s knowledge of how to manage their stress and to promote their well-being. Staff also stated that they were able to apply the practical strategies provided directly to their practice. One of the main purposes of paper two was to begin the process of change in participants’ perceptions and practice. As a direct result of conducting this piece of research the school of focus have set up a staff well-being forum, open to all staff, to meet on a termly basis to discuss matters relating to staff EHWB and support. The school are also considering setting up staff consultation groups for the teaching assistants in the future, in addition to creating a staff well being notice board, a suggestion box, having a staff well being awareness day, creating a staff well being policy and also providing yearly drop in sessions for staff on stress management. The role of the EP EPs are well placed to offer their services to schools in supporting them with examining professional support systems. EPs are experienced researchers and could conduct small pieces of individual school-based research looking at those areas of the workplace where stress is experienced the most and be able to identify gaps in staff support systems. EPs are equipped with the training and experience to provide bespoke packages of support for individual schools that may include staff training aimed at prioritising staff support and EHWB both in policy and practice. It seems then that EPs are well placed to work in collaboration with schools to develop their staff support systems in this area of staff development and school improvement.