A Model United Nations School Conference is a brief role-play simulation, during which senior high school students take on the roles of delegates in various UN Committees. This thesis presents the findings from a qualitative longitudinal research study which followed 26 MUN senior high school delegates, in Athens, Greece, during their preparation and actual participation in three consecutive MUN conferences, from December 20 I 1 to March 2013. The research explored and exposed the MUN participants' perspectives on global citizenship in terms of knowledge, values , attitudes and skills the students saw themselves as developing, in light of their prolonged engagement in MUN. A range of data collection techniques were used, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews where the photo-elicitation technique was employed. The research in this thesis suggests that the senior high school students who participated in MUN were able to identify global citizenship as a potential citizen status, which entailed the acquisition of global knowledge, development of a sense of moral concern about and responsibility for addressing global issues, and a commitment to take collective action for a sustainable future. It also demonstrated that students had varying conceptions of global citizenship , mostly depending on the length of their engagement in MUN. The students who participated in all three MUN conferences related their experience to their development as global citizens, in terms of preparation for active citizenship in the future and a stimulus' for changing their own attitudes and perspectives in this regard. Preparation for and participation in this role play simulation seemed to have provided an ideal opportunity for the students to develop independent research and critical thinking skills, as well as public speaking, team working and problem-solving in an engaging, active learning, out-of-school environment.

This research followed the journey and experiences of twenty-four apprentice golfers on an academy programme of sports performance and education delivered via a college-based system in England. Apprentice golfers were followed through a two-year programme linked to the England talent pathway, with the intended outcome of propelling them on a journey of golfing achievement, but with the back up of academic qualifications. There are innumerable factors that mediate the journey of individuals through sport, and it is clear that this development is not experienced in a linear fashion (Bailey et al 2010). The study was carried out from an interpretivist standpoint, using an ethnographic approach, in an attempt to narrate the story and journey of the participants. A grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1979) was then used in the development of common themes that were considered in the light of existing empirical data. Four particular areas were explored throughout to help understand and depict the journey of these golfers. The factors examined here were classified as ‘talent system’, ‘luck’, ‘critical episodes’ and ‘personal outlook’.

Academies may represent one of the most significant British educational reforms in recent history. However in reviewing the current research, little consideration has been given to investigating the culture of academies and acknowledging the significant role this can have in judging their effectiveness. One method of examining an organisation’s culture is the cultural web model and it was subsequently the purpose of this thesis is to assess this model, as a tool for analysing an academy’s culture. In order to achieve this, a complementary mixed-method case study approach was utilised for the teaching and non-teaching staff at an academy. This included questionnaires to Staff with No Responsibility (SNR), focus groups on Staff with Management Responsibility (SMR) and interviews with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Findings from this research successfully demonstrate the model’s ability to offer valuable insight into an academy’s culture as well as identifying improvements to its practice. This has also been supplemented with a new method for selecting an organisational culture model and modifications to the future deployment of the cultural web, for both a generic and education setting. Consequently, this thesis may be valuable to those practitioners wishing to analyse the culture of other academies and organisations.

This thesis is concerned with 1) establishing the origins of sex-gender differences and with ascertaining if these are changeable; 2) the structure and function of the postmodern patriarchal family and its role in sex-gender development and sex-gender stereotyping; 3) the role of education in sex-gender/other stereotyping; 4) the development of an holistic inclusive pedagogy; and 5) the implementation of this pedagogy. The thesis is structured around six research questions. The first three research questions What are the origins of sex-gender differences?, What is the structure of the postmodern patriarchal family and what functions does it have? and What role do the patriarchal family and its patriarchal structure play in sex-gender development and sex-gender stereotyping? guide an interdisciplinary enquiry that provides the basis for the development of an holistic inclusive pedagogy. The fourth question What role does education play in sex-gender stereo-typing? delineates the context out of which an holistic inclusive pedagogy is developed. The last two research questions What kind of pedagogy is needed to ameliorate the injustices students suffer as a result of sex-gender/other stereotyping? and How can an holistic inclusive pedagogy raise learner’s-teacher’s awareness of sex-gender/other stereotyping? are concerned with the creation of an holistic inclusive pedagogy, its salient features, philosophical and epistemological assumptions and aims, etc.

Co-location involves the physical placement of two schools onto one site. By some it is seen as a ‘compromise policy’ which prevents inclusion, whilst other authors argue that it offers ‘the best of both worlds’ in allowing pupils with special needs to access both mainstream and special school environments. The teacher-research presented here focused on the co-location of a special school with a mainstream secondary school. It used formal interviews and questionnaires to explore the attitudes of staff and parents towards the co-location and a ‘mosaic’ (Clark and Moss, 2001, p.1) of child-friendly methods to access the opinions of pupils from both schools. The research also included case studies of two co-located special schools which further explored the concept of co-location and considered the relationship of co-location to broader literature relating to the educational placement and inclusion of children with special needs. The research discovered that participants from the mainstream school were generally less concerned about the co-location than the special school participants. Participants from the special school were concerned about bullying, inequality and educational failure as a result of the co-location. Participants from all groups spoke with enthusiasm about the potential of the co-location to deconstruct prejudices and offer staff and pupils opportunities to learn together. The research concludes that co-located schools can be ‘autonomous’ and joined only by their physical placement on the same site, or that the schools can become ‘collaborative’ and work together to offer a unique inclusive learning environment.

This thesis ‘opens up’ an exploration of the relationship between identity and achievement in reading, taking as its focus a case study of 16 – 19 year olds studying at Black Country further education colleges. As a group Black Country young people are often characterised through quantitative measurement, league tables and inspection reports, as underachieving in ‘schooled’ literacy. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives from Bourdieu, Bernstein and Foucault this project seeks to explore, problematize and challenge these representations offering a more dynamic account of young people’s engagement with textual experience that is grounded in young people’s own accounts of their experience of their out of school literacies. At the same I offer a critically reflexive account of the process of researching and representing research and attempt to achieve homology between the theoretical perspectives I put to use in my analysis and the practices of writing a PhD. I aim to present a reflexive piece of work that explores the situatedness of the PhD, and its authoring, as product and process.

There has been a significant increase in interest in the recruitment crisis in the United Kingdom. Many schools have had to re-advertise jobs for head teachers. This study therefore focuses on why headship roles are proving to be so difficult to fill. What are the possible drivers or barriers that deputy head teachers face on their journey to headship? It also considers the support and guidance that head teachers give their deputies. The study produced data that described the reasons why some deputies want to progress to headship (described as drivers) and why some do not (described as barriers). It also gave insight into head teacher’s perceptions of the support that they provided their deputies and whether these correlated with what deputies perceived. In this first study three groups appear to emerge: those who want to progress to headship; those who do not want to progress to headship and those who are unsure about their progression. Applying established models of journey to headship such as Gronn’s (1999) process of leader accession, a suggested extended model of ‘accession’ is offered for consideration and will be applied to deputy head teachers for the first time. Whilst being subject to further research and development, these findings can be used to further understand the trajectory of deputy heads and has potential implications for the management of talent within organisations. This has important implications when developing potential leaders.

This thesis is concerned with the ways in which curriculum continuity and progression of children’s learning occurs in the geography curriculum both within and between Key Stages 2 and 3. It explores the current attempts to achieve continuity and progression within and between these two Key Stages as well as the extent of cross-phase liaison in four Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in the Midlands. To set curriculum continuity and progression in context, a consideration of the geography being taught and delivered in primary and secondary schools is undertaken and the impact of pressures upon the Geography National Curriculum at Key Stages 2 and 3 are investigated. To understand the present nature and status of geography in primary and secondary schools, the place of geography as a school subject both prior to and following the introduction of the Geography National Curriculum is examined. In addition, the degree of continuity and progression that has existed during these periods is evaluated, together with previous attempts at cross-phase liaison in geography. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the ways in which continuity, progression and cross-phase liaison within and between Key Stages 2 and 3 might be enhanced in the future.

Research indicates that children with hearing loss face a number of difficulties academically, socially and emotionally. Although there has been much research with the severe to profound deaf population there has been little research into the life experiences of children with moderate hearing loss who attend mainstream secondary schools. This research sought to address this by examining the experiences of five Year nine children with moderate hearing loss. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews in the young person’s school setting and was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Although each participant had unique experiences there seemed to be a number of common themes arising including; coping and support, social acceptance, self-concept and confidence, auditory factors and teachers and learning. This study indicates that young people with moderate hearing loss continue to face social, emotional and academic challenges. With educational psychologists regularly visiting schools there appears to be a role for them in increasing deaf awareness and checking that young people with a hearing loss are receiving the necessary support.

This research relates to a recent government policy to create new school buildings in the United Kingdom. It seeks to examine whether stated national aspirations have had the prescribed outcomes on teaching professionals, their professional lives and their motivation, morale and job satisfaction. This qualitative research, using semi-structured interviews, has focused on two new schools in a rural/urban target authority located in the West Midlands of England: School A, a small rural primary and School B, a larger than average urban primary school. This study has involved teaching professionals alongside members of staff related to the national building school creation body, local authority inspectors and architects linked to the creation of new schools. The study supports the notion that national aspirations have been met at a local level and that these schools promote the desired outcomes stated in government literature. These schools have also positively affected teachers in terms of their motivation, morale and job satisfaction. This has led to changes in teachers’ professional identities and positive feelings towards their levels of retention. This study illustrates how not all central policies lead to disempowerment and the effects contextual factors have in managing the pool of talent within our schools.