The context for this study is set within a brief historical account of the development of prison education up to and including present day policies. The current policy background encompasses the Offender Learning Journey, Offender Learning and Skills Service and the government's Green Papers Reducing Re-Offending through Skills and Employment (2005) and Next Steps (2006). Furthermore, the literature review considers education and employment discourse in relation to social exclusion and participation in learning. The research design is predominately qualitative within a single case study framework, utilising a mixed methods approach. It investigates perceptions of staff and offenders to the development and implementation of a curriculum intervention involving an integrated full-time programme of production, training and e-Iearning delivered in a prison establishment. The rising prison population resulted in an expansion programme which saw a new residential unit, workshop and learning and skills activity centre built to accommodate an extra 180 adult male offenders in the case study establishment. This provided the opportunity, as an insider researcher, to explore specifically the development and implementation of a curriculum intervention integrating technology into one of the new workshop facilities. The three partners namely, the Prison Service, OLASS and Learndirect college providers collaborated together on the integrated programme. Hence, research has been conducted at a practical level describing obstacles and outcomes of a local initiative adopting a partnership approach to the said curriculum intervention and the responses of a purposive sample of 5 staff and 6 offenders to it. Data was analysed using a grounded theory approach and research conclusions suggest that barriers/obstacles are not unique to the case study establishment particularly when integrating technology into the curriculum. Furthermore, some negative staff attitudes emerged but this did not undermine the project. The study indicates effective tripartite working which was instrumental to the success of the intervention which motivated and engaged offenders to succeed.

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to our understanding of instructed language learning among adolescents. It addresses the educational question of how adolescent classroom learners can best develop the ability to use a foreign language (in this case English) for their individual purposes. The empirical data for the study derive from the record of a pedagogical experiment carried out with two groups of 38 secondary school learners in Catalunya. The purpose of the experiment was not only to improve their proficiency in the target language but also their attitude towards language learning. In line with contemporary curriculum theory, and on the basis of the set of procedures followed during the experiment and the views and attitudes expressed by the participants, the author proposes an alternative to the traditional framework of modern language curriculum development. The new framework, which is centred on the notion of learner autonomy, is devised to achieve a more successful learning outcome as a result of a more suitable learning environment. In this study two major hypotheses are explored: 1. Instructed language learning is the result of multiple interaction between individual learners and the constraints imposed by the learning/teaching environment.2. As far as adolescents are concerned, successful language learning is closely related to personal involvement in the process of the negotiation of meaning; and this, in turn, is directly linked to their perception of learning activity as personally meaningful and relevant to their perceived needs and interests. The description, evaluation and interpretation of the experiment provide evidence of the positive effects of the alternative framework proposed in a specific classroom context and the two hypotheses are supported. Nevertheless, language learning is a complex phenomenon and the author is aware of the need to replicate the experiment and contrast it with further research before any wider claims can be made about adolescent modern language learning.

This study investigates whether participation in a structured and facilitated film-based educational intervention can significantly change the attitudes, values and preferences of individuals about sustainability. Through a before-and-after experimental process, the study's aims were to: (a) determine preferences for architecture and development by a group of citizens in a designated study area; and (b) to determine the efficacy of Film Montage to communicate new values and preferences, about architecture and development, to the participants in the study. Although it is generally and anecodotally recognised that film is an effective means of mass communication, capable of measurably influencing points-of-view in a film's viewing audience, an exploration of the specific synergistic theoretical and applied visual communication constructs, that make these two disciplines stronger agents of mass communication about sustainable architecture when applied in tandem, had not been approached. The question, which was at the heart of this study, was whether selected film, utilised in an educational setting either formal or informal, could influence participants' attitudes and preferences about sustainable architecture, and the design of a sustainable environment. A film based curriculum of Interactive Modules was designed and tested in this study. There were data gathering and presentation instruments designed and applied in the before stage, the stage of the process in which the educational intervention took place, and the after stage of the process. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were used to evaluate and record the obtained results. Collectively, the findings support the premise that attitudes and preferences about architecture and development can be changed by participation in a film-based educational curriculum about sustainability.

In November 1987, the Scottish Education Department published the consultant paper "Curriculum and Assessment in Scotland: a policy for the 1990s". The paper set out a series of proposals for the reform of curriculum and assessment in primary and early secondary schooling. Arguably, they constitute the most far-reaching set of changes for primary and secondary schooling in Scotland ever proposed in one document. This thesis considers these proposals as an illustration of the dominant features of contemporary Scottish educational policy-making. It contextualises this initiative within an analysis of the historical background, theoretical approaches to educational administration and processes of change in both primary and secondary schooling and the current situation with regard to specific policy in Scottish education, that which concerns curriculum and assessment. The methodology adopted is that of an ethnographic case study approach which collates and examines the teaching and assessment of English Language in a rural secondary school and one of its associated primary schools. This case study draws upon the theoretical and practical perspectives of policy implementation in an attempt to formulate how a government-devised, centre-driven innovation is implemented by teachers in the classroom. The case study shows that the publication of the Government's proposals and the implementation of the policy are evidence of a shift in policy-making style in Scotland, from debate followed consensus to consultation followed by imposition. It indicates the key factors affecting efficacious implementation of the initiative at a school level are the style of leadership and administrative structures in operation in the school, the influences of existing practice and the degree of subject specialist knowledge possessed by teachers responsible for the implementation of the initiative in the classroom. From the case study it is argued that if a government wishes to achieve efficacious implementation of a centre-driven policy initiative it requires to be more aware of, and sensitive to, the political climate into which the initiative is introduced. In addition, it must acknowledge that the school itself, in terms of both the institution and the individual, is a central facet in this process.

In this thesis I address the research question, 'How do nursery nurses, in day nurseries, interpret the Early Learning Goals?' This question arises out of questions raised during my work as an Ofsted Nursery Inspector (RgNI) and the changing curriculum for pre-school children. Nursery nurses have an outcome curriculum which they are required to follow upon and this curriculum stresses the importance ofliteracy and numeracy. Most nursery nurses have had little training in these matters. I look at the changes in the curriculum and the effect it has had on nursery nurses working in day nurseries. I discovered that the child developmental approach, found in nursery nurse training, runs contrary to the outcomes curriculum which is being developed at present. I found that the introduction of the Early Learning Goals and the Foundation Stage, which the nursery nurses are required to follow, has caused confusion, time wasting and a lowering of morale in some day nurseries. The change from a child developmental curriculum to an outcome curriculum has meant that nursery nurses have to plan, assess and teach children skills, for which they judge many are not ready. Nursery nurses have not been trained to teach reading and writing skills or to teach anything other than basic numeracy and they do not think that teaching those subjects is necessary. I also set out to show how the role of the nursery nurse as a carer is being diminished, in order that the literacy and numeracy of children in school are improved. I show that many children in theday nurseries that I studied, needed the care that nursery nurses can give them, if they are to be ready for the world of school. The method used for this study was a qualitative or naturalistic research. I used a small-scale study and decided that the theories to be tested would arise in the data. I decided to collect the data over a period of eighteen months, by interviews and observations in three different types of day nurseries; a community nursery, a local authority nursery and a day nursery which was part of a large chain. I then analysed the data and built up a picture a picture of the complex roles and tasks of a nursery nurse. I then looked at the training of nursery nurses, using documents which nursery nurses in my study would have used for their training. I compared this with the present outcomes related requirements by Ofsted. I suggest that young children in day nurseries still need a great deal of help with their personal, social and emotional development, as well as their health and hygiene skills and language development. The nursery nurse training fitted the nursery nurses with a caring role, which they saw as important. They were trained to help three to five-year-old children adapt to a group situation and also provide the atmosphere and learning through play, which they might get if they were at home. They felt that it was important for children to have a good self-image and for them to enjoy being with other children. I found that the nursery nurses, whom I interviewed, thought that there needs to be an acceptance that some children require more caring and less teaching between the ages of three to five years, in order to prepare them for school. I conclude that the outcomes curriculum fails to take these arguments into account and that it is more important that young children are well prepared for school, where trained teachers can then develop their literacy and numeracy skills

The purpose of this research was to develop an alternative to traditional textbooks for the teaching of electronics, within Design and Technology at Key Stage 3, in the English National Curriculum. The proposed alternative of intelligent hypermedia courseware was investigated in terms of its potential to support pupil procedural autonomy in task directed, goal oriented, design projects. Three principal design criteria were applied to the development of this courseware: the situation in which it is to be used; the task that it is to support; and the pedagogy that it will reflect and support. The discussion and satisfaction of these design criteria led towards a new paradigm for the development of intelligent hypermedia courseware, i.e. the sequential combination of cognition clusters, supported by system intelligence, derived from a dynamic user model. A courseware prototype was instantiated using this development paradigm and subsequently evaluated in three schools. An illuminative evaluation method was developed to investigate the consequences of using this courseware prototype. This evaluation method was based on longitudinal case studies where cycles of observation, further inquiry and explanation are undertaken. As a consequence of following this longitudinal method, where participants chose to adopt the courseware after the first trial, the relatability of outcomes increased as subsequent cycles were completed. Qualitative data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with participating teachers. This data was triangulated against quantitative data obtained from the completed dynamic user models generated by pupils using the courseware prototype. These data were used to generate hypotheses, in the form of critical processes, by the identification of significant features, concomitant features and recurring concomitants from the courseware trials. Four relatable critical processes are described that operate when this courseware prototype is used. These critical processes relate to: the number of computers available; the physical environment where the work takes place; the pedagogical features of a task type match, a design brief frame match and a preferred teaching approach match; and the levels of heuristic interaction with the courseware prototype.

This thesis is concerned with curriculum policy enactment in the field of lower secondary education in Ireland. The research illuminates the experiences of teachers and school leaders in three pilot schools who were enacting a new Junior Cycle (JC) curriculum on a trial basis, prior to national roll-out to schools across the country. This reform, recognised by many as the most significant in the history of Irish education, has been marked by slow introduction, fragmentation and high levels of contestation from teacher unions. The initial aim of this research was to generate theory on the perspectives of key stakeholders regarding their enactment of this new curriculum, as described in A Framework for Junior Cycle, released by the Department of Education and Skills (DES, 2012). The research agenda lay within the interpretivist paradigm and followed a grounded theory methodology. The main method employed was both group, and individual, focussed interviews. Ball’s policy cycle (with modifications by Lesley Vidovich) provided a conceptual framework through which to analyse how teachers and leaders in the pilot schools had interpreted The Framework and translated it into practice across different levels of policy enactment. As the study progressed, the nature of what was being generated through the process of theory construction indicated that what was of central concern for participants was matters to do with context. Thus, in keeping with interpretive and grounded theory approaches to research, it was deemed necessary to re-orientate the aim to allow for a more specific interrogation of the contexts that influenced the enactment of The Framework. Consideration was given to the influence of school and system contexts on actors’ interpretations of JC reform and its translation into practice. The results of the study suggest that curriculum policy and the management of the reform process at a system level influenced actors’ interpretations of JC reform, whilst the management of school policy and participant values influenced its translation into practice. A new concept, contextual leverage, illuminates how policy can be managed to bring about a shared meaning of the purpose of JC curriculum at a school and system level. A context-centric theoretical model is presented, which reconciles the other concepts constructed in the study to describe how JC reform has been contextually mediated and institutionally rendered. Consequently, this study offers a contribution to knowledge that responds to the dearth of contextualised policy responses in the change literature. It looks to move beyond the truism that ‘context matters’ in curriculum policy enactment through illuminating what contexts matter, how they matter and why. This research presents, and expands upon, statements regarding why context matters for schools, for policy analysis and for system level governance. Context, in this regard, is not bleached into the background of the policy landscape but rather becomes a centralised, active force through which we can understand and mediate change better.

This study uses narrative inquiry to contribute to ways of valuing and utilising teachers’ personal narratives as tools for understanding their thinking and knowing in relation to the environment and environmental education, and for critically examining and challenging dominant narratives and discourses of education and the environment in school education. The research develops teachers’ stories as the main focus of inquiry and data, with the understanding that teachers’ stories articulate the dynamics and interactions between discourses and practices that constitute teachers’ thinking and experiences of environmental education. Based on life-historical and focus group interviews with eleven secondary school teachers in Korea, the inquiry also develops novel ways of understanding and analysing teacher narratives about environmental education, in three parts. As an introductory part of the analysis, five teachers’ short stories are presented via framings of their plots (“vision”) and key narrative themes, with a focus on the teacher’s own ways of making sense of their environment-related experiences through blurring the boundaries of personal and professional identities. Two subsequent chapters develop a critical investigation into their discursive practices, illustrating the blurring of boundaries in professionalism and curriculum, through which the teachers’ environmental education can create cracks and ruptures in school education. Narrative analysis of three teacher groups – science, humanities, and environment teachers - contributes to an examination of the tensions in arguing for ‘environmental education teachers’ professionalism within the institutional context of schooling in Korea. Finally, analysis of teachers’ curriculum repertoires, via six topics – alternative energy, environmental issues, health and ‘well-being’, biotechnology issues, outdoor education, and green education - provides an examination of the contingencies and complexities in the processes of teachers’ pedagogical rendering of cultural narratives of science and environmental issues. The study utilises narrative-discursive approaches to teachers’ thinking and practice. Teacher narratives are located alongside other narratives of teachers, to elucidate the meanings of personal narratives as ‘small’ stories and explore their role in critiquing surrounding, ‘larger’ institutional and cultural narratives, including hero and exemplary teacher discourses, by opening up discursive spaces for alternative meanings of professionalism and curriculum. The study also includes a discussion of how teacher learning can be understood and facilitated by using teacher narratives as vehicles for examining the nature of teacher action, and in so doing, argues that school environmental education can be a catalyst for such teacher learning.

This thesis presents the first extensive study carried out in the Welsh education policy context to adopt a Hallidayan „functional‟ approach to identifying curriculum language demands and planning English as an additional language development within the National Curriculum (NC) in Wales at Key Stage 3 (KS3). The study is located within the field of English as an Additional Language (EAL), specifically within the sub-field which examines the relationship between „language and content‟. The thesis characterises the language demands of the KS3 curriculum by working from an overview of subject disciplines and discourses, through individual curriculum goals, to language models suitable for supporting EAL pupils in the classroom. The main argument of the thesis proposes that teachers use the contextual information available to them in advance of a subject lesson to construct integrated language and learning goals and to identify suitable models of language which may be used in activities directed at achieving the curriculum goals. The study draws upon several insights into the nature of the English language from Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory. These insights explain how the constraints of context act to narrow the options in language choice and how inherent variability in the language system allows for differentiation of language models to express similar meanings. Throughout the thesis, points are illustrated by examples and findings from a computer-assisted textual analysis of the text of the statutory KS3 National Curriculum orders for Wales (2000) carried out to inform the study about the roles and purposes of language use in the service of teaching, learning and assessment goals. The thesis concludes that to assist teachers in making more appropriate choices about which language models to use, a substantial corpus of texts, written to fulfil curriculum purposes, should be analysed for typical structures, collocations and patterns.

Despite the curricula developments over recent years, for some young people accessing the national curriculum is a real challenge. In response to the increasing levels of exclusion and social exclusion rates, Local Authorities have had to be creative to ensure that they can meet the needs of all children. Alternative curricula at key stage 3 and 4 have been implemented to help young people who may be disaffected from school to re-engage with learning. Although there is evidence that a number of alternative provisions are offered to young people across the country, there appears to be a dearth of research with regards to how these specific alternative provisions impact upon the lives of the young people themselves. Pupils' perspectives are clearly a very significant element in seeking to understand and evaluate educational process. In spite of this, research into the way pupils view individual alternative provisions has been limited. Also limited, is research undertaken with young people who may be seen as 'vulnerable' and 'hard to reach'.Within one local Authority within the North West, 'Trade Skills' offers one such alternative curriculum to pupils. It was developed in response to a growing need for a relevant, skills based curriculum for young people who were not able to engage with formal curricula. It offers 13-16 year old students a trade based vocational curriculum with the aim of providing the attendees with the skills and knowledge to gain a trade based career. This current study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to help provide an insight into 'Trade Skills' as an alternative curriculum. The findings suggested that 'Trade Skills' was able to meet the ECM outcomes effectively and able to offer young people with an alternative and an appropriate curriculum in relation to being able to develop their individual needs and in providing them with alternatives to more formal means of education. This study demonstrated an effective means of working with young people viewed as 'hard to reach' and 'vulnerable'. The ethnographic style in which this study was conducted is well placed within the work undertaken by educational psychologists and is a helpful means of gaining rapport and trust with a group of young people who find trusting professionals challenging.