This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) explores the lived experience of students who present with Social Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) during their Mathematics lesson at school. Hence, it attempts to give them a voice with regards to their learning experience in the subject. The aims of the research were to (i) explore how students presenting with SEBD experience learning in the Mathematics classroom; and (ii) suggest educational strategies and interventions that could help in offering students presenting with SEBD with a more engaging learning experience. The participants of this study were four students exhibiting with SEBD aged between 12 and 13 years old. The data was collected over a period of 12 weeks. The main data sources included recorded video diaries and semi-structured interviews. The main research findings indicate that the behaviour of students exhibiting with SEBD in the Mathematics classroom is linked to the curriculum, emotions, relationships, consequences and appraisals.

This thesis has investigated how positive relationships between school leaders, teachers, and students can enhance school leadership. Adopting a case-study approach the study used semi-structured interviews with eight Heads of School and five members of the teaching staff: two assistant heads, a Head of Department, and two teachers, a questionnaire to all the teaching staff, and eight focus groups with students from different schools in one state college in Malta. The findings presented in this thesis offer practical insights for educational leaders in Malta in order to enhance school leadership through positive relationships. The major outcome of this study is the conceptual framework presented in a cyclical model, showing clearly that communication, trust, motivation, sense of community, and the fact that people matter, all result from positive relationships. The emerging themes of communication, trust, motivation, sense of community, and 'people matter' which emerged from the data, all contribute towards enhancing school leadership, and the thesis invites consideration of the term 'Leadership that Loves', to describe a focus on leadership in schools which features care, respect, and love. Findings indicate that the link between positive relationships and the emerging themes is highly dependent on how a school leader goes about nurturing all of these qualities. Currently, Malta is facing a crisis in education and whilst major reforms have been implemented, it is necessary to address the role of positive relationships of school leaders in order to better support every teacher and student, whilst aiming for effective school leadership in Malta. The way forward for school leadership in Malta is highlighted in the light of the findings emanating from this research study. Recommendations for policy and practice are also given.

Jamaica’s education system has long been known to be two-tiered (traditional and non-traditional); the vestiges of a colonial past. This is a case study of an upgraded/non-traditional Jamaican secondary school located in an inner-city urban centre, here named Tree of Life High School (TLHS, pseudonym). The TLHS had a reputation for academic underperformance and indiscipline, however was reported to experience a transformation. The purpose of the study was to examine the perceived factors which led to the improvements at the school from multiple perspectives- namely principal, teachers and students. Challenges and facilitators of organisational transformation were explored, as well as the prevailing culture of the TLHS pre- and post-intervention. The study was qualitative in nature, utilizing semi-structured interview and focus group discussion. The data was collected during the period of a work week and a day spent at the research site. Twelve teachers were interviewed, including the principal, vice principal, six senior teachers and four junior teachers employed to the institution for a time period spanning between nine and thirty-four years. Three groups of students participated in the focus group discussion. The groups comprised of a male only, a female only, and a mixed group of students, all from fourth to sixth form who had been attending the institution for a period of four to six years. The case study addressed the following questions: 1) What factors might have contributed to (or are contributing to) the transformation of the TLHS? 2) How do teachers describe the climate of the TLHS over the last ten years? 3) What were some of the challenges encountered as the staff and students embarked on this transformation route and how were those challenges resolved? 4) What are the strategies and policies that were put in place by the principal as they relate to the goals set for the school? The prevailing culture of the TLHS over the ten-year period under review was that of academic underachievement, indiscipline and low morale. There was, however, a discernible positive shift in the school climate during that period. The perceived factors which gave rise to the TLHS’ transformation were principal’s leadership style, teacher professional development, teacher job satisfaction/teacher morale and improvements in the disciplinary environment. Attention to participative leadership, staff development, school infrastructure, literacy and discipline were all strategies employed by the principal to effect school improvement. The improvements that marked the TLHS experience can serve as a model for informing best practice for non-traditional high schools.

'School readiness' is at the forefront of current Early Childhood Educational policy and is seen politically as a way of narrowing the attainment gap and breaking the cycle of poverty, and preparing children for the formal learning of Year One. However, there is no clear definition of what 'school readiness' means for teachers and children. Without this in place the phrase is left open to interpretation and contradictions, resulting in key divisions between policymakers and the Early Childhood community as to what being 'school ready' means. Furthermore, when 'school readiness' is positioned within policy as 'academic readiness', conflicts and tensions arise between traditional Early Childhood pedagogical practices and the realities of working within a framework where there is a clear emphasis on Mathematical and Literacy outcomes. Viewed through a socio-constructivist lens, 'readiness for school' is seen as a fluid construct, dependent on the beliefs of those working with children. The aim of this research was to explore the beliefs of two Reception teachers using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) that acknowledges teachers as being part of a collective activity system. Within this methodological framework, teachers are seen as thinkers and actors whose purposes, values and knowledge are displayed within the activity systems they inhabit. The ways in which 'school readiness' was constructed through pedagogical practices were identified, and the tensions and contradictions that emerged between these practices and the beliefs of the teachers were explored in depth. An Internet survey questionnaire was used as a way of providing a broader understanding of teacher perceptions around constructs of ‘school readiness’. Interviews with the two participants were carried out to illuminate specific beliefs about 'school readiness', and to identify how teachers conceptualised the construction of 'school readiness' in the classroom. The analysis of these interviews focused on 'manifestations of contradictions' (Engeström & Sannino, 2011) within the data that highlighted tensions between beliefs, pedagogical practices, and curricular and assessment policy frameworks. The findings from the research illustrate the complexities of 'school readiness' as a transitional concept, and the reductionist nature of using the Good Level of Development (GLD) as a measure of 'school readiness'. Using 'school readiness' as a performativity and accountability measure serves to subjugate both teachers and children, and further marginalises already marginalised groups of children if they fail to reach the GLD. This study reiterates the importance of providing a clear definition with regards to what 'school readiness' means, and whether it refers to the institutional transition into school, or the curricular transition from Reception into Year One. The research also furthers the debate around the outcomes children are expected to reach by the end of Reception as a measure of 'school readiness', particularly those focusing on more instrumental skills such as Mathematics and Literacy.

Further Education (FE) colleges have been able to offer ‘direct entry’ to 14 to 16-year-old pupils since 2013, following the recommendations of the Wolf Report (2011). Currently, there are 17 FE colleges in the England offering this type of Alternative Provision (AP). Research focused on pupil transition into APs does exist, though most of this focuses on Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) or school-selected FE provision. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted which showed a ‘gap’ in the research concerning 14 to 16 college provision in England. The aim of this research is to attempt to address this gap to a degree, and to gain an understanding of the experiences of young people who chose to make a ‘non-traditional’ transition into a 14 to 16 college. Classic grounded theory was selected as the methodology for this research (Glaser, 1978; Holton and Walsh, 2017). The aim of this research was to develop a substantive grounded theory of the experiences of participants ‘pushed out’ of mainstream who chose to transition to a 14 to 16 college. Qualitative data was collected initially through a focus group and five semi-structured interviews with purposively recruited target participants. The constant comparison method of grounded theory guided data collection and analysis. Theoretical sampling took place once a conceptual core category had emerged, resulting in data collection from four additional participants and re-interviewing an original participant. The main theoretical concepts emerging from the grounded theory methodology were: disempowerment and disengagement, agency through self-determination and re-empowerment. These theoretical concepts were linked within a theoretical framework drawing on transition models of self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Pierson et al, 2008) and bioecological systems (Trainor et al, 2008). The concepts of bounded agency (Evans, 2007) and ‘critical moments’ (Thomson et al, 2002) have been applied to explain how ‘pushed out’ participants were able to choose to make a ‘non-traditional’ transition to a 14 to 16 college. Implications for Educational Psychology practice have been discussed as well as areas for future research.

Jamaican schools are, for the most part, driven by the principal’s persona. Many individuals within the public sphere view the school as being owned by the principal. This persona is sometimes magnified to the extent that it causes even some principals to assume this false position of ownership over the institutions they lead. It is, therefore, for this reason that I am offering an autoethnography focused on my experiences as a principal. This I hope will bring my audience closer to the subculture experience of school life, through my own experiences. The following research questions were put: 1. What were the challenges I faced during my principalship? 2. How did I respond to the challenges? 3. What occupied my time during my journey? 4. What factors and considerations determined my priorities? 5. What barriers or obstacles did I encounter in attempting to initiate and execute the institution’s first School Development Plan (SIP) and cultivating what I consider to be a positive environment, and an organizational culture that enhances teaching and learning? 6. In what ways did I develop and use a model of accountability in a positive and productive manner? Research data were garnered from my reflexive journal, personal calendar, staff agendas and memos, the principal’s log, and reflexive analysis. Reflective and retrospective insight was gained through the analysis of thematic similarities, key attributes, and the coding of the data. Secondary sources of information were substantially drawn from research findings and comparisons gained from literature reviews. The study is justified in that it provides insight into how the experience of a school principal can: help to create a possible template of school development strategies, provide aspiring and current principals an opportunity to reflect on their own careers in administration, and give insight into how the experience of a school principal can help to provide for a new governance structure for schools. I concluded with a specific appeal to principals and educational leaders to also write their own stories, and a general call for further autoethnographical research in this area from my colleagues in Jamaica and more generally in the developing world.

My research findings urge a reassessment of the organization of publicly funded English-language training in France. English, as lingua franca of a globalizing workplace, functions as a gatekeeper to employment opportunities. Quality subsidized training for adults is, thus, essential to limit linguistic inequality. My research was prompted by the Hollande government's 2015 training reform, with its surprising initial omission of English from subsidy. English, before the reform, was the most demanded subject for training with millions of euros of public funds invested in training, which was largely outsourced to lightly regulated language schools in a competitive marketplace with significant trainer employment precarity. My research - viewed through the Bourdieusian lenses of habitus, field, linguistic capital and linguistic market - employed discourse analysis to analyze government policy texts and questionnaire, interview and focus-group data from trainers and adult learners at "Langues-sans-Frontières," a non-profit language school. Drawing also on the EU-funded "Languages and employability" report and quantitative data from TESOL France, my findings revealed the government treading a delicate path. France is founded on the centrality of French as a key element of citizenship. However, the government tacitly admitted that English was a key to employability. This complex conception of English was mirrored in the linguistic habituses of adult learners. However, the individual nature of trainees' dispositions lends itself to Lahire's reconception of habitus as developing throughout life. This finding implies a sensitive role for trainers in that individual trainee beliefs need to be respected, but gentle challenge through dialogue with other learners can open new learning pathways. However, the reform only allowed for 24 hours training per year. My data, however, indicated that years - rather than hours - were required for adults to reach workplace proficiency. English training needs to take account of the time commitment required for trainees to achieve an operational level, which comes at a financial cost. A network of training institutes, modelled on "Langues-sans-Frontières," may provide the answer. With funding from local and national sources, the organization provided subsidized training, yet offered its trainers good remuneration and conditions. These measures will help French adults as long as English continues to be the workplace lingua franca. However, both English as a lingua franca and French research indicates that the future is multilingual. Developing a multilingual habitus, thus, will be the challenge for French governments.

There has been increased professional, public and press focus in recent years over what are perceived to be deficiencies within healthcare delivery in the UK. Government commissioned reports have highlighted suggested limitations within the attributes and preparation of nursing staff as contributing to this and have recommended integration between nurse education and the role of the nursing assistant as a remedy. This has been done without any significant investigation of the existing interrelationship between these staff groups, a relationship that is presently considered under-researched, and which has been largely excluded from any significant investigation or recognition. As the small number of related studies available have largely focused on students training for the adult and older adult fields of nursing, so there is even less known about the contact nursing assistants have with student mental health nurses and the impact of this relationship on the students' clinical development. To explore this phenomenon, a study was undertaken to investigate how individuals from each of the groups most closely involved with student mental health nurse clinical development; mentors, nursing assistants and the students themselves, understand how nursing assistants contribute to student nurse training within the clinical setting. This study involved an initial review of the literature relevant to this subject, a review that shaped a subsequent mixed methods study underpinned by a phenomenological ontology. Data was collected via the use of diaries and individual interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Analysis of completed diaries and transcribed interviews from the nine participants identified three superordinate themes that provided recognition of key involvement of nursing assistants in the clinical development of student mental health nurses during practice placements. The nursing assistants were seen to provide guidance around complex and significant skills and interventions, and often provided this at crucial times within the students training.

The introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has greatly transformed and improved the quality of teaching and learning all over the world. In Malawi, efforts are continuously being directed towards having ICT resources in all primary schools through different ICT interventions. However,though the interventions are likely to be widespread, there is no empirical evidence if the interventions are fully adopted and purposively used by the schools and teachers respectively. While there is considerable evidence to show that the integration of ICT intervention in classrooms is influenced by the entire education system, research on ICT in education is generally limited to the study of teacher level factors. This research examines how ICT interventions in Malawi primary school education system are planned, introduced and guided, and how these processes configure and influence adoption and use of the interventions by schools and teachers,respectively. Based on research questions about how the ICT interventions are conceptualized, implemented and integrated, the main aim of this study is to analyse the activities and processes taking place in the contexts that the ICT interventions are implemented by linking teachers’ ICT practices in classrooms to particular mediating processes and contexts. The study used a qualitative research approach. It firstly investigated the roles,processes and collaborations between government institutions and ICT providers in the conceptualisation of the ICT interventions through interviews and analysis of documents. The baseline data generated from this phase was used to identify case study schools that were used to investigate how the interventions are adopted and used, through interviews with school heads and teachers, classroom observations and analysis of documents. An Activity System Analysis was used to draw relationships between and within how the interventions are conceptualised at national level, how they are implemented in the schools and integrated in the classrooms. The findings reveal gaps in the national education plans and policies as formal guidelines that regulate investments in the primary school education system. The efforts by the various ICT interventions providers are unguided and unregulated,and the process of conceptualising and implementing the ICT interventions in primary education is still in a form of experimentation, being led by the interventions providers rather than the Ministry of Education. This presents tensions as the schools and the teachers try to accommodate requirements for implementing and integrating different ICT interventions without any policy frameworks, curriculum guidelines, ICT training and technical support. The implications from this study reveal the need for policy makers, planners and education practitioners to generate rationale, goals, and vision on how the Malawi primary school education system can incorporate the ICT interventions; guide specific roles for relevant stakeholders in the design and development of specific ICT interventions; produce specific plans and curricula for teacher training and development; and guide the development of school-based ICT plans that can facilitate successful adoption and integration of the ICT interventions.

Youth forums – long-term programmes for young people, age 15 to 21, emerged in the mid 1990s in contemporary art museums in response to the misrepresentation of this age group and as an attempt to offer them a creative space outside the school environment. My research draws a genealogy of museums turn toward youth, looking in particular to six ecologies – the Whitechapel Gallery, Tate, South London Gallery, Whitney Museum, MoMA and the New Museum. Drawing on the notion of heterotopia, proposed by Michel Foucault, I discuss the relational ethos of youth forums, as they are concomitantly connected to and separated from museums. This historical mapping is expanded to consider the pedagogies that come together in collaborative art practices, as these are at the heart of initiatives for youth in contemporary art museums. Focusing on the Whitechapel Gallery’s youth forum – Duchamp&Sons, namely the projects De/construct (2013-2014) and Art Casino (2014-2015), three concepts emerged from their open-ended collaborations – ignorance, forgetfulness, and unknown. These were the élan to invent new ways of working and being together, to what I, influenced by Louis Althusser’s materialism of the encounter, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s middle, and Karen Barad’s intra-actions, name pedagogy of the encounter. In tandem with the emphasis on collaborative art practices, the long-term duration of youth forums gives young people the opportunity to return and therefore expand their relation with museums – curators, artists, and their peers. To think these untimely entanglements in terms of being-with, of a singular plural ontology as discussed by Jean-Luc Nancy, entails an impossible sense of togetherness, which stresses the politics and ethics of the AND. Based on the experiences of Duchamp&Sons participants I further mapped the potentiality of being part of a youth forum, where-when participation is always felt in movement. In sum, it is a matter of connections – visible and invisible.