Previous studies have demonstrated the positive impact of blended learning (BL) on English as a foreign language (EFL) writing courses. However, enhanced BL using a flipped classroom still needs to be explored. This study develops a flipped approach through the use of videos on an EFL writing course and explores its impact on EFL learners’ intrinsic motivation (IM) and learning outcomes. The research questions identified for the present study are: 1. What is the impact in terms of learning outcomes and intrinsic motivation (IM) of implementing the flipped classroom approach, in comparison with the non-flipped approach, on the English writing skills of EFL learners? 2. In both approaches, what is the relationship between on the one hand, the supporting environment offered and on the other, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, IM and learning outcomes? 3. What is the relationship in the two approaches between IM and learning outcomes? 4. How do the learners perceive the supporting environment provided by the flipped classroom, in comparison with the non-flipped approach? The present research was conducted with 55 female undergraduate EFL learners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Two writing classes were selected: one to receive flipped classroom teaching through the use of videos (n=24) and the other, non-flipped teaching (n=31). An experimental design was implemented using a mixed-method approach. Meanwhile, the design of the flipped classroom was underpinned by Sociocultural Theory (SCT). Six participants per group were subsequently interviewed, with diaries being collected weekly from four participants per group. One week of online interaction (via wikis) was extracted for the flipped classroom group (FCG), while both groups undertook pre- and post-writing tests and completed pre- and post-questionnaires. This study used Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory (SDT) to construct the conceptual framework. The analysis revealed that the FCG developed their writing outcomes and IM. They also satisfied their psychological need for a sense of competence, relatedness and autonomy to a higher degree than the non-flipped group (NFG). A positive correlation was found between IM and learning outcomes, and between learning outcomes and the supporting environment for the satisfaction of the above-mentioned psychological needs. In addition, from the qualitative data gathered, different types of support were found to be helpful for satisfying these psychological needs using the flipped approach. Several methodological and pedagogical contributions have been made by the design of the study and the flipped approach adopted. A theoretical contribution has also been made through self-determination theory (SDT). Finally, this study provides empirical evidence for policy-makers in higher education in KSA, of the need to implement the flipped classroom in EFL practice.

This thesis explores the use of Boalian Theatre as a potential way to actively engage disaffected young people in a dialogue about the character virtues of respect and self-discipline. Political theatre practitioner, director, and teacher Augusto Boal is best known for founding Theatre of the Oppressed, an international movement and system for creating theatre that seeks to examine forms of conflict, discrimination and oppression. Uniquely, this thesis makes links between Boalian Theatre practice and Citizenship/Character Education. Within this framework, the Boalian Theatre study functions to cultivate disaffected participants’ ability to question, deconstruct, and then reconstruct knowledge in the interest of developing notions of respect and self-discipline which are key components of Citizenship/Character Education. The starting point for this research was the critical exploration of Citizenship/Character Education and interventions which involve the use of theatre as a tool for change. The review of the literature raised preliminary questions concerning the nature and form of Character Education and Interventionist Theatre and established Boalian Theatre as the focus of this research. Boalian Theatre was defined as a portfolio of techniques which employed some (though not all) of the elements of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. There were a number of reasons as to why this was an appropriate focus. This included the extent to which its political origins translate to the context of working with disaffected participants as an oppressed group and the shift in thinking with regards to Citizenship/Character development of secondary school students. The research implemented a Boalian Theatre study, informed by critical social theories, and used case study methodology. The research was implemented with ten 18-21 year olds who describe themselves as ‘disaffected.’ Findings show that participants conclude that there is potential in offering Boalian Theatre as a community-based programme with the aim of promoting individual and collective responses to their own understanding of respect and self-discipline. Data suggests the project was effective in assisting participants to create new understandings of the terms ‘respect’ and ‘self-discipline.’ Further evidence of impact is offered in participants electing to engage in further Boalian Theatre study. A challenge, which was key to the success of the Boalian Theatre study was the dismantling of notions of hierarchy (common amongst those who engage in gang membership) and the building of shared norms, values and understanding that facilitated co-operation within the group. Only then did the Boalian Theatre study offer an effective and reflective tool for character development and Citizenship Education. In doing so it provided an opportunity for participants to view areas of conflict several times (re-examined) until they understood the source of the conflict and found resolution. This was particularly effective when examining notions of respect and self-discipline which are integral to both Citizenship/Character Education. The thesis explores the complexities, tensions and ambiguities of using Boalian Theatre with disaffected participants. Bridging the gap between theatre, Citizenship and Character education it further seeks to explore the possibility of developing a more inclusive Citizenship/Character Education model which includes elements of paleoconservative, communitarian, libertine and libertarian models. It should be noted that this thesis reports in the verbatim discourse of disaffected participants and as such contains strong language and profanities.

The study seeks a new perspective on quality assurance, by engaging pupils as assessors. The data provided by the study could help educational leaders, together with the whole school community to understand how Maltese pupils judge schools. It could provide useful knowledge for more effective appraisal of schools and shed light on proposals for better-quality schools. The study adopted a Mixed Methods approach, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data to address the research questions. The main research tool was a questionnaire survey, with 1618 pupils, from two pupil year groups: 8 year olds and 14 year olds. Pupil participation was embedded in all stages of the research design. Pupils were asked to participate in the design of the main research tool and to contribute in the analysis and discussion of the main findings of the questionnaire survey. Qualitative data collected through focus group sessions with pupils, group interviews with Student Councils, and, one­to-one interviews with Heads of Schools and policy-makers, complemented the quantitative data gathered by the questionnaire. Data was gathered from a total of 42 different schools. In addition, the study sought to reveal the perspectives of pupils, Heads of Schools and policy-makers on pupils' role as assessors of schools and on the pupil-generated list of the quality indicators of a good school. The findings show that the top three quality indicators of a good school through the eyes of the Maltese pupil are: 'Good teachers', 'A clean school' and 'A good Head of School'. Pupils, Heads of Schools and policy-makers are all in favour of the concept and the application of the concept of pupils as assessors of schools; however, there are a number of shortcomings which need to be addressed before the full potential of the process can be achieved in Maltese schools.

No description available.

This case study within the general field of studies of local educational administration is divided into three parts. In Part 1, the pre-1939 circumstances of schools in Leicester are briefly described and the number and kind of school places in 1939 is quantified. The Development Plan for Schools is presented as a link between the pre-war and post-war school systems. And the post-war conditions in which the Development Plan had to be implemented are outlined. In Part 2, three main quantities are established. The 'open-ended commitment' to provide for all children resident in Leicester is quantified and analysed. The shortage of school places which persisted throughout the period is quantified and interpreted. And the quantitative shortage of teachers is shown to have qualitative implications. Part 3 comprises three examples of ways in which the LEA distributed the exercise of its functions. The initiSIy centralised functions of the Education Committee and its officers were distributed amongst other Committees of the City Council and their officers. The Education Committee left an important function in the hands of a self-perpetuating body of teachers. Consideration of a form of comprehensive secondary education was handed to a working party in which teachers predominated. In discussion and conclusion, the importance of the law of education on the work of the LEA is stressed; the possibility of different relationships between the LEA and the Department of Education and Science on the input and output sides of the school system is considered; historical factors - which comprised the stock-in-hand of the school system - are found to be of greater influence than current inputs; and the school system of Leicester, between 1944 and 1974, is recognised as part of the national school system which was also recognisably of its own kind.

No description available.

In this survey an attempt has been made to trace the historical development of teacher training in England and Wales from 1900 to 1939. In order to do this it was essential to look back and trace how the system that existed in 1900 came into being. In 1900 there were three avenues of approach to the profession of teaching the pupil-teacher system, the residential colleges and the day training colleges. The pupil-teacher system was introduced in England in 1846 and was readily adopted. Modified from time to time but in essence practically unchanged the system remained for nearly sixty years the most important source of supplying candidates for training colleges. From 1870 a significant trend was noticeable in the pupil-teacher system less stress on apprenticeship and more on the personal education of the teacher. This resulted in the establishment of pupil-teacher centres which fulfilled the long-felt need of educating the pupil-teachers properly before admission to training colleges. The 45 residential colleges that were in existence in 1900 were established by churches and voluntary bodies. The bulk of them, 32, belonged to the Church of England. All the colleges taken together provided 2,400 to 2,500 training college places, but the candidates for admission were three times more in number. The duration of the course was generally two years but a third-year course was also offered which, could be taken in the country or elsewhere. The establishment of the day training colleges in 1890 in connection with university colleges and colleges that formed part of a university ushered in a new era in teacher training by linking it with universities and so with the main current of higher education. The new colleges were undenominational and there were 16 of them in 1900. The Education Act of 1902 was of fundamental importance and led to an expansion of secondary education. The newly created LEAs established municipal colleges which relieved the shortage of training college accommodation. The period between 1902 and 1914 was an epoch of outstanding importance in the history of teacher training when striking new experiments and reform of far-reaching influence were introduced. This period witnessed the re-modelling of the old pupil-teacher system by bursar and student teacher systems which provided intending teachers with secondary education up to the age of 16 or 17. Important changes in the courses of instruction introduced in 1904 and 1913 gave the training colleges alternative courses to choose from and also reduced the number of subjects. The day training colleges had extended the scope of their work to include the training of secondary school teachers and by 1912 all the universities and university colleges of England and Wales were training secondary teachers. Separate training colleges for the training of secondary school teachers had developed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in connection with the movement for higher education for women. After World War I there was a great shortage in the supply of teachers. The prospects of the teaching profession were made attractive by the Superannuation Act of I9I8 and 1925. The appointment of the Burnham Committee to solve the salary problem on a national scale resulted in the improvement of salaries. As the intending teachers were to remain in the secondary school up to the age of 18 the pupil teachership, bursarship and student-teachership were abolished. The examination for "acting teacher certificate" was also discontinued. In response to educational and professional opinion favouring closer connection between training colleges and universities, Joint Boards were created and examination, formulation of syllabus and certification of teachers were transferred from the Board of Education to the Joint Examination Boards. There were no major changes in teacher training in the following decade but the whole conception of education was changing under the impact of new ideas in education. New methods of teaching were introduced and the importance of psychology and child study was increasingly recognized. The training colleges were trying to gear their work to the changing pattern of education. Educational and professional opinion was pressing for still closer connection between training colleges and universities and the time seemed propitious for another move forward when the sudden outbreak of World War II in September 1939 brought things to a temporary standstill.

No description available.

Between 1954 and 1961 The Woodlands School, Coventry, a ten form entry boys comprehensive school, adopted a form of organisation in which pupils on entering the school were allocated to work groups that were rigidly streamed on the basis of the eleven plus examination results. From 1962, a relaxation of streaming commenced which eventually culminated in all school subjects being taught to all pupils, in the first three years, in unstreamed forms, without recourse to setting. Between I968 and 1972, an investigation designed to examine the effects on certain educational results of the transition from a streamed to an unstreamed form of organisation, was carried out. The indicators chosen included external examination entries and results, the voluntary 'sstaying on' rate, the performance of selective and non-selective pupils, pupil achievement in relation to season of birth, and the influence of the house system in determining pupil performance. Previous experiments had compared either results from streamed schools with those from similar non-streamed schools or results from streamed classes with those from unstreamed classes within the same school. The Woodlands experiment differed from earlier experiments in so far as it related to a school that was originally rigidly streamed and which changed gradually, over a period of a few years, to one that was unstreamed. The evidence from The Woodlands experiment suggests that a non-streamed form of organisation, operated by a staff who believe in and are dedicated to the idea of mixed-ability teaching, who do not see the pupils' worth primarily in terms of academic achievement in the early years and yet who retain the basic techniques of class teaching as their principal method of instruction, represents a more favourable structure for the vast majority of pupils, including the so-called able ones, than does a system based on streaming.

No description available.