There is concern about lack of financial literacy and need for financial literacy education, but little or no attempt to understand their nature. Three questions were asked: 'What is financial literacy?', 'What is financial literacy education?' and 'What might be the components of an effective financial literacy curriculum?'. Adopting an inductive grounded theory approach and a pragmatist philosophy, in association with real-world organisations such as the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), empirical data was collected from surveys, observation and interviews. This was the first time that: perceptions of financial advisers in England on financial literacy were systematically analysed; financial literacy education provision in England was examined using the FSA framework; financial literacy education for financial literacy providers was the subject of a study; a financial literacy curriculum was categorised using the FSA's baseline survey areas; and financial literacy curriculum components were explored within a new synthesis of 'Competency Based Action learning (CoBAl)'. It was found that often financial literacy was misunderstood, financial literacy education interventions ineffective, financial literacy practitioners unqualified, and financial literacy curricula simplistic. Public policy needs to be directed towards developing a more rigorous and aspirational form of financial literacy education that would facilitate more effective outcomes. Financial literacy is more than information or capability; it is the demonstration of competencies in actual performance in the financial world. Financial literacy educational interventions need to be multidimensional and set within the framework of adult learning and not that of children learning within a formal educational system. A financial literacy curriculum that synthesises components relating to knowledge, skills and attitudinal competencies with action learning in the real-world context is likely to lead to the generation of more effective financial experiences.

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The centrality of education in fonning citizens has in recent years become a prominent concern among theorists and practitioners alike. However, the literature on the subject often fails to acknowledge the complexity both of the diverse ends of citizenship and of the educational means to achieve them. This study explores these issues in three contrasting initiatives in Brazil: the Landless Movement, which promotes a conception of citizenship based on the workers' collective struggle for justice; the Plural School, which aims to democratise the school system based on an ideal of social inclusion; and Voter of the Future, aiming to promote political participation via established structures of liberal democracy. Empirical data on the three initiatives was collected in the form of documents, classroom observations and interviews with coordinators, teachers and students. The study analyses the differences between the conceptual schemes of the three initiatives, the ways these translate into pedagogical programmes, the facilitators and constraints on implementation and the effects on students. A theory of 'curricular transposition' is developed, in order to explore the processes through which normative ideals are materialised in educational programmes, and to explain the problematic 'leaps' between the ideal and the real, and between ends and means. Key elements for citizenship learning identified in the case studies are the participation of pupils and teachers in the design and implementation of the programmes, the use of dialogical pedagogy, the existence of democratic management structures in schools, and of opportunities for pupils to engage in political action in the wider society. The notion of 'seamless enactment' is proposed to refer to this enhancement of political learning through the full participation of teachers and students and harmonisation of ends and means. Finally, wider implications for the role of education in developing political agency are considered.

The focus of this study is to identify the factors that influence young people’s curricular decisions by taking a holistic, qualitative approach to explore the decisions students, aged 14-16, make in relation to chosen curriculum pathways over a period of time within the context of three case study secondary schools in England. The research suggests that the curricular decisions of students aged 14-16 are influenced by a variety of factors, including the views and experiences of parents, siblings, teachers and their own aspirations for the future. A major influencing factor on these curricular decisions is that of government policy, including factors such as: curriculum, qualifications, school performance, reporting of achievement and parental choice and the impact these factors have on school policy. Within this context, the research indicates that schools, and in particular, the schools’ head teachers interpret and enact the curriculum requirements and expectations of government policy and how they are influenced by the school context as well as the parental expectations and the socio-cultural context of the school. The overall results of this study indicate that the most significant factor influencing the curricular decisions that students make relates to the context of the school that the students attend and the policy that the schools set and how they approach and implement this in response to government expectations including the extent to which they constrain the choices of young people and involve the students and their parents in the decision-making process. The recommendations include an improvement in the quality and consistency of curricular information that secondary school students are provided with and better access to independent advice and guidance, together with greater transparency to ensure that students and their parents are aware of the government’s expectations concerning secondary education and how this influences each school’s curriculum policy.

Frequently it is assumed in developing countries that contemporary “Western” notions of teaching and learning are the role models to which education reform should aspire. It is often assumed that such models of education are the most up to date or “modern”, and as such are models of “best practice”. This thesis questions such assumptions and attempts to argue that “Western” models of education are increasingly subject to political influences and ideologies, distinct from being based on sound educational research. It is argued that such political agendas often lack a sensitivity of understanding toward differences in culture, learning expectations and preferences, compounded by western practitioners in developing countries who being immersed in their own cultural sensitivities, seek to project their ideas onto different cultures around the world, with little in depth understanding of the cultural norm into which they are transposing such ideas. As a consequence of this, it is suggested that there is a tension in the Kuwait context associated with the dissonance between attempts to modernise teaching and learning, and the local cultural expectations and preferences for teaching and learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate this suggested lived experience of tension, specifically associated with the implementation of How Science Works in the A-level Biology curriculum, as an example of a Western curriculum and teaching and learning intervention. The findings of this study suggest in this cultural context that student participants hold an examination performance driven perspective on education, and have a preference for traditional teacher centered information based learning, with little importance attributed to the notion of education for understanding. Student and staff participants consider How Science Works components of the curriculum to be culturally and environmentally biased creating a sense of disadvantage for students in the host culture. There is evidence to suggest that student participants experience a sense of tension through constraints placed on their ability and willingness to engage with aspects of the curriculum by virtue of a perceived conflict with their religious convictions. These four main emergent themes create a sense of tension for students and teachers in the implementation of both the curriculum and contemporary student centered teaching and learning pedagogy.

This thesis addresses the historical dimensions of farming in relation to the Scottish education system and the curriculum. Within the theoretical concerns of curriculum context and change, this work explores the role of culture and the selection of knowledge to provide an understanding of current economic and social role of farming. It delineates the key Scottish agricultural organisations involved in curriculum developments and it examines the relative influence of these groups, particularly during periods of intense involvement by the State in curriculum change. It will be seen that at various occasions throughout this period leading players from the agricultural and landowning interests, either individually or as groups, recognised the importance of formal education systems for furthering their causes. Initially, it will be argued they attempted to use the education system to retain their positions of power and control in the existing rural hegemony. During the 20^th century the power of the farmer and landowner diminished considerably due to social, political and economic reasons. Today, they seek to use the education system, and the curricula in particular, to help the urban population to gain an understanding of countryside matters and, thus, to influence both the political debate and the decision making process. In this thesis it is argued that the present curriculum, Curriculum and Assessment in Scotland National Guidelines 5-14, is open to outside influences and the views of interest groups such as the farming lobby, on a new and unprecedented scale. By the application of questionnaires and interviews, this thesis demonstrates that certain groups with interests in rural matters have grasped the opportunities to influence the curriculum. However, it is found that nationally the Scottish agricultural community has been unable to respond to the challenges presented to them by the 5-14 Guidelines, on a scale equal to that of other organisations with countryside interests. Indeed, it is concluded that, while those from the countryside are demanding a greater understanding of the issues affecting them, and the curriculum provides opportunities for children to gain an understanding of farming and the management of the countryside, these opportunities are in danger of being lost by the persistent changes in educational policy and direction of the Scottish agricultural community.

What explains teacher-initiated curriculum innovation? Sparse but consistent literature in theories of motivation, teacher career development, teacher identity, and change in education shows that teachers value complexity and the opportunity to challenge themselves. Teachers who innovate often were motivated by the desire to effect social change or by the realisation that curriculum presentations could be more effective. How teachers work through self-initiated innovations and how the self-initiated innovations affected their identities was not well defined by the works consulted. To better explain teachers’ self-initiated innovations, the main aim of this study was to explore the views of South Dakota teachers concerning their involvement in initiating curriculum change. Interviews were conducted with 30 teachers of students in grades K-12 (ages 5 through 18) and in a university in South Dakota, United States of America. Interviews were conducted both with teachers who identified themselves as current innovators (Phase 1) and with teachers who learned about, planned, and implemented the Storyline approach to curriculum design (Phases 2 and 3). For Phases 2 and 3, Storyline provided a common context for innovation and the essential elements of flexibility, adaptability, and challenge for the teachers. Teachers’ motivators for innovating included increasing student engagement and compensating for the failure of the textbooks, and to a lesser degree, relieving personal boredom and fulfilling a desire to have fun. Inspiration came from professional development experiences of their own choosing as well as conversations with their own children or with colleagues. Teachers predicted benefits and difficulties and planned accordingly for maximum student benefit. Teachers did not predict the number and nature of the benefits resulting from their innovations, particularly in areas such as personal fun, student initiative, and parent involvement. University teachers found they could adapt the narrative, imaginative teaching method Storyline from K-12 education and discovered the method effective and engaging.

This thesis presents the findings of a study which investigates the relationship between curriculum innovation and teachers' actual classroom practices in ELT. It examines five teachers' implementation of the English language curriculum in Libyan secondary schools, and compares their implementation to what is recommended by this curriculum innovation. It also sheds light on how teachers' beliefs and other contextual factors influence the way teachers interpreted and implemented this curriculum. In order to study these issues, a qualitative research design was employed as a mode of inquiry. Data collection methods consisted of classroom observations in which audio recordings of the teachers' actual classroom practices were obtained, and follow up interviews in which teachers commented on their classroom practices and discussed the factors shaping these practices. The analysis of the data pointed to a limited uptake of the curriculum by these teachers. The interviews with the teachers shed light on the tensions between teachers' actual classroom practices and the intentions of the curriculum. They also highlighted complex relationships among the curriculum reform, teachers' practices, teachers' beliefs, and other contextual factors. This study illustrates the value of studying what teachers do while implementing educational innovations and how their beliefs and other contextual factors influence the way teachers interpret and implement these educational innovations.

This thesis reports on the results of a study to produce. ‘A Guide To Better Thinking’, a resource designed to help children more effective thinkers and learners, to bridge the gap between theory and classroom practice, and move teaching for thinking into the classroom. The study presents a broad overview of the literature on teaching thinking, and its implications for practice. It includes a review of relevant research on motivation and metacognition and an analysis of existing Thinking Skills Programmes, identifying their strengths, as well as the practical and theoretical weaknesses. This provides the theoretical foundation, highlights general issues concerning the design of effective programmes, and the need for a programme which: provides teachers with a manageable framework for teaching thinking, that synthesises the work of leaders in the field, but takes account of the constraints the classroom teacher faces; introduces a broad range of skills in Positive, Critical and Creative Thinking, considers how we can motivate children to want to use these skills, and emphasises the development of metacognition to help children monitor and direct their own thinking; provides ‘child and teacher-friendly’ material which is intellectually challenging, with issues of real concern, that provides explicit links with functioning in the real world for children; introduces ‘fun’ characters to model the thinking strategies and how to overcome obstacles to good thinking; is not restricted to the cognitive domain alone but embraces feelings attitudes beliefs and values. The goals of the programme were: to develop Positive Thinking and improve children’s concept of themselves as thinkers and learners; to develop Critical Thinking and improve children’s ability to reason and reflect on their thinking; to develop Creative Thinking and flexibility of thought. Given the broad aims of the programme, evaluation had to be wide-ranging in nature and a major concern was to use evaluation instruments well focused on the goals of the programme. Careful consideration was given to selecting appropriate assessment procedures and to the tailoring of instruments to the capacities being developed.