At a time when societies are becoming increasingly pluralistic, Anglophone educators continue to come from predominantly mono-cultural backgrounds, with often limited cross-cultural experiences. This study examines the potential of the overseas international school in providing new cross-cultural experiences that may improve the intercultural abilities of Anglophone educators. It explores how the overseas experience contributes to changes in world views, as well as how (or if) these changes translate into professional practice. Whilst ample research exists on overseas experiences and culturally responsive pedagogy as separate areas of study, this research looks to make a distinct contribution by bridging these two areas. Thirty Anglophones educators based across three international schools in the Netherlands and China participated in semi-structured interviews which explored the challenges and opportunities of living and working abroad. Findings highlighted significant transformations in educator attitudes towards difference. These attitudinal changes seemed to be less a result of interactions with the other, than a result of interactions as the other. Changes in attitude were often accompanied by two significant shifts in perspective: an increased ability to withhold judgment, along with a marked effort to understand. These shifting perspectives often allowed educators to contextualize their experiences in such a way that their professional practice was visibly enhanced. Evidence of increased intercultural capacities in professional practice was found in three dominant areas of language, communication styles and religious/gender sensitivity. Educators described specific teaching or management methods utilized in the classroom or school setting that they did not utilize prior to their work abroad. Recognising the limitations of the sample, findings nonetheless supported a strong link between the international school experience and improved intercultural abilities.

The research seeks to analyse the relation between discourses, education policies and students’ subjectivities in rural settings – schools and students – of three zones throughout Chile. The theoretical framework applied is based on post-structuralist postulates and concepts. This theoretical approach provides different conceptual tools to understand dominant discourses and techniques of power, which make possible an explanation and description of how neoliberalism operates through policies, which in turn affect and influence individual subjectivities. The purposes of this research are focused on a critical understanding of how neoliberal discourse permeates (or not) three educational policies in Chile, how they are deployed in rural schools and how these discourses and policies influence (or not) the experiences, decisions and future perspectives of rural students. These relations are mediated by geographical aspects and schools’ practices, which also constitute part of the analysis developed. The study applied qualitative methods of research and analysis. Through interviews with policy makers, academics, teachers and students, the results show particular perspectives regarding the educational policies analysed, principally in relation to their lack of clear purposes and design, in a vagueness that shows traces of neoliberal discourse, among other features. In relation to the rural schools’ practices, the study unveils specific assemblages, which relate intimately the strategies of the schools and the ones of the local business companies. The students, then, recreate their biographies and subjective perspectives responding to these influences, in an aspiration to accomplish the promise of a future that the educational policies offer them, but at the same time continuing the labour and social path which appears prepared for them in terms of economic functionality and precariousness. In geographical terms, the students live the tension between the rural and the urban, in the search of better life opportunities.

The thesis problematises education as a site of seriousness. It subjects notions of seriousness conventionally associated with education to critical scrutiny and subsequently goes beyond traditional distinctions of the serious and non-serious to reimagine seriousness in educational theory and practice. In liberal education, seriousness is understood in terms of developing rationality through theoretical activities that are underpinned by a concern for truth via the rigorous procedures of critical thinking. In progressive theory, seriousness is identified with purposeful, goal-oriented practices and procedures. Seriousness is thus associated with making earnest impersonal demands on the learner to which he or she responds accordingly. This, together with the view that what is personal is necessarily vulnerable to distortion and partiality, has placed limits on the first-person expression of seriousness within education. The thesis argues that seriousness is not only characterised by a responsiveness to demands for clarity but also the importance of having something to say. As such, we are already responsive in ourselves to demands for lucidity and coherence. Furthermore, seriousness emerges not only in our rational attention but in the play and possibilities of the human body. Our judgments and responses may take embodied rather than linguistic form. The key concept for elucidating this account of seriousness is Stanley Cavell’s theorisation of the human voice. Through critical readings of Cavell, as well as Raimond Gaita, J.L. Austin, Derrida and Wittgenstein, the thesis brings together ideas of seriousness and voice in terms of what is personal and impersonal. It draws on drama education for an understanding of how personal and impersonal notions of seriousness are located within artistic practice and aesthetic judgment, opening the way for a richer sense of first-person expression that gives weight to the playful and non-serious alongside the serious.

Rapid social and economic development in Saudi Arabia, as well as the international revolution in technological development, have emphasised the need for Saudi Higher Education institutions to meet the demand for knowledge and skills to improve the quality and performance of education. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a key component of effectively addressing the increased demand for technology-assisted learning and teaching approaches. Such CPD opportunities will allow lecturers to update, expand and maintain their technology enhanced learning (TEL) knowledge and skills so they can integrate them effectively into their teaching practices and improve students’ achievements. Although the role of TEL CPD in Saudi Higher Education has always been important to lecturers, the increasing importance placed on work effectiveness and productivity has greatly elevated the significance of this role. Previous research and anecdotal evidence suggest that effective TEL CPD is paramount to the successful integration and use of educational technologies in teaching and learning, and that systematic evaluation is needed to examine the practices of current TEL CPD programmes. In this context, the study aimed to achieve a greater understanding of lecturers’ experiences of TEL CPD, in general, in order to support the effective provision of TEL CPD programmes and extend the knowledge offered by successful TEL CPD initiatives. The study adopted an interpretive approach, and combined method investigations (survey and interviews) were used to understand the current situation of TEL CPD and the factors underlying the opportunities and challenges encountered by lecturers in Saudi Arabia. The data consist of 103 survey responses and interviews with 12 lecturers who represent the voices of lecturers in the College of Education at one Saudi university. The results show that most participants appreciated the opportunity to participate in TEL CPD programmes, and they believe that TEL CPD is valuable to lecturers, students and institutions as a whole. However, the data also identified significant challenges to the lecturers’ active participation in TEL CPD programmes, including time and workload, relevant and realistic programme content that address lecturers’ needs, opportunities to practise the use of TEL and accessibility to and awareness of TEL CPD courses. With increased expectations for the effective adoption of TEL in learning environments, lecturers need to undertake a range of TEL professional development opportunities that address their specification area, needs and preferences. The general design of the TEL CPD programmes provided reflects some issues in TEL implementation, such as a lack of balance between theoretical knowledge and practice, and an over-emphasis on technology skills. Moreover, the providers of these opportunities and management teams need to adopt the recommended criteria and offer support to lecturers in order to transfer the skills that were learnt from the TEL programmes so they can enhance their teaching practices with technologies. As a result, the study introduces a theoretical framework of TEL CPD practices to investigate the factors of participation, implementation and impact that affect the provision of TEL CPD in Saudi Higher Education. This approach, based on the interrelationships between the concepts examined in this study, provides insights into knowledge in this area. Although the findings of this study cannot be generalised, they may help providers, institutions and policy makers move towards an understanding of how to develop and implement TEL CPD programmes that address lecturers’ needs, in relation to theory, practice and further research.

The teaching and acquisition of argumentative writing skills continues to challenge teachers and students. This longitudinal case study examined these challenges within the context of A-Level Philosophy. A systematic literature review explored previous understandings and theory in relation to problems encountered by students, and strategies employed by teachers and students in teaching and learning argumentation skills. A small base of empirical literature aimed at cross-curricular argumentation was identified, exploring various tensions between aspects or types of arguments that students find more or less problematic. Conclusions of this review identify disparities between student performance in narrative and argumentation, and verbal and written argumentation. My case study followed the teaching, learning and progress of two teachers and four students, scrutinising teaching strategies, observations, interviews, questionnaires, students' and teachers' reflective diaries and examination scripts over the two-year course. Emergent themes and elements of argumentation were analysed against existing literature to develop understanding of each, together with challenges and successes experienced by teachers and students. The study's original contribution to knowledge is its analysis of these within an A-Level context plus insights gained into aspects of written argumentation and teaching and learning strategies that were developed and evaluated. Findings showed students experience a range of challenges moving from GCSE-Level expectations and strategies to A-Level study. Suggestions are made to help them make this transition, but the findings also raised questions around students' study habits, including development and study of approaches designed to encourage students' independence and responsibility. The study focuses on students' perspectives, affording insights into their experience, highlighting areas they found particularly problematic. These findings will have significance for teachers of philosophy at all level but will be particularly significant for teachers of philosophy at A-Level. Findings from the study are utilised in providing a general assessment of the new A-Level Philosophy specification.

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No description available.

Over recent years there has been a great deal of discussion and public debate in the UK about the type of History that students should learn in English schools in the twenty-first century. The history of the British Empire – as a subtopic – arose frequently in such debates, as figures from the right and left of the political spectrum voiced concerns that through studying British imperialism, students might be inculcated with specific, unified perceptions about their national identity, modern Britain and its place in the world. Using questionnaires, focus groups and one-on-one interviews, this study brings the big questions that arose from the national debate back into the classrooms of England via students and their teachers. The findings of this study suggest that perhaps the national debate has been premised on shaky foundations, by accepting that the content that one studies has a significant, formative impact on how one comes to view the history of British imperialism. This study does not suggest that content has no impact, but rather that a range of other factors, particularly factors from beyond the classroom, are more significant in determining students’ broader perceptions of British imperialism. The findings presented here also suggest that the study of British imperial history is important and significant in the English classroom of the twenty-first century, in the eyes of both students and teachers. Though the study indicates that the content studied does not result in unified perceptions of British imperialism, the majority of participants in the study, both students and teachers, felt that coverage of the topic was essential for young people to be able to contextualise and inform their independently forged perceptions about modern day Britain, its place in the world and their place within it.

This thesis investigates the impact that food has on social learning at a school in a Midlands city in the UK that I have chosen to call (for reasons of anonymity) Peartree Academy. The premise of my thesis is that the dining hall of the facility can be utilised as a space for fostering social learning. My research explores what happens when a school organises its dining hall as a restaurant. The school dining hall is a place often neglected in research, and this thesis demonstrates that there is much to be gained for both pupils and staff from interaction in eating spaces. The research questions address the impact of the food environment on social learning. The key focus is to explore the social and life skills that pupils develop through meeting, making choices, modelling behaviours, eating, and talking together in a space in the school known as the ‘restaurant’. This is written as an ethnographic case study and adopts a social constructivist position to frame the theoretical aspects of the research. The study is based on pupils in Years 4 – 11 and uses a qualitative research framework for data collection. The findings emphasise the tensions and challenges between the aims of the school - to create an eating space that promotes social values and encourages the development of social skills - and the activities of teachers and catering assistants, who face the challenge of managing and providing food for a large number of pupils daily. The thesis concludes that, like the traditional classroom, a school dining area also requires conscientious environmental adaptation in order for social learning opportunities to take place.

Despite an acknowledgement in secondary education that the transition from GCSE to A level brings with it a noticeable increase in the difficulty of work, there is a paucity of research literature exploring this aspect of transition from students’ perspectives. In higher education, research into threshold concepts has been shown to offer productive insights into those aspects of curricula which students find troublesome, providing practitioners and curriculum designers with a growing body of evidence to inform improvements in teaching and learning. This study, situated predominantly in the subject of biology, explores the lived experiences of six students in the UK during their first year of A level study, through the lens of the Threshold Concept Framework (TCF) (Land, 2013). A longitudinal hybrid design frame is employed, drawing from both case study and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to illuminate the affective dimension of threshold concepts (TCs), an aspect of this research field which is notably underdeveloped. This thesis advances the argument that students’ encounters with TCs are significant for them, posing a level of cognitive and affective challenge which serves to exacerbate the difficulty of transition already caused by increased workload and pressure. The findings offer insights into what the students describe as ‘the jump’ to A level, presenting detailed accounts of their struggles adjusting to increased workload and pace, intensified by encounters with TCs. Critical consideration of the TCF leads to the proposal of an original exploratory model for the identification of TCs, and several TCs are identified in the findings, including scale, cell structures, biochemistry, troublesome language and specificity. Recommendations are made for further research exploring TCs and the affective dimension of transition in a range of other subjects in secondary education, to inform improvements in transition and teaching and learning.