This thesis examines teacher personal and cultural presage variables within a black South African cultural dimension. I seek to understand what effects value variables have on the mediation of change and to know why these sometimes act as barriers to the implementation of classroom innovation - in this instance, a communicative language teaching approach. Finally, I itemize the implications of value change for the professional development of teachers following ELT INSET programmes and set out a series of practical proposals on the basis of my conclusions. I argue the need for congruence between teacher values and values inherent in a CLT approach and discuss ways in which value redeployment occur. I outline acceptance of change in terms of a theoretical construct of 'practicality ethics' and argue that personal values must be examined within black South African cultural dimensions of allocentriccollectivism, high uncertainty avoidance and high power distance. I analyze paradigms of western education and review the principles underlying a CLT approach. I link my analysis to the requirements of the DET's English language syllabus and contrast concepts of teacher roles and classroom power relationships in traditional African pedagogy with those of a CLT approach in terms of 'ideal' and 'indigenous' mediational operators, and I examine dissonances between the two. A narrative-descriptive background account of two case studies is given through the use of life histories, diaries, documents and interviews to support an itemistic cross-case analysis of cultural and personal values held in relation to black South African cultural dimensions. I then analyse a series of videoed lessons and I provide a descriptive overview of classroom interaction patterns. Classroom events are discussed in terms of types of teacher questions asked, turn allocations, wait-time and power-relationships, class participation and ritualization, and teacher evaluation, repair and feedback. I conclude that African societies emphasize collective moral values whereas societies geared towards a Western-urbanscientific- technological paradigm stress idiocentricprofessional values. I do not assert that individuals rigidly conform to this bipolarity but application of either or both value systems lie along a continuum with consequent effect on classroom events.

Perceived problems in a state-administered teacher training programme for Japanese teachers of English prompted this thesis. Low consideration and little attention were given to what is meant by teaching ability or teacher professional development. Courses designed to support high school teachers failed to meet their needs. In contrast, considerable emphasis was placed on ‘brushing up’ the teachers’ English proficiency. What the programme lacked was exploring and drawing on teachers’ rich source of ideas and experiences for professional development. Reflective practice seemed to offer a way for high school teachers to examine their ideas and experiences of teaching, to enhance self-awareness, and to foster autonomy. Through a multiple case study approach, this empirical study examines how the incorporation of reflective practice enhances the teacher development of Japanese high school teachers of English. Its incorporation was regarded as a form of methodology borrowing, thus the study attempted to be sensitive to specific cultural practices, so as not to influence their honne (real intent) and to keep them from hansei (self-critical reflection). The study found that reflective practice was more effective for the novice teachers than the experienced teachers. The novice teachers engaged in shaping their professional identity and professional knowledge. In contrast, the experienced teachers seemed to have reflected within their ‘comfort zones,’ that is, what is comfortable for them. In contrast to the approach taken by the state-administered training programme, this study argues that the novice and experienced teachers have different needs in their professional development. The novice teachers needed an opportunity to shape their professional identity. The experienced teachers needed an exploration beyond their ‘comfort zones’. The study also argues that reflective practice, which is likely to be individually based, should be facilitated with interactions and interventions from others, such as peers and teacher trainers.

This thesis is concerned with the process of office automation in Brazil and its skills and training outcomes. The thesis combines a theoretical analysis with an empirical study undertaken in Brazil. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 discusses and analyses two existing theoretical perspectives which address the relationship between technology, work organisation and skills. These are: the labour process approach with reference to the 'deskilling thesis' developed by Harry Braverman (1974) and the 'flexible specialisation thesis' based on Michael Piore and Charles Sabel (1984). They focus on technological changes on the shopfloor, in advanced industrialised countries. Chapter 3 applies the main arguments put forward by these two • approaches to the office environment in advanced industrialised countries. Based on the discussion of a number of empirical studies concerned with the skill outcomes of new technology in the office, the chapter also develops two models of office automation: the 'technology-driven' and the 'informational' models. These models are used as a framework for the discussion of the empirical research undertaken in Brazilian offices. Chapter 4 discusses the recent economic developments in Brazil in order to provide a context for understanding the empirical findings. The chapter describes the country's process of industrialisation, the current economic context and its implications for the adoption of new technology in the Brazilian office environment. Chapter 5 focuses on the empirical research conducted in Brazilian offices and training agencies. It describes the perspectives of managers, office workers and deputy directors of training agencies with regard to technology, skills and training. The chapter then analyses these perspectives in the light of the two theoretical models of office automation developed in Chapter 3. Chapter 6 summarises the main conclusions of this thesis, and draws some implications for training policies in Brazil.

The thesis is concerned with the production of a language for the systematic sociological description of pedagogic texts and with the application of this mechanism to two series of textbooks within the secondary school mathematics scheme, SMP 11-16. One series is targeted at the upper end of the 'ability' range, the other is intended for low ability' pupils. The thesis opens with a discussion of two prominent positions within mathematics education, concluding that they both 'mythologise' mathematical knowledge by abstracting it from the social bases of its elaboration. A search of the literature on the analysis of textbooks reveals that the majority of sociologicallyoriented work entails either ideological analysis or the analysis of the representation of one or more particular categories, most frequently gender and/or race. None of this research combines a theoretically coherent position with a set of derived principles for the detailed analysis of text. Chapter 3 presents a general methodological position in relation to three themes. These are, the distinction between the abstract and the concrete, the construction of subjectivity, and the contextualising and recontextualising of practices. The principal resources in this discussion are the works of Basil Bernstein, Pierre Bourdieu, Umberto Eco, Michel Foucault, and Valerie Walkerdine. Out of a critical discussion of this work, ten Theoretical Propositions are derived. These propositions form the general methodological basis of the 'language of description' which is derived from them in Chapter 4. The following five Chapters comprise an introductory description and a detailed analysis of the two series of textbooks. The analysis is predominantly qualitative in nature, but also incorporates a quantitative component. The latter focuses, in particular, on the modes of signification (icon, index, symbol) that are incorporated in the textbooks. The principal findings that emerge from the analysis describe the ways in which the texts select and construct apprenticed and alienated ideal readers. The differentiation between the apprenticed and alienated ideal readers is, primarily, constructed in terms of social class. The concluding Chapter includes an overview of the thesis and a discussion of the limitations of and possibilities arising from the language of description and its application. The concluding Section works more freely with the language and with the findings of the analysis in developing a theoretical speculation in respect of a possible conception of the relationship between sociological research and educational practice.

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors which influence students' decision to take up the role of an art student in secondary schools in Nigeria and propose ways to advance the study of art in secondary education. Pedagogy tells that children in elementary schools are very interested in art education, but when they leave primary school and enter secondary school, this enthusiasm changes quickly and students no longer show interest in art education. Researches in art education also show that only a fraction of the teenage population which attend secondary schools choose art education in the WASC and the GCE examinations. A very few students carry over art interest into adult life. A play of factors is at work in deciding the change in behaviour. The study critically examined the factors and their influences on students' choice of art education. The research was in three phases: (1) a general survey on students' background experiences in art teaching, people's attitude towards art and the position of art in education; (2) a case study of art education in some selected secondary schools; and (3) another case study of art education in a particular institution, chosen on the basis of the strength of its art department. The research involved fifteen states, secondary schools, teachers, students, principals and administrators. The research procedures revolved around structured interviews, observations, questionnaires and documentary resources. The analyses of the data provided the following: (1) The decision to study art as a major subject was the result of a number of different forces which not only conflicted with each other, but reflected the tendency of divergence between the values of artists and those of the society as whole. Sometimes the decision to take art instead of science was based on a lack of sufficiently good marks in the areas relevant to science. The selection of the subject was by no means uniquely due to outstanding performance in art because art students who gave art as their best subject had none the less considered careers in other fields. Others both gave a subject other than art as their best and considered other careers. This provided the probability of other sorts of motivation towards and away from the role of an art student. Some students who opted for art hoped to reconcile its values with the socially dominant ones, which stressed such needs as earning capacity, job security, and occupational prestige. Others had enough encouragements in the social milieu, in the family and in the school. (2) There were traditional assumptions about the role of art in society and in education, which pushed the works of artists and the works of the art teachers down the list of social and educational priorities. (3) Some of the issues which confronted students were to do with long-established attitudes towards art and art education. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that: (1) Quality of education and life-long education cannot be achieved by only focussing on high standards of literacy and numeracy through a specialised curriculum; by choosing between science or art, vocational qualification or education for leisure. All need to be equally represented in a well balanced curriculum. Each stands to gain through being taught in conjunction with the others. Those talented in art can be successful in the sciences and vise versa. What children and adolescents need is a varied general education, which sees the acquisition of knowledge and practical skills as integral parts of development. Attitudes towards art and art teachers need to be improved. The deep-rooted attitude and the collary of this - that the subject is less significant - are issues which need to be campaigned against.

Traditionally, the vast majority of Canadian Amerindians have largely remained undereducated and such is the case in Betsiamites. This 2,500 people community is the largest of the nine Montagnais reserves which are located in Eastern Québec. There has been an improvement in the overall completion rates at the elementary and secondary levels between 1970 and 1985, following the transfer of all the responsibilities for reserve schools from the federal Government to the Amerindian communities. But progress had come to a halt by the end of the 1980s and most secondary school or university Amerindian students still drop out today. By focusing on the reserve of Betsiamites, this thesis attempts to provide explanations for this situation and to suggest ways to improve the effectiveness of Amerindian education. The thesis is divided into seven chapters, including the introduction and the conclusion. In the second chapter, the assumptions underlying this thesis, the data-gathering and analysis methods and the ethical problems linked to the situation of the current researcher as former teacher and current principal of the secondary school under investigation are discussed. In the third chapter, it is argued that the 1969-1972 political battle which allowed the Amerindians to govern their education systems has overshadowed some basic and essential issues regarding quality education and is partly responsible for the lack of improvement since the mid 1980s. In the fourth chapter, the historical process which led to the creation of the reserve of Betiamites and to the generalized dependency on welfare is presented. The fifth chapter analyses the daily life of the local secondary school, from its management to the motivation of students. The sixth chapter discusses the links between the local political, economic and social life and local schooling and suggests ways of alleviating widespread educational underachievement in rural reserves. This thesis argues that despite an adverse socio-economic environment, Canadian Amerindian schools could have become much more effective if it had not been for the excessive politicization of the issue of reserve schooling and for the unwillingness of Amerindian leaders and the federal Government to question the adoption, in 1972, of affirmative action as the ideological pillar of Amerindian teacher-training programmes.

This thesis is a study of resistance to the changes in Greek higher education that were implemented within the framework of the 1999 Bologna Agreement of the European Union in the period 2007-2008. The changes that occurred were of great significance for Greece’s education system as they introduced important changes in the structure and function of Greek higher education. This thesis argues that the organisational culture that had been created throughout the history of Greek higher education was a powerful factor that provoked resistance to the new policies. Methodologically, the thesis argues that discourse, change and institutional culture are closely tied together, and that this is of crucial importance in creating, modifying, and sustaining change within higher education institutions. The process of resistance is examined through the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009; Chouliaraki and Fairclough, 1999), and within this framework by applying the empirical-analytical method of the Discourse Historical Approach (Wodak and Meyer, 2009; Reisigl and Wodak, 2009). The framework and method for the study are also complemented by the discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe (1985). The narrative of the thesis includes a critical examination of the hegemonic struggles that occurred in the 2007-2008 period, the perceptions and ideologies of the key stakeholders (politicians, university faculty, and student groups), and the ways in which the discourses about Greek higher education have been influenced by social, political, and institutional factors. Finally, the implications of the findings for adding to the existing knowledge about management and change in higher education institutions are discussed.

Foreign language pedagogy has often been influenced by findings drawn from the area of first and/or second language acquisition with confusing results. The thesis explores the extent to which the inter-relation of variables in foreign language learning differs from that in natural acquisition processes and varies across a range of learning contexts, thereby encouraging different pedagogical approaches. Chapter one argues that some models underestimate the different variables involved and suggests that a socio-cultural approach is more effective in identiffing and explaining the shifting relation between context and cognition. Chapter two seeks to situate foreign language study within a more general process of jimctional differentiation' in the child's widening linguistic repertoire, arguing that not only does the relation of context and cognition change between L I and L2 but also within L2 itself. Chapter three examines the shifting relation between context and cognition with reference to the language programme of European Schools in general, and the one at Culham in particular. The latter provides a basis for answering two questions: (1) is there a correlation between success in an acquisition poor environment and the extent of the learner's analytic competence; (2) does motivation play an increasing role in affecting success in contexts where goals are long-term rather than immediate? Data collected from the school are analyzed in chapter four. Response to both questions would seem to he positive although the complexity of the learners' backgrounds produced greater variation in the role of affective factors than anticipated. Finally, chapter five argues that the relative success of foreign language study from an early stage in schemes such as the European schools or the immersion programmes depends upon a precise interplay of socio-cognitive variables which is unlikely to he replicated elsewhere.

This thesis focuses on how people think about the infinite. A review of both the historical and psychological/educational literature, reveals a complexity which sharpens the research questions and informs the methodology. Furthermore, the areas of mathematics where infinity occurs are those that have traditionally been presented to students mainly from an algebraic/symbolic perspective, which has tended to make it difficult to link formal and intuitive knowledge. The challenge is to create situations in which infinity can become more accessible. My theoretical approach follows the constructionist paradigm, adopting the position that the construction of meanings involves the use of representations; that representations are tools for understanding; and that the learning of a concept is facilitated when there are more opportunities of constructing and interacting with external representations of a concept, which are as diverse as possible. Based on this premise, I built a computational set of open tools — a microworld — which could simultaneously provide its users with insights into a range of infinity-related ideas, and offer the researcher a window into the users' thinking about the infinite. The microworld provided a means for students to construct and explore different types of representations — symbolic, graphical and numerical — of infinite processes via programming activities. The processes studied were infinite sequences and the construction of fractals. The corpus of data is based on case studies of 8 individuals, whose ages ranged from 14 to mid-thirties, interacting as pairs with the microworld. These case studies served as the basis for an analysis of the ways in which the tools of the microworld structured, and were structured by, the activities. The findings indicate that the environment and its tools shaped students' understandings of the infinite in rich ways, allowing them to discriminate subtle process-oriented features of infinite processes, and permitted the students to deal with the complexity of the infinite by assisting them in coordinating the different epistemological elements present. On a theoretical level, the thesis elaborates and refines the notion of situated abstraction and introduces the idea of "situated proof".

This thesis arose from a concern with assessment in Brazilian higher education music courses, especially in the assessment of ability in aural training classes. A review of literature indicates that musical ability is assessed mainly by an emphasis on the technical and analytical aspects of music. The thrust of this study is that individuals are aware of and value other aspects of music, besides its technicalities, and a comprehensive listening test ought to take this into consideration. The research has two interconnected strands. The first is a theoretical model of categories of musical response derived from aspects of the work of L. B. Meyer (1967) and Swanwick's layers of musical understanding (1988). The second is empirical work drawing on data from two groups of participants - seven contemporary Brazilian composers and forty undergraduate students on a music course and on other courses at a Brazilian university. The empirical work investigates: a) general attitudes of composers and students to music and their correspondence with the categories of the model; and, b) the responses of students to specific musical pieces and whether these fit the categories. The final aim is to explore the implications of the research findings for the assessment of musical listening with particular reference to Brazilian higher education. Analysis of the data revealed that there is a correspondence between Meyer's scheme and the general attitudes to music of composers and students. However, this scheme alone is inadequate to interpret the complexity of actual musical experience; Swanwick's layers provided more useful guidelines. Regarding the musical responses of students, six categories were found. The presence of these categories confirms the relative narrowness of conventional listening tests. The implications for Brazilian higher education include the possibility of developing objective and valid criteria to assess musical listening.