This study was built on the premise that home education is legal in England and Wales, as well as Florida, United States of America. State officials, responsible for monitoring home educators, were approached in 172 local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales, and 67 local school districts (SDs) in Florida for a postal questionnaire, and home education documentation. From the initial participants .who responded (108 LEAs, 39 SDs), a further 18 state officials and 13 home educators gave telephone interviews on issues raised by the literature and quantitative data. The choice of two societies was based on an expectation that tension or discordant attitudes were likely between state officials and home educators, and more so in England and Wales than in Florida. This expectation was partly drawn from the past thirty years' research defending home education as a suitable alternative to public or private school education. The limited number of studies investigating state officials' or home educators' perceptions also indicate tensions (petrie 1992, Lowden 1993). The two groups of people were chosen as they have most opportunity to interact with, or be affected by, each other when complying with home education laws. Where issues such as curriculum control, socialisation, monitoring procedures and child protection concerns were drawn from the literature and quantitative documentation analysis, this study explored further through comparison with qualitative data.

In 2010 the DfE introduced 'The Academies Bill which established 'Free Schools' and invited parents, teachers and trusts to apply to set up new state-funded (but relatively independent) schools. There are now over 300 open in England. However there is little empirical evidence on the set-up process and the problems and opportunities encountered by the governing bodies. This study aims to address this gap .. This thesis examines the extent to which Free schools' visions are reflected in reality. The thesis focuses on two case-study schools: one championed by a consortium of churches and a fourth-sector organisation; the other spear-headed by parents. The study is longitudinal in nature and the data have been collected over two years: the first set of data was collected in the year prior to the schools opening and the second set at the, end of the first year of operation. The data were gathered through 13 semi-structured interviews (with members of the two steering groups) and analysed using a variety of methods. School documentation, including policies and web-literature has also been analysed. The data have been mapped onto an adapted version of Bronfenbrenner's ecosystem model. This focuses on the connections and influences between different groups and organisations .The thesis compares and contrasts the views of governing body personnel in the set-up period with their experiences once the school is open. The results highlight the pressures that act upon free schools which either facilitate or prevent their vision from becoming a reality. Key actors' influences are examined, including the government (local and national), parents, community and the staff within the school. The study reveals that, despite relative freedom, both schools' visions remain relatively traditional. However, the elements of their visions which were intended to set the schools apart from their mainstream counterparts have been more difficult to achieve in reality.

Home Supervision is a method regularly used in Scotland to support vulnerable children and families in their homes. Such children and their families are ‘looked after’ by local authorities and supported by allocated social workers. However, this cohort of young people has poorer educational outcomes compared with other looked after children. There is little in the way of research to explore why this is the case. This study seeks to address a gap in the literature by exploring issues of education and support from the perspectives of young people themselves. The research was undertaken with 15 young people, in three different geographical areas of Scotland using semi-structured interviews. Each initial interview was analysed and informed the production of a digital interactive presentation. Each presentation was shared with the young people to review and discuss the understanding of the content gleaned from the first interview and to act as a prompt for the second interview. Interviews were transcribed and the data coded, based on key themes for each person. Thereafter, summaries were written up and cross-cutting themes identified. These included:relationships with teachers and social workers; issues caused by transition; the benefits of coaching and mentoring; and issues caused by a lack of continuity of relationships. The study revealed that young people were more likely to struggle with their education during the transition from primary to secondary school. The study reinforced the degree to which young people under Home Supervision experience considerable disruption and change in their education and stability. They are more likely to trust their teachers than social workers when dealing with challenges and issues in their lives and are likely to experience isolation from voluntary community-based services. Mentors and coaches have a major role to play in supporting young people and encouraging resilience using informal youth work approaches. By acting as trusted supporters, they can help foster both confidence and social capital for the young people they support by assisting them to access relevant services and navigate bureaucratic systems and procedures such as children’s hearings and employment. The current lack of continuity of professional relationship experienced by many children and young people who have a Home Supervision requirement, combined with the disparity in resources and services provided for them, are barriers that require to be addressed if Home Supervision is to be an effective support intervention for vulnerable children and young people.

The chapters of this thesis concentrate upon three kinds of schools, all of which achieved initial significance in the 1780s: Sunday schools, schools of industry and the Philanthropic Society's institutions for the education of vagrant and criminal children. The thesis examines the providers of education and their doctrines, the process and content of schooling inside the establishments which they created, and the reactions of parents and children to the kind of education ostensibly provided for their benefit. In analysing the process and content of education, the study investigates the patterns of organization, forms of authority, assumptions about learning, pedagogy, the curriculum, rewards and punishments, and social welfare, contained in and provided by the schools. The ways in which the "consumers" of schooling, parents and children, received the education provided, enables some assessment to be made of the impact of instruction upon those it was designed to affect. Attention in the thesis, is largely concentrated upon the operation of the three kinds of schools in London and the Midlands, although other areas in England provide some evidence to support the contentions which the work contains. This chapter is in three parts. The first section considers some historiographical issues relevant to a study of education between 1780 and 1833. The second part attempts to explain the reasons why education was seen as socially significant by its promoters and the final section focuses upon the social ideas which provided the theoretical bases of the specific educational schemes examined in subsequent chapters.

Traveller communities form a distinctive and ever-growing group of home-educators in England. This thesis examines the reasons why Traveller families take up Elective Home Education (EHE). Although there is a substantial research literature about the difficulties Travellers experience in school, there is limited research on Traveller families’ experiences of EHE. The aim of my research was to explore the reasons why Traveller children are home-educated and to illuminate issues of educational inequality that lie therein. I wish to inform current understandings of the education system, as experienced by a marginalised community and to work towards making this system more socially just. This study considers equality issues in education for Traveller children within two educational spaces, mainstream school and EHE, by documenting the rarely-heard accounts of a sample of Traveller families. I interviewed 11 different Traveller families and the main professionals responsible for EHE in one particular Local Authority in England. Critical Race Theory (CRT) provided an appropriate theoretical framework for this study. CRT focuses on concepts of racism and inequality as well as providing methodological approaches such as storytelling and counter-stories to give voice to Traveller families. I found that although many Traveller families were satisfied with home-education as preferable to mainstream school, they were all compelled to take it up, rather than adopting it as a positive and desirable choice. Racism, bullying and discrimination in school were commonly cited reasons for the uptake of EHE. EHE was chosen by my Traveller families as a safe educational space. My study reveals how current education systems do not facilitate the opportunities which many Traveller families desire for their children’s success. Wide-spread racism still denies many Traveller children equitable educational opportunities. This study’s findings will, it is hoped, inform new understandings of racism and education to address these inequalities.

This study examines an Educational Psychologist's (EP's) experiences supporting the service delivery of paraprofessionals. Central to this is an evaluation of the utility of a training and evaluation model delivered to a group of paraprofessionals, Home School Support Workers (HSSWs) who support service users (families) experiencing difficulties related to pupil wellbeing, attendance and behaviour. The study also examines their perceptions of their role and efficacy generated in a series of focus groups, as well as the views of service managers (HTs) and service users gathered using semi structured interviews. These were subsequently analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Twenty HSSWs participated in training to develop Solution Focused (SF) work. (de Shazer, 1985,1988,1991 and 1994). Many EPs in the UK apply the approach and train others in it (Ajmal and Rees, 2001; Rees, 2005). However, outcome studies from educational and community contexts in the UK are limited and have been recommended as a priority for EPs (Stobie, Boyle and Woolfson, 2005). The SF model was extended by the researcher to incorporate an evaluation model, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) (Kiresuk and Sherman, 1968). GAS was developed in mental health settings to support programme evaluation i. e. the success of service users in achieving goals which have been co-constructed with support workers. This study is therefore also an exploration of a novel unification of two approaches (SF and GAS) to create a combined intervention and evaluation model suggested in the literature as potentially of utility. (Frederickson, 2002; Stobie, et a! 2005). The findings lead to a range of recommendations regarding the potential utility of the model in informing the evidence-based work of EPs, and others, delivering services. A range of findings relating to the experiences and perceptions of the participants are also reported

The term free-choice learning has received relatively recent support, having been favoured by John Falk from around 2001. Free-choice learning can be described most simply as “the type of learning that occurs most frequently outside of school” (Falk, 2001, p.6). Free-choice science learning has connections with the research areas of science communication, the public understanding of science, public engagement with science and, in particular, informal learning. Additionally, Falk introduced the idea of working knowledge of science as, “knowledge generated by the learner’s own interests and needs” (Falk, Storksdieck and Dierking, 2007, p.464). This thesis explored the terms free-choice learning and working knowledge of science in order to gain a better understanding of their meaning and their importance. The work was carried out to address the following research questions: 1. Can the BodyWorks exhibits be used as a tool to provide evidence of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 2. Can the BodyWorks exhibits be used as a tool to gain a better understanding of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 3. What can be gained from revisiting scientific and health literacy concepts from the perspective of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 4. Can best practice with regards to free-choice learning and working knowledge be shared between the fields of scientific and health literacy? Glasgow Science Centre’s BodyWorks exhibits were used as a tool to empirically investigate free-choice learning and working knowledge. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and staff diaries. It was found that 93% of participants referred to some type of free-choice learning experience when discussing the BodyWorks exhibits. A better understanding of free-choice learning and working knowledge was achieved. Free-choice learning and working knowledge were used as a lens through which to revisit the concepts and definitions of scientific literacy and health literacy. This theoretical work provided an insight to key themes developing in this literature and directions for future research. The results of both the empirical and theoretical parts of this thesis combined to produce implications for free-choice learning providers, formal education, the health sector and society. Most importantly the results presented ideas on how these groups could utilise free-choice learning and working knowledge to their benefit.

A promising, yet relatively small, body of academic scholarship on UK home-education has emerged in recent years. However, it persists as an area of research marked by partisanship. The digital age is often heralded as an era of liberation; empowering disparate groups to network, exchange practice, and learn from one another. However, few have considered what this might mean for home-education. This study sought to answer the overdue call for research in this area. This thesis is a mixed methods study; based on an online survey of 242 home-educators and 52 individual and group interviews with 85 parents, children and young people who used a range of new technologies. These families resided in different localities across England, Wales and Scotland. The analyses explored the role of new technologies, knowledge and learning within the themes of community, pedagogy and identity. The findings indicated that home-educating families participate in a diverse landscape of online networks and offline communities. New technologies have been effective in mobilising support at times of ‘threat’. It was also found that participation in this landscape has given new home-educators access to resources and confidence in their practice. The use of these resources and networks over time suggests a pedagogical journey that strengthens the transmission of values and production of identity, as learners get older. It concluded that home-education invites ideological conflict and internal struggle and that the appropriation of new technologies has both freed families from the old structures of school and placed them into new ones. This study sheds light on how some learning communities are transforming and being transformed by the tools used to reach an alternative destination in education. For home-education, the mixed role of new technologies surfaces a series of unresolved tensions, paradoxes and unanswered questions.

Το Υπουργείο Παιδείας, το έτος 2002-2003 προχώρησε στη λειτουργία του ολοήμερου δημοτικού σχολείου αξιοποιώντας τόσο τα παιδαγωγικά συμπεράσματα που προέκυψαν από τη λειτουργία των 28 πιλοτικών ολοήμερων σχολείων, όσο και την εμπειρία της οργάνωσης των σχολείων διευρυμένου ωραρίου. Δημιουργήθηκε δηλαδή για να συμβάλλει στην αναμόρφωση του όλου σχολικού κλίματος στη ριζική αλλαγή του ρόλου του σημερινού σχολείου και μέσα από διαφορετικές μαθησιακές και εκπαιδευτικές διαδικασίες να οδηγήσει στο σχολείο του μέλλοντος. Το πρόγραμμά του έχει προαιρετικό χαρακτήρα και περιλαμβάνει μελέτη και προετοιμασία των μαθητών για τα μαθήματα της επόμενης ημέρας, από υπεύθυνο δάσκαλο στην Ελληνική Γλώσσα και στα Μαθηματικά. Στο πλαίσιό του εντάσσονται επίσης επιλογές των μαθητών σε μαθήματα και δραστηριότητες που αναβαθμίζουν το ρόλο του σχολείου, όπως: η Ξένη Γλώσσα, η εισαγωγή στις Νέες Τεχνολογίες στην Εκπαίδευση, ο Αθλητισμός, ο Χορός, η Θεατρική Αγωγή, η Μουσική και τα Εικαστικά. Κίνητρο για τη συγκεκριμένη έρευνα αποτέλεσε η παρακολούθηση στατιστικών στοιχείων σχετικά με τη συγκρότηση και λειτουργία ολοήμερων σχολείων της Διεύθυνσης Αθήνας για τρία συνεχόμενα σχολικά έτη και συγκεκριμένα τα έτη 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006. Η μελέτη, λοιπόν, αυτών των στοιχείων λειτούργησε ως έναυσμα στο να πραγματοποιηθεί η παρούσα εργασία και με τη διεξαγωγή ποιοτικής έρευνας να μελετηθεί πώς λειτουργεί το πρόγραμμα του ολοήμερου σχολείου. Ειδικότερα στοχεύει μέσα από την αναλυτική καταγραφή των απόψεων των δασκάλων και των διευθυντών τεσσάρων σχολικών μονάδων ολοήμερου προγράμματος διαφορετικών περιοχών της παραπάνω Διεύθυνσης να ανιχνεύσει αν επιτυγχάνονται οι στόχοι του, ποια προβλήματα ενδεχομένως αντιμετωπίζει κατά την εφαρμογή του και δευτερευόντως αν αυτά συμβάλλουν στο φαινόμενο της διαρροής που προκύπτει από τη μελέτη των στατιστικών στοιχείων. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι δάσκαλοι και διευθυντές θεωρούν ότι πετυχαίνει μερικώς τους στόχους του και κυρίως τους κοινωνικούς ενώ σε συνδυασμό με τα πολλαπλά προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζει στην πράξη, μερικά παιδιά ωθούνται στο να το εγκαταλείψουν. Επίσης αναδεικνύονται θέματα ποιότητας της μαθησιακής διαδικασίας και οι ιδιαιτερότητες στην εφαρμογή του ολοήμερου προγράμματος της σχολικής μονάδας ανάλογα με τις τοπικές συνθήκες. / The ministry of Education, at the year 2002-2003 advanced in the upgraded operation of the day-long municipal school developing so much the pedagogic conclusions that resulted from the operation of 28 pilot day-long schools, as much as the experience of organising schools of extended schedule. That is to say, it was created in order to contribute in the reformation of all school climates in the radical change of the role of the current school and through different training and educational processes to lead to the school of future. His program has optional character and includes the study and the preparation of students on the courses of the next day, from a responsible schoolteacher in the Greek Language and in the Mathematics. In his frame are also included choices of students in courses and activities that upgrade the role of school, as: a foreign Language, an introduction in New Technologies in the Education, the Sports, the Dance, the Theatrical Education, the Music and Figurative. Motivation for this research constituted the follow-up of statistical elements regarding the constitution and operation of day-long schools of the third Address of Athens for three consecutive school years and particularly for the years of 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006. Therefore, the study of these elements functioned as spark to create the present work and with the conduct of qualitative research to study how the program of day-long school functions. More specifically it aims through the analytic recording of opinions of schoolteachers and directors of four school units of day-long program of different regions of the third educational Address, to detect whether his objectives are achieved, which problems potentially it faces during his function and if circumstantially these contribute in the phenomenon of leaving the day-long school, that results from the study of statistical data. The results of research showed that schoolteachers and directors consider that it achieves partially his objectives and mainly the social objectives while in combination with the multiple problems that faces when put into practice, a lot of children are prompted to abandon this institution. Moreover, issues of training process quality are elected and particularities in the application of a day-long program of a school unit depending on the local conditions.

This thesis analyses the experiences of ragged school pupils in England and Scotland between 1844 and 1870, focusing on the interaction between scholars and teachers and exploring the nature of the social relationships formed. Ragged schools provided free education to impoverished children in the mid-nineteenth century; by 1870 the London schools alone recorded an average attendance of 32,231 children. This thesis demonstrates the variety of interactions that took place both inside and outside the classroom, challenging simplistic interpretations of ragged school teachers as unwelcome intruders in poor children’s lives. In analysing the movement in terms of the social relationships established, this thesis counters the dominant focus on the adult as actor and child as passive subject. Wherever possible the focal point of the analysis builds on the testimony of ragged school scholars, shifting emphasis away from the actions and words of adults in positions of authority towards those of the poor and marginalised children who were the subjects of intervention. By concentrating on the voices of those who received ragged schooling, this thesis highlights the diverse experiences of ragged school scholars and underscores their agency in either rejecting or engaging with teachers. As such, it demonstrates the integral contribution of children’s testimonies when seeking to understand the impact of child-saving movements more generally. This thesis contributes to understanding on a variety of broader topics. It highlights changing attitudes towards children, education, and the poor. Through focusing on juvenile testimonies it investigates how children responded to poverty, disability, philanthropic work, and the evangelical religious message that ragged schools conveyed. The impact of Victorian philanthropy and the nature of the cross-class relationships it fostered are explored, and the significant contribution that women and working-class individuals made to such work is underscored. Finally, it sheds light on the experiences of working-class British emigrants, both their fortunes and their attachment to their homeland. A rich array of sources is used, including ragged school magazines and pamphlets, committee minutes, and annual reports. In using promotional literature in combination with local school documents, the public portrayal of children and teachers is contrasted with that found in practice. Most significant, however, are the day to day exchanges between scholars and their teacher explored through a microhistory of Compton Place ragged school in North London. Using the journals the school’s superintendent maintained between 1850 and 1867 alongside the 227 letters 57 former scholars sent him, this thesis pieces together a picture of the evolving and complex relationships forged. The journals and letters together enable an analysis that draws on the words of both ragged scholars and their teacher. Moreover, they provide rare access to how relationship developed over time and, in some cases, despite considerable geographical distance.