This thesis examines English teachers’ constructions of creativity in three different schools. The investigation is of interest because of the importance given to creativity by English teachers and the contested, shifting role it plays in English teaching and education as a whole. It differs from similar work because it treats creativity as a material resource that teachers can draw on in different ways and measures. In this, it treats the enactment of creativity as a matter of social justice. The thesis draws on a wide body of literature about creativity. Fundamental to this is an overview of the literature as it relates to creativity and language, with most significance given to Williams’ ideas about the centrality of "creativity and self-creation" to knowledge generation (1977: p.212), and to Freire’s about “problem posing” and “banking” forms of education (1970: pps.64-65). It also draws on recent research into the effect of accountability measures in schools. This research suggests that such measures have considerable influence on how education is enacted in schools, placing limits, for example, on creative practices. The data is qualitative in nature and analysed using a framework of critical discourse theory, exploring patterns and omissions in teachers’ comments and interrogating them within the context of dominant policy, educational and institutional discourses. The research itself gathered data from semi-structured interviews with individual English teachers in three different secondary schools, one private and two state comprehensives. The study found that teachers across all three schools constructed creativity in similar ways in the abstract, but in accounts of actual practice, considerable differences emerged across schools. The most pronounced differences were between responses by teachers in the two state schools compared to teachers in the private one. These differences clustered most significantly around constructions of creativity as it related to accountability measures in schools. The findings are important because they suggest that teachers struggle to draw on creative practices, even as they see them as pedagogically important, because of the restrictive nature of accountability measures. They also suggest that some teachers feel more able than others to enact creative practices, depending on the institutional nature of their school.

The object of the research reported in this thesis was to investigate the effects of word characteristics on children's reading performance. The experiments investigating word imagery and age of acquisition showed that imagery was a highly significant word characteristic for less skilled readers. There was an age of acquisition effect which was inversely correlated with reading ability. Probabilistic measures of orthographic regularity (such as Initial Bigram Frequency and Versatility and First Order approximation to English) were shown to be significant predictors of reading for good and poor readers and lexical decision performance for average readers. It also appeared that as reading ability improved, word properties such as the Orthographic Neighbour Ratio, which takes into account neighourhood size and frequency affected reading accuracy in the good and average reader in the lexical decision task. Other measures of orthographic regularity-orthographic neighbourhood size and body type were also shown to affect reading accuracy although effects appeared less marked for skilled readers. The regularity effect was seen to be dependent upon hostility and frequency of word neighbours, and the frequency of the target word itself, rather than due to a regularity-irregularity dichotomy.

Information and communication technologies have been playing a crucial role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of learning and teaching in higher education. Two decades ago, research studies were focused on how to use artificial intelligence techniques to imitate teachers or tutors in delivering learning sessions. Machine learning techniques have been applied in several research studies to construct a student model in the context of intelligent tutoring systems. However, the usage of intelligent tutoring systems has been very limited in higher education as most educational institutions are in favour of using virtual learning environments (VLEs). VLEs are computer-based systems that support all aspects of teaching and learning from provision of course materials to managing coursework. In this research study, the emphasis is on the assessment aspect of VLEs. A literature review revealed that existing computer-based formative assessments have never utilised unsupervised machine learning to improve their feedback mechanisms. Machine learning techniques have been applied to construct student models, which is represented as categories of knowledge levels such as beginning, intermediate and advanced. The student model does not specify what concepts are understood, the gap of understanding and misconceptions. Previously, a snap-drift modal learning neural network has been applied to improve the feedback mechanisms of computer-based formative assessments. This study investigated the application of snap-drift modal learning neural network for analysing student responses to a set of multiple choice questions to identify student groups. This research study builds on this previous study and its aim is to improve the effectiveness of the application of snap-drift modal learning neural network in modelling student responses to a set of multiple choice questions and to extend its application in modelling student responses gathered from object-oriented programming exercises. A novel method was proposed and evaluated using trials that improves the effectiveness of snap-drift modal learning neural network in identifying useful student group profiles, representing them to facilitate generation of diagnostic feedback and assigning an appropriate diagnostic feedback automatically based on a given student response. Based on the insight gained into the use of this novel method, we extend it to identify useful student group profiles that represent different programming abilities for writing an object-oriented class. The purpose of identifying student group profiles is to facilitate construction of diagnostic feedback that improves the development of basic object-oriented programming abilities. Overall, the main objectives of this research project were addressed successfully. New insights are gained into the application of unsupervised learning in general and snap-drift modal learning in particular. The proposed methods are capable of improving the feedback mechanisms of existing computer-based formative assessment tools. The improved computer-based formative assessments could have a huge impact on students in improving conceptual understanding of topics and development of basic object-oriented programming abilities.

Background: International students (IS) are arguably a population facing both educational and migratory challenges. These are understood within Culture Shock (CS, Oberg, 1960), a process of culture learning. Available literature on IS seems to focus mainly on the phases of CS between the arrival in the host country until adaptation, or at the later stage of returning home. The last part of the IS journey in the host country, before the possible return home, appears neglected. Research suggests that in this period, named the ‘crossroad’ in this study, important decisions could be made, such as whether to stay in or leave the host country. Rationale: Internal struggles, dilemmas and uncertainty can arise due to the possible changes to self that IS can develop while abroad, and could be exacerbated by immigration laws. Thus, the crossroad can be a phase of psychological struggle, which can be of interest to mental health professionals. There is limited qualitative evidence on this sub-phase of CS on IS and this research attempts to address this gap by looking holistically at the subjective experiences of these students and letting their specific psychological needs arise. Methodology and main findings: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was chosen for this research, using semi-structured interviews. Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the transcripts: a) Changes to self and identity; b) Uncertainty, temporariness and emotional responses; c) Dilemmas at the crossroad. The crossroad emerged from the results as a phase dominated by uncertainty towards the future, leading to experiencing difficult emotions such as worry, anxiety and low mood. From the participants’ accounts, it seemed that the limitations imposed by the UK immigration law were the main trigger for such uncertainty, and that IS perceived their circumstances as largely out of their control. The IS’ psychological and emotional responses seemed connected with having developed a sense of belongingness to the UK, resulting from a process of changes to self and identity experienced during their time abroad.

With ad-hoc application of the traditional element of marketing failing to sustainably cushion institutions against growing competition, universities are frantically searching for ways to differentiate themselves in the long term. This study ascertains the applicability of five empirically established brand equity constructs to Ghana’s university industry. It is underpinned by a pragmatist philosophy - an objective-driven blend between the ontological and epistemological philosophical positions, and adopts a mixed-methods paradigm that combines qualitative and quantitative survey methods of data collection and analysis. For the qualitative part, 22 valid face-to-face in-depth interviews with undergraduate students selected from four universities were used while the quantitative study used 625 self-administered questionnaires from undergraduate students from twelve universities. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data while for the quantitative data, the structural equation modelling technique of partial least squares (PLS) was employed to ascertain relationships between the five independent student-based brand equity (SBBE) constructs on one hand, and students’ university brand preference (SUBP) as a dependent variable, on the other. Results of the analysis indicate a positive relationship between most of the SBBE constructs studied and university preference in Ghana. Four SBBE dimensions namely; university institutional reputation (UIR), university institutional image (UII), university graduate employability (UGE) and perceived institutional service quality (PISQ) recorded significant positive relationships with students’ university preference (SUP). Positive relationships were also obtained between university image and university reputation, university identity and university reputation, as well as between perceived institutional service quality and graduate employability. On the contrary, an insignificant relationship was obtained between university institutional identity (UI) and students’ university preference. The correlation analysis also indicates significant positive relationships among all the independent SBBE variables. Cumulatively, the results indicate that the SBBE concept is applicable to Ghana’s university context as the SBBE constructs and university preference are positively related. The prevalence of reputation, image, graduate employability and perceived institutional service quality in the research findings has implications for policy in the university sector. Also worthy of note is the significant positive relationship obtained between perceived institutional service quality and graduate employability; as well as between university institution identity, university institution image and university institution reputation. Much of the existing academic work on higher education branding has concentrated on brand equity’s antecedents and consequences. This study links empirically proven antecedents of university brand equity to university preference. Also, most of existing empirical research on brand equity in the university sector has focused on developed countries whose circumstances are fundamentally different from those of developing economies. This study is a novelty in the sub-Saharan African context where student-focused university branding is uncommon; and so comes as a significant contribution from Ghana, to the growing worldwide debate on university branding. While contributing a survey instrument that enhances SBBE research methodology, theoretically, the unique blend of SBBE constructs employed is unprecedented. Notwithstanding some limitations identified, this study presents an empirical model that stands to guide university management in judiciously dispensing scarce resources.

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In unpacking the concept of teaching as a vocation in Chrisrian tradition, the research aims to articulate the essential interconnectedness between four elements: * Christ as the foundation of Christian vocation - biblical perspectives, focusing particularly on the concepts of discipleship, emulation and charism * The way in which that vocation has developed within Christian tradition - historical perspectives focusing on two Religious Orders, the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Sisters of Mercy. * Current conversations in the academy concerning teaching as a vocation - contemporary perspectives including the notion of spiritual capital, the sacramental perspective, a renewed focus on interiority, vocation as a convergence between self and service and current challenges to the concept of teaching as a vocation. * Vocation demonstrated in the perceptions and motivations of practitioners - quantitative and qualitative research. The former involved in-depth interviews with twelve practitioners encompassing a wide range of ages and stages of career progression. The interviews were patterned in three stages: personal religious commitment. Quantitative research was introduced in an attempt to corroborate the findings emergent from both the critical retireval of literature and the in-depth interviews. The research findings were then analysed in the light of the literature review and this was followed by a chapter in which conclusions were reached, structured around the principal elements of both the literature review and the empirical research. Based on these conclusions, a series of recommendations are put forward, focusing primarily on the maintenance of formation programmes both at Diocesan and Relitious Order level, the challenge to address the complementary aspects of Chrsitain vocation such as family commitments in the context of teaching, then explore futher what might be meant by 'integrity of life'. The thesis concludes strongly that the notion of commitment permeates the empirical evidence to the extent that it echoes that of the first disciples of Jesus and the pioneers within Religious Orders who constituted "an example of the unreserved and gratuitous "gift" of self to the service of others in the spirit of their religious consecration." (Congregation for Catholic Education: 1997).

Aliteracy defines those who can read adequately but who choose not to read for their own interest and pleasure. Adolescent aliteracy is an international issue (OECD, 2000, 2010a). Dissonance between what schools and students consider as ‘engaging reading’ is widening (Ivey & Broadhuss, 2001; Wilheilm & Smith, 2002). Recent evidence of poor literature knowledge amongst teachers and pre-service teachers (Cremin, Mottram, Bearne, & Goodwin, 2008; Nathanson, Pruslow, & Levit, 2008) highlights the need for pragmatic ways to empower adolescent students to address aliteracy for themselves. The aim of this thesis was to explore the conceptual basis for adolescent aliteracy in the 11-13 year old age groups alongside pedagogy to support currently aliterate adolescents. A mixed methods approach used 8 sets of data to explore reading preferences, reading motivations and self-selection behaviours in a mixed and stratifed sample of currently aliterate students over 6 months. The tools were: a reading preference survey, a Title Recognition Test (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1991), the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire, (Wigfield, Guthrie, & McGough, 1996), library observations, student and teacher interviews, library borrowing records and summative reading scores. Data analysis included thematic analysis, multiple regressions, Chi squared, Wilcoxon signed-ranked tests and Spearman’s correlations. Media based titles, magazines and SMS texting were cited as the most popular reading choices. Avid, poor and currently aliterate adolescent readers had significantly distinct motivational and cognitive reading profiles. Exploratory results with a stratified sample of currently aliterate students suggest that taught self-selection strategies significantly increased motivation to read for challenge and for curiosity and decreased motivation to read for reasons of compliance. Amongst currently aliterate adolescents, results suggest significant interaction between reading identity, reading challenge, reading stamina and reading interest.

This thesis explores the social construction of classed, ‘raced’ and gendered identities of Bengali female learners of ESOL (English for Speakers of other languages) from a post-structuralist feminist position. My research is conducted within the post-compulsory educational context, exploring how Bengali women construct identities in relation to educational experiences of learning English as a second language, and considering how Bengali women are positioned, in turn, by contemporary popular, academic and political discourses. This study is intended to contribute to creating ‘a third space’, within which shifts in cultural meanings that occur through colonialisation and diaspora, offer possibilities for reworking and resisting notions of passivity, inactivity and docility assigned to women within popular and some white academic discourses (Hall, 1992; Khan, 1998; Gilroy, 1992; Spivak, 1999). To open up spaces for non-hegemonic readings of Bengali femininities I identified discursive strategies actively employed by Bengali women to trouble/unsettle dominant discourses that reduce Bengali women to ‘docile bodies’ (Foucault, 1979). Applying a feminist post-structuralist framework has illuminated differences and similarities between, and within, Bengali women’s accounts of ESOL education, to substantiate the view that there is no one truth and no unitary subject. I also draw upon post-colonial, black feminist perspectives to argue that the voices from the margins that have traditionally been excluded from the knowledge making processes can bring into dispute the current discourses about ’race’, class, gender, culture, religion, patriarchy and femininity. The research was undertaken at two educational sites in East and central London over five years. In total, 20 Bengali female learners of ESOL participated in life history interviews over the period of 2 years. The sample was diverse in terms of age, class, education, employment, marital and maternal status. In addition, I also conducted one-to-one interviews with two members of teaching staff per institution. I do not present my interpretations of Bengali female accounts of employment and education as ‘truth’ since post-structuralist approaches challenge the notion of singular truth for all South Asian women. Rather I present these accounts as alternative truths which expand and challenge deep-seated inequalities that position South Asian women as passive victims within existing, dominant oppressive discourses.

Developmental dyslexia is a common disorder affecting around 10% of the British population characterized by difficulties with reading despite adequate intelligence and education (IDA, 2007). Although most researchers and practitioners would agree that early identification is key in limiting negative consequences of reading problems, this is still difficult to achieve due to theoretical and practical inconsistencies in the field. This thesis focuses on investigating a novel, computer and tablet-based “dot-to-dot” (DtD) task that may aid the process of identification particularly in pre-reading children and English as additional language (EAL) individuals who, by definition, are more susceptible to misidentification. Performance on this task was tested in primary school children (N = 457) and in adults (N = 111) together with a set of dyslexia-sensitive, vision and reasoning tests. Performance on DtD (especially the first sector error) demonstrated significant differences between children at high and low risk of dyslexia (as assessed by Lucid Rapid), as well as between children prospectively identified as poor and typical readers. DtD measures added small but statistically significant unique contributions to the models predicting reading scores and reading level group membership, and DtD measures could distinguish between poor and typical readers as well as between adults with and without diagnosed dyslexia. The findings provide evidence for the DtD test to be a useful addition to existing tests as it presumably relates to a number of mechanisms in line with automaticity and cerebellar deficits theories of dyslexia. It also has a potential to identify a distinct type of dyslexia that is not related to phonological processing which has important theoretical and practical implications.