This thesis investigates the introduction of The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) to schools and colleges. It examines how far, and in what ways, the Initiative was able to bring about changes in LEAs and institutions. The evaluation studies carried out by the Author in three Local Education Authorities are considered and, in addition to discussing the methodology which was used, the ways in which the research was affected by its association with a contractually arranged evaluation programme are analysed. Features of educational innovation are considered in relation to the main participants in TVEI, and the ways in which these groups and individuals attempted to implement change are reviewed. The research studies, which were conducted at local and national levels. are considered. and the evaluation data that was obtained is used to consider the ways in which one of the projects managed the Initiative. The change strategies that were employed are analysed, and the developments occurring in TVEI are set against the educational background of the Authority. The ways in which the policies of the LEA influenced individual institutions are evaluated. The outcomes of this particular case study are then compared with the approaches used to introduce and manage TVEI in two other LEAs. The main findings are that: (1) there was a shift of control from the MSC to the LEAs and institutions during the lifetime of TVEI which resulted partly from the centre/periphery change model employed. This shift enabled practitioners to gain a considerable degree of control over the ways in which the Initiative was implemented. (ii) many of the changes taking place were peripheral to the main aims of TVEI. and the available funding allowed the introduction of a number of long established ideas. (iii) TVEI had a considerable influence on other initiatives introduced during the 1980's. (iv) TVEI enabled changes to take place in those LEAs and institutions that were willing and prepared for innovations to occur. (v) the initiative was introduced rapidly, and many of the changes were partial and incomplete. (vi) the ways in which TVEI influenced practice in institutions was dependent upon the roles and attitudes of the headteachers, coordinators and other key staff involved. (vii) the relationship between an LEA and its institutions was critical to the ways in which changes were introduced.

The goal of this study is to investigate the area of young children’s preconceptions in science. The research focuses on teachers working in public and private kindergartens, and children attending these kindergartens, aged from three to five and a half years old. The area of the children’s preconceptions, has been extensively investigated by other researchers in the past but research focusing on early-years teachers and children’s preconceptions is still almost untouched, especially when talking about Cyprus. Inspired mostly by other countries’ literature and the importance of foreign research results, this study aims at identifying the Cypriot teachers’ appreciation of the children’s preconceptions by discovering whether teachers identify and take into account the children’s preconceptions when planning and teaching a Natural Sciences lesson. It also aims at giving suggestions and implications on how teachers can respond to the preconceptions that children might have. To do this, a case study has been applied to facilitate the utilization of a number of different methods, like questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations and a minor document analysis. The results indicate that teachers tend to avoid identifying the children’s preconceptions when teaching Natural Sciences. This indicates that there is lack of appreciation of the children’s preconceptions and their consequences when not acknowledged. It also indicates that teachers in Cyprus are not aware of the constructivist theory and its importance in children’s learning. As a result, teachers in Cyprus need to be better trained and informed in regard to the children’s preconceptions and to Natural Sciences in general. To help teachers respond to the children’s preconceptions, the study develops a list of children’s common preconceptions and a number of different ideas and suggestions for proper methods which can be used to help teachers identify the children’s preconceptions and guide children to overcoming them.

Nowadays, the growing number of software tools to support e-learning and the data they rely upon are valuable resources, supporting different aspects of the complex learning and teaching processes, including designing learning content, delivering learning activities, and evaluating students’ learning performance. However, sharing these educational resources efficiently and effectively is a challenge: there are many resources, these have not been described accurately and in general they do not interoperate, and it is common for the tools to rely on different technologies. This thesis explores a solution – a novel educational services framework – to improve the sharing of current e-resources, by applying the latest service technologies in the context of higher education. Our findings suggest that the proposed framework is effective to deal with the technical and educational issues in resource discovery, interoperability and reusability, however, there are still technical challenges remaining for implementing this service framework. This research is divided into 3 phases. The first phase investigates the sharing of elearning resources through a literature survey, and identifies limitations on current developments. In the second phase, the current problems relating to resource sharing are addressed by a proposed educational service framework, which contains both educational and technical components. Through a case study, nine e-learning services and their dataflows are identified. To determine the technical components of the framework, a novel Educational Service Architecture is proposed, which allows resources to be better described, structured and connected, by following the principles of discoverability, interoperability and reusability in service technologies. In the third phase, part of the framework is implemented and evaluated by two studies. In the first study, users’ experiences were collected via a simulation experiment, to compare the effectiveness of a service prototype with that of the use of current technologies. During the second part of the evaluation, technical challenges for implementing the services framework were identified via a case study, involving the implementation of another service prototype.

No description available.

The present thesis aims to discuss the concept of competence in teacher education concerned with the preparation of teachers to deal with cultural diversity. It will focus particularly on the roles of educational theory and school experience in the development of that concept. The literature review discusses these roles as different paradigms in education, so as to locate the study with reference to them. Emphasis is given to a critical theory approach, in which the concept of intercultural perspective is understood in the scope of the study. A parallel between two countries - Brazil and the UK - attempts to contextualise the theoretical framework developed in the preceding chapter. It will be argued that, despite considerable differences, Brazil and the UK share the challenges imposed on their educational systems by the multicultural nature of their societies. The evidence of the role of teachers' perceptions and assumptions in the perpetration of education inequality in both countries is presented, and the contributions of the intercultural approach to change the situation is discussed. A case study undertaken in a higher teacher education institution in the UK highlighted the nature of some of the constraints for the development of intercultural sensitivity in the delivery of educational theory and in the school experience component. It will be argued that the persisting net of misconceptions associated with the intercultural approach, as well as the hierarchical culture in the institution in question, represented relevant factors detrimental to the development of competence in an intercultural perspective.

This thesis explores ‘social inclusion’ as a political construction of the New Labour government between 1997 and 2007. The process of construction is frequently situated within policy from the Further Education (FE) sector. A critical discourse analysis of government documents, and interviews conducted with key policy makers, exposes the underlying ideologies and politics which were involved in the process of constructing social inclusion. The analysis reveals three dominant constructions of social inclusion that have emerged between 1997 and 2007. Most significant as a result of its recent emergence and pervasive impact, is the analysis of a psychological construction of social inclusion. This model constructs those labelled socially excluded as psychologically vulnerable; perhaps as a result of learning difficulties; a lack of self-esteem or selfconfidence; or low aspirations. FE is presented as bringing about social inclusion through offering young people guidance and support as well as raising the aspirations and self-esteem of students. A social model constructs inclusion as the development of social capital between individuals and communities, primarily through participation in FE. This thesis does not seek to laud the social model as a more positive alternative to educational instrumentalism but instead examines how a focus upon the act of participation allows for FE to become a process of social modification, which results in subject specific content being replaced with participation in any activity. An instrumental model equates social exclusion with unemployment and social inclusion with getting people re-engaged with the labour market. FE comes to be concerned with meeting the needs of the economy and providing unemployed people with the skills for employability they need to enter the workplace. This construction continues to dominate FE discourse and practice. Paradoxically, attempts to enhance employability skills, build social capital or to raise levels of self-esteem primarily through “pre-vocational” learning and training may reinforce social exclusion as those attending FE receive little in the way of high level knowledge or technical skills.

No description available.

This situated self-as-researched investigation explores the impact of critical reflection on a private practice singing teacher’s thinking. The project is based upon the use of five ‘vehicles’ through which to develop the skills of critical reflection, these being journal writing, personal writing, critical incident technique, narrative inquiry and ideology critique. Each of these vehicles is used to undertake critical reflection of singing teaching practices whereby values and assumptions are interrogated. Each of the vehicles of critical reflection used in this inquiry is evaluated for their ease of use and effectiveness in enabling critical reflection processes to be developed in the participant. Engaging in critical reflection presents the possibility for transformative learning (Mezirow 1990) whereby frames of reference are challenged and altered as a result of the processes undertaken and examples of this in action are included in this research report. This dissertation contributes to the small but growing body of research in the area of private professional music education. The private instrumental and vocal teacher often works in an isolated environment with limited development opportunities available. This research proposes that critical reflection may be a viable tool for professional development and practice improvement.

This thesis has grown out of interest in and observation of dilemmas for practice and attitudes to enterprise education in primary and secondary schools in Scotland. There seem to be mixed views on the purpose of enterprise education and its justification to be part of the curriculum, its relationship to other means of addressing work-related purposes of education and shifting policy interpretations that propose to link enterprise education with entrepreneurship education. This latter consideration has been highlighted more recently with the provision of financial support for enterprise education from successful and influential Scottish entrepreneurs. These circumstances are examined in the later parts of the thesis and are preceded by an analysis of the wider context and variety of connections and interrelationships between work and education. Historical, social, political, economic and cultural connections emerge as necessary disciplines for understanding work, how our concept of work has developed and how it has been related to education along the way. Historical analysis is needed in order to analyse and forecast how education and work relationships are developing today and so a history of work and its relationship with education in industrial and post-industrial economies is provided as well as consideration of developments in the traditional but more narrowly defined area of vocational education. More recent developments in global interconnectedness, communications technology and the emergence of knowledge as the major requirement of our 21st Century lives have altered the balance in the education and work relationship making education the more proactive agent in the pair. Educational policy and practice have in the past been shaped by political and economic changes in society but contemporary attitudes to the importance of knowledge, its application and its transfer, in stimulating economic growth have made learning a sought after ‘commodity’ and education, although slow to make major changes to school practice, is now in a position to shape the nature and practice of work and workplaces. It emerges in the thesis that although education has been and is influenced by political, social and economic requirements, policy makers arguably have not paid much attention to the social sciences or to philosophical considerations when considering curriculum development. Likewise social science and philosophical enclaves have not shown much interest in educational theory and practice. Only recently have education faculties been established in many UK universities and begun to develop research cultures that in other disciplines already have long traditions and prestige. The chapters of the thesis bring together a broad and original compilation of areas of study that provide a scenario of connections that have the potential to inform, motivate and increase the understanding of educators and the makers of education policy when addressing the work-related aims of education. The final chapter sums up the scope of the variety of influences on the relationship between education and work and proposes that, although they provide very necessary bases for understanding, they have over time diminished what the thesis claims to be a necessary element in all education and educational policy deliberations, including those on education for work: that of value-based considerations for the development of the human person. Suggested ways forward for schools and course design, teacher education and education policy making are provided in the light of the deliberations of the thesis.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) was situated as both a right and an obligation at the heart of Scottish education by the McCrone Report of 2000, and the ensuing agreement, A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century (2001). CPD was, and continues to be, construed as having the potential to transform teaching and improve learning. Further, CPD was promoted by the Report as having a key role in the re-professionalisation of the teaching profession. In the decade since the Teachers’ Agreement, however, levels of engagement with CPD initiatives, the review and repositioning of particular schemes, and the perceived impact on learning and teaching point to a tension between the discourse of CPD and the reality of its implementation. The publication of the McCormac Report in September 2011 signalled anticipated changes to teachers’ conditions of employment, which will inevitably include changes to CPD. This publication provides an opportunity to reflect on whether the Teachers’ Agreement has delivered the intended benefits for both teachers and pupils in terms of CPD, and to examine the impact of language or discourse in shaping attitudes to, uptake of, and engagement with CPD. This thesis looks at the language and implementation of the Teachers’ Agreement and related policies within the wider educational landscape in order to explore the tensions between discourse and actuality, to suggest reasons for such tensions, and to suggest transformed practice in terms of the discourse of CPD. In terms of methodology, critical discourse analysis is used to examine the language of CPD closely; policy analysis to describe and analyse the implementation of particular initiatives; narrative analysis to contextualise developments in CPD; and insider reflection to bring a personal perspective to bear on particular aspects of CPD. This combination of methodologies has been chosen in order to allow an in-depth study of nuances of language in policy discourse, changes in policy implementation, and location of such policy in the broader educational agenda. The study contends that CPD is not generally viewed as an uncontested good; indeed, engagement with various CPD initiatives has been limited for a number of reasons, including an underlying and fundamental tension between the concept of professionalism and a view of CPD which is related to a ‘standards’ framework. In contending that discourse is fundamental to the interpretation of and engagement with policy, the thesis points up the necessity to pay due regard to the nuances of language employed in denoting policy, and to addressing underlying tensions in the concept of CPD. Policy makers need to be acutely aware of the central role which language plays in the shaping and interpretation of policy and to learn from the experience of the last decade. CPD continues to be described by many influential figures and bodies as fundamental to the future development of Scottish education. At the same time, however, the educational agenda is dominated by the introduction of a new curriculum (Curriculum for Excellence or CfE), and CPD budgets are threatened by financial and economic imperatives, driven by the continued constraints on local and national government spending. It is vital that the discourse of the McCormac Report, and subsequent policy, is carefully constructed to avoid cynical and negative interpretations, such as suggestions that fewer ‘set piece’ CPD events are as a result of cost-cutting. I contend that lessons must be learned from the experiences of the last decade in the discourse and implementation of the policy related to CPD in order to ensure the intended impact on learners.