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The effectiveness of teaching is cited as one of the most significant actors on students’ learning (Centra, 1993; Creemers, 1994; Marsh, Nagengast, Fletcher, & Televantou, 2011), yet the measurement of it is an imperfect and problematic activity, not least due to the lack of consensus over a definition of effective teaching and, consequently, no consistently-used measurement instrument(s) designed for the purpose (Chingos & Peterson, 2011; Goldhaber & Anthony, 2004; Kane, McCaffrey, Miller, & Staiger, 2013). This thesis describes a study designed to validate an instrument intended to capture secondary school students’ evaluation of teaching (SET) ratings in 36 UK schools during the 2012-13 academic year, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact on student progress of a peer-coached consultative feedback intervention for teachers. The thesis concludes that the SecondarySEEQ instrument is valid and reliable for the purpose of capturing AS and A Level students’ perceptions of the quality of teaching they receive from their teachers, a finding which adds weight to the case for SETs as a useful component of a diagnostic feedback system for teachers. I also conclude that the peer-coached intervention had a no detectable effect on student outcomes.

What is the best way to teach evolution? Despite its importance, evolution is widely recognised as one of the most misunderstood topics in biology. Its eminent position within science is not fully recognised in schools and there are concerns over its unsatisfactory teaching. Many students have difficulty in accepting evidence for the theory of evolution and debate is currently in progress about how best to teach evolution in secondary schools. The GEVOteach project aims to investigate how and why acceptance of evolution may alter for school students during their education and, in particular, how knowledge of genetics may contribute to understanding and acceptance of evolution. Prior research suggests a relationship between evolution and genetics exists. In the UK, these are typically taught to 14 to 16 year old school students as separate topics with few links. Here, we report the results of a randomised trial into teaching order of these topics. A questionnaire to ascertain students’ acceptance of evolution and understanding of evolution and genetics has been developed and data have been collected from over 1850 students. We report that teaching genetics first has a marked and significant impact on both evolution and genetics knowledge. This suggests a simple intervention; teaching genetics first, will improve results. However, we find only weak or moderate correlations between knowledge and acceptance. Reasons for this apparent dislocation are unclear. Qualitative data collected from focus groups suggests that not what is taught, but who evolution is taught by, is more important for acceptance. Academic ability is shown to be important in student acceptance of evolution and understanding of genetics and evolution. Teaching has a positive effect on acceptance and knowledge, but not for all students.

Interest in the outcomes of a society’s most able learners is a recurrent feature in educational discourse. ‘Giftedness’ however is a ‘contested construct’ which is heavily context-dependent and where meanings are individually shaped rather than collectively understood. This research examines the complexity of construals of giftedness for secondary school Modern Language teachers in the light of pedagogic and linguistic theorists and English government policymakers. These four perspectives play a role in understanding ‘giftedness’ within the subject domain, yet have not been previously considered in combination. The context of school-based second language learning in England is significant as the subject has undergone changes of curriculum status and purpose, possibly failing to meet the needs of gifted pupils. The context for MFL teachers in this research is further shaped by the ambient professional framework, which is influenced by instable and internally inconsistent policy construals of ‘giftedness’ and a tension between excellence and equity. Questionnaires and interviews are used to examine MFL teachers’ beliefs surrounding ‘giftedness’ both generally and within their subject specialism, and the reported impact of working within the framework of externally imposed construals. Teachers’ reactions to being asked to make public judgements about giftedness reveal uncertainties about identifying gifted linguists and their underlying views about the enactment of ‘giftedness’ policy. The findings are used to propose a more detailed model of the characteristics of gifted linguists, which distinguishes between ‘enabling’ features (which support the development of linguistic potential) and those which are ‘core’, and which lie at the heart of ‘giftedness’ within MFL. Findings also indicate the importance of agreeing terminology and listening to teachers, when seeking to impose external constructs in this contested arena. By understanding the complexity and instability of the construal, it is argued that MFL teachers may be better equipped to recognise and support gifted learners.

The purpose of this study was to identify the possible benefits of combining together the teacher focused approach of Dialogic Teaching (a talk-based teaching approach) and the student focused approach of meta-learning (or learning about one's learning). Both of these models (i. e. Dialogic Teaching and meta-learning) have a strong conceptual and theoretical basis to them, which support the development of student's learning. But they each have a different emphasis, one being teacher led, the other being student led. The study took place in a secondary school and centred on assessing the contribution of a meta-learning programme on the secondary aged students within their Dialogic Teaching context. The researcher compared four classes. All of the classes had Dialogic Teaching as their main teaching method, but only two of the classes received the meta-learning programme. The materials developed for the meta-learning programme were based on published materials (i. e. Watkins, Carnell, Lodge, Wagner & Whalley, 2000; and Watkins, 2003) and involved the students reflecting upon the purposes, strategies, effects, feelings and context of their learning. A parallel, simultaneous, mixed-method design was used with the researcher comparing the data from both before and after the programme, on qualitative and quantitative measures. The quantitative measures used within the study were: a specifically designed Dialogic Teaching Scale; the Myself as Learner Scale (MALS; Burden, 1998); and numerical achievement data (SATs). The qualitative measure included an open-ended written task, entitled the Me as a Learner sheet. Data were collected at the start of the study (in November), with follow-up data collected at the end of the study (in the following July). With regard to the quantitative data, the students who received the metalearning programme within a Dialogic Teaching setting did not show a significantly greater increase in positive responses (as compared to the control group), on the four outcome measures (i. e. SAT Literacy, SAT Speaking and Listening, MALS and Dialogic Teaching Scale). The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. A process of inductive coding was undertaken, with the data assigned to a series of categories, which were grouped into category headings and then into three themes. Following this, a process of quantitative content analysis was undertaken, in order to count the frequency of student's comments in each of the categories. The results showed that the intervention group of students demonstrated a greater increase in responses in relation to the two themes that related to reflective thinking, whereas the control group of students provided more responses within the theme that centred on factual information. In particular the data highlighted that the intervention group of students provided more references to: cognitive factors (i. e. the skills and strategies that help them learn); affective factors (i. e. their feelings in relation to learning); motivational factors (i. e. how motivations affect learning); behavioural factors (i. e. their actions and outcomes that affect their learning); environmental factors (i. e. differences in learning in different contexts or environments); and social factors (i. e. the benefits of learning with others). As the students who received the meta-learning programme included more direct references (in their texts) to the social aspect of learning, this research suggests the possibility that linking these two areas together has therefore impacted upon the students, in relation to their greater awareness of the positive benefits of learning with others. The thesis concludes with recommendations for both Educational Psychology practice, as well as general educational practice. This includes a proposed framework for introducing the meta-learning process within a school setting. This framework highlights: school level; teacher level; and student level factors in relation to the specific teaching contexts which students are part of.

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Rapidly developing and widely used mobile technologies have been changing the way we live and learn. Such devices were banned from schools not long ago, and now, they are becoming part of everyday practice in schools. Governments around the world have been increasingly investing in learning technologies with the belief that teachers and students will eventually benefit from them (Diemer, Fernandez & Streepay, 2012; Pedró, 2010). However, these investments do not always result as desired. Turkey, where this research took place, is one of the countries that has invested in ICT through a program called the “Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology”, known as the FATIH Project. With the Fatih project the government had aimed to revolutionise the education by ‘upgrading’ the classrooms with the latest technology smartboards and providing students and teachers with a personal tablet. It is one of the most expensive and extensive government supported ICT projects ever taken place (Tamim, Borokhovski, Pickup & Bernard, 2015), and it is important to understand the perceptions of the end users. In order to collect information on students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards tablets a qualitative study with teacher interviews, student focus group sessions and observations was conducted. Moreover, lately ‘technology acceptance models’ have taken their places in education research with the claim that they could help to foresee the acceptance behaviour before developing or introducing a new technology by providing measurable variables; therefore, avoiding unexpected user rejection (Jan & Contreras, 2011). In this regard, this research aims to test the applicability of an existing model the ‘Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2’ (UTAUT2), which has been commonly used by educational researchers, and is suggested to be more suitable to educational account. In that sense, this part of the research has a quantitative nature. Data were collected through questionnaires from secondary school students (n=266) and analysed in accordance with the qualitative data collected with this research and the previous literature. It is believed that theoretical findings of this research will help researchers to understand if a model approach is suitable for education, if so, will help to develop a model that corresponds to the requirements of educational research. Additionally, the findings of this study will help the Turkish government in understanding the expectations and perceptions of the students and teachers regarding the tablet use in education.

…. the frank concession is that we live in troubled times, yet we are enabled with a sobering belief that a better way does exist (Rexhepi and Torres, 2011, p.683). Schools in England are in a constant state of change. This research is about change in one secondary school in particular. It is an investigation into what young people think and feel about the changes in their school as it moves towards closure in 2016 and the effects of this impending closure on their education. The research draws on the critical paradigm which examines the structure of education in England specifically at the secondary level of schooling, and how, in a bid to raise standards, these changes sometimes leave young people feeling anxious, disappointed and worried about their education and their future. The research recognises young people as individuals in their own right, deserving of spaces for their voices to be heard during times of change. The research champions ‘voices’ over ‘voice’ in recognition that young people experience change in different ways, and this should not be lumped together as ‘student/pupil voice’. Data gathering involved collaborating with ten young people from St Luke’s Church of England High School over 15 months, from April 2014 through to July 2015, through open-ended, group and individual interviews, surveys and observation, whilst scrutinizing progress and achievement data from 2011/2012 when they were in Year 7, until 2014/2015 (Year 10). Data analysis and presentation are guided by the interpretative framework of Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space, grouping themes and sub-themes to form 10 stories. The research concludes that the phased closure of St Luke’s had a profound impact on each of the young people. The phased closure proved challenging for all the participants in different ways and could, at some point, impact negatively on all their future aspirations. The main conclusion of the research study is that subject options were being reduced and thus the young people’s life chances were being curtailed in ways that they did not anticipate.

This study seeks to explore school culture through a examination of Sixth Form culture within a West Midlands secondary school. Problems in differentiating between the terms 'culture' and 'climate' are acknowledged, and the methodologies associated with each term are explored. Through this process the need to make use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods in cultural analysis is identified. Exploration of earlier research also highlights the dangers of focusing upon the perceptions of teachers and disregarding the views of students. The study addresses these issues by making use of surveys, interviews, observation and documentary analysis to examine student perceptions of Sixth Form culture. Examination of earlier research leads to the identification of the typology developed by Deal and Kennedy (1988) as the model of cultural analysis that can be most easily operationalised within the school context. Chapter four of the study demonstrates that this model can be readily used to analyse the 'internal culture' of an institution. However, the chapter also makes it clear that even this model addresses only one aspect of school culture. For this reason, chapter five proposes a new model of cultural analysis, one that explores the remaining jigsaw pieces of school culture: subcultures, leadership and culture, culture and society and cultural change. The study argues that only when these five pieces are fitted together can school culture by fully understood. The study concludes by highlighting the need for further research making use of this new model of cultural analysis. It also argues that current national educational policy is based upon assumptions about school culture that are not be supported by the findings of this research.