This study investigates the development of an appropriate pedagogy for critical reading in the Japanese secondary school context, adopting an action research approach as a methodology. It was conducted in a national college of technology in Japan, which offers five-year education for students over the age of 15. The target students were between 15 and 18, who were equivalent to upper secondary students. This study consisted of three phases, lasting from 2008 to 2014 overall. Data were collected by means of several methods: journal writing, interviewing, observing, video- and audio-recording, questionnaires, and documents. Written and oral data were analyzed using thematic analysis. During the process of this action research investigation, teachers in an English language teaching (ELT) study group were engaged as advisors for my teaching as well as informants. The opinions of these teachers as well as students’ opinions were incorporated into this study. This study contributes to ELT in the Japanese context. First, it shows that locally produced, government-approved textbooks could be used as materials for critical reading. Second, it shows that critical reading is a type of instruction which aims to develop students’ reading skills. Third, it shows that developing students’ thinking skills can be used as a rationale for critical reading. Fourth, it developed a framework for critical reading. This framework of critical reading can be used for developing intercultural understanding in other ELT contexts. Another contribution of this study to wider ELT contexts is that it reveals some teachers’ resistance to the political orientation of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and critical pedagogy (CP). There are also methodological contributions. One is that this study reveals the paradoxical nature of action research outcomes affected by social or policy changes. The other is that this action research with other teachers’ participation raises an issue of power relationships in a context where age matters in social interactions and decision-making.

• Background This paper profiles research into the under-representation of women at Vice Chancellor level in UK Higher Education. Less than 15% of Vice Chancellors are women, whereas women make up 51% of the general population, 50% of early career academics and 60% of higher education students. The research presented in this thesis explores why so few women are Vice Chancellors, and whether anything can be done to increase the number. It also examines whether leadership development can make a difference to increasing women’s representation in senior academic leadership. • Research questions 1. To what extent is the under-representation of women in senior academic leadership a result of gendered senior leadership culture? 2. How can this culture be interpreted and understood in terms of Communities of Practice of Masculinities? 3. How well do women academics operate in UK Higher Education senior leadership Communities of Practice of Masculinities? 4. What is the value of leadership development in addressing the under-representation of women in senior academic leadership? • Research methods and mapping of the literature This paper addresses a gap in the literature by drawing on data generated by in-depth interviews with 20 women Vice Chancellors/Pro Vice Chancellors across the UK. Most of these interviews were conducted face-to-face, with a small number carried out over the telephone. • Analytical and theoretical framework Paechter’s concept of masculinities and femininities as Communities of Practice is being employed and explored through this project, because of the emphasis on the research on masculinities in higher education academic leadership circles. This theoretical framework will be critically examined, and possibly refined and reinterpreted as a result of this research. • Research findings and contribution to knowledge This research is examining the under-representation of women at VC level in the UK in order to: contribute to the on-going debate in this area across all sectors; explore the hypothesis around communities of practice of masculinities; and recommend leadership development interventions that will make a difference for women. Themes from the interview data include: value of confidence, resilience, and ambition; need for sponsorship and support; experience of ‘masculinities’ leadership behaviours; lack of career planning; impact of ‘critical mass’ of women at the top; navigating gendered leadership cultures by fitting in; the private space.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Listeria monocytogenes has been established as a food-borne pathogen since the early 1980s and has become a big concern for the food industry and Public Health authorities (Doyle 2001; Oliveira et al. 2003; Capita et al. 2005; Conly and Johnston 2008). It is a Gram-positive, opportunistic facultative intracellular bacterium which is frequently present in nature and may be found in any food environment (Liu 2006; Chen et al. 2007; Conly and Johnston 2008). Of the six species of Listeria, L. monocytogenes is the only one capable of causing listeriosis, a severe food-borne illness in humans (de Vasconcelos et al. 2008). For the average healthy person, although the incidence of infection is low, symptoms of febrile gastroenteritis may be presented (Gianfranceschi et al. 2007; Kersting et al. 2010). In immunocompromised individuals however, the hospitalization and mortality rates are amongst the highest for pathogenic organisms (Tran and Kathariou 2002; Lin et al. 2006; Schuppler and Loessner 2010). Illnesses such as septicaemia and central nervous system infections may also occur in these individuals (Roberts et al. 2006; Schuppler and Loessner 2010). Pregnant women and their fetus are also largely at risk where pre-term delivery and birth defects may occur as a result of listeriosis (Doyle 2001; Garrido et al. 2008). The epidemiological surveillance systems for the reporting of listeriosis are poor as it is a non-notifiable disease in many countries. Therefore, the incidence of infection that is regarded as low must be reconsidered (Mammina et al. 2009; Pinto et al. 2010). Listeria monocytogenes can reproduce in a wide variety of reservoirs within food processing plants, thereby contaminating the food which then poses a risk for food-borne illness. It can be transmitted from infected animals to humans and also through the consumption of foods from animal origin (Kalender 2003; Kersting et al. 2010). Animals are infected by Listeria spp. found in the environment; the organism is then transmitted through the blood, milk and excrement of the animal back into the environment where manure, soil, feed and water can become contaminated again (Akpolat et al. 2004; Kersting et al. 2010). Poultry products and ready-to-eat (RTE) food that support the growth of L. monocytogenes, including soft cheeses, unpasteurized milk, hotdogs, deli meats, vegetables and fruits have been linked to cases of listeriosis (Rørvik et al. 2003; Chen et al. 2007; Conly and Johnston 2008; Ford 2010; Kersting et al. 2010). Regardless of HACCP systems that are in place in the food processing plants, listeriosis outbreaks still occur as a result of the ingestion of these food products. Serotyping, based on the serological reaction between somatic (O) and flagellar (H) antigens and their corresponding sera, has identified 13 L. monocytogenes serotypes (Nadon et al. 2001; Wiedmann 2002; Kérouanton et al. 2010). Of the 13 serotypes of L. monocytogenes, 1/2a, 1/2b and 4b are responsible for more than 95% of listeriosis infections in humans (Mereghetti et al. 2002; Moorhead et al. 2003; Borucki et al. 2004;de Vasconcelos et al. 2008). L. monocytogenes serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b are mainly associated and isolated sporadically from food and 4b is responsible for the major human epidemic cases (Gilbreth et al. 2005). L. monocytogenes serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b are also responsible for sporadic cases of human illness (Wiedmann 2002). / South Africa

This research is concerned with looking at how girls experience their primary education. The aim is to try and discover how the girls perceive themselves as primary school pupils and linked to this to evaluate the contribution made by their mothers. The data was gained by interviewing girls and their mothers from two suburban primary schools and one rural primary school. There are two distinct but interwoven themes: a) the girls' lives at primary school; b) the mothers' perceptions of their daughters' education and how they relate to their daughters' own schools within the education system. The main focus is on the part played by social class in determining both the attitudes of the girls and their mothers. This is linked to Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of 'cultural capital', 'habitus' and 'field'. These contextualise the social and cultural actions of the individual which are not seen in isolation and both the social groups' or social institutions' roles are balanced with that of the individual. The research argues that social class still plays a major determining role in the educational expectations for girls and affects the tensions between home and school cultures. The girls' mothers play a significant part in their daughters' perceptions and attitudes towards schooling and education - notably via the expectations they have for them. These, too, are affected by the educational background and the social class of the mothers whose views and attitudes, to a great extent, are a direct result of their own experiences.

There has been forty years of research on African Caribbean underachievement yet African Caribbeans continue to have below average performance. This is evidenced in disproportionately high exclusion rates and poor exam results (Gillborn and Gipps, 1996). This study aimed to investigate the educational experiences of African Caribbeans in the UK. Its focus was the factors that contribute to African Caribbean academic success, but it additionally explored low achievement and the experience of exclusion. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Seventy-eight questionnaires were analysed and thirty-two respondents aged 16 to 40+ years were interviewed. Respondents were placed into five achievement groups based on their performance at school. A Success group with 5 GCSE A*-C grades gained at the end of secondary school, a Retake group who achieved five passes after leaving school, a Vocational group, a Low Achievement group and a School Underachiever Life Achievers (SULA) group. The results revealed that all Black children have negative experiences at school in varying degrees. What differentiates those who succeed and those who do not is the level of resilience and protective factors that they have developed. The Success group had more positive support from a wider range of sources across their experiences at home and within the community which instilled a resilience or resistance to negative experiences. The Low Achievement group, which had less support, and more negative experiences at home and in the community were more susceptible and vulnerable to the impact of negative school experiences. There were disproportionately higher exclusion figures for the sample than the national average. This thesis provides a framework for conceptualising and understanding African Caribbeans’ educational experiences and offers guidance to parents, community leaders, educators and policy makers as they work towards improving achievement levels and reducing exclusions amongst African Caribbeans in the UK.

The Code of Practice (DfE, 1994) established the role of SENCO to assist the inclusion of pupils with SEN in mainstream schools. Nearly a decade later, SEN generally and the work of LSAs in particular, gained more political and academic attention after the government of Britain announced that schools of the future would include many more trained staff to support learning to higher standards (Morris, 2001). SENCOs and LSAs, thus, should form an integral part of the culture of all departments, including PE. The thesis uses Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony to explore how the educational ideologies and experiences of SENCOs and LSAs influence the extent to which they shape the (inclusive) culture of PE. A web survey and follow up interviews with SENCOs and LSAs were used to explore the inclusion of pupils with SEN in mainstream secondary school PE in North-West England. All quantitative data were analysed using Survey Monkey whilst qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis using NVIVO. The research discovered that the role of SENCO and LSA are diverse and depended largely on the SEN needs of the school. For both, access to, or influence over, positions of authority were limited, thus making it more difficult for them to shape the inclusive culture of PE. The majority of SENCOs and LSAs have not received PE-specific training, which casts doubt over their ability to contribute to the development of an inclusive culture in PE. The findings also highlight the hegemonic status of English, maths and science when it comes to SEN resource distribution, which most SENCOs and LSAs support and often reinforce. PE was found to be especially disadvantaged in this hierarchy of subject priority, the implication again being that this further limits the ways and extent to which an inclusive PE culture can develop.

Higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Kuwait have been shifting from face-to-face to blended learning (BL) for several years. The only exception is the School of Basic Education (SBEK) where face-to-face and one-way communication is virtually the only method used. The main objective of SBEK is to train teachers. This research aims to explore the possible challenges that face the implementation of BL at SBEK and the solutions needed, from the perspectives of the senior management, teachers and final year students. I also sought to measure and interpret the attitudes of the management, teachers and students at SBEK towards BL using a mixed-methods approach and to explore the extent to which these attitudes are currently perceived as obstacles towards the implementation of blended learning. The sample of this research consists of 344 participants (N = 293 final year students, N = 43 faculty teachers and N = 8 senior management) for the quantitative phase and 43 participants (N = 7 college leaders/senior management, N = 10 teachers/faculty members and N = 26 students) for the qualitative phase. BL has been considered in the context of the Kuwait higher education system and the MOE as a way of increasing the achievement and the critical thinking necessary for students in Kuwait. The study concludes that the attitudes of most of the participants in this study towards the implementation of BL at SBEK appeared to be positive and optimistic; however, many obstacles were identified. These include an apparent absence of planning and leadership, financial issues, academic issues, cultural issues, English language and technical issues. I have also proposed a road map as a strategy for implementing BL in SBEK based on the research findings.

This thesis has been developed around a qualitative research project which explores the development of an inclusive school vision that school leaders hold for their schools. The research project employs life history methods, and the knowledge claims made are generated through narratives created from interviews with six (6) head-teachers of primary schools in Greece. The research builds its theoretical concepts upon an interdisciplinary context using literature from the fields of inclusive education studies, educational leadership, organisational management, and complexity theory. The study focuses on the exploration of the experiences and life histories of the head-teachers, and aims to explore the content of their vision and the process of its emergence in the school organisation. The analysis process relates the stories of the participants around major themes emanating from thematic analysis, and employs tenets of complexity theory to conceptualise the development of vision formation as a change process. The discussion developed discloses the importance of the individual meaning and contextual circumstances in the understanding and implementation of what constitutes an inclusive form of education. The findings of the study, as formulated through interpretation, suggest that the formation of an inclusive vision is a complex and ongoing process driven by personal values and incentives, and developed through empowering practices. The theoretical discussion that emerges from the study highlights the contribution to knowledge of this thesis by discussing the concept of vision as a process of leadership development in the context of inclusive education. The study offers valuable insights over the process of vision formation as its emergence is an under-researched area in the field of inclusive education. This thesis results in a discussion over the significance of a complexity theorisation over the meaning of inclusive education by considering the conceptual and research implication that such a view entails.

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The portfolio is compromised of three parts: a systematic literature review; an empirical paper and appendices. Part one, the systematic literature review, looks at the pre-surgical psychological predictors of outcomes following breast cancer surgery. The review begins with a synthesis of background information relevant to the area, which leads to specific research questions. The review process is then outlined, results presented and synthesised in the discussion. Limitations of the review and ideas for further research are discussed. Part two, the empirical paper, describes a study that researches pre-surgical predictors of satisfaction following breast reconstructive surgery. The current literature in the field is introduced and reviewed, and hypotheses established. The methodology is then described, results presented and findings discussed in relation to theoretical models. Finally, limitations of the study and ideas for further research are described. Part three, the appendices, present relevant further information for parts one and two.