This thesis provides a way of analyzing how beginner teachers talk about the management of classroom behaviour to reveal how they are thinking about their practice. Considerable reference is made in the literature about the factors that impact on the development of knowledge about teaching but very little is known about how it actually takes place, particularly in relation to managing classroom behaviour. My thesis adds to our understanding of how this is taking place. Specifically, this thesis provides insights into how beginner teachers are developing strategies for managing behaviour within a performativity culture promoted by governments that prioritizes competence over transformation. Beginner teachers come to ITE equipped with beliefs, preconceptions and prior experiences of education, teaching and classroom management. This research provides case-study evidence of the different reasons that beginner teachers have for managing behaviour, that in turn, frames the kind of knowledge they develop and ultimately, the strategies they use. A theoretical model and set of conceptual tools are developed to analyze interview and observation data collected from five beginner teachers. The data collection spanned a twoyear period between September 2007 and July 2009. The model is used to chart the beginner teachers’ development of strategies over time and in different contexts. The outcomes of the analysis indicate that beginner teachers developed schemas that allowed them to adapt to new contexts by utilizing their pre-emptive plans rather than acting reflexively. The study contributes to the knowledge in the fields of behaviour management and teacher development in a number of ways. The model and the conceptual tools contribute to the theoretical understanding of how the personal and contextual factors influence beginner teachers’ development of strategies over time. The empirical part of the study provides insights into how these factors facilitate and impede the development of the beginner teachers’ strategies for managing classroom behaviour.

This thesis examines the student experience of international higher education through a case study of joint Masters degrees in business taught in two countries. The thesis explored how the ‘joint degree’ experience impacts on the way students undertake their learning and intercultural ‘negotiations’. The focus on cultural interaction, international mobility, relationality between students and the way students experience the learning environment as dimensions of their experience furthers an understanding of international higher education. The exploration of the individual students’ ‘lived reality’ demonstrates the complexity and limitations of such programmes of study as well as the importance of culture, being the fabric of meaning for individuals (Geertz, 1973) in relation to and as part of the educational experience of a joint degree. This overarching dimension of culture is given prominence in this work, not only in terms of the culture of the institutions that the students study in, but also in terms of the different national education systems, of which those institutions are part and more generally in terms of the different cultures that students have to negotiate as part of their experience. The research approach was through a case study method, relying on the use of mixed methods for data collection to provide a ‘thick’ description of the experiences of joint degrees and a triangulation of the findings for each data set. The thematic analysis of the data focussed on individuals’ construction of their reality in order to gain an understanding of that reality. The concept of ‘relationality’ is introduced to refer to the learning that occurs as a result of the recognition of the ‘other’. It denotes a learning environment where students learn with and from other students and as a result of their country mobility. As a consequence they develop their intercultural awareness. This relationality is seen as a cornerstone of the experience of joint degrees and is significant to the achievement of inter-cultural learning.

To establish a culture of collegial exchange about teaching and learning among its academic staff, a German higher education institution is running a seemingly quite successful organisation development (OD) programme, comprising professional learning communities, conferences and other interventions. But how fit for purpose is the programme? A formative realist evaluation is conducted to establish whether and why the programme works for whom and in what circumstances. On the basis of Coleman’s (1987; 1990) social macro-micro-macro scheme, a programme theory is developed and generalised as a framework for theorising, planning, visualising and evaluating OD. Pawson & Tilley’s (1997) Realistic Evaluation is chosen as research methodology, modified to match the programme theory’s structure and applied to a large data pool covering the OD programme’s first four years. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design involving path analysis, content analysis and realist interviews, the programme theory is tested and gradually refined. The detailed realist evaluation reveals a number of problems at the level of the social mechanisms on which the OD programme’s effectiveness and sustainability depend. Unintended self-selection mechanisms limit the programme’s prospective fitness for purpose. Also the programme’s own history and organisational ramifications interfere with its regular functioning. Various possibilities for improvements are considered and thoughts on the programme’s transferability to other contexts are offered. The thesis concludes with critical reflections on Realistic Evaluation.

This thesis explores the use, value and practice of teaching observations conducted as part of vocational teachers’ in-service initial teacher training (ITT) in Further Education (FE) Colleges in England. The study is framed by a conceptual examination of the meanings of vocational, vocational learning and observation. This thesis emphasises the importance of understanding vocational learning as an embodied practice and as ‘learning as participation’ in the workplace and in work-related settings. It conceptualises vocational learning as part of the development of expertise along a horizontal axis, which encompasses social and cultural aspects from different disciplinary and/or vocational areas and not only cognitive dimensions. The thesis presents a conceptualisation of the observation of teaching as a contexualised and developmental process. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is used to both frame the research methodology and subsequent analysis. A case study approach addresses the research questions through the observation of ‘observations’ and interviews with vocational teachers, teacher educators, and vocational mentors. Two distinct activity systems are subsequently defined by their respective yet interacting objects of activity. These are identified as the development of ‘pedagogic expertise’ and the development of ‘pedagogic expertise for vocational practice’. The thesis confirms the value of ITT teaching observations to vocational teachers’ development. It concludes with some implications for practice and contributes to our understanding of vocational teachers’ learning and development.

Over the last thirty years there has been considerable debate on the organisation and structure of the 14-19 education system in England. Although the proposals for a unified system have dominated academic research, successive government policies have failed to fully integrate the 14-19 phase in education. Instead, academic and vocational education remain divided and the number of young people aged 16-19 in the NEET category unchanged. This study of an alternative educational programme (AEP) for students who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) delves deeply into the problems that these young people are facing in an attempt to find solutions to motivate and engage them. This becomes particularly pressing in the wake of the raising of the participation age to 18 in 2015. The study employs Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystems theory which concentrates on the examination of the impact of different ecosystems on young people’s development and progression in education. The case study incorporates a multi-method research strategy, which sought to gain the perspectives of different stakeholders on the effectiveness of the AEP and to examine its outcomes for students in terms of their academic, social and behavioural progress as well as their progression into the post-16 phase. The findings indicate that this type of provision within an FE college provides positive outcomes for disengaged students but they also emphasise the importance that these young people place on the well recognised curriculum offered in mainstream schools. The findings suggest that the English education system, which remains segregationist and divided, contributes to the widening of the socio-economic gap particularly in times of economic downturns and unstable employment opportunities. The study recommends changes in different ecosystems, starting with 14-19 education which should offer a unified qualification structure that caters for all learners thus preventing these young people becoming NEET and socially excluded in their adulthood.

In the period before their accession to the European Union (EU) the formerly communist countries of eastern Europe were expected to reform their economic and social policies to satisfy EU-wide requirements and to become competitive in a market-orientated system. The countries were subject to pressure in the accession negotiations and eligible for aid to help them adapt. This thesis examines the influences that the EU brought to bear in the field of vocational education and training (VET) and investigates why the EU made the requirements that it did. The thesis adopts a historical methodology, tracing the previous evolution of EU policy on VET on the one hand, and the state of VET under communism in eastern Europe on the other. It then examines the factors impinging on VET caused by the pressures of economic transition and the accession process. The treatment of VET during the accession negotiations and in the programme of aid are investigated in detail. Interviews with a number of key participants in the process shed light on the assumptions and reactions of the main stakeholders. The thesis shows how the EU’s interventions stemmed largely from its internal policies on VET rather than from a diagnosis of the problems of individual eastern countries. The EU increasingly applied to the East the emphasis on lifelong learning and the methods of negotiated target-setting that it had evolved to make an impact with existing member states. Various common European instruments for VET which emerged after 2002 also impinged on the East, though they had been presaged by a distinctive approach to curriculum design which featured in aid projects in the East. At the level of specific policy areas, the thesis findings tend to support a neo-functionalist interpretation of what drives integration within the EU.

This study utilises Tinto’s (1993) theoretical framework, known as the Model of Longitudinal Departure, to investigate success and failure in Foundation Year medical school in a Middle Eastern transnational location, through considering student background, cultural influence and academic transition. This case study is framed within a social constructivist epistemology utilising mixed methods, including quantitative pre-entry and academic attainment data, and qualitative student and staff interview data. Lack of contextual research combined with high failure rates, which negatively impact on students, institutions, sponsors and governments in this transnational first-year medical school experience, have led to the need to better understand the first-year medical school experience in this Bahraini context. The research questions investigate the student and staff perspectives of academic success and failure, together with the role of previous learning and the resulting implications for programme design. The research constructs a notion termed the ‘state of realisation’, this is the point at which students recognise and implement learning strategies associated with third level learning success. Additional findings include that English language competency measured by the IELTS and previous educational experience and achievement are pre-indicators of academic success. Within this transnational context culture is found to contextualize, frame and influence the students. Academic integration is found to be multi-faceted and complex, whereas social integration appears to be less challenging, seemingly facilitated by a strong culture of belonging. The research refines Tinto’s 1993 model into an appropriate framework for this transnational setting named the Model of Academic Success and Failure in a Transnational Context. It is within this framework that the constructed notion of the ‘state of realisation’ is situated. Findings on gender and academic success are unexpected, showing that males performed better than females in Foundation Year medical school in this transnational context. Further research is recommended to investigate this aspect in-depth.

The aim of the research was to investigate the professional development and support needs of new and experienced teacher educators in the FE system in the South of England. This thesis explored the ways in which teacher educators were recruited, inducted and supported, in order to gain insights into how these aspects of practice could be strengthened or improved in future. The first chapter introduces the purpose and themes of the thesis and subsequent chapters describe the culture, policy and context of the FE system; the identity and role of teacher educators; the methodology used in the research; followed by data analysis and discussion of findings. Ten experienced teacher educators were interviewed and their comments analysed. This was followed by an online survey to 270 teacher educators, 70 of whom responded. A focus group was held with 15 teacher educators in order to elicit further perspectives and to help triangulate the data. A further link between interviews and survey was made when some of the views, which the interviewees held in common, were used as statements in the survey. The survey participants were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the interviewees’ statements. This thesis argues that teacher educators in FE are a little known group whose professional needs are not considered systematically and for whom there are no substantive professional standards - despite teacher educators’ central role in the education of new teachers. Certain essential characteristics are required in order to become a ‘good’ teacher educator, as well as opportunities for professional development, including scholarship and research. However, the learning cultures and work contexts of the FE system, which shape the identity and role of teacher educators, also make their work more challenging due to the differing - or absent - support that teacher educators receive.

The Mauritian Education system is a highly elitist and examination-oriented system where teachers in state secondary schools enjoy complete autonomy in the selection of their teaching methods. Despite education policies recommending learner-centred teaching (LCT) for a more inclusive, integrated and holistic approach to education (NCF, 2009, p. 7), most secondary education teachers generally use teacher-centred teaching (TCT) methods even after having learned LCT in professional teaching courses. In this study I examine how 30 professionally trained teachers from eight state secondary schools in Mauritius understand LCT and how they implement it in class. I also explore why those teachers choose this approach and which skills they think are necessary for effective LCT. This qualitative study uses a social-constructivist approach. It was carried out in two phases. In the first phase I looked into teachers’ understandings of LCT and in the second phase I observed teachers enactment of LCT in their classrooms. Data gathering tools were questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, class observations and debriefing sessions. The findings point towards two perspectives of LCT: the first perspective is a cognitive perspective, which is more achievement-oriented, and the second one is an emancipatory perspective, which focuses on re-engaging learners with their studies. The study also shows that their work contexts, their beliefs and the pressure of an exams-oriented system shape teachers’ understanding of LCT and in its actual form LCT in Mauritian schools is only partially learner-centred with a mix of LCT and TCT. The main contribution of this thesis is the acknowledgment of the kind of LCT that teachers can achieve without any form of support and the potential of our teachers in transforming our classrooms with authentic and effective forms of LCT provided continuing professional development and school support become regular features of our education system.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education