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This thesis investigates cross curricular models (integrated curricula) and explores claims by advocates of such models that they enhance learning. A Case Study describes a primary school’s journey in developing its curriculum and pedagogy and highlights the questions that were asked and which relate to the theoretical accounts of knowledge and integrating curricula outlined in the study. It traces the origins of cross curricular studies to Dewey and the pragmatist view of knowledge and in the UK to the Plowden Report (1967). Exploring some cross curricular models, it indicates that they may do little to enhance learning as links between subjects can be spurious with the focus often on developing skills rather than knowledge, skills and understanding due to the constructivist origins on which these models have been based. Links between curriculum and pedagogy are investigated and it is suggested that developing a deeper understanding of knowledge and its concepts demands a more active approach to learning. Questioning the absence of any theory of knowledge by many modern curriculum designers, it also explores the social realist approach to knowledge which justifies bringing knowledge back into the school curriculum. It claims that the complex connections between subjects at a conceptual level make integration possible and will demand a more active learning process resulting in a deeper understanding of knowledge. Skills are developed through the logical demands and modes of enquiry of the school subjects and not through skills based models in which they are taught context free. A comparison is made between a cross curricular topic through a traditional approach and an approach through a conceptual lens which involves a deeper study of the individual subjects, brings a sharper focus to the study and allows generalisations to be made.

This work started as a protest against the view that popular education about computers has to be watered down versions of computer science. The author took it upon himself to investigate other possibilities. Starting from first principles the idea of Computer Awareness was developed and implemented for schools. The following account is a brief resume of the processes developed to achieve this. Computer Awareness is defined as "The possession of sufficient knowledge to enable inferences, general and social, to be made on the basis of what is seen or heard about computers". The three main challenges thrown at the author through the early period of his effort were: (i) You cannot define Computer Awareness in terms suitable for teaching practice. (ii) Even if you can define it so, you cannot develop suitable material to teach it, and (iii) Even if you develop the material, you cannot be sure that you have succeeded. The account of how the author attempted to meet these three challenges is given in the three parts of the thesis, the Definition, the Implementation, and the Evaluation of a course for Computer Awareness.

By their very nature disasters are emotive, challenging and dynamic events. This thesis is focused on the education, training and preparedness of healthcare professionals for deployment to some of the most demanding and potentially dangerous areas of the world. Education action research forms the conceptual framework that underpins the articulation of this PhD by portfolio. This thesis explores, analyses and evaluates the evolution of a curriculum that has significantly enhanced the preparation of healthcare professionals within this domain. The assessment phase of this process involved the identification of a dichotomy between the essential preparation of healthcare professionals who had undergone predominantly field based training versus higher education based preparation; neither of which on their own adequately prepared the practitioner for deployment to the field. This subsequently informed the curriculum planning process which was underpinned by the development of an eclectic curriculum focussed on constructivist and situated approaches. A cognitive apprenticeship framework was utilised to articulate the curriculum incorporating modelling of expertise in practice and the progressive Grafting of knowledge and skills for the most demanding of situations that practitioners may face in the field. The three projects presented here centre on the preamble to and evolution of the curriculum, the evaluation of the education strategies employed within the curriculum and students construction of requisite knowledge and skills. The third project focuses on the evaluation of the mandatory field placement where students apply the knowledge constructed in the domains of leadership, strategic and operational management and rigorous evaluation of the healthcare delivered. Graduates of this programme have deployed to every continent on the globe. Their significant contribution in the field of disaster healthcare is evidenced by the multinational roles that they are undertaking. In the true spirit and recursive and cyclical nature of action research these practitioners continue to inform the evolution of this curriculum.

Teacher autonomy within Hong Kong’s schools is constrained by a highly bureaucratic system in which their individual teaching styles are compromised. This could be reflected in the former studies on the school-based curriculum development (SBCD) schemes initiated by the Hong Kong government, in which what was supposed to be a bottom-up innovation had turned into a highly centralized initiative. Whereas the aim of SBCD should be to allow teachers to make decisions at the school level to cater for pupils’ needs, the government-initiated SBCD schemes targeted to satisfy bureaucratic requirements instead. At issue is bureaucratisation of school-based innovations, which threatens to usurp teachers’ autonomy to make sensible judgments in response to contextual concerns. To provide a different perspective, this qualitative case study takes an insider approach to examine the implementation of a teacher-initiated school-based curriculum in a Hong Kong secondary school. English lessons delivered by four Secondary 5 (equivalent to Year 11) teachers were observed in 2013. Running logs were used to record how the four teachers delivered the school-based materials in one of their English lessons and were compared. The Gregorc Style Delineator instrument was used to identify the teachers' mind styles following the classroom observations. The research found that three teachers held the same mind style of Concrete Sequential, and their lesson activities shared many common features. However, the teacher who held the mind style of Abstract Sequential adopted a different approach in her teaching. Coupled with the classroom observations were semi-structured interviews which were designed to elicit the four participants' attitudes towards the SBCD in this study. Whilst all teachers held positive attitudes towards the curriculum and mentioned some of the benefits of SBCD that were aligned with overseas studies, they also made adaptations to the materials in accordance with their preferred teaching styles. The findings thus contrast sharply with former studies on government-initiated SBCD schemes, in which teachers tended to conform to the official requirements. Finally, this study discusses the extent to which the factor of mind styles should be incorporated into curriculum design, and provides some guidelines for how SBC could be implemented and developed.

Following a poliomyelitis epidemic, physiotherapy was introduced to Malta in 1943 based on the curriculum of the English Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and has remained the core of Maltese physiotherapy courses. However, health services in Malta are undergoing major changes in policy and resources cumulating with the development of a new teaching hospital. The need was felt both from the clinical and academic perspectives that the inherited curriculum needed review to ensure it meets the current requirements of local stakeholders including those of overseas authorities. Various research methodologies were examined and a qualitative approach using an 'Action Research' paradigm was identified as the most appropriate. Seven cycles of planning, action and evaluation using documentary research and interviews with: educators, students, practitioners, patients, management as well as the professional body were undertaken. 'Thematic Analysis' was used to interpret and analyse the data. To triangulate the data collected during the previous cycles, Q Methodology was applied as a means to offer an empirical explanation to the qualitative data collected previously. During the early stages of the study the data indicated that both students and academia were not content with the curriculum and expressed scepticism that the study will result in change. As the study developed their interest increased, becoming actively involved in the research process resulting in the empowerment of the primary stakeholders to ameliorate their curriculum, work and working environment. Throughout the study changes to the course design, content, teaching and assessment methods of the curriculum have occurred, encouraging students to become critical and reflective practitioners. The study resulted in two curricula being designed; a workable curriculum acceptable to the University which would satisfy the needs of both local and foreign requirements and an 'ideal' curriculum for future implementation. Importantly this study offers a model and methodology for designing professional curricula that could be utilised by other professions, both locally and abroad. Finally, suggestions for further and future considerations are presented.

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In 2004, the Ministry of Education (MOE) of China disseminated a new English curriculum (NEC) for high schools. The NEC promotes communicative language teaching (CLT), particularly task based language teaching (TBLT). This thesis reports an ethnographic study exploring the experience of five Chinese teachers of English in their implementation of the NEC. The researcher worked as a temporary English teacher in a high school in Southeast China between September 2007 and July 2008 gathering data through participant observation. Research data include interviews, classroom observations, documentations and fieldnotes. Grounded theory was used for data analysis. The study highlights the complexity of teachers' work. Four main 'push' factors are identified as pushing the teachers to implement the NEC and five factors are considered to be the main obstacles for NEC implementation. Some forces act both as constraint and possibility for all teachers, and some forces may act as constraint for one teacher, but may serve as possibility for another teacher. Many issues discussed by earlier studies of TBLT implementation in China and other Asian countries are also referenced in this study, although some issues are experienced in different ways by the research participants. The role of teacher agency is confirmed by the findings and the influence of social and institutional context is recognised. The importance of teacher cognition in their implementation of the NEC is also supported by findings. A construct of teacher beliefs is proposed and an interwoven relationship between teacher cognition, social context and practices is identified. Practical recommendations are suggested for curriculum developers, teacher educators and researchers. The study has extended knowledge in some important areas that are identified as being needed for further research: situated policy enactment and teacher agency; provided empirical data for policy planning and teacher education; extended understanding of teacher cognition in a global context and offered insights for applying multiple methods and theories in research projects.