This research aimed to develop, implement and evaluate an Internet curriculum for pre-service teachers in Egypt within a constructivist learning environment. Accordingly, this study included the development of the content and objectives of the Internet curriculum, the design of a web-based learning environment, the trialling with groups of pre-service teachers and the evaluation of the effectiveness of both the Internet curriculum and the Web-based learning environment. The methodology used in this study is considered to be a case study and it was also influenced by an action research methodology involving cycles of development, design, implementation and evaluation of the Internet curriculum. A number of methods were used in order to collect research data including questionnaires, observations, interviews and a learning styles inventory (Kolb, 1981). Furthermore, a content analysis was carried out of Internet users' guides and teachers' guides and a Web-based questionnaire was used in order to develop the objectives of the Internet curriculum. A Web-based learning environment namely 'Internet-Tutoring System' was designed in order to provide the students with cognitive tools, information resources and authentic activities. The implementation of the study took place in two phases. The first phase was conducted with a group of students' teachers in Sheffield and the second phase was conducted with another group in Egypt. These phases aimed to identify the issues that emerge from using a Web-based learning environment based on the students' feedback on both the learning environment and the Internet curriculum. This study led to significant results in relation to the content of the Internet curriculum, student learning within a Web-based learning environment, the roles of the teacher, the design of the web-based learning environment and the students' progress in the use of the Internet. The models of constructivist learning environments, particularly Jonassen's (1997a) model, influenced the development of the Internet curriculum and its structure. Accordingly, several content structures were developed in order to take into consideration the different needs and expectations of the students. These included well-structured content with teacher-centred learning, semi-structured content with teacher-student learning and ill-structured content with learner-centred learning. In addition, the Web-based learning environment was designed in order to provide the students with cognitive tools, information resources and authentic activities. As a consequence, a range of tools and resources were integrated in order to encourage the students to play an active role in knowledge construction. This integration is considered to be a key aspect of this study and it was developed in order to accommodate the preferred learning styles of the students. Moreover, a range of roles for the teacher were illuminated in this study such as those of mentor, facilitator and orchestrator. These roles developed due to the integration of a number of teaching methods alongside the use of the Web-based learning environment. They were also influenced by the different content structures of the Internet curriculum and the different types of control over the learning process. The study concludes with a discussion of major implications for both policy and practice in Egyptian education. Furthermore, it highlights key characteristics and key design phases that should be taken into account in the future development of Web-based learning environments. Finally, further research questions are highlighted for the future development of integrated learning and teaching environments.

This thesis represents the study of teachers' perceptions and experiences of the teaching of Personal Capabilities (PCs) through the Science curriculum. It documents the process by which teachers were successfully enabled to incorporate the teaching of PCs through the Science curriculum. An action research methodology provided the basis for the development of the study which benefited from flexible, collaborative partnerships between teachers and the researcher. Facilitation and support prompted action and continuous reflection on research interventions, their outcomes and influence on pedagogy, student development and learning. Emphasis on regular teacher-researcher interactions during curriculum innovation had significant implications on teachers' professional development, and was critical in affecting pedagogic change. Collaborative partnerships emerged as a powerful tool for understanding the teaching and learning of PCs. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, classroom observations, reflective logbook entries and discussions formed the main sources of data, represented in case studies which provide contextualised representations of teacher activity. Using ten operationally-defined PCs, it is shown that students' development can be enhanced through the Science curriculum. A process model including: knowing, self-assessing, action planning, acting and reviewing, illustrates the teachers' and students' actions during PC development. Strategies for facilitating students' PC improvement are illustrative of the teachers' modified pedagogic approaches to subject teaching, which encourage self-awareness and prompt behavioural change. Findings from this study suggest further research and provide recommendations for policy makers, teachers and educational researchers, highlighting the constraining nature of current National Curriculum (NC) assessment strategies.

Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are often characterised as 'challenging' and 'unteachable'. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how one teacher's personal enquiry into her practice reveals an alternative perspective on teaching mathematics to children with EBD. If it is accepted that the mathematics classroom is challenging to the child then the role of the mathematics teacher becomes one of developing a trusting relationship with the child based on the teacher's use of empathy and 'being there'. It is important for the mathematics teacher to take risks in using mathematics to overcome the emotional and behavioural difficulties of the child. The message is that researching one's own practice is a valuable exercise for any practitioner.

Grounded in philosophy, organisations theories and ideas of learning, three themes are developed in this thesis. First, seeing schools as systems (more specifically as communities), implying a need for the research to discover evidence of this systematic nature and how it might change. Second, investigating the nature of hierarchy in schools (and how this relates to schools as developing systems), again, implying a need for the research to discover evidence for and explore the nature of hierarchies. Third, trying to understand learning in schools (learning by individuals and groups in schools, including student teachers, and how this learning is related to school development), implying a need for the research to explore the use of the views of school participants in a dynamic, changing, system. These three themes came together in the work on schools as distinctive types of communities, as learning communities. From a concern with therapeutic models, developed a number of methodological approaches including the use of 'real' and 'ideal' understandings, and the use of 'sincerity' in research. In this context, three sets of primarily qualitative school based and university based studies were completed, in order to: * * develop and pilot techniques for discovering the views of members of the school community (including student teachers), as ways of exploring the nature of school organisation and exploring school and individual development; investigate the use of the views of members of a school community, to contribute to the development of schools and individuals. The research found evidence supporting the significance of the idea of school as a community (as described by John Macmurray), hierarchically structured in some ways like the state (in Aristotle's sense). In these ways, schools are seen as having a special role in making people more real.

This research has studied the role and context of teaching assistants (TAs) in one authority, and in particular in two primary schools. The purpose of the study was to find out how these assistants support the teaching and learning of pupils in the classroom; to identify the factors which influence their effectiveness; and to identify strategies which could enhance their work. The study began with a literature review of the historical perceptions of the role, effectiveness and development of teaching assistants. In order to gain further insight into the assistants' role and needs within the local authority employing the researcher, the study proceeded with a survey of primary schools within the authority, the results of which were circulated to these schools. The results provided sufficient information to enable a rationale for professional development to be defined. The next stage was a close look at the work of TAs in two primary schools which differed in the rationale for employing assistants. An ethnographical approach was used, including observation strategies, some video work, semi-structured interviews and field notes. The results were analysed and categorised. A reflective diary recorded the changes taking place during the period of study. This, along with an updated literature review enabled the findings of the research to be set in a wider national context. The key findings were: • that assistants support teaching and learning in a variety of ways, often operating concurrently, and which include many characteristics of qualified teachers; • their personal characteristics, opportunities for continuous professional development, and the school climate are important factors in their effectiveness, regardless of the nature of their employment; and • while external agencies need to recognise and support their work, the way in which they are employed and deployed by the school is crucial.

This study explores the experiences of twelve young people with a range of special educational needs and their families during the transition from school, and the influences upon them. Despite a growing mainstream literature on the processes of career decision-making, little attention has been paid to the experiences of young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities at this point in their lives. An interpretative, longitudinal approach to the research design was adopted and data were collected through a combination of interviews, questionnaires and observations. The author argues that rather than the logical model of decision-making assumed by much national policy, the process is often messy, complex and unpredictable. A typology of decision-making processes is proposed. The study goes on to explore both the influences on and influence of the main participants directly involved in the decisionmaking process: the young people, their parents or carers, the professionals. Of all those involved, young people with learning difficulties were least likely to have their views heard or responded to. Equally, the coping mechanisms of parents, who were often central to the decision-making process, were not well recognised or understood by the professionals charged with providing support. It appears that where young people or parents found difficulty in asserting their preferences, serendipitous or chance events provided the vehicles through which they could exercise their wills, so that decisions were made despite rather than because of the formal decision-making procedures. Overall, the influences on young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are similar to those that influence non-disabled young people, but insufficient account is taken of these in providing support and guidance.

No description available.

This thesis investigates second language (L2) learning with selfinstructional television (SITV) materials. It aims to explore: (1) how SITV materials can contribute to L2 learning; (2) the process of self-instruction involved in the use of SITV materials; and (3) a new methodological approach for investigating the use of SITV materials. The initial literature review considers self-instruction in general and learning involving self-instructional broadcast materials in particular, providing details also of two preliminary studies of Japanese students carried out by the author. The main study was designed to investigate, in an exploratory-interpretive fashion, the process whereby seven British adult learners studied Japanese using SITV materials over a fourteen-month period consisting of four phases. Phase 1 revealed features of SITV materials learners find salient while viewing SITV lessons. It was also found that the learners' focus shifted from surface features of the materials to content and onto their own learning process, and that this development accompanied changes in the way they studied with the materials. This led me to carry out a second literature review, on learner strategies. The research in Phase 2 focussed on learners' strategy use while viewing SITV lessons, revealing the types of strategies learners use as well as variability in strategy use according to the lesson, with implications for strategy research more generally. In Phases 3 and 4, which were motivated by the learners themselves, I had the chance to observe what they would do if left on their own. In Phase 4, learners formed a semi-autonomous learning group and together invented creative activities of their own to fulfill their needs and shared strategies to overcome their common problems. On the basis of these findings, the thesis concludes with an overall discussion of the role of SITV materials in L2 learning, the process of materialscentred self-instruction, and issues of research methodology, as well as pedagogical and methodological implications. Directions for future research are also suggested.

The prime concern of this thesis is the comparability of two types of assessment now prevalent in Advanced level GeE examinations. The more conventional linear scheme assesses all candidates terminally, and the only way to improve the grade awarded is to re-take the whole examination. In contrast, the relatively new modular schemes of assessment include testing opportunities throughout the course of study. This not only has formative effects but allows quantifiable improvements in syllabus results through the medium of the resit option. There are obvious differences between the two schemes, but this does not necessarily imply that they are not comparable in their grading standards. It is this standard which the thesis attempts to address by considering the different variabilities of each of the schemes, and how these might impinge upon the outcomes of the grading process as evidenced in the final grade distributions. A key issue is that of legitimate and illegitimate variabilities - the former perhaps allowing an improvement in performance while maintaining grading standards; the latter possibly affecting the grading standard because its effect was not fully taken into account in the awarding process. By looking at a linear and modular syllabus in mathematics, the differences between the two are investigated, and although not fully generalisable, it is clear that many of the worries which were advanced when modular schemes were first introduced are groundless. Most candidates are seen to use the testing flexibility to their advantage, but there is little evidence of over-testing. Perhaps the major finding is a negative one - that there is no clear evidence for any difference in grading standards between modular and linear schemes of assessment, although there are variabilities which go some way to explaining what appears to be enhanced performances by some of the weaker modular candidates.

Research suggests that music affects people's behaviour and performance. These effects may be mediated by a range of factors. The present study attempts to explore students' perceptions of the use of, and the effects of, music on their studying taking account of cultural differences (English, American, Japanese and Greek students), age (12-13, 16-17, 20-21 year olds), gender and musical involvement (playing a musical instrument or not). These factors were explored in a survey using rating scales with students from each nationality- Significant differences were found between nationalities in relation to the music students listened to, when they chose to listen, for what kinds of studying, and in their perceptions of the effects that the music had on them and on their studyinK The findings suggested that students' nationality, age, gender and musical involvement affected not only the music that they listened to, and their decision to listen to it while they were studying, but also the perceived effect that music had on them and their studying_ A second experimental study examined the effects on adult learners of two different kinds of background music (arousing or calming), or no music on performance on a logical reasoning task and a realistic comprehension task No significant differences were found in the performance ofthe three groups on the logical reasoning task, or in the reading task The significance existed in the responses of the students to questions about the effects of the music on their performance_ Those in the arousing music group reported difficulty in concentration and the need to adopt coping strategies