This doctoral thesis documents a collaborative ethnographic study in a junior school setting applying the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum - ‘an explicit, structured, whole-curriculum framework and resource for teaching social, emotional and behavioural skills to all pupils’ (DfES 2005, pg. 5). Children’s emotional skills in particular are positioned as a remedy for the mental health problems perceived to be facing contemporary society (Seligman 2005). However, Gillies (2011) has shown how such understandings of emotion in education categorise particular emotions as right or wrong. This, she suggests, works to pathologise the emotional lives of children (Gillies 2011). In response, Kenway and Youdall (2011) call for a move towards a ‘socio-cultural-spatial analysis of emotion ... [that] ... allows us to engage with emotion in new ways’ (pg. 132). Like Kenway and Youdell (2011) I have found that few educational studies make links between space. place and emotionality, and particularly from children’s perspectives. The thesis develops a socio-spatial lens in order to foreground a definition of emotion as the meanings that people make of affective experiences and productions in relation to particular contexts. In this thesis I am interested in children’s meaning-making and how this is influenced by the school setting. The thesis is divided in two intersecting volumes. Volume A documents how I have developed a methodology for researching emotion from children’s perspectives and Volume B presents a series of vignettes that capture children’s meaning-making. The methodological approach was foregrounded by a concept of emplacement (Pink 2009), which considers place (which is considered to be emotionally textured) as dynamic and socially produced. This perspective attends to the ways that children are both shaped by and shape the emotional landscapes of schooling. In line with this theoretical lens I co-developed arts-orientated methodologies with a group of nine children (aged 9 and 10) to examine the social and spatial dimensions of emotion, such as den-building, film-making and scrapbooks. To reflect the way that the research design shapes research findings, the thesis is designed in a way that supports the reader to make choices about how they move between these two volumes. In doing so I also intend for the reader to construct their own understandings as they navigate the thesis, in order to reflect the subjective and unfolding nature of the research process. The design of the thesis also reflects the complexities of capturing the intersectional nature of the material and immaterial in children’s constructions of emotion, it shows how different moments in children’s school lives are intertwined in the social production of emotional landscapes. In essence this doctoral study aims to show how a socio-spatial analysis of emotion enables alternative (by this I mean moving away from a ‘skills’ orientated perspective) and productive ways of thinking about emotion to enter into educational settings and educational research.

On reviewing the research literature about excessive school absenteeism, it reflects a bias towards understanding this phenomenon from a 'within child', medical model discourse. My thinking stems from a social constructionist standpoint, therefore, I used narrative accounts to challenge these dominant constructions and to provide a different way of 'coming to know' excessive school absenteeism. Research around excessive school absenteeism is often presented in statistical form and does not appear to capture the interaction and complexities of excessive school absenteeism. However, narrative goes beyond the surface level of statistical analysis and captures the complexity of excessive school absenteeism. By looking in detail at what experiences stand out in the lives of these young people and making sense of their stories, gives a deeper meaning when understanding excessive school absenteeism and the part it plays in young people's lives. This research explores the narratives of four young people who have experienced excessive school absenteeism. I undertook a narrative approach as it allows people to construct their own versions of reality, from their own understanding of their experience of excessive school absenteeism. Labov's approach of identifying sequences and structural parts within the story was applied, the approach being adapted from the work of Patterson (2008) and Riessman (2008). This enabled me to identify key experiences that stood out for young people who have experienced excessive school absenteeism. Through interpreting the significant themes from the young people's narratives, I was able to explore ways in which professionals can use these accounts to support young people who have experienced excessive school absenteeism.

Children on the autism spectrum commonly display a reading profile characterised by strengths in decoding alongside weaknesses in reading comprehension (Nation et al., 2006). Reciprocal Teaching (RT; Palinscar & Brown, 1984) is an evidence-based instructional approach for supporting reading comprehension skills based on cooperative learning principles and endorsed by National Reading Panel (NRP; NICHD, 2000) research; however there is little evidence around the use of RT with children with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). Using an action research methodology, I sought to develop my knowledge as a practitioner by exploring how I could make adjustments within the context of delivering a group-based RT intervention to enhance its application for two children (aged 8-9) with diagnoses of Asperger’s Syndrome. A key feature of the research was eliciting the views of participating children and using these to inform the ongoing planning and delivery of the intervention. Qualitative data including feedback from participants, session records and a bespoke assessment of RT strategy-use (alongside my own reflective records) contributed to two cycles of action research in which my learning informed my subsequent actions. Within smaller micro-cycles of action and reflection, I made four adjustments to RT involving visual aids to activate children’s prior knowledge and support them to ask questions about text and summarise non-fiction passages. I discuss my findings with reference to theoretical models of comprehension and ASC and generate my own living theory of practice. The study addresses a gap in the literature and has direct implications for educational professionals and for the practice of Educational Psychologists (EPs) who frequently support children with ASC but often do not feel skilled in supporting reading comprehension (Greenway, 2002). Throughout my inquiry, I highlight questions for further research and future practice.

This thesis considers children’s engagement in peer group hierarchies in transition to secondary school. Nineteen children in Year six in schools in South East England participated in the study, six of whom were revisited in Year seven, in secondary school. Data were gathered through loosely structured interviews and drawings, then analysed through contrasting lenses to consider the children’s identity work from different perspectives. In-group/out-group behaviours in line with social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) were seen to establish and reinforce hierarchical interactions between groups of children in school contexts particularly in relation to perceptions of attractiveness, academic ability and popularity or reputation. The school context seemed to contribute to the formation of the power hierarchies enacted by the children. Some children navigated the complex social interactions within their peer groups so they could position themselves uncontroversially in the middle of the hierarchical structure. Other children either adopted or were ascribed roles which they enacted apparently uncritically. The work also considers the role of media stereotypes of secondary school peer groups. The children in this research drew on stereotypical identities in their talk about children and schools in general terms but adapted and refined these when talking about particular schools or individuals. Finally the work considers how or if the children maintained a coherent sense of self in the transition between schools. The children’s talk demonstrated how they used talk about past selves to account for sameness and change. They reinforced those aspects of self which they felt were representative of what they were ‘like’. Where their beliefs or behaviours had changed they used narratives such as those of ‘growing up’ to account for perceived changes in their identity performances. As a contribution to theory about identity, the thesis develops the mathematical concept of fractals, which form chaotic yet coherent systems consisting of recursive self-similarities. The notion of ‘fractal identity’ provides a means by which identity can be understood as a complex patterning of being which consists of ‘self similarities’ which contribute to an overall coherent, yet inchoate, ‘whole’.

This thesis examines the impact and outcomes of a Multiple Intelligences (MI) project on the children, teacher and parents in a kindergarten in Thailand. The design employed non-participant observations of children, children's portfolio, and semi-structured interviews with a teacher and parents. All participants were chosen as purposive sample in a kindergarten in Thailand. The study clearly suggests that the MI project, dedicated to improving children's engagement levels, parents' supporting roles and teacher's professional practice, enabled the children to develop a wide range of skills and competences and to have more opportunities to learn through hands-on activities and working with friends, which fostered their co-operative learning. Learning environments in the school and the children's home environment, and the nature of family support, were changed to support children's MI. The project not only involved all children in exploring and learning through the sets of activities, but also increased the chances to discover their areas of strength and areas to develop. Evidence suggests that it would be the duty of both the school administrator and the teachers to find an appropriate way to ensure best practice in the delivery of the curriculum. Teachers and specialists need to be trained, with the appropriate early childhood curriculum consistently matched with individual child's needs, interests and levels of competence.

This thesis is situated within the context of higher education partnership arrangements with colleges of further education. A growing literature focusses on higher education policy and its ramifications for this area of the higher education sector, accounting for one in ten undergraduates. Similarly there is growing recognition of the particular identity of college higher education practitioners and in particular comparative evaluations with academic staff in universities. This work departs from these fields through the focus on the partnership as a mechanism of higher education provision and a determinant of the nature of this provision. The complexity of such arrangements are underwritten by a lack of congruence within policy frameworks at a macro level leaving a wide remit for universities and partners to interpret and implement. Structural interpretations of partnership arrangements within literature place the college on the periphery of higher education and hierarchically on the bottom rung of a stratified and increasingly marketised sector. Whilst accepting the premise, this work provides a more nuanced account of how partnership is operationalised and experienced by those who work in it and are served by it. Theoretical conceptions on power, identity, agency and the higher education market are introduced and employed as tools of analysis. Using an approach which draws on these concepts across disciplines of political science, organisational analysis and sociology, a picture is presented of partnerships in a state of change. The central role of the college, as partner in development of higher education provision, and holder of the power of implementation, is juxtaposed against assumptions of a relative deficit in agency. The concept of the street level bureaucrat is adapted and provides a theorised account of the implementing power and agency of colleges in determining the experience of higher education for the one in ten students studying within a college.

This thesis addresses the way in which patient-centred service delivery is opening up new roles for pharmacists and by extension non-pharmacist pharmacy staff. The thesis makes clear that this is a converging trend in the pharmacy practice model that is taking place across many countries including Ireland. The study explores a specific implication of this trend namely the up grading of the work roles of non-pharmacist pharmacy staff and the ensuing implications for their education, training and regulation. It examines and critically evaluates whether current approaches in the ROI including the Pharmacy Act 2007 are preparing non-pharmacist pharmacy staff to meet their existing and developing roles. Comparisons are made between policies, practices and provisions in the ROI, GB and the USA. The role of education and training for vocational/professional formation is examined along with the place of informal workplace learning in professional work environments. The complex and challenging process of connecting college and workplace learning is analysed and features of programmes which facilitate this process identified. The implications of this for non-pharmacist pharmacy support staff education and training in the ROI is examined. The thesis presents the results of in-depth interviews with a comprehensive cross section of participants from the pharmacy sector where issues relating to non-pharmacist pharmacy staff in the ROI were addressed. Fifteen people were interviewed and the sectors represented included regulation, education, employers and pharmacy support staff. The study found that for non-pharmacist pharmacy staff education, training and regulation the current system in the ROI is not facilitating their development and that there is a need for a coherent and robust over-arching policy which would integrate education and training and impose uniform standards across the sector. A number of recommendations are proposed for the development of non-pharmacist pharmacy staff.

In this study I set out to give a voice to learners in a Further Education vocational setting, in the context of Malta. I was interested in their life stories, the causes of their disengagement, their different literacy practices and how these could be utilised to improve their engagement in college. In a classroom ethnography spread over one scholastic year, the learners revealed that their disengagement was mainly caused by negative teacher-student relationships, a dissonance between their out of school literacy practices and teacher expectations in the classroom, and the acquired negative schooled identities. Work on life histories, critical literacy and funds of knowledge as part of classroom practice helped to balance teacher-student power relations, build a community of learners and transform the conventional classroom into a third space where college work, social practices and home came together and enhanced the learning experience. This empowered the learners changing their perception of themselves. The overall picture that transpires from this study is that dichotomies such as student-teacher, vernacular-standard, Maltese-English, inside-outside college practices, print-oral should not be seen as opposite ends on separate spectra but differences that can cohabit peacefully in classrooms that celebrate diversity and give learners the confidence and space to show what their strengths are.

This thesis presents an ethnographic study of the meaning making of a group of parents and young children (aged 2-4 years) visiting museums over the course of a year. Specifically, this study looks at the practice of 7 family groups, making repeated visits to one of two local museums. The researcher accompanied the families as a participant observer, usually accompanied by her own daughter of the same age. Fieldnotes, and hand held video camera footage were the primary means by which data was collected. Multimodality was employed as a lens, alongside ethnography, to make sense of the verbal and non-verbal modes of meaning making of the children and parents during the museum visits. The emerging findings of this research stress the importance of non-verbal modes and of embodied meaning making of the children in the museums, and the tacit, situated knowing this generated. In particular, this thesis foregrounds the children's running, walking, dancing and other means of moving through the museum as a previously under researched aspect of young children's meaning making. In addition, this thesis stresses the importance of time in the families' meaning making. Over the course of the year, the museum became a familiar place to the families, who developed specific traditions or repeated situated practices, which they carried out on each subsequent visit. This thesis draws on theories of space and time to make sense of these processes. These findings add to a body of work on young children's communicative practices, firstly by emphasising moving through as an important component of these practices, and secondly, by providing an example of how the meaning of these practices is situated in time and space.

This thesis aims to explore how personal experience of mental distress can be used to help occupational therapy students to understand the experiences of individuals with mental health issues. The research project underlying the thesis helps us to see what permits and prevents such learning and discusses how learning was negotiated between service users, students and tutors in professional mental health education. The setting of the research is an occupational therapy course in a new (post 1992) university, where service users are invited to contribute their personal experience of mental distress in learning contexts with students and tutors, some of whom have also had experiences of mental distress. The methodology used involved the application of a post-structural theoretical perspective to the various stories which emerged from the research process. In the analysis, we can see how some of these stories work to expose how practices of power can (re)inscribe dominant discourses and positions in professional education. Methods used were semi-structured individual and group interviews as ‘conversations’ with three service users, three students and three tutors (including the researcher) who all had, at some time in their lives, experiences of mental distress. Findings show that occupational therapy students can learn about living with mental health issues by exchanging stories based on personal experiences of mental distress. Service users’ stories of ‘acceptance’, ‘possibility’ and ‘transformation’ based on previously hidden ‘personal’ knowledges of mental distress were consistent with the concerns and interests of the political service user movement. As stories were recognised as ‘legitimate’ in learning contexts they began to shift dominant understandings of mental health. Further, in visibly participating as ‘educators’ and as legitimate ‘knowers’, service users began to challenge whose authority it is to speak about mental distress and permit different narrative positions for students and tutors. However, ‘technologies of power’ and ‘technologies of self’ of powerful mental illness, professional and educational discourses which represent the consumerist concerns and interests of a marketised system of occupational therapy professional mental health education continue to divide, disqualify, exclude and isolate personal knowledges and knowers of mental distress. This research concludes that although service users as ‘educators’ working with occupational therapy students and tutors can create new stories and narrative possibilities in mental health learning contexts, learning requires a critical historical approach to storytelling to expose how powerful discourses maintain some knowledges and ways of being as desirable and normal. Further, as we were positioned in complex and contradictory ways as service user, student and tutor we engaged in narrative work which is often ‘hidden’ and unaccounted for in learning settings. Importantly, the work of tutors in creating conditions for learning from personal experience of mental distress is unrecognised by the institution in which they work. The impact of service users’ stories, then, will be limited without a shift in social and institutional processes towards new alliances and contexts for professional mental health education which supports learning at the margins of personal/political and personal/professional boundaries.