The main objective of this thesis is to investigate and understand faculty members’attitudes towards, motivations for and concerns about using social networking sites (SNSs), as well as uses thereof, for educational purposes, particularly in the gender segregated educational setting of Saudi Arabian universities. This study identifies faculty members’ perspectives on SNSs and the ways in which academics in Saudi Arabia employ these social networks as educational tools to improve teaching methods and learning styles. Interviews were conducted with 32 faculty members at King Abdul-Aziz University and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. These particular universities were selected because of their location, size, diversity and academic standing. Those participants were chosen to form the research sample and to represent equally the two universities, the two genders and different degree subjects. Growing use of SNSs has motivated academics and researchers to study social networks and their connection to other fields of study. Several studies have examined integration of SNSs in education. However, a review of previous research in this domain has revealed that further research is required. This thesis, therefore, aims to develop the existing literature through its close focus on qualitative accounts of academics’ usage in Saudi Arabia, particularly since the Saudi government has led several initiatives which have been considered essential interventions and developments in politics, society, education, and various other aspects. Most of the academics involved in this study (91%) use SNSs — particularly WhatsApp (88%), Twitter (84%), Facebook (78%), and YouTube (63%) — for educational purposes. These academics see SNSs as supportive and useful tools and, importantly, methods for facilitating learning, teaching and communication. Motivations for using SNSs include: overcoming social restrictions (e.g. gender segregation), enhancing collaboration and exchanging experiences, generating and improving content, and developing a more critical and reflective thinking. On the other hand, many faculty members (62%) have different concerns about employing these platforms in the academic setting. Cultural and social concerns, protecting academics’ image online, and privacy worries have been identified as the three greatest challenges facing the implementation of SNSs in the higher educational institutions. Many existing studies of privacy and other concerns are written from a Western perspective and its view of privacy — this research expands that discussion by analysing these issues from a non-Western, conservative nation. This thesis explores how cultural and social traditions are both challenged and enhanced by SNSs; for example, it shows that online interactions in gender-segregated societies can provide more information and expand understanding about the opposite gender more than do offline settings. Although these online interactions break the norm of gender segregation, the majority of Saudi users do not completely challenge their cultural and social traditions, and the impact of their social values and principles is clearly apparent in their perspectives and behaviours when using these platforms. Therefore, these findings can advance the understanding of integrating SNSs educationally in the context of a conservative society, and contribute to expanding the current literature on this topic.

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This study explored the employability behaviours, experiences and outcomes of Emirati graduates as they transitioned from education to work through the lens of graduate identity. A main aim was to gain insights into issues related to localisation of the UAE work force by examining subjective understandings of graduate employability and the interactions of these with the socio-cultural and labour market context. The study drew on conceptualisations of graduate identity as socially constructed, emergent and underpinning the behaviours of graduates and their employability. The study takes a qualitative approach and made particular use of Holmes’ (2001) claim-affirmation model of emergent graduate identity as a framework through which to study employability in a non-Western cultural context and to facilitate a deeper examination of the processes leading to different transition outcomes. Five main themes emerged from the data on how the Emirati graduates in the study conceptualised their graduate identity and five specific employability, or claiming and warranting, strategies were identified from examination of their transition experiences. The emergent identity trajectories experienced by the participants in the study were grouped into four main patterns: direct, progressive, arrested, and non-starter. The link between graduate identity and national identity that emerged from the study was explored as well as the gendered nature of the identity positions adopted by the participants. The processes of resolving tensions arising from these identity links were found to be important in understanding the employability behaviours and outcomes of the study participants. The study contributes to understandings of higher education to work transitions in non-Western contexts and supports positional and processual models of employability. It also offers a fresh perspective on graduate employability issues in the UAE, in the context of workforce localisation.

Postgraduate neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapy courses in the UK, accredited by the Manipulation Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP), aim to promote clinical expertise. Gaining the specialist qualification has been demonstrated to enhance career progression to extended scope practitioner, clinical specialist and consultant roles within the NHS. While research has identified the attributes of expertise, there is limited understanding of how individuals learn and develop that expertise. The aim of the study was to develop an explanatory theory of the learning transitions of neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapists on completion of an MACP approved Masters programme. The methodology was a naturalistic inquiry using a single theory-seeking case study design and insider research. Twenty six semi-structured face to face or telephone, audio-taped interviews with eleven alumni who had successfully completed a MSc neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapy course participated and were selected using purposeful sampling. Alumni were interviewed between six months and five years after completion of the MSc. A further two study participants with high levels of clinical expertise, were theoretically sampled and interviewed once. Dimensional analysis of the research data was used to develop a substantive theory of the learning transition. The learning transition was from hidden, received practice knowledge with routine, therapist centred clinical practice to critical understanding of practice knowledge that enabled patient centred practice and the capability to learn in, and from, practice. This development towards clinical expertise was primarily facilitated by critical evaluation of practice knowledge through critical companionship in the practice setting. The learning transition varied between study participants and depended on their conception of clinical practice, epistemology of practice knowledge, conception of teaching and learning, achievement motivation, locus of control, perceived self efficacy in practice knowledge, professional self esteem, emotional control, learning relationships and learning style. Findings suggest that direct observation of clinical practice together with the questioning and challenging approach of critical companionship within clinical practice enhanced the clinical expertise of neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapists. Clinical expertise was characterised by critical understanding of practice knowledge, patient centred practice and a capability to learn in, and from, clinical practice. The explanatory theory of the learning transition has implications for physiotherapy clinical practice, education and research.

Distance education institutions have always employed a variety of technological media, and developing technologies are incorporated into the learning blend as their advantages are identified. Modern distance learning has, therefore, become linked implicitly with the latest media and handheld communication technologies are now being used to communicate with members of the educational community, share information and resources, and enable investigation, discussion and learning. The use of similar mobile technologies for the purposes of student support is under-represented in the literature. This action research study explored the limitations and benefits of handheld technologies for supporting distance learning students, and the drivers and barriers that might affect their use by students. The literature review helped to identify the attributes and limitations of m-learning and handheld technologies, and the aspects of student support that might be enabled through mobile options. The research design included a questionnaire, a year-long study in which associate lecturers developed mobile-accessible resources to use with their students, and interviews with study support experts. The research data was collected in a UK distance education institution. The study showed that handheld technologies can be used to support students for a number of different purposes: to provide an additional informal means of communication with staff and other students; to prompt participation oraction; to suggest resources or personalise the support for students; to enable access to advice and guidance; to offer factual information for study and administrative purposes; to encourage revision and review of learning. The research also suggested that students felt that increased group cohesion was promoted within the learning community through using their personal mobile technologies within the student support framework. A model of this potential method of support is presented, giving examples of the types of communications, resources and services that could be implemented within a distance education institution.

Change is endemic in modern society, and the educational systems that operate in it. In Higher Education societal trends such as globalization and economic rationalism are impacting on teachers. Changes in the student population, new educational methods derived from shifting perspectives on the role of knowledge and re-structuring of the organizations within which teachers work have also led to transformation of the professional context. At European level policy initiatives such as the Bologna Declaration (1999) have necessitated an overhaul of educational provision. This research project attempts to focus on these wide ranging changes through the lens of teacher autonomy in order to establish what is changing in the working lives of teachers in a Dutch university, how they are responding to these changes and how they can be helped to respond to change effectively and discriminatingly. This is an insider research project, using case study and semi-structured interviewing to yield data that is subjected to thematic linguistic analysis. It was piloted in 2006, and interviewing was resumed in February 2007. Findings indicate the contested nature of teacher autonomy, and suggest that professional autonomy can impede as well as facilitate teachers in processes of engaging with change. The team - operating as a community of practice - is identified as the location where change agency can operate most effectively. Distributed leadership - specifically perceived in the activities of team leaders and teacher change agents - is seen as crucial to processes of embedding change in educational practice.

This case study explores the concept of teaching critical thinking through a process known as the Study Diamond. The Study Diamond is a study tool embedded in an Open University (OU) Level 1 Introductory Arts course. Entitled 'Making Sense of the Arts' and identified by the code Y160, the course introduces students to higher education, distance learning and to three distinctive arts disciplines. Using qualitative data collection methods that include an informal non-directive group interview with Y1 60 Course Authors, an e-survey of Y1 60 Tutors, and one-to-one semi-structured telephone interviews with targeted Y160 Tutors, this enquiry considers how the Study Diamond process augments tutors' pedagogy. Specifically, through the experiences of Y160 Tutors who use a blended delivery method which includes telephone tuition, it looks at the challenges tutors face teaching the concept of critical thinking on a multi-disciplinary arts course and how they facilitate and measure understanding. The study applies an interpretivist framework whereby qualitative data, together with the researcher's own experience of tutoring on the course, are aligned with an established body of literature specific to adult learning, distance tutoring and critical thinking. In particular the theoretical ideas of social constructivism and transformation learning are considered within a teaching context that is essentially directed at students from a widening participation (WP) orientation. Findings suggest the Study Diamond has transferable characteristics that are beneficial to Tutors in their teaching of critical thinking. A model for its practical application in inter-disciplinary arts courses is proposed that aims to support Tutors in guiding students, particularly those new to higher education, through the challenges of academic writing and argumentation.

Following a review of the UK's long term skill requirements in 2006 (Leitch 2006), the government has been looking at ways to increase the UK's skills base through employer engagement in training and education. Trade unions and higher education institutions have had a vital role in this process through the establishment of a wide variety of collaborative projects aimed at enhancing basic, intermediate and higher skills. One example of such a partnership is the Learning Partnership Route (LPR) to Social Work qualification. Whilst a number of authors have detailed the role of trade unions in work-based learning partnerships with public sector organisations, including in social care (see, for example, Sutherland and Rainbird 2000), there is a shortage of academic literature relating specifically to UNISON's role in informal learning in these organisations. This research study uses a case study method applying a critical realist approach, to look in depth at one social care organisation in which the LPR was run. The key theory utilised for data analysis is the Learning Network Theory (LNT) (Poell et al 2000). The LNT is one theory which has been put forward to describe organisational learning in the literature and uses the actors, structures and processes to interpret and describe how learning is organised. The case study findings revealed how Unison's trusting relationship with the social care employer and their coherent notion of the concept of a learning organisation, enabled them to become involved in both formal and informal aspects of workplace learning. Evidence is also presented to critique and enhance the LNT, extending the LNT to incorporate the concepts of formal and informal learning.

Within Africa, access to digital library systems is critical in supporting higher level teaching, learning and research. Currently there is a high demand with inadequate resources which often produces poorly supported learning outcomes. The effectiveness of current resources is further limited by poor design processes, which is worsened by stakeholders (academics, e-learning technologists and digital librarians and designers) often working in isolation. Ultimately, designed resources become less user-centred and sustainable. This thesis sought to provide empirically developed collaborative design process guidance for design stakeholders developing educational digital resources within African higher education. Following a Human Computer Interaction research approach, eleven best practice digital library projects identified from three case studies of African universities (in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa) were investigated. Data was drawn from interviews, observations and an examination of documents. This investigation identified three interrelated factors that impacted on the design process (i. e. human relationships, innovative technologies and policies). The human relationships factor comprised multidisciplinary design stakeholders and included a subset i. e. design champions (multidisciplinary and domain champions) whose role changed the facilitation and eventual output of the other stakeholders in the design process. The multidisciplinary champions took on a participatory approach to engagement while the domain champions assumed an approach that was less engaging. The innovative technologies factor comprised universal technologies and 'flexible' technologies (i. e. Web 2.0 applications and the Open Source Software) which supported the design process and enhanced user-centeredness and sustainability of the projects. Existing institutional and national policies supported stakeholder collaboration and application of the innovative technologies. The absence of any of these factors in the digital library projects weakened the design process and reduced effectiveness of digital resources. These three factors have been used to develop the Collaborative Educational Resources Design (CERD) process model as a guidance tool to support multidisciplinary design stakeholders indesigning effective digital resources.

The research explores the lived experiences of a small number of women students of different ages and backgrounds studying the built environment at one 'new' university over a number of years. Difference and belonging became key themes in the research. The researcher has adopted a feminist and collaborative approach according to 'new paradigm' (Reason and Rowan,1981) research in order to include the participants as partners rather than subjects. Lecturers involved in teaching built environment subject areas are also partners in the research. The literature draws on three general themes: gender and the experience of women as learners; culture and higher education; and women in the SET and built environment sectors. Whilst gender is at the heart of this research, 'race', class and age have been found to be significant aspects of identity that intersect to influence women in built environment higher education. Intersectionality at the differences between women and their collective difference as women in male dominated environment were found to be significant within their learning experience. The complexities of the culture and sub-cultures within the university were found to contribute both positive and negative aspects to the learning experience of the different women. While the research found a number of features of the learning experience that could be improved, the natural association of abstract, impersonal teaching and 'masculine' subjects with a 'masculine' culture was challenged by the pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. The results indicate a need to guard against a fixed view of masculine and feminine attributes that may reinforce existing stereotypes. The positive impact that individual lecturers have on the learning experience of women is an encouraging find. The results provide a challenge to some of the overwhelming negative experiences described by women in male dominated subject areas. The research provides encouragement that positive interventions can help women to belong in a new university built environment community.