The aim of this thesis is to address the overarching research question: ‘What is the relationship between theory and practice and the issue that arises between them for acupuncture education in the UK?’. The issue refers to a lack of means for practitioners to competently deal with situations that arise in practice and, has long been recognised as existing in most forms of professional education. The theoretical framework for this study’s investigation traces the reasons for the issue between theory and practice through discussing the shifts in the education, practice and regulation of acupuncture from China to the UK. The theory-practice debates within professional education are also analysed and, professional judgment is considered as a way to connect theory and practice for acupuncture education in the UK. The investigation of the overarching research question entails a case study formed by two distinct models through which acupuncture is currently taught in the UK: the university and the apprenticeship models. These models are also compared and contrasted in view of achieving the objectives to identify: 1) Which elements of each model’s curriculum and pedagogic approaches work best to facilitate the theory-practice relationship, 2) How students can be equipped to develop their professional knowledge upon becoming practitioners. The university model is represented by teachers and students from two institutions, while the apprenticeship model is represented by the principal of an acupuncture apprenticeship programme and the Barefoot Doctor: an experienced acupuncturist who trained through an apprenticeship. Practitioners of acupuncture are also included. Qualitative data were collected through one-to-one interviews and focus groups. The study reveals that alongside the features that facilitate the theory-practice relationship and the development of professional knowledge, a number of concerns emerge through the organisation and pedagogic approaches that these models adopt, thereby hindering the theory-practice relationship. Recommendations are offered for students, teachers and practitioners to understand the connections between theory and practice, and conduct professional judgment effectively. The limitations and recommendations for areas for further research are also discussed.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Developing adequate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) academic writing skills is of paramount importance for students’ success in higher education in Oman. The traditional teaching approaches adopted in writing courses often lead to students’ disengagement, however. Although several studies have examined students and teachers’ perceptions of flipped instruction in various EFL courses, no study has examined the impact of flipping on students’ engagement in writing courses. This practice-based research project, where the instructor was the researcher, explored the impact of flipped teaching on 57 General Foundation Program (GFP) EFL learners’ behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic engagement in academic writing in a higher education institution in Oman, and the variations that exist in students’ engagement according to gender, age, English language proficiency and technology skills. The study adopted a mixed-methods design and used a student engagement questionnaire, focus group interviews and participant observations to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics and deductive and inductive analytical procedures were used to analyse the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The study presents new practicable knowledge about the implementation and implications of flipped instruction for Omani EFL students’ engagement in academic writing at the GFP level. It proposes flipping as an instructional approach which helps to address GFP students’ lack of 4 behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic engagement in writing courses in the Omani context. Behaviourally, students in the flipped classroom experience increased effort, improved concentration levels, persistence, communication and collaboration, and amelioration in their attitude to class attendance. It is reasonable to conclude that learners undergo cognitive growth and develop self-regulatory strategies and meta-cognitive awareness. At the level of emotional engagement, learners initially experience negative emotions such as anger and frustration, and then more positive emotions such as contentment and increased interest in the subject as they adapt to the flipped teaching-learning model. Flipping also seems to influence students’ autonomy and ability to ask questions and express opinions. It appears, however, that this approach does not influence students’ capacity to contribute to their own learning resources and activities. This study makes a valuable contribution to knowledge about students’ engagement in EFL writing courses. It revealed that a strong positive correlation exists between students’ behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement, and that a positive correlation exists between students’ technology skills and linguistic proficiency and several aspects of their engagement. The study demonstrated, however, that no correlation exists between gender and age and students’ engagement in the flipped classroom. Furthermore, this practice-based research indicated that although flipped instruction helps to address the problem of students’ disengagement in writing courses in our context, factors such as students’ linguistic proficiency and technology skills should be taken into consideration before implementing this instructional approach in the current setting.

No description available.

This study sought to explore UK primary teachers’ attitudes towards the implementation of activities which utilise and value EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils’ linguistic and cultural knowledge. Whilst research has advocated such use of home languages, it has largely been conducted in highly multilingual classrooms, with researcher involvement and with a focus on outcomes for bilingual children (Kenner, Gregory, Ruby, & Al-Azami, 2008; Kenner, 2009; McGilp, 2014). However, utilising children’s linguistic and cultural knowledge could also enhance monolingual pupils’ awareness of languages and foster inter-cultural understanding. These are particularly important advantages for highly monolingual contexts that are often overlooked by research in this area. Conducted in a large UK county with predominantly low numbers of pupils who use EAL, societal divisions and poor representation of diversity in schools in the area have previously received national media attention. Data were collected from electronic questionnaires (N = 200) and focus groups (N = 6) with practising teachers as well as pre- and post-tests following a quasi-experimental intervention given to trainee teachers about how linguistic diversity can be utilised in their classrooms (N = 293). The data revealed numerous, often conflicting, attitudes held by the teachers that may influence their classroom practice regarding home languages. The role of English as the dominant language in schools and society overarched many other themes within the data, representing perhaps the most substantial obstacle to any future implementation of such practice. However, results from the intervention with trainee teachers demonstrated how even small amounts of input can provide teachers with practical classroom strategies for using home languages. In sum, the data suggest that without a top-down change, conflicting ideologies and subsequently, monolingual perspectives and practice may endure creating a cycle in which monolingual classrooms produce ‘monolingual-minded’ teachers and members of society.