Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning / Cornelia Flora / Economic development in Appalachia has failed to achieve socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation, especially in coal-dependent communities. This thesis examines the history of development in the region including a case study of unincorporated former coal camps in Clearfork Valley to understand how Community Capitals Framework and Appreciative Inquiry may contribute to equitable and inclusive community development. While community capital asset investment was key to achieving results and creating additional assets in the focus community, the community often had limited access to natural, financial, built and financial capitals. Social capital was the sustaining and catalyzing asset. Community developers can play a key role in Appalachia by providing capacity, outreach, and helping communities identify and invest in their accessible capitals.

Doctor of Education / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Warren J. White / The purpose of this case study was to explore how two people with language-based learning disabilities, who have graduated from Masters of Fine Arts Master’s (MFA) programs describe their coping mechanisms, career aspirations, and identity development as a result of being involved in the creative arts. This qualitative study was conducted with purposeful and criterion-based sampling. The participants must have graduated from a MFA program with a focus on a studio art and have a language-based learning disability. Arts-based narrative inquiry research was used to explore the manner in which each participant negotiated their path through multiple educational settings from K-12 to a terminal master’s degree. The participants’ narratives were articulated using a Bildungsroman format to share their coming of age story as their identities developed. Findings indicate the participants with language-based learning disabilities used multiple coping mechanisms to negotiate their path through the education settings they encountered as they grew into adults and completed terminal MFA degrees. They relied on extra time, isolation, help from others, and their creativity in an attempt to hide their language-based learning disabilities. The study raised implications about the amount of support students with learning disabilities have at each level of education. It also raised questions about what help students with disabilities need for long term success as they transition from one level of education to the next, this includes mental health support.

The four year nursing programme is offered at the NEI in the EC province where this study was conducted. As early as 2009 the majority of first and second year nursing students of the NEI were academically unsuccessful in the subject biological science. This prompted the researcher to conduct a qualitative, contextual, exploratory and descriptive study to explore and describe the factors influencing the academic performance of students in the subject biological science at the NEI. Following an explanation of the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process as the framework of the study and the purpose of the study, the consecutive sample of second year nursing students who consented to participate completed a written appreciative interview schedule. The findings of the content analysis process revealed factors influencing performance in the subject biological science as biological science content, nurse educator characteristics, study strategies, resources and biological science assessments. The recommendation was for all the stakeholders to play their various active roles towards influencing biological science performance positively. / Dissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Nursing Science / unrestricted

As nursing is a practice-based profession it is essential that pre-graduate students are socialised in the clinical learning environment from the start of their training. Consequently, clinical accompaniment is regarded as a vital component of nursing training to offer the necessary support to pre-graduate students. This study aimed to evaluate clinical accompaniment of pre graduate students in a specific Nursing Education Institution (NEI) in Gauteng as part of the four year comprehensive programme by means of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The AI approach focuses on the positive aspects of an organisation and aims to enhance what could and should be valued rather than focusing on the problems. A qualitative, contextual, explorative and descriptive research design was utilised. Data was collected from second-, third- and fourth-year comprehensive programme pre-graduate nursing students in a specific NEI by means of semi-structured self-report interview guide. The data was analysed according to the four objectives of this study, guided by the 4-D cycle of AI, utilizing content analysis and verified by the co-coder. The results were categorized into four main themes. For the first objective, “the best of what is”, nurse educator support, registered nurse support, students’ professional development, and multidisciplinary team members’ support, were themed. The second objective intended to enhance the best of what is by indicating “what could be” the ideal clinical accompaniment. The third objective indicated “what should be” addressed during clinical accompaniment to move towards excellence and enhance the clinical learning experiences of students and the following themes emerged: inadequate support from nurse educators, lack of resources, inadequate support from registered nurses, and disregard for student status. The respondents recommended “what must be” as an action plan to enhance clinical accompaniment based on the findings, and the following themes emerged: nurse educator’s responsibility, registered nurse’s responsibility, and availability of resources for students. / Dissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Nursing Science / unrestricted

Previous research emphasises the importance of a counsellor’s ‘way of being’ in determining therapeutic effectiveness and outcome. The capacity to tolerate uncertainty is regarded as an important counsellor attribute. However, failing to show how counsellors learn this, limits the practical relevance of the existing literature for psychotherapy and counselling. This study questions how a counsellor can learn to bring his or her self more fully into relationship with clients and what the implications of this learning process on counselling work are. Central to this study is Levine’s (2002) conception that learning occurs through a willingness to think about experiences, which necessitates facing uncertainty. This thesis argues that the capacity to tolerate uncertainty is an individual learning process and a precondition for a counsellor developing his or her ‘way of being’ or therapeutic ‘use of self’ (Wosket, 1999). In this study, the counselling practitioner-researcher draws on her own learning process to show how reflection on personal issues triggered by experiences of uncertainty, that could obstruct a counsellor’s emotional availability necessary for ‘use of self’, may be a fundamental part of counsellor professional development. A learning process is demonstrated through reflection on five vignettes of experiences of uncertainty from life and counselling practice. Beginning with an inexplicable experience in counselling practice that the counsellor struggles to understand her response to, she wonders how her difficulty with tolerating uncertainty might relate to experiences of uncertainty and learned defences from her childhood and adolescence. Through an experience with a client’s overt uncertainty, the practitioner grasps the difference between trying to tolerate uncertainty and developing this capacity as a ‘way of being’. When creative and play work with a child client challenges use of the counsellor’s defences, her learning moves from a conceptual understanding to an embodied one. She becomes more present and vulnerable with clients allowing for connection with clients and greater depth in counselling work. The practitioner-researcher attributes this personal learning to the six phases of Sela Smith’s (2002) heuristic self-search inquiry that requires immersing in uncertainty, dwelling in the research question and accessing tacit knowledge. This study contributes to a lack of practical literature within psychotherapy and counselling on how counsellors develop their therapeutic ‘use of self’, a way of being that has been linked to effective therapeutic outcome yet only a small number of therapists possess. Although the process and findings of this subjective study cannot be generalised, it aims to stimulate each counsellors’ own reflection on therapeutic ‘use of self’. This study suggests a heuristic self-search framework for a counsellor to confront his or her own relationship to uncertainty as an integral part of professional development beyond what training can provide.

Although each of the life stories and cases of teachers are personal and specific, and although they have already become subjects of attention for anthropologists, educationalists, sociologists and psychologists, there is still a lack of in-depth research examining the actual processes and dynamics of teaching careers as experienced by individuals. This is especially true of China. The actual situation of teachers’ professional development in China remains a mystery. Since biography, the changes in society and their impact on education are intimately connected, this study intends to uncover and explore these connections in relation to Chinese College English teachers. It discusses and studies eight Chinese College English teachers’ professional development stories in the specific context of one university. The main aim of the study is to reveal how those teachers in a Chinese context and at different stages of their careers, construct, maintain and develop their professional identities. The study explores, in particular, how far China’s educational changes over the past sixty years (1949-2009) have impacted on these three groups of Chinese College English teachers’ professional identities. The focus on teachers’ lives in this study will enable the teachers’ voice to be heard. The study draws data from three groups of Chinese College English teachers: early-career, mid-career and late-career, reflecting the footprints of China’s educational changes over the past sixty years. It hypothesises that the professional identity construction of these teachers may be influenced by the Chinese historical background that their professional development may be a microcosm of Chinese history of education and that the career of each group may be in stark contrast with the others. To fully understand their professional development, a life history narrative was adopted. During eight-week’s fieldwork, a series of in-depth interviews combining topical interview with narrative interview were carried out with eight College English teachers at Sun Yat-sen University. A voice-centred approach combining (i) a voice-centred relational method of data analysis with four steps of reading and (ii) thematic narrative analysis was undertaken. Drawing on stories identified from Reading 1 and combining it with thematic narrative analysis method, I looked for what I think to be ‘critical events’. In Chapter 4, teachers’ stories are told in ‘I’ poems generated from Reading 2, which combines longer summaries of the content of the transcript and direct quotes to illustrate diverse and sometimes conflicting factors which influenced the development of teacher identity along with the participants’ professional teaching journeys. The narratives of each individual are guided by the processes they went through in their professional development (becoming a teacher - being a teacher - future development) and therefore were able to illustrate any general patterns that could be found in other interviews. Participating teachers’ stories illustrate the complexity of the experiences of Chinese College English teachers. Their experiences have shown the dynamic nature of teachers’ professional identity construction in times of educational changes. Their stories illustrate how the broader sociocultural and political context shapes teachers’ professional identity and how teachers play out their agency throughout the process of their professional identity construction. Based on roles emerging from Reading 2 which focuses on how the teachers speak about themselves and combining it with thematic narrative analysis, teachers’ professional identity construction is examined through the lens of what they do (their professional role identities) in Chapter 5. The findings show that no matter which career stages they were at, they are all capable of taking on the roles of manager, professional, acculturator and researcher. The construction of role identities is a self-internalised process, which needs continuous negotiation through interactions in specific social settings. In Chapter 6 teachers’ professional identity construction of the relational context of teaching was explored by combining thematic narrative analysis with Reading 3 which focuses on how teachers talked about themselves in relation to others. From the difference between teachers at different career stages, the findings reveal the teachers’ professional identity construction is a process of self-mirroring based on their understanding of how others (especially students and colleagues) perceive them. Moreover, there are two steps of the self-mirroring process: the individual recognises who she or he is and the individual identifies her or his uniqueness. Since the second step only showed in the mid and late-career teachers’ stories, the first and second step appears to be in a sequence. The connection between the teachers’ professional identity construction and the context was investigated in Chapter 7. In this chapter thematic narrative analysis is combined with Reading 4 which sets the context by placing the teachers within the cultural context and social structure. Analysis showed the teachers’ sense of professional identity appears to be largely characterised by their personal histories and experiences and it is constantly reshaped by the new relationships developed within the professional context where the initial conception of teaching and teachers confronts changes. Throughout the participating teachers’ life stories, even though they were unique, they were not disengaged from society and context. On more than one occasion, they made reference to different social and contextual issues that were shaping their selves either consciously or unconsciously. Additionally, when the narratives of all participating teachers are brought together they reveal important aspects of how the broader community - society and context - behaves and evolves. The contextual influences in teachers’ professional identity construction in this study could be classified in three main categories: micro-social, meso-social and macrosocial, which are interwoven with each other. Furthermore, the study provides the evidence to show that teachers’ career stages, employment status and life stage/age all contribute to their perceptions of their professional identity construction. Through each teacher’s stories, we are able to get to know each teacher as a whole person with complex lived realities. Those individual voices can be put together to show the collective voices from each group and those groups can be put together to show the collective voices from the cohort of eight College English teachers. The research is significant in collecting individual voices from Chinese College English teachers, and building their collective voice through exemplification, orchestration and amplification. Individual stories are examples which show how teachers live and struggle in their meso context with cultural uniqueness and the macro context of reforms. The hypothesis (see page iii) was not fully upheld – i.e., personal/individual and meso context seemed much more significant than macro. Teachers’ experiences and interpretations are orchestrated through comparing, contrasting and building theory/theories from the ground stories as an attempt to produce a new but coherent narrative at an intellectual level. The orchestration of teachers’ voices can be amplified in terms of its scope of impact and to inform the public of the subjective reality experienced by teachers. This small-scale, in-depth research project attempts to begin that process. It is anticipated that it will resonate with teachers who lived under the same context, and illuminate their perspectives for those who did not.

This is a systemic practice doctorate where research is undertaken through a social and relational constructionist lens (McNamee and Hosking, 2012) under a broader umbrella of systemic qualitative research practice. A philosophical orientation to inquiry is taken, offering a way of exploring encounters, and specifically conversations in practice, in an embodied relational and dialogical way from within the experience. This locates me as an active participant alongside other active participants, and self- and relational reflexivity feature centrally within a systemic approach to practice and inquiry. The specific inquiry focus is on embodied, reflexive processes as I engage with others in everyday conversations on issues that matter to different professional and non-professional individuals and community groups; it is a complex ecology. Systemic, embodied, relational concepts are explored through a lens that sees inquiry as philosophically informed. This acknowledges the professional, personal and multiple contexts that inform both the doing and being in each conversation within practice and inquiry. The multi-versa of individuals and groups, professional and non-professional are examined through attention to moments of conversation portrayed through vignettes and dialogical excerpts. I try to capture a sense of the living dynamic of each of the interactions through attention to my multi-vocal inner dialogue and the multiplicity of felt experiences within these conversations where I am moved, stirred, unsettled and fully embodied: I become the case study in the ebbs and flows of this experience. How I inform these processes, and how I am informed by the responses of others, comes under close scrutiny. Attention is given to reciprocal responses, my internal dialogue, as I respond to what has gone before, external moves within these relational unfolding conversational encounters, how the conversation is experienced by those involved, and how we move on together. This inquiry focuses on embodied relational processes within the multiple complex dynamic of these conversations, unpacking our ways of ‘going on’ together (Wittgenstein, 1953). Autoethnography (Finlay, 2002; Ellis, 2004; Etherington, 2004), self- and relational reflexivity (1992), Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Pearce, 1994), and the process of writing itself are some of the concepts employed to enter this complexity. The unique additional inquiry tool introduced, alongside these, is the personal metaphor of rock climbing. This is chosen because of the fit I consider it has within a conceptual frame of relational embodiment, emphasising the ‘I’, a systemic practitioner and climber, as an embodied being with other embodied beings in conversation. I enter this process of inquiry with openness to enable change and to be changed, and I hope to challenge some established ideas about research. I consider the extent to which the metaphor illuminates embodied, self- and relationally reflexive processes in the context of systemic inquiry. The usefulness and application of this metaphor is tested as an embodied reflexive tool. I explore whether ways of thinking about and understanding embodied relational and dynamic processes can be extended. New features that come to light in the process of this inquiry are explored and the insights that may emerge, along with possible contributions to systemic inquiry and practice, are considered. The wider use of metaphors emerging through the dialogue that people offer to describe experience and to capture a sense of lived moments opens further potential for new learning. The reflexive scope and use of metaphor generally is discussed at the end, along with personal and professional learning from the process of writing and inquiry. I propose a new lens to reflexive inquiry that is suited to systemic practice, embodied reflexive inquiry in which I draw attention to embodied reflexive detailed features within interactions between people. This has wide-ranging applications in systemic and other contexts, including community settings, systemic therapy, training and supervision and across different professional networks, and is explored here. My hope is that this inquiry will to add to the growing field of systemic inquiry texts.

American prisons are overflowing with inmates exacting an incalculable human and moral cost on inmates, their families, and society. A central theme in criminality is the inability to deal with conflict and the affiliated emotions in an appropriate manner. Further, problem-solving, communication, and consequential thinking skills are lacking in the lives of many inmates due to lack of proper role models, lack of skills, and lack of expectations. Focusing on inmate education is one of the most effective forms of crime prevention according to leading criminological theorists. This phenomenological study was an assessment of a ten-session, holistic conflict resolution course for inmates called Reach Out with Purposeful Engagement Skills. The course is centered on emotional intelligence skills including self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy, and incorporates a multi-theoretical framework consisting of (a) human needs theory, (b) hope theory, (c) social construction theory, (d) appreciative inquiry, and (e) restorative justice principles. The teaching methodology was centered on positive criminology, a sub-group of positive psychology which embraces concepts such as compassion, encouragement, goodness, gratitude, positive modeling, and spirituality. An underlying belief was that recognition of individual participant strengths, if nurtured and developed, can contribute toward personal change. Results of the study describe participant’s perceptions of self-efficacy in conflict resolution which resulted in personal change and empowerment. This study contributes toward qualitative literature supporting socio-emotional education for inmates delivered in a constructive environment to inspire transformation at a deep and necessary level in order to support and promote desistance.

Historically, research has placed considerable emphasis on developing a systematic body of knowledge about education in which little voice has been given to teachers themselves. The critical role that teachers play in this generative process such as reflecting, acting and theorizing upon practices that shape life in the classroom has largely been ignored in favor of technical innovation and organizational procedure. As schools straggle to reform and restructure, an understanding of how teachers interpret their practices in context and how the culture of schools influence, constrain, or encourage these practices become critical aspects of school success or failure. This study examined the perspectives on inclusion of seven middle school teachers as they attempted to include exceptional students in regular classes. The study utilized three forms of data collection: observations were made of participant interactions as they led their everyday school lives; document analysis was used as a means to gain an understanding of programs affecting exceptional students, and interviews were used to give voice to teacher’s perceptions regarding inclusion, allowing description in their own words rather than those imposed by an outside inquirer. Data collection and analysis sought to identify emerging themes, categories and patterns, allowing for the creation of substantive theory grounded in empirical data. The key issues that emerged in the study were considered in terms of three general categories. The first, teaching and learning, revealed stark contrasts in opinions regarding the type of human support thought necessary for successful inclusion. Regular educators clung to the traditional notion of solitary teachers directing all class activity, while exceptional educators preferred a more team-oriented approach. The second, school structure, revealed that highly collaborative structures were only partially successful in creating additional conversation between regular and exceptional educators. Collegiality was affected by lack of staff experience with the process as well as its implementation in a top-down fashion. The third, school culture and climate, revealed that regular educators believed the school was prepared for a limited amount of inclusion. Although exceptional educators acknowledged school readiness, they did not believe that inclusion was an important item on the school’s reform agenda.

It has long been recognised that cared for children can be at a disadvantage in terms of their educational experiences and outcomes (Comfort, 2007). The Care Matters Green Paper (DfES, 2006) suggested that although educational outcomes for cared for children had improved, there was still a gap between the outcomes for cared for children and those of the wider school population. A number of suggestions to narrow this gap were proposed, including the introduction of a virtual school head who would be responsible for driving up the performance of schools in relation to cared for children (DfES, 2006). In 2009 the role of the designated teacher of cared for children became statutory (DCSF, 2009a) with the aim of promoting the educational achievement of cared for children.This thesis aimed to explore the current and future role of the virtual school for cared for children in one local authority, using a mixed methods research design. The current role was established through semi-structured interviews with members of the virtual school team and surveying designated teachers using a questionnaire. The future role was explored through an appreciative inquiry session involving three members of the virtual school and one designated teacher. Appreciative inquiry seeks out what is already working in an organisation and builds on this success (Carter, 2006). There are limited examples of the use of appreciative inquiry in educational research regarding vulnerable groups (Woollam, 2010a; Woollam, 2010b), particularly within a mixed methods approach.Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The majority of designated teachers suggested that they were confident in their role. Existing support from the virtual school included individual casework, funding, training, support during placement breakdowns and emotional support for the designated teacher. Additional support was requested for post-16 cared for children and adopted children. Virtual school staff reported increased funding, the virtual school head position and virtual school branding, the raised profile of cared for children and relationships as facilitative to their work. Barriers included cared for children’s experiences, staff knowledge and experience and low expectations for cared for children. It was perceived the virtual school model was “working”; advantages over previous models included “sitting” in education, access to senior meetings to raise the profile of cared for children’s needs and being a “bridge” between social care and education. Priorities for the future role of this virtual school included “being bold”, developing early years and post-16 provision, increased enrichment opportunities and widening the remit of the virtual school to include other vulnerable groups such as adopted children, child protection cases and children in need. Implications for educational psychology practice and future research are considered.