This thesis asks two questions: 1. What is the connection between Early Years policy development and the lived experience of those professionals implementing it? 2. To what extent do Early Years professionals consider that government policy has contributed to a better understanding of Early Years practice for those implementing it, and towards a consistent national view? Recent years have seen a growing national focus on the Early Years of education, centring on government policy. With this focus has come a wide range of opinion as to what constitutes effective Early Years practice and how successful current policies are in achieving appropriate provision for young children. This thesis first introduces the central themes of policy and lived experience and sets out the rationale for the study. This is followed by an overview of the contribution of six key historical figures in early childhood education. The thesis moves on to discuss policy developments in England since the Plowden report in 1967. The thesis outlines and justifies the life historical methods for the study which involved interviews with eight professionals in order to understand how policy had impacted on their lives and work. Analysis of the data includes the stories of all eight participants and my own story as an Early Years teacher. The experiences of the eight participants were analysed to produce five themes: Personal qualities, Teaching- an art not a process?, Respectful or subversive teachers?, - Views of childhood; Resilience. These are discussed in the light of the participants' experiences and the literature on effective proactive practice and policy. This discussion illustrates professional and personal struggles to 'fit policy to children's needs through appropriate practice. The thesis concludes with an update on policy since the completion of fieldwork and a conclusion, returning to the research questions, which shows two things: first that - so far as the participants in this study are concerned - there is a mismatch between policy development and lived experience, and second, that some Early Years professionals develop government guidance and policy to contribute to a better understanding of Early Years practice.

Our knowledge of how changes in environmental lighting conditions affect non-visual processes in humans is less than adequate and based mainly on cross-sectional laboratory studies. Thus, the present research was designed to address the questions raised by the literature and clarify the non-visual effects of indoor lighting by carrying out two field studies at two different latitudes. During the period between the 8th of October 2008 and 10th of June 2009, the first field study was conducted in four similar classrooms of a junior school in Kent, U.K. The classrooms differed in the provision of artificial illumination and daylight. The study population consisted of fifty-six, fourth-grade students, aged between eight and nine years. Throughout the study, five main and five supplementary data collections were executed at approximately four-week intervals to assess participants’ sleep quality, mood and sleepiness by administering self-reports and also their diurnal melatonin and cortisol concentrations by collecting saliva samples. Additionally, data regarding participants’ performance on school examinations were collected to evaluate academic achievement. The results of the study revealed that natural light itself might be a potent factor in promoting the non-visual effects. Therefore, the second field study was conducted during the period between the 5th of January 2011 and 20th of January 2011 to verify the findings. The study was conducted in two similar classrooms of a junior school in Ankara, Turkey. The classrooms differed only in the provision of daylight. The study population consisted of seventy-nine, third-grade students, aged between eight and nine years. Throughout the study, two data collections were executed to assess participants’ sleep quality, mood and sleepiness by administering self-reports. Additionally, data regarding participants’ performance on school examinations were collected to assess academic progress. The second field study confirmed the findings form the previous field work. The participants who were exposed to more natural light at eye level reported significantly less daytime sleepiness and better sleep quality and overall mood. Moreover, their scholastic performance was comparatively better. Complementary information on the physiological, psychological and cognitive effects of indoor lighting that can be linked to our biophilic tendencies and Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness is provided by the results of the two field studies.

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This thesis describes research that aimed to assess the impact of Educational Electronic Games (EEG) on mathematics learning in primary schools when learning takes place on an individual or collective basis, and make suggestions to enhance learning effectiveness. The context was primary education in Kuwait in 5th grade (age 9 to 10 years) and the course of study was mathematics. The purpose of the research was to investigate whether the initiative of the Kuwaiti government in promoting the use of EEG on a large scale was worthwhile and to make recommendations to enhance learning through EEG, if necessary. The literature review indicated the research gaps in terms of student learning outcome achievement and teachers’ perceptions about the success of EEG in both the individual and collective mode. A mixed methods approach using both qualitative and quantitative techniques was adopted. The quantitative techniques involved descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics in the form of hypothesis testing. A sample of 74 students and 124 teachers was chosen based on the standard sample size formula for a finite population. The student data in the form of a performance test were used to assess learning outcome achievement and the teacher data, obtained through a questionnaire survey, were used to study their perceptions about the success of EEG. The school was chosen based on the representativeness of the sample’s characteristics. Qualitative techniques included observations made during student participation in individual and collective EEG, a questionnaire survey of teachers, and two semi-structured interviews. The study revealed that EEG had a significant influence on the achievement of the learning outcome and permanency of learning; that the collective mode of EEG was superior to the individual mode; and that gender difference had no influence on learning outcome achievement or permanency of learning. The success of EEG usage, according to the perceptions of the teachers, was dependent on the teacher characteristics and the teachers were relatively positive about the success of EEG usage in both the individual and collective mode. The recommendations made to the Ministry of Education included an emphasis on the selection criterion of teachers at the entry level based on teacher characteristics such as: computer education, higher educational qualifications, and the type of EEG to which the teachers were exposed; and it was also recommended that characteristics such as age, gender, designation, teaching experience, and courses taught by the teachers may be given lower importance, as these had no major bearing on their perceptions about the success of EEG usage.

Background: Working memory refers to a system that temporarily holds and manipulates information (Alloway et al 2016). There is substantial literature on the descriptions of memory but a lack of research on the practical application of memory interventions in schools. COGMED is marketed to schools as an evidence-based intervention which could help individuals who have memory deficits. There have been a number of research studies on COGMED, however there is a lack of research on the implementation of COGMED in schools and also a lack of qualitative research on COGMED. The current research study focused on the ‘real life’ use and implementation of COGMED in a school from the perspectives of teachers, management and pupils. This research set out to find out about the barriers and facilitators which affect the implementation of COGMED in a primary school. Participants: Five Year 5 pupils and Five Year 6 pupils from one primary school undertook a Working Memory intervention, COGMED, which was implemented by the teachers. Seven of the pupils and five members of staff participated in semi- structured interviews. Methods: Ten pupils received COGMED which was implemented by the teachers in their school. The Year 5 pupils received the intervention in the Summer Term 2015 and the Year 6 pupils in the Spring Term 2015. Qualitative data were collected through semi– structured interviews with teachers and pupils. Analysis/Results: Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results were presented as thematic maps which included the facilitators and barriers of implementing COGMED. Conclusion/Implications: This study identified a number of facilitators and barriers in relation to the use and implementation of COGMED in a primary school. The findings suggest learning opportunities for the school and support agencies and also implications for future implementation and research.

This study addresses the professional challenge facing headteachers in small primary schools, in particular those who lack experience and knowledge of small schools and their leadership structures. The aim is to investigate these structures in the UK, and examine how headteachers use a micro-political lens to scope the landscape of the inherited school and then apply this knowledge to inform change strategies to improve school effectiveness. There is a dearth of literature in this field and this research makes a contribution to fill this gap. The research questions ask; what type of leadership structures are effective in small primary schools, how micro-political understanding and application are used by headteachers, how processes and practices of participation enable effective schools and what new theories of leadership structures emerge. Positivist and interpretivist approaches are taken, using a case study strategy with mixed methods. The sample is twenty-one schools, defined as having four or less classes. Data was collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews; using descriptive statistical analysis of the quantitative data and thematic analysis of the qualitative data, taking an inductive approach. University of Leicester’s ethical code of conduct was used; informing, reliability, validity and trustworthiness of the data. Findings reveal that leadership structures have no impact on school effectiveness. High levels of participation and trust, in a ‘power with’ framework, underpin effective schools, where people are empowered, motivated and engaged in a shared vision for improving school effectiveness. Low levels of participation and trust, in a ‘power over’ framework, may produce effective schools, but stakeholders are disenfranchised, unmotivated and unable to engage with, and own, a whole school vision for improving school effectiveness. A new contribution to knowledge is made with a new theory of participation and trust.

This research examines current practices and needs in relation to behaviour support in selected primary schools in the Republic of Ireland and examines whether practices and needs differ depending on location, school gender and perspectives of respondents. It seeks to determine whether the needs could be met with a whole-school positive behaviour support programme. Whole-school positive behaviour support is underpinned by two psychological theories, namely Behaviourism and Systems Change. The three-staged methodological approach involved Department of Education and Science (DES) Primary School Directory for eligible schools, qualitative and quantitative data, with a combination of questionnaires, interviews and focus-group interviews with principals, teachers and pupils. The majority of respondents agreed that current practices in behaviour support at school-level included the following: behaviour rules are enforced consistently, staff roles are clear and school behaviour rules are fair. On whether current practices differed between location, school gender and perspective, no significant differences were found in relation to location but significant differences were found in school gender on two variables and on perspective of respondents on all three variables. The most important needs according to principals and teachers were consistency between school staff and rules systematically taught. Principals also chose behaviour management training for school personnel while teachers chose rewards and consequences. Pupils chose respect between pupils and teachers, social skills taught, rewards and consequences, and consistency between school staff. On whether needs differed depending on location, school gender and perspective, no significant difference was noted by respondents in relation to location on the most important needs. No significant difference in school gender was noted except on the offer of a school behaviour programme. However, significant differences were found depending on perspective of respondents on rules systematically taught, consistency between school staff, rewards and consequences and respect between pupils and teachers. The research concluded that a Whole-School Positive Behaviour Support Programme would be a good fit for Irish primary schools as it answered the needs highlighted by respondents. Additionally, it is flexible and can accommodate each school‟s unique ethos and culture. The research concluded with recommendations at macro and micro levels.

For some time in England, concerns have been expressed about high levels of teacher turnover. In response, a great deal of research has focussed on what compels teachers to leave the teaching profession (Bubb and Earley, 2007; Smithers and Robinson, 2003, 2005). However, much less is known about why teachers choose to stay. This thesis examines teacher retention from an alternative perspective by exploring how long-serving teachers, or ‘stayers’, account for why they choose to stay teaching in challenging London primary schools. Identity and motivation theory are utilised as analytical tools to illuminate the reasons why a group of London primary teachers and headteachers stay and what it is about who they are that influences their decisions to stay. The study adopts a qualitative approach to explore the professional lives and career decisions of 24 London primary school stayers using in-depth semi-structured interviews. While the concept of a ‘stayer’ is contested, this study interprets the stayer as a teacher who has taught in the same school for five or more years. Participants consist of serving class teachers and headteachers who work in disadvantaged London primary schools. A small number of former stayers, who have now left their London primary schools, have also been interviewed in order to invite a retrospective discussion of stayers’ motivations. The findings indicate that because staying is contingent on a number of personal, professional and situational factors related to identity and motivations, staying is a multi-layered process. Most stayers express a firm commitment to stay in the future, but some ‘unsettled’ stayers voice doubts about staying in the years to come. The study concludes that closer attention should be paid to the reasons why teachers stay in challenging schools to counterbalance the focus on teacher turnover. This is so that, at the very least, supportive structures can be put in place to encourage more teachers to stay and contribute to the success and wellbeing of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It is now widely acknowledged that formative assessment can be beneficial to students’ learning. However, there is also evidence that teachers encounter a range of issues in the enactment of formative practice inside the classroom (Black & Wiliam, 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012; Swaffield, 2011). This study investigates teachers’ interpretations of feedback in terms of theory and practice and it explores how this might be informed by their conceptions of learning in the context of primary literacy lessons. This research involves three Year 5 teachers and one Year 4 from three different primary schools in London. The main sources of data comprise classroom observations and teachers’ interviews. The lessons observed were centred on teacher feedback relating to language and literacy issues in ordinary classroom settings. A semi- structured interview format was used to explore the teachers’ interpretation and intentions in the feedback process. Follow-up interviews with the teachers were carried out in order to ask them to comment on specific instances informed by the lessons observed. The main findings reveal diverse perspectives and nuances that arise when teachers describe the complexities involved with verbal and written forms of feedback. Furthermore, the data analysis illustrates how the intersection between principles of assessment and individual teacher’s views on learning, influence the different ways in which they manage to balance competing priorities for expressing quality of work; and how their feedback practice relates to what they believe formative assessment is. It is envisaged that this study contributes to our understanding of the conceptual and pedagogic complexity of teacher feedback in formative assessment. The implications of this work are relevant to teacher professional development and school development.