This project investigates university students’ perceptions of identity, rights and duties in relation to four novels they study as part of their curriculum. The context of the study is an English department at a public-sector university in Sindh, Pakistan. The main research question that guides this study is, What perceptions of identity, rights and duties are held by a sample of undergraduate students in Pakistan in the context of their study of fiction? Semi-structured interviews and classrooms observations were used as the research instruments. Rosenblatt’s (1938/1970, 1978/1994) reader-response framework and Cogan’s (1998) model of citizenship are used as theoretical frameworks guiding this study. Following feasibility and pilot studies, data for the main study was supplied by twenty-six participants through interviews, comprising three members of curriculum designing board, three teachers of fiction and twenty students of final year undergraduate class. Background and stimulus data was provided by two classroom observations. The key arguments based on findings of this study are that participants’ perceptions of identity, rights and duties included types and examples of citizenship themes discussed by Cogan as well as the themes particularly relevant to the participants’ context such as religion and caste issues. Furthermore, the participants discussed and connected to identity, rights and duties in the novels that were geographically, socially and temporally close in terms of their context which was as expected in light of Rosenblatt’s framework. I make recommendations for further research to explore the role of context in learners’ citizenship interpretations of novels along with other recommendations for research and professional practice.

This study is driven by the ongoing and complex social debate about the nature and formation of moral understanding among young people. The research is set within the context of the cognitive development theory. This research seeks to examine the understanding of moral responsibility among 400 adolescents who are students at a mixed comprehensive school in the Greater London area. Primary attention is given to the variables parental style and ethnic background, and how these influence the subject's understanding of moral responsibility. Continuing from this focus, the researcher also explores how family structure, avoidance of moral conflict discussions, and religious orientation contributes to observed patterns between the primary variables and levels of moral responsibility scores. Two types of research methods are employed, namely questionnaires and interviews. The funnel type of research enables the researcher to identify various groups with particular characteristics at an early stage in the study. Building on this knowledge and seeking to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of these characteristics semi-structured and focus interviews are used with carefully selected subjects. This research concludes that parental styles and ethnic background have an influence on the understanding of moral responsibility. For example, it observed that subjects of different ethnic backgrounds perceive the effects of parental styles in different ways, which in turn affects their levels of moral responsibility. It was found that this was specifically evident with authoritarian families. This study did not record significant overall findings with regard to family structure, but establishes that there are clear links between avoidance of moral discussions and parental style as well the role of religion in relation to understanding of moral responsibility.

There were certain assumptions that were common to educational practice in France, Germany, and Australia. It was generally agreed that the schools should provide the basic skills of literacy and numeracy that all citizens would need, and that they should have some regard for vocational preparation. This occurred indirectly through the process of certification, and for some children directly through instruction in practical subjects. Much importance was also attached to the transmission of the cultural heritage, acquainting children with the nature of their society, and of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. This involved a concern for the child as an individual, and also for the integrity of the community of which he was a member. These two aspects could not always be easily reconciled, and the relative importance that should be given to each depended on the perceptions of various sections within each country. Humanism dictated that the individual was allimportant. Moral education, whether based on religion or derived from reason, was believed to be a means of creating a better person to the consequent benefit of the community. Opposed to this was the view that the welfare of society ought not to be left to chance, and that care should be taken to ensure that children became aware of their civic duties, and of the need to preserve the stability of the community, and the unity of the nation. The schools in the three countries sought to meet both requirements by providing formal instruction in moral education,and through the teaching of history and civics. There were also hidden forces that affected the training being given. Within the school it was influenced by the atmosphere, the arrangement of the curriculum, and the demands of the examinations. Beyond it the child's preparation for citizenship was determined by his family environment, the churches, youth organisations, political activity in society, and by changee in educational thinking. When Germany abandoned democracy in favour of national socialism, the concept of citizenship changed to embrace a total commitment to the welfare of the community. The schools could not discharge this responsibility unaided, and the potential of many other agencies was harnessed with the deliberate intent of using every means to mould the kind of citizen that the new society required. In France the humanistic tradition remained strong, and established procedures were subject to little change. There were, however, powerful demands for a complete reorganisation of the school system to make it more responsive to the needs of a democratic society. Fears that this might disturb the delicate balance between church and state resulted in a vigorous resistance to change. It was not until the election of a socialist government in 1936 that the impetus for reform gained real momentum, and even then the weight of the opposition prevented its ultimate realisation. The pattern of education that had developed over the years in Australia seemed to satisfy those concerned with its provision, and the equilibrium of public, private, and catholic systems was maintained. The changes that occurred were made gradually and with extreme caution, and the period is noted more for the growth and acceptance of the general idea that greater attention should be paid to educating children for democratic citizenship, than for the development of any actual programme to make this effective. The end of the decade was marked by the outbreak of hostilities in which all three countries were involved. The war had little effect on the manner in which children were being educated for citizenship in Australia, whilst in France the swift defeat not only extinguished the Third Republic, but also halted the programme of educational reform, and exposed the schools to the influence of national socialism. In Germany the conflict provided an incentive for a more determined effort to cast children in the mould of the 'political soldier,' and the opportunity to test the qualities that he possessed in practice, in defence of the national community.

My two main purposes in this thesis are to clarify the essential meanings of love and to understand how central it is in educational activities aimed at the cultivation of the person. This thesis consists of three main parts and has nine chapters. Attention in Part I is focused on the exposition of Plato's eros, Aristotle's philia, Christian agape, Confucian love, Hume's indirect passion of love, Butler's self-love and Kant's practical love. It is shown that the significance of love in human life includes the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the unfolding of human nature, the establishment of friendship in human relationships, and openness to transcendental objects. In Part II, referring to the phenomenology of Max Scheler, it is pointed out that the person-as-lover is the one with his own unique ordo amoris, the order or ordering of love. Meanwhile, it is in the continuous movement of heart that the individual's ordo amoris determines whether he/she becomes a genuine lover in manifesting pre-reflective life as well as reflective life, forming second-order desires and volition as well as first-order desires, establishing subject-subject relations as well as subject-object relations with others, being an intentional self rather than an ecstatically immersed self, performing social acts as well as singularizing acts, possessing situation-intuiting capacity as well as means-end calculating capacity, all of which are highly relevant to the formation of the ethos in a given historical period. In Part III, the central position of love in education is indicated in terms of the investigation of love and autonomy, the education of the emotions, and the pedagogical relationship and pedagogical love. It is suggested that fundamentally educational activities should be based on pedagogical love; on this basis the pedagogical relationship can prevent authority in education from becoming the pure use of power and make possible the development of ordo amoris in pupils.

What is character and what should its place be in school education? This thesis examines these two fundamental questions, contending ultimately, that character ought to be a central aim of school education. Underpinning this work are two premises that are clarified as the thesis progresses: (a) the notion of character is broader than moral character and (b) there is a valuable relationship between the development of character and human flourishing. This thesis contains 8 chapters and is divided into two major parts. The first part (consisting of 5 chapters) outlines and considers various perspectives on the concept of character. It is shown that there is a range of ideas associated with the label 'character', both in educational as well as in philosophical discourse; yet, there is a lack of consensus on what the notion entails. In particular, the contention herein is that the notion of character is not merely moral character, and a broader characterisation of the concept is one that is compatible with ancient philosophical thought (of Plato, Aristotle, as well as ancient Indian philosophy). The second part of the thesis (consisting of 3 chapters) endorses a broader notion of character and deliberates upon its implications in school education, particularly in relation to the aims of education. I begin by delineating a broader characterisation of character. Arguing that character should be an aim of education, I examine other prominent candidates (autonomy and wellbeing) in order to assess this claim. In particular, I argue that character is intrinsic to an individual's wellbeing (which has recently been advocated as a central aim of education). Thus, not only does this thesis shed light on the concept of character, it perhaps more importantly, reveals the necessity of this concept for school education.

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As part of the political reforms initiated by His Majesty King Hamad of Bahrain, a new subject for citizenship education was introduced in schools in 2004. A collaboration between the Ministry of Education in Bahrain and the British Council provided the foundation for the curriculum policy that was subsequently developed by Bahraini specialists, based heavily on Western interpretations of citizenship. Although, citizenship education has been widely researched in a Western context, much less has been written about the applicability of these approaches in non-Western and post-colonial contexts. The thesis provides important insights into the normative underpinnings of citizenship in a Middle Eastern state and the approach used to inculcating citizenship in its citizens. As a result, this is principally a study of perceptions of citizenship held by the different stakeholders involved in developing the curriculum policy document, the student textbook, and the teachers assigned to teach the subject. The thesis aims to establish if principles of citizenship education adopted in Bahraini curriculum are compatible with liberal conceptions of citizenship that are encouraged by international organisations such as UNESCO or they stem, instead, from the local context (that aims to preserve the status quo through strengthening other conceptions of citizenship). To achieve this aim, the thesis employs a qualitative methodology, based on in-depth interviews, to understand what citizenship is in the Bahraini context, and how this relates to Western principles of citizenship education. As a mainly study of perceptions, the use of such methodology is best suited in order to explore the conceptions of citizenship held by the different stakeholders. Based on these data, the thesis argues that a Western approach of citizenship education cannot be applied in a non-Western and post-colonial context without serious tensions that will be evident in both policy and practice. The thesis shows that the socio-political context of Bahrain influences the perceptions of citizenship held by different groups in Bahraini society and that of the state.

Based on critical theory and postmodernist paradigms, the aim of this study is to introduce Critical Pedagogy (CP) to English language teachers in four higher education institutions in Oman via an action research methodology. Eventually, the ultimate purpose of this study is to create a change by raising teachers' awareness of CP. Although CP cannot be reduced to a monolithic body of discourse, through a review of literature, unified principles have been put forward by various critical educators that shape this study: (1) the political nature of education, (2) the nature of knowledge, (3) education for empowerment, (4) education for transformation, (5) integrating the world into the classroom, and (6) the meaning of ‘critical’ within CP framework. Five data collection tools are utilized during the four phases of the study. In the first phase, 178 teachers complete a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. In the second phase, an article is sent to teachers and a workshop on CP is conducted for 160 English language teachers in the four colleges. Then, documents (102 workshop evaluation forms and 25 lesson plans) and semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers are analysed to elicit teachers' attitudes towards CP and its potentialities and challenges in teaching English. Lastly, in the fourth phase, eight classroom observations are conducted to obtain a deeper insight of the feasibilities and challenges of implementing CP. The findings show teachers’ initial lack of awareness of CP as a possible approach to teaching English. After the intervention, the findings reveal that teachers have various attitudes towards applying CP, ranging from caution to full support. Some teachers resist some of CP’s premises while others are in-between. Although the findings of the study indicate the great potential of CP, the participants acknowledge the existence of many challenges to its implementation; these challenges are related to students, teachers and the college system. These findings are discussed in light of the existing literature and the Omani context. Implications for teachers, pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes and policy makers are drawn based on the study's findings.

This research utilised the theoretical frame of Paulo Freire's (1970, 1974) Critical Pedagogy (FCP) together with a visual Arts-based Educational Research (ABER) approach incorporating the methodological frame of Donna Mertens' (1999,2007, 2009,2010) ‘Transformative Paradigm.' This combination created the methodological process, ‘Project e-ma' which effectively allowed the exploration of Freire's theory as a methodological tool, and became a vehicle through which the key tenets of FCP dialogue, praxis, transformation, problem-posing disruption and conscientizagao, undergirded by democratic values and social justice, could attempt to be explored This thesis sets out to present Project e-ma, a doctoral research project carried out within the School of Education at The Queen's University of Belfast from 2013 to 2016 Project e-ma explores the potentiality of the Japanese cultural artefact e-ma as a means to engage with the theme of hope in a specific deprived working-class community of South Belfast; the Donegall Pass. E-ma are wooden votive tablets from the areligious shin-tou tradition, roughly postcard-size and shaped like a gable wall. They are traditionally used in Japan to record the hopes and wishes of devotees who attend shrines, and in purpose they are similar to the Western culture of creating New Year's resolutions Although traditionally it was customary to write one’s hope on e-ma, this has, however, changed in recent years, and it has now become common to see illustrated e-ma hanging at shrines alongside traditional written ones. It is this second incarnation which the research seeks to explore, with an emphasis not on art per se, rather, on mark-making — mark-making as a means to explore hope. This mark-making occurred at intimate workshops conducted across the community at which various groups and community members coalesced to engage with hope. Through the act of collective mark-making, through the discourse which arose both with self and with others both during the workshop and afterwards when e-ma were displayed in public, it is posited that engagement with hope started to begin. As a conduit for the representation of individual/community hopes, e-ma were effective vehicles and the process of engaging in workshops not only produced two distinct types of data (visual and oral), but also resulted in the identification of a range of hopes which participants expressed included: safety, community, friendship, and identity amongst others The research developed a collaborative participatory process in the community that culminated in an arts-based installation the ‘Wall of Hope' - the e-ma from which were then ntually purified (burned). Although this doctoral research project, which has resulted in great personal and professional learning, has, after two years, come to a natural conclusion, it now has the possibility of being transposed to further international contexts and communities for further exploration of ABER. Keywords Paulo Freire, Critical Pedagogy, hope Arts-based Educational Research (ABER), e-ma,

This study can be regarded as the first study that has focused on exploring citizenship and citizenship education in initial teacher education not only in the Omani context but also in Arabic contexts. Specifically, the main purpose of the present study was to identify the perceptions and practices relating to citizenship education within the initial teacher education programmes for social studies in the seven Colleges of Education. In particular, the research considers the following three issues: (a) the policy context of citizenship education in the educational system in general and in teacher education in particular; (b) the perceptions of stakeholders: the policy-makers, the tutors and the student teachers about citizenship and citizenship education. The perceptions about citizenship education were explored in terms of the rationale, goals, content and approaches of introduction in the curriculum and pedagogy; and (c) the practices of citizenship education by the tutors and the student teachers in order to identify to what extent the perceptions of citizenship education are applied in reality. This broad purpose was achieved by adopting a methodology that was based on an interpretive paradigm, which assumes that educational phenomena can be understood from different viewpoints. Therefore, policy documents were first analysed in order to locate citizenship education in Omani educational policy. Then, thirteen policy-makers from both the Ministry of Education and Teacher Education Institutions were interviewed to explore their perceptions regarding citizenship and citizenship education. In addition, the perceptions of student teachers of social studies in their fourth year and their tutors from seven Colleges of Education were surveyed and then a small sample of them was interviewed to deepen their responses in the questionnaires. Finally, the findings were used to build a framework to develop citizenship education in teacher education in Oman. The study came up with a range of interesting findings about the meanings of citizenship and the current provision of citizenship education in school education in general and teacher education in particular. The data showed that citizenship in the Omani context is, as is the case in other contexts, a multifaceted concept with emphasis being attached to citizens’ duties. The participants were convinced that citizenship is not a static idea; rather, it has always been influenced by the world’s development. Therefore, the stakeholders, except the student teachers, clearly acknowledged that citizenship in the era of globalisation has two dimensions: national citizenship and international citizenship. According to this view, they believed that the duties of Omani citizens stretch beyond their country’s borders. With regard to citizenship education, the study revealed that the participants viewed citizenship education as a means to build national pride and unity which are necessary to maintain stability in the country. Both the tutors and the student teachers experienced the limited and traditional implementations of citizenship education in the preparation programme of social studies. This result related to the dissatisfaction of the policy-makers, especially from the Ministry of Education, about the inadequate preparation of teachers to develop citizenship. Overall, the present study revealed a gap in the intentions of educational policy the requirements of teaching citizenship education in the schools and the actual practices of teacher education preparation programmes. Therefore, the study provided a framework to develop citizenship education in initial teacher education.