More than 59 million children are out of schools across the globe (UNESCO Institute for Statistics and UNICEF, 2015), despite the promise of education for all children by the year 2015. The situation is more pronounced in developing countries particularly in Africa and South Asia. Strategies adopted globally to attract children towards schools rarely considered improving the existing physical environments, despite evidence that primary school aged children (five to 12 years) learn more effectively when their education is incorporated with surrounding environments (Khan & Islam, 2014; Lieberman & Hoody, 1998; Mygind, 2009). This study investigated the potential of a primary school ground to be an effective learning environment and explores how the design of an outdoor environment can contribute to children’s learning. This interdisciplinary project is underpinned by classic psychological theories of child development (e.g. Piaget, 1964 and Vygotsky et al., 1978), while Gibson’s (1979) ‘Concept of Affordance’ and Barker’s (1976) ‘Theory of Behaviour Settings’ have provided the framework for exploring the relationship between the school ground and children’s learning. A quasi-experimental action research project was carried out in a Government primary school in Bangladesh, which included the design and development of the school ground, with the direct participation of children, teachers and parents. Another primary school (with no change to the outdoor environment) was used as a control school to compare the outcomes. A mixed methods approach to conduct this quasi-experiment included data from existing exam scores, questionnaire survey, observation and behaviour-mapping, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The key findings from this study indicate an overall positive influence of the designed outdoor environment on children’s academic performance and their motivation to learn. An increase in children’s cognitive, social and physical activities in the school ground is also evidenced by the study. The analysis of the data likewise reveals that different behaviour settings of the school ground offered opportunities for different teaching and learning activities. Both natural settings and settings with built features afforded more focused activities (e.g. gardens afforded exploration and connection with nature, while the play area afforded more functional play). Additionally, settings comprised of both natural and built elements (e.g. the area with loose materials and huts) and areas in close proximity with natural ones (i.e. the open yard) accommodated diverse and multiple teaching and learning activities (e.g. measuring, building/constructing and exploring). The findings further suggest that the design and use of the school ground had a surprising and unintended positive effect on teachers’ motivation and pedagogy. Through reflecting on the use of different landscape elements and settings in the school ground during formal outdoor classes and informal play times, the study has further come to propose some design recommendations for other new school grounds as well as the redesign of existing ones.

This thesis presents a study of the processes involved in creating the first Nishkam Nursery in 2009 in Handsworth, Birmingham. Led by British Sikhs, the project was embedded in wider work undertaken by the transnational ‘Nishkam’ community of practice. The research aim was to examine: 1) the blend of ideas and values guiding the nursery’s creation; 2) the ways in which the nursery world was configured in and through day-to-day communicative and semiotic practice; and 3) parental responses. I took a linguistic ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis and adopted a case study design. Three orienting theories guided the study: 1) ‘the cultural production of the educated person’ (Levinson, Foley and Holland 1996); 2) ‘policy as/in practice’ (Sutton and Levinson 2001) and; 3) ‘figured worlds’ (Holland et al. 1998). An ethnographic approach was best suited to this theoretical framing. It allowed me to examine the interplay of agency and structure in the creation of the world of this local nursery, in ‘postsecular’ societal conditions characterised by complex diversities and mobilities. It also allowed me to capture the ways in which national policy frameworks were interpreted by local social actors and blended with educational approaches stemming from the Sikh dharam.

This study provides an account of the agendas, participation and influence of management, teachers, students and parents at a primary school in Tigray, Ethiopia. A literature review revealed gaps in the knowledge of these stakeholders’ involvement in school leadership structures in the current national policy context. A broader review of the major traditions of school research informed the design of this ethnographic case study. Fieldwork at ‘Ketema School’ took place over an eight-month period in 2014, and involved participant observation, informant-led interviews, and the collection of institutional documents. Data collection focused on the meetings of various bodies, and the activities of a single class in Grade 6 and 7. Inductive analysis of the case data was supported by Atlas.ti. The study reveals a convergence of understandings about the purposes and processes of the school consistent with the state-authorised model of schooling for national development. Structures and processes of surveillance and control incentivise and normalise compliance with government directives. These include positions of distributed leadership and mechanisms of mutual surveillance and internal accountability through which teachers and students share responsibility for supervising peers and colleagues. For example, the student leaders of the ‘one-to-five’ networks perform an academic support and behavioural control function in relation to their peers; and gim gima is a practice of public critique used for exposing misconduct. Meetings and other participative spaces enable members of the school community to share their views on conditions in school according to their interests and priorities; however, these forums are dominated by management agendas, and school-level decisions are restricted by a strong external policy context. This study extends knowledge of school leadership practices in Ethiopia and informs wider debates around community participation, accountability and school autonomy in developing countries. Recommendations are made for sharing and strengthening democratic practices and for future research.

Face à un retour en effectifs croissants des enseignants du primaire du Burkina Faso en formation continue à l’université, notre recherche visait à questionner cette démarche individuelle et à en dégager les fondements. En second point, il s’est agi d’interroger les dispositifs de formation continue en vigueur en général et, en ce qui concerne notamment les universités, de comprendre les mécanismes mis en place pour accompagner la demande des instituteurs. Au terme de nos investigations, nous retenons pour l’essentiel que les motivations des enquêtés sont multiples. Dans l’ensemble, des raisons de promotion professionnelle, de renforcement de compétences ainsi que des mobiles économiques sont à l’origine de cet engagement. S’il apparait un glissement entre les différents prétextes, il convient de mentionner toutefois la persistance du motif identitaire au travers des autres motifs laissant ainsi penser qu’aux côtés des raisons évoquées pour justifier le retour en formation continue universitaire, la reconnaissance sociale préside la démarche des enseignants du primaire concernés.En outre, si les universités burkinabè prévoient des dispositifs pour prendre en charge la formation continue, notre recherche révèle que ces dispositifs ne sont pas encore suffisamment outillés pour faire face à la demande des enseignants du primaire. / In view of a return to an increasing number of primary school teachers of Burkina Faso in permanent adult training at the university, our research was aiming at questioning this individual procedure and highlight its foundations. Secondly, it was to question the systems of permanent adult training generaly in force and as far as the universities are mainly concerned, to understand the mecanisms settled to accompany the request of the teachers.At the end at our investigations, we essentially understand that the motivations of those who have been questioned are many.In the whole, some reasons of professional promotion, of competence reinforcement as well as some economic motives are at the origine of this commitment. If a difference appears between the different excuses, we should however mention the persistance of the identitary motive through the others, which may lead us to think that next to the recalled reasons to justify the return in universitary permanent adult training, the social recorgnition presides over the approach of the concerned primary school teachers.In addition, if the univesities in Burkina Faso predict some systems to take in charge the permanent training, our research reveals that these systems are not yet suffisciently able to face the request of the primary school teachers.

Between 2000 and 2015 the Millennium Development Goals were the focus of much global attention and activity. They were selected in light of astounding poverty, with over 1 billion people at the time living on less than $1 per day. In a sense the MDGs were morally undeniable. The focus of this study is MDG2, universal primary education. It sets out to establish how and why MDG2 came to be selected. Whilst its selection seems obvious, for years developing countries complained about the short-sightedness of prioritising primary over secondary and tertiary education (Klees 2008). A task force commissioned by the World Bank and UNESCO at the time showed that the Bank’s rate of return analysis on primary education was flawed. It argued that developing countries need highly educated people to be economic and social entrepreneurs, develop good governance, strong institutions and infrastructure. In this way MDG2’s selection is problematic. Using case study method, first the literature is examined. Three hypotheses are generated: one based on a rational synoptic theory, one on critical theory and one on world society theory. A range of data are used to establish findings and test hypotheses. The study then considers implications of the findings for theory and the policy process. The findings show that priorities promoting more equal opportunities, such as MDG2, were gradually preferred. Whereas priorities promoting more equal outcomes, such as elimination of trade barriers, were gradually excluded. The study finds no evidence that the General Assembly ever voted on the list of 8 MDGs. Rather, the MDGs were selected by elite policy actors, addressing multiple interests. The study considers the assertion that marginalization of the poor does not happen because people harbor ill will toward them, rather because “The poor have no friends among the global elite” (Pogge 2011, p. 62).