The central focus of this study is to explore how learner-centredness is perceived and practised by Chinese primary EFL teachers in the recent national curriculum reform in China, which promotes learner-centred ideology in all school subjects beginning from 2001. Following an introduction to the research context, the study begins with a comprehensive literature review for the purpose of finding out where and how notions of learner-centredness originated and developed in the West from the past to the present, from general education to the field of English language teaching, along with doubts, criticisms, and confusions gathered around the ideology. This is followed by a review of studies on learner-centred educational reforms in developing countries. Chinese philosophical thoughts, traditional educational practices, and recent research efforts into learner-centred teaching are also reviewed to highlight the influence of specific cultural contexts for implementing such an ideology. To investigate the Chinese primary EFL teachers' views on and practices in learner-centredness, this study adopted a mixed mode of research methods using both quantitative and qualitative techniques to collect data in order not only to reveal the scale of impact of the curriculum reform on teachers' views and practices but also to provide an in-depth understanding of teachers' classroom behaviours with regard to learner-centredness. The study involved a large scale questionnaire survey of 1000 primary EFL teachers and 18 classroom observations of teachers acknowledged as being good teachers along with various forms of teacher interviews by which teachers' beliefs and behaviours regarding learner-centredness were studied. The main findings from the study are as follows: (1) Chinese primary EFL teachers overwhelmingly welcomed the new ideology for curriculum change while pedagogically they preferred a middle path - the teacher-directed learner-centred approach (TDLC). (2) Both their beliefs and reported practices reflected a mixture of learner-centred and teacher-centred teaching. (3) Classroom practices of 18 teachers representing good practices at the time of the study showed clear Chinese characteristics of teacher-directed learning centred teaching. Based on the data collected from different sources, the cultural appropriateness of learner-centred teaching in the Chinese context is discussed. A reconceptualisation of the concept for the Chinese primary EFL context is drawn from teachers' views, which contributes to a better understanding of Chinese primary EFL teachers' perceptions and practices of learner-centredness in China. The research has important implications for teacher educators in understanding and supporting teachers for curriculum change and for research into learner-centred education in different contexts as well as for research into primary EFL in other developing countries.

This study examines four restorative justice (RJ) conferences which took place during one term in an urban primary school. Although there is much research on the effectiveness of RJ, there is apparently no research to date which looks at the workings of RJ in terms of how it is co-constructed in situ by the participants. This study uses conversation analysis (CA) to document and inspect how the conferences work. Findings demonstrate the potential of CA to generate rich information about the mechanics of RJ conferences in schools and are used to suggest that this type of analysis on a larger scale could contribute to greater understanding of why such a highly verbalised intervention works, despite the likelihood that pupil-participants may be at an elevated risk of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). It is also suggested that teacher talk has great potential to support children’s communication skills during RJ conferences, by using and shaping talk to encourage pupil reflection on psychological states. As such it may be one of the few interventions to address SLCN and behaviour simultaneously.

This regional research was carried out in Owerri the capital of Imo State, one of the 36 states in Nigeria with the aim of investigating and identifying factors that are responsible for the lack of dyslexia awareness in the area. The study focused particularly on selected primary schools in Owerri West Local Government Area. The study is located in the context of contemporary discourse on dyslexia awareness in Owerri West. Primary source evidence and first hand information which were gathered through discussions and interviews with respondents confirms the status of originality on the findings of the research. Research carried out on database where nothing was found on dyslexia awareness in Owerri West is also evidence of originality of this study. The research sheds light on the effects the lack of dyslexia awareness has on teaching and learning in primary schools in Owerri West and in doing so draws attention to issues raised around the marginalisation of individuals with unidentified specific learning difficulties. A triangulation of qualitative data collection methods was employed to explore and understand disability beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions with regards to the impact these have on inclusive practices. The findings from these studies were then analysed drawing on a range of disability models including the social model of dyslexia, the social, medical and moral models of disability, as well as social construction theory. This enabled the creation of a more explicit understanding of disability issues as it concerns the society investigated. The overall research findings, especially those derived from the interviews, highlight that factors affecting the lack of dyslexia awareness are located in the society’s predominant understanding of disability, the cultural perceptions of disability based on historical practices, incomprehensive disability definition featuring in policy and the lack of awareness of the nature and dimensions of invisible/hidden disabilities like dyslexia in national disability policy. Based on these findings the study concludes that ideologies around disability and inclusion are more geared towards the medical and moral models of disability. Furthermore, it concludes that the lack of an extensive understanding of disability and disability rights, which are very much features of a social model construct of disability, has impacted negatively on inclusive practices and perceived understanding of who is deemed educable. Following this, a number of recommendations were made including the need for robust teacher training programmes which will raise the awareness and understanding of dyslexia and in so doing improve the learning experiences of children with dyslexia.

This thesis reports on an ethnographic research of primary school teachers’ lived experiences of working and teaching in a school that had recently converted from a LA maintained community school to an academy. The aim of this doctoral study is to explore teachers’ work and capture the changing nature of the teacher professionalism in the new educational setting that is a primary academy. Academies are independent schools that are funded by the state but are managed privately. In England, academies built upon the ideas of the City Technology Colleges project developed by the former Conservative Government. They were also modelled on the international independent-state funded schools: charter schools in the Unites States of America and Swedish free schools. The first academies were opened in 2002 under the New Labour Government. At that time, the purpose of the Academies Programme was to address poor performance by creating different types of secondary schools in disadvantaged areas. Since 2010 when the Coalition Government took office, the academies programme expanded greatly encompassing primary schools. Since then, the rhetoric behind the Academies Programme revolves around greater freedom and autonomy for schools. The expansion of the Academies Programme has led to the growth in the number of teachers working in these settings. Yet, studies investigating the experiences of teachers working in academies, in particular those in primary academies, are limited. Therefore, this ethnographic research set out to address the gap in what is currently known about implications of the Academies Programme for teachers’ work and professionalism. In relation to this, teachers’ professional autonomy constitutes a central theme in the analysis presented in this thesis. The fieldwork was conducted over the period of one school year (September 2014-July 2015) in Bricklane Primary Academy (pseudonym) situated in an inner-city location in the North West of England. The data were generated through the use of participant observations, photographs, documentary analysis, informal conversations and ethnographic interviews and focus groups. The research participants included teaching staff and academy senior leaders who work in Bricklane Primary Academy. Frostenson’s (2015) three levels of teachers’ professional autonomy provides a framework for analysis and presentation of the research findings. Drawing upon labour process theory, the main findings of the research indicated that the work of primary academy teachers is greatly constrained by policies at school and at national levels that limit teachers’ professional autonomy. The findings suggest that the Academies Programme has contributed to diminishing the professional autonomy of teachers and thus contradict the policy rhetoric underpinning academies which promulgates greater freedom and autonomy.

No description available.

Assessment drives the taught curriculum, defines what is valued (Stobart 2008) and can enhance or hinder learning (Mansell et al. 2009). In England, the complexities of assessment are compounded by ongoing changes to statutory assessment procedures and a lack of centralised guidance for judgements of primary science (Turner et al. 2013). The Nuffield expert group (2012) proposed a pyramid-shaped model of teacher assessment which utilised formative information to inform summative judgements. The model was operationalised by the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project (Davies et al. 2014), but there was no explicit explanation of the 'formative to summative' process. This study sought to develop understanding of the relationship between formative and summative teacher assessment of primary science, in action and over time. A Design-Based Research (DBR) approach was used in order to develop guidance directly relevant to practice. Analysis of 91 submissions from the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) database provided a mapping of current practice in England. Two case studies of TAPS project schools considered the enacted relationship between formative and summative assessment, during implementation of a 'formative to summative' approach. New insights have been gained into the conceptualisation and enactment of the relationship between formative and summative assessment. Teacher conceptualisations of assessment were found to encapsulate a wide range of dimensions such as purpose, value, audience, assessor, timing, formality, rigidity and support. Refinements to the TAPS pyramid model are proposed to explain the 'formative to summative' process, conceptualising summative assessment as a summary judgement of attainment, which may be informed by snapshot and focused assessment activities. It was found that implementation of a 'formative to summative' approach required a shared understanding of key assessment concepts like validity and reliability; a seesaw balance model is proposed to support the development of such a shared understanding.

This thesis explores the possibility of applying Scriptural Reasoning (SR) principles for promoting Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in primary schools. It used storytelling and interfaith dialogue to encourage pupils to exercise these competences in classroom settings. It takes its philosophical position from the work of Ricoeur and combines a phenomenological and interpretive approach to Religious Education (RE) to develop pupils' understanding of both the "other" and the "self." From this theoretical position, an age-appropriate intervention was developed based on the principles of Scriptural Reasoning in collaboration with the Cambridge Interfaith Program (CIP). The resulting "Story Tent" themed day built on the established work of Julia Ipgrave's dialogic and Esther Reed's narrative approach to religious education. The underpinning work utilised Action Research (AR) methodology through a cyclical approach which took place over two iterative cycles in three different schools, each with its own distinctively-different religious ethos and demographic make-up. It was unusual in combining the contributions not only of teachers and researcher but also faith representatives from local communities. Data was collected through pupil self-assessments, group work, and research team interviews during the Story Tent Intervention day. Follow-up interviews were completed with a selection of pupils using a semi-structured interview - The Autobiography of Intercultural Encounter (AIE). The data was combined to produce pupil case study portfolios. ATLAS.ti was used to support the coding process and analysis of the data. The initial primary findings suggest that the genre of story; the pedagogic style of drama; and the process of interreligious dialogue were particularly effective approaches which provided an environment where pupils and adults could explore and exercise intercultural communication. The secondary findings indicate that the skills and attitudinal competences outlined by Michael Byram seemed to lie within a hierarchy, both cognitively and interactionally. There was evidence which suggested that pupils with a strong sense of identity and were also able to tolerate ambiguity demonstrated a range of intercultural competences including critical cultural awareness. Finally, the personal religious identity of the pupils also had an impact on the pupils' responses to the encounters, which (in combination with other factors) could be associated with particularly positive or negative outcomes.

This is a case study of two mainstream primary schools in one city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in order to investigate the educational provision for students with SpLD. The aim of the study was to identify the provision for students with SpLD with the aim to contribute to policy development with regard to special educational needs (SEN). Nineteen participants were selected using purposive sampling, comprising regular and SEN teachers, parents, students with SpLD and one officer from the Ministry of Education (MoE). Data was collected through interviews, observation and document analysis. The emerging themes from the data were coded and analysed with the use of constructivist approach together with Frith (1995) as a theoretical framework. The data from this study suggested that although the Saudi Government has initiated programmes for the support of students with SpLD, these programmes were only used in a few selected schools and could only cater for limited number of students with SpLD. The study further suggested that students with SpLD were marginalised due to other factors such as negative attitudes towards including them in the mainstream classrooms.

This is a qualitative, interpretive study of discourse on bilingual education in two rural primary schools in Mozambique. My aim was to explore how different views about the purpose and value of bilingual education were manifested in classroom discourse practices and how these views related to historical and socio-political processes. I combined linguistic ethnography and critical, interpretive approaches to bilingualism and bilingual education. Data was collected using different techniques, mainly observation, audio recording, note taking, and interviewing. The study showed that the main official purpose of using local languages in education in Mozambique had been to facilitate pupils’ learning. There were three sets of values associated with bilingual education in the sites in this study: pedagogical, socio-cultural and socio-economic. The use of local languages in the classrooms had been creating spaces for pupil participation and learning. I also found that the beneficiaries in the local communities focussed more on the socio-cultural value of bilingual education, which they saw as prompting the development and upgrading of their languages and associated cultural practices. The study also revealed that, with the introduction of bilingual education, participants had begun to consider the potential capital value of local languages in formal linguistic markets. The general conclusion is that bilingual education is playing a role in social and cultural transformation in the sites in this study, though its potential has yet to be fully explored.

This research explored the effect of Pictogram Room, a Kinect-based technology, on the sensory-motor skills of children with autism in a school setting. It focused on the overall development of sensory-motor skills, how these skills developed in different environments, and which of the sensory-motor subdomains improved the most. Theoretically, the study drew upon gaming theory and embodied cognition. It was a mixed methods study, with the quantitative data being the dominant method of data collection and the qualitative data having a more supportive role. During the first year, the intervention was implemented with the intervention group (n=5), twice a week for 15 minutes, over the course of nine weeks. The following year, a wait-list control group was recruited (n=5). The findings from the researcher’s checklist, as well as those from the standardised assessments, showed that sensory-motor skills in the intervention group were significantly improved, and there was also generalisation of these skills to other environments. Finally, as a result of the teachers’ interviews, social play and adaptive behaviours were also evaluated, with positive results for the intervention group.