This study investigates national primary schools in South Korea, specifically, focusing on identifying and describing the characteristics of the micro pedagogical content of the classroom, and various socio-cultural and historical influences on classroom pedagogy. A mixed method exploratory approach was used. Eight focus group interviews were conducted with teachers and students to explore the field. Using a grounded theory methodology, the analysed results were then used to inform the quantitative survey design. As a result, 294 teacher questionnaires and 302 student questionnaire were collected from nine schools in Seoul. To check for consistency from earlier data collections, eight lesson observations and follow-up interviews from four schools were conducted. In addition, documentation and photographs were collected as supplementary materials. This study has illustrated the effects of the past on the present. Specifically, demonstrated that the learning environment at the micro classroom level was informed by the historical and socio-cultural influences of the community and beyond. Especially post-war reconstruction, Confucianism, chemyeon and the structure of the honorific language have been shown to be informative and predictive of student and teacher behaviour.

This study has at its centre the relationship between student teachers' behaviour and their underlying thoughts and beliefs as they learn to teach primary English. Following Harré's definition of personal identity as an organising principle for action (Harré, 1983), it seems that student teachers' sense of self-hood provides a key to understanding their actions in the classroom. The findings suggest that student teachers are powerfully influenced by the way they view the role of the teacher. They can be crudely identified with one of three categories. Task Managers have a restricted view of their role, concerned with organisation and management. Curriculum Deliverers relate to learning but this is defined and limited by the curriculum. Concept/Skill Builders link to an underpinning framework of concepts, which relate to learning beyond the curriculum and the classroom. An examination of the identity and knowledge held by each type of student teacher, when compared with an experienced teacher, reveals the importance of viewing teacher knowledge as a synchronised process of making connections. This highlights the centrality of school based learning and leads to conclusions about the complex nature of the support required to enhance student teachers' learning both in school and in Higher Education Institutions.

The aim of this study was to explore Cypriot primary school teachers' views on and experiences of effective and ineffective Physical Education Continuing Professional Development (PE-CPD) provision. Extensive qualitative data were collected to ensure a deep understanding of the issues from the perspectives of Cypriot teachers. Methods used were an open-ended survey distributed to all public primary schools, and interviews and focus groups with teachers and CPD providers. The survey was sent to all primary school teachers responsible for PE in Cyprus. In addition, fifteen teachers were identified as individual case studies, key CPD providers were interviewed, and a focus group comprising three CPD providers and three case study teachers was conducted to generate shared dialogue. The data indicate that from the perspective of these teachers in Cyprus, there is a widespread failure of PE-CPD to meet their learning needs. Yet, in contrast to much of the negative data that reinforces the international CPD literature, strong evidence of the powerful and positive impact of one approach to PE-CPD emerged. These data reveal interesting insights into the importance the teachers attached to passion, a focus on co-learning, and their views of themselves and their identities as teachers and learners.

Research in the area of teaching assistant (TA) deployment in UK schools has suggested TAs are not always successful in enhancing the attainment of pupils they work with, and can often experience low self-efficacy with regards to their role in supporting pupil learning. A collaborative action research (CAR) model was used to explore the influence of training three primary school TAs to use a mediation intervention entitled ‘Medi8’ to support pupils’ cognitive functions. The TAs worked with target pupils and their class teachers to mediate specific cognitive functions with which the pupil was experiencing difficulties. TAs undertook weekly solution-focused coaching sessions concentrating on embedding mediational practices in their work with the pupil. A realistic evaluation (RE) was conducted to elicit mechanisms through which the intervention had influenced TA practice and self-efficacy, as well as pupil outcomes in relation to the targeted cognitive functions. Findings suggested that TAs experienced an increase in their self-efficacy regarding supporting pupil cognitive functioning and changes to their practice to incorporate mediational strategies. The RE also suggested that pupils experienced small steps of progress in their independence in targeted cognitive skills. The research concluded with an action plan for further embedding mediational practices within the school.

In 1998 the current reform of the General Education System (GES) started in Oman. Redefining the existing or finding a suitable new school leadership model has become important to enable Omani primary headteachers to redefine and transform the existing practice of school leadership and to implement and integrate the new educational and leadership tasks which were introduced by the current reform. Studies indicate that educational reforms generally require a powerful mechanism to get things done. Thus, Omani educators (policy makers and headteachers) face a challenge in redefining the present model or choosing a suitable new one. One of the two is, however, urgently required to reform the practice of school leadership in Omani primary schools. Therefore, this research focuses on both redefining and transforming the existing practice and implementing the new tasks (in possibly a new form) of school leadership. This research focuses mainly on three major themes, as follows: (1) The historical background which underlies primary school leadership in Oman. (2) The current practice of primary school leadership. (3) Redefining the existing school leadership model or choosing a new one to develop more effective primary school leadership and ensure the success of the current development of the GES in Oman. Therefore, this research project concentrates on an examination and evaluation of the current practice of primary school management and leadership in the country’s primary schools. Furthermore, this research evaluates the practice of leadership in schools by collecting the necessary data (in a subjective approach) and by using a specially constructed scale (in an objective approach) based on transactional and transformational theories of school leadership. This provides a way of assessing to what extent the current practice of primary school leadership is effective or not in terms of these theories. Overall, this research seeks to ensure the successful and effective implementation of the current reform of the GES.

Since the 1988 Education Reform Act and the introduction of the National Curriculum soon after, many initiatives, introduced in rapid succession by governments, with very short lead-in times, have affected primary schools. These radically altered the primary school as a working context. Headteachers were charged with the implementation of these initiatives into school contexts which are complex, fluid systems, and where interpersonal and personal-contextual relationships play an important part. The schools are part of the wider government policy context, which itself has significant effects on schools. This study investigated how the government policy-initiatives impacted on the professional ideologies and identities of eight headteachers in primary schools. This was accomplished using an innovative combination of biographical narrative and ‘activity theory’ (in the sense that Engeström’s ‘activity triangle’ is used only as a heuristic device in order to structure the biographical narrative accounts). The data generated two broad professional identities: the child-centred and the curriculum-led headteacher. In response to the government initiatives, the former tended towards 'resistance'; the latter tended towards 'compliance'. The textual analysis of the narratives reveals the detailed patterns of resistance and compliance over the twenty-year period after 1985.

This study describes how the reading demand of a typical statutory key stage 1 mathematics test was investigated for readability for its young audience. About 600 000 six- and seven-year old children in England take the test each year, many of whom are expected to read independently and to know when to ask for support with reading. In the belief that children themselves would be the best judges of readability, data were collected to establish how much help children requested during the key stage 1 2001 mathematics test and how well they could read test questions aloud. In addition, each written question was analysed for readability using word lists and sentence length as the main criteria. The conclusion is that the reading demand is inappropriate for many year 2 readers and that some children did not receive the reading support that they required to access the mathematics. This raises questions about test validity. Any unrecognised reading difficulties are a threat to validity since reading skills are not being assessed. The voices of the children tell a compelling story. Although too few in number to constitute a national sample, it is argued that the children who provided the data were and continue to be typical of the national cohort and comparable year 2 children can be found in schools across the country. This raises issues regarding the appropriateness of a statutory mathematics test for children who are still learning to read. Given the findings, the national policy of testing key stage 1 children in mathematics is queried.

This case study explores the effects of participatory drama on groups of upper primary school students in Cyprus with the intention of enhancing their critical thinking. For the purposes of this research, a series of twenty-four drama workshops based on several drama contexts and stories were designed and carried out in three primary school classes, considered to be the three units of analysis of a collective case study. The research was also informed by elements of ethnography and reflective practice and explored the students’ voices, choices, actions and general responses to the drama contexts and issues they were presented with. At the same time, this project looks at the students’ and their teachers’ considerations and reflections on the learning experiences and explores the students’ stances and group decisions and how they related these to their real-life experiences and actions. The discussion of the findings focuses on what the research tells us about how drama might be considered important for children’s critical thinking. The constraints which hindered this research are also presented while questions related to the potential of drama to achieve similar goals are proposed for further exploration.

The structure of this critical commentary is that required for higher doctorates as outlined in the Keele University: Code of Practice on Postgraduate Research Degrees. The submission focuses on: 74 items in refereed journal articles; 7 Press items, commissioned journal articles and other publications; 18 books; and, 12 book chapters. Special reference is placed on the period since 2003, during which the bulk of the material has been produced. The commentary outlines that the publications that make up this submission encapsulate a career of thirty-five years during which the writer has been a school-teacher, head-teacher, Lecturer, and Professor of Education. It is explained that this body of work encompasses two interconnected themes, including the development and practice of leadership in education and the primary curriculum. Overall, this submission, totaling 750,000 words of material where the writer was sole author, within an overall submission totalling approximately two million words, has contributed to the ongoing discourse on educational leadership and the primary curriculum through a sustained programme of original research and publications. It is stated that the range of influence of this material has been broadened to international status through comparative research that has included work on leadership training in North America, Australasia and Europe. Centrally, it is claimed that this work has contributed to the movement towards a more complex conceptualisation of pedagogy and andragogy that seeks to encourage a more reflexive, research-led and praxis-based approach to teaching and learning. It is argued that the writer has thus made a long-term contribution to the development of knowledge within the discipline of Education.

The National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) of Malta recommends the use of the country’s second language, English, for the teaching of mathematics. The aim of my study was to enhance the local medium-of-instruction debate by focusing on the use and development of a mathematics register, and distinguishing between issues relevant to second-language classrooms and ones more generally applicable Assuming a social perspective of learning, I used a grounded methodology, thus generally allowing my reflections to develop out of the data I collected. The research design consisted of lesson observations in two primary classrooms and interviews with the teachers and pupils. I concluded that the use of English in class created tensions with other NMC principles; I also noted variations in the way some mathematical words were used when compared to what I might expect as part of an English mathematics register. On the other hand, the frequency of pupils’ use of mathematical vocabulary during lessons seemed to depend on the teacher’s pedagogic approach. Also applicable to general mathematics classrooms appeared to be three conditions I identified as important for word meanings to be effectively shared with pupils: frequency of use, clarity, and significance, that is, how crucial a word appeared to be when used.