The thesis investigates whether there are different patterns of 15 year-olds' selection that educational expectations, according to the different transition processes that exist in Mexico. To accomplish this objective three research questions guide the analysis. First, what are the underlying factors that affect the different transition processes to UPS level used in different States in Mexico? Second, what are the characteristics of 15 year-olds selected at UPS and how do they differ in States that use different transition processes? Third, how do 15 year-old students, educational expectations differ by the transition processes used where they live? To answer these questions I use essentially a quantitative study. I perform a political economy analysis of the transition to UPS in Mexico using a documentary review. I develop a characterisation of the different transition processes. Additionally, I investigate the relationship between the different transition processes and students' socioeconomic background, achievement and expectations. The analysis uses data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (2009) and marginalisation information from the National Council of Population (2010). The methods used are statistical descriptive analysis and regression analysis (quantile regression, ordered probit model and sensitivity analysis). The political economy analysis provides a characterisation of the transition process to upper secondary level based on the standardisation of admission procedures and the extensiveness in the use of entry examinations. The results of the political economy analysis of the transition process suggests that States with more structured education systems tend to have homogeneous transition processes, while in States with less structured education systems, schools and entry examination institutions tend to have a stringer influence on the transition process and ergo the procedures are heterogeneous. Homogeneous processes tend to promote a more balanced intake of students according to their social background, regardless of whether they use entry examinations or not. Also, the selection of UPS appears to be more efficient at processes that have the most extensive use of examination and homogeneous procedures. Therefore it is inferred that the standardisation of procedures could be positive for the effectiveness and efficiency of the selection at UPS as homogeneous procedures were found also to be associated with slightly higher educational expectations on students.

Recent reports on mathematics education in English secondary schools have consistently expressed concern about students' performance and enjoyment as well as their progression into studying mathematics post-16 (Smith, 2004; Ofsted, 2006, 2008a; Royal Society, 2008, 2010; Vorderman et al, 2011). Too often students were expected to follow rules and procedures without mastering underlying concepts and connections, and hence without developing their mathematical understanding (Ofsted 2008a). Boaler (2008a) provides evidence for the introduction of Complex Instruction (CI) as an effective alternative approach to teaching and learning mathematics. The CI pedagogy combines rich mathematical tasks and instructional strategies that foster collaborative group work and problem solving. The approach emphasises effort over ‘ability' and challenges beliefs that only some students can do mathematics and that they should be taught in ‘ability' groups. This thesis explores factors which facilitate or militate against the adoption of such an approach by drawing upon Stigler and Hiebert's (1999) concept of a ‘cultural script' and Dweck's (2000) ‘theory of self and others'. It aims to build a better understanding of what influences teaching in mathematics classrooms in order to inform teacher development. The study combines quantitative and qualitative methods through the use of questionnaires, interviews and a reflective research journal over a two year period and includes:  Secondary analysis of interviews with 20 teachers in schools with high numbers of students studying mathematics post-16;  Course evaluations from 27 teachers attending a workshop on CI and interviews with a sample who were willing to use the approach;  Pre and post study interviews with a lead mathematics teacher at two contrasting schools; one using CI with mixed ability groups and the other not.  Questionnaires completed by 221 Year 7 students and their mathematics teachers at the two contrasting schools. Open coding analysis of the teacher interviews was used to produce themes. The questionnaires were statistically analysed to explore teachers' and students' frameworks of intelligence and personality in relation to learning and performance goals in mathematics. The findings support the notion of a ‘dominant cultural script' for teaching mathematics in English secondary schools. Teachers refer to ‘expected national norms', where the expectations are driven by their understanding of National Strategy/Ofsted guidelines and the judgements upon them are based upon students' exam performance. This performance goal orientated model, coupled with teachers' anxieties about unacceptable behaviour in the classroom together with concerns about finding time to plan and resource a different approach, offers strong reasons for teachers' reluctance to change. The findings demonstrate that the teachers using CI still adhered, to some extent, to aspects of the ‘dominant cultural script'. They felt vulnerable in terms of examination results and inspection. The extent to which they deviated from the ‘script' was contingent upon factors such as having a strong supportive department with collaborative sharing of resources; seeing students as actively involved in the learning process and continuing professional development opportunities both within their schools and with university departments of education. Whilst these teachers, though mindful of exam performance and inspection, held other beliefs and goals for their students, these were not necessarily shared by the students. A high proportion of students, particularly amongst the lowest attaining students and girls, were found to hold fixed frameworks of intelligence and personality coupled with a preference for performance over challenge in mathematics. Dweck (2000) suggests that having such beliefs is unlikely to lead to mastery orientated qualities in students, which are the key to improvement in progress. Hence, given a dominant script for teaching mathematics which also emphasises performance goals, the likelihood of all students achieving their full potential in mathematics in such a climate is jeopardised.

This thesis explores how small group interactions around problem-solving in secondary school mathematics can be understood using a theoretical framework of Communicative Action inspired by Habermasian Critical Theory. How does cognition express itself socially? What are the technical features of communicative acts that afford access to the development of mutual understanding? A case study approach was used to investigate episodes of interactive speech acts. Participants included three Year 7 mathematics teachers and 87 students in 3 different English secondary schools, who were engaged in adopting aspects of a 'Complex Instruction' pedagogical approach to design and coordinate problem-solving groupwork. Tasks were collaboratively designed with the participating teachers, followed by participant observation of the lessons, and post-lesson interviews with the teachers. Small group interactions were recorded using Flip cameras at each table that captured audio and video of student interactions around the tasks, and whole class video was also recorded. Initial analysis of small group interactions led to the development of codes and models focused on understanding interactions from an intersubjective perspective informed by Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action. These models and codes were then iteratively used to generate and refine analytical statements and working hypotheses from further interrogation of the data. The pragmatic focus of this study is on the content of episodes of utterances. These episodes are part of the intersubjective level at which teaching and learning take place. The findings from this analysis add to the field by developing a technical and critical treatment of evidence of intersubjectivity in mathematics education. Understanding the intersection of meaningful communication, action, and practices at the small group level is argued to provide novel insights into practice and design for problemsolving groupwork in mathematics education. The contributions of this thesis include the development of an Intersubjective Framework for Analysis of small group interactions, evidence that this framework can be productively used to identify ways in which the development of collaborative understanding expresses itself at the small group level, how it breaks down and how it can be supported. Methodologically this work makes a claim to knowledge in the development of microanalyses of situated cognition informed by Habermasian social theory. This work explores the merits and limitations of the communicative perspective in understanding small group interactions in mathematics problem-solving situations. A central claim is that Habermas' sociological approach can be used productively to investigate small group interactions in mathematics classrooms. Theoretically this work makes a claim to knowledge in the development of a novel set of codes and models that can be used to analyse evidence of intersubjectivity through analysis of episodes of utterances in situ. This analytical framework is used to argue that small group interactions can be understood productively from a theoretical perspective of Communicative Action. These contributions suggest that insights from a perspective of Communicative Action can give educators critical pragmatic insights into curriculum design, structuring groupwork and associated pedagogy, and communicative (as opposed to instrumental or strategic) intervention in the support of intersubjective understanding.

The research is a study of 12 young people constructing identities in the transition between sixth form college and university. Identity is conceptualised as fluid and self-reflective. Giddens' (1991) work on the reflexive project focuses on both narrative and reflexivity in the construction of identity, and this research uses the tool of narrative to capture the subjective experiences of the young people. Narrative methodology is shown to produce rich and detailed data and it both constructs as well as captures stories. The research process itself becomes part of the young people's identity work. The young people are embedded in a social and historical context of late modernity and I endeavour to interrogate how structural forces shape and constrain identities. Some analysis of agency and choice in relation to identity is forwarded. The research findings foreground the student identities of the young people and explore what being a student means for the young people. Being in transition and issues of liminality are associated with this student status. The nature of transition is interrogated drawing on literature from anthropology and psychoanalytic theory among others. Transition is experienced by the young people as a space of betwixt and between-ness which has four particular effects on identity. Firstly, transition encapsulates a quality of temporality which concerns both the present and the future. It pushes the young people to conceive of making the transition to university as an opportunity to make a ‘fresh start', and the new identity is future-oriented; transition shapes future as well as present selves. Secondly, transition disrupts the normal flow of life and often involves choice-making. Making choices, particularly those which will have future implications, brings identity into sharp relief through reflexive processes. Thirdly, transition to university involves moving into a broader landscape bringing encounters with a wider range of people. This forces issues of similarity, difference and otherness into the frame. Identities are reflexively constructed through understanding of similarity and difference, and transition provides the space where the young people are faced with both possibilities and limitations. On the one hand the broad social mix of university students provides an awareness of heterogeneity that the young people had not experienced before, with all the potential for new identities this opens up. But on the other hand, butting up against otherness and difference in this way solidifies and limits identities. Fourthly, transition precipitates mechanisms for connectedness. Connectedness- that is, the all-pervading and on-going relating with others; peers, friends and family- dominates the narratives of the young people and is significant in both social capital and support, and also identity. Cross-gender friendships are prevalent and are shown to have significant effects on identity. The role of emotion in social interaction is also analysed drawing on concepts of emotional capital and emotional literacy. Links are made between emotion and narrative and the place of emotions in the research process is also discussed. Giddens' work on identity emphasises the role of reflexivity and yet the concept is not well analysed. Professional discourse is drawn on to open up the concept. The different ways the young people engage in reflexivity are demonstrated and reflexivity is found to be both contextdependent and also related to self-learning. The need for reflexivity is also applied to the research process. Narratives are co-productions and research authenticity calls for transparency and reflexivity of the researcher.

The use of Levelled Assessment Tasks (LATs) in secondary science in England has been increasing over the past five years in response to attempts to encourage more Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategies in the science classroom. This empirical study investigates how LATs are used by teachers and the extent to which such tasks support teaching and learning. An online survey of 106 teachers was used. It showed that teachers did find that the LATs supported their teaching using AfL strategies, but revealed that a majority of teachers do not use the tasks as formatively as they could be used. From the online questionnaire, a descriptive framework for how the LATs support teaching and learning is proposed. Five case studies where teachers used a LAT were observed. The data collected included a post-lesson pupil questionnaire, an interview with a group of pupils and an interview of the teacher. From these cases, a theory seeking approach to educational case studies through fuzzy propositions (Bassey, 1999) was used to develop a model of the relationship between teacher values and pupil values to assessment tasks. The fuzzy generalisations proposed from the case studies were that: (1) Teacher attitudes to the LATs may influence pupil attitudes to the LATs, (2) Teachers with a „big picture of levels‟ may be more likely to use LATs formatively and (3) Teachers who engage pupils with the notion of „levelness‟ may be more likely to improve conceptual development of pupils. The notion of „levelness‟ is explored. This evolves into three issues being explored: whether grades should be shared with pupils, the LATs relationship with summative and formative assessment practices and why such tasks have become popular with science teachers. The latter is considered in the context of the current target-driven culture of schools in England. Finally, the future of assessments like the LATs is discussed in relation to current policy and recommendations for their use and development are considered.

One of the key responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis has been the provision of School- based HIV/AIDS education, to try and improve teenagers’ ability to make wise and sensible decisions regarding their behaviours. The interventions have been premised on links between education and behaviour, the underlying assumption being that teaching young people how to protect themselves from HIV can lead to a reduction in risk behaviour and hence a reduction in HIV incidence (UNAIDS, 1997). An important part of this process has been the development of an education sector policy on HIV and AIDS, aimed at implementing and effecting, among others, the policy goal of Prevention. This study, with the use of a systems theory as a theoretical framework, examines the policy, provision and practice of HIV/AIDS education in secondary schools in Kenya with the view to informing policy and providing options for re-designing and scaling up (if necessary) the HIV/AIDS program. A methodology combining literature review, semi- structured interviews and a school survey was adopted. The school survey covered students, teachers and Head teachers; while the semi structured interviews covered policy makers. Results revealed that there are discordances between national HIV/AIDS policy rhetoric and school realities. There is a general failure of schools to implement the type of detailed HIV/AIDS policy described despite the fact that the demand is high. Although there are merits that the study did not cover a wide enough population to warrant the generalizations it makes, the research findings and recommendations that do exist from previous investigations largely confirm rather than refute these results.

The present study focuses on the degree to which an innovative GCSE course (the OCR Pilot GCSE in Geography) acted as a basis for active and innovative learning. Using a holistic framework intertwining curriculum, learning and assessment, a collaborative action research approach was used to develop an active and innovative learning environment, focusing on the work of two groups of GCSE students following the Pilot GCSE course. A conscious adoption of personalised learning approaches, linked to a radical notion of the nature and content of geography and an alternative assessment regime, led to the development of a course founded on the integrated use of information and communication technology alongside independent learning approaches. These developments in active engagement were based on student perceptions of their own preferences with regards to learning and assessment. The action research took place over three cycles, and the results demonstrate that with the curriculum approach inherent in the Pilot GCSE specification, the development of active learning and authentic assessment opportunities were not only possible, but in keeping with the philosophy of the course. There is less evidence that the emerging classroom pedagogy allowed students to deepen their investigation of geography, although there is some qualitative evidence for this.

The past decade has seen a significant increase in the number of autistic students attending mainstream educational provision. Improving outcomes for this group is a complex issue given the deficit of evidence based practice within schools. A mixed methods multiple case study design was used to evaluate the impact and outcomes of a new peer mentoring programme targeting the inclusion of autistic students. Twelve autistic students and thirty-six non-autistic students participated as mentors across five mainstream secondary schools in the South East of England. Semi-structured interviews were used to record the views and experiences of the mentors and staff participating in the programme. Autistic mentors completed questionnaires on levels of social satisfaction, bullying and social competence. All showed improvements over the course of the programme. These findings highlight the importance of the full inclusion of autistic students in peer mentoring programmes and the use of approaches promoting social competence. The study has wider implications on the way educational approaches for autistic students are developed and implemented in mainstream secondary schools.

Maximising student attainment is a key issue for every secondary school. Student attainment can be improved by raising their information literacy levels. It is part of a school librarian’s role to promote these skills. This is complicated by the absence of information literacy in secondary school curricula, teachers’ low awareness of the concept and the lack of teacher training in the professional education of librarians. There are a range of definitions and different approaches to teaching information literacy published leading to conflict over choices. Overall there is a lack of empirically tested pedagogy, particularly for synthesis and assessment. This research explores what it means to be information literate and addresses the fundamental question of ‘How can we raise information literacy levels in a secondary school? The research strategy explored the teachers’ perspectives to ascertain their perceptions of information literacy, how it is currently taught by them and their understanding of the librarian’s role. The research was conducted in a secondary school where semi-structured interviews were used with a sample of twelve teachers selected by age, experience and subject. The analysis examined three diverse teacher voices and compared these with insights from the remaining nine teachers’ perspectives. The research findings show that teachers view information literacy differently. This is shaped by the role of information in their subject’s approach to learning. Student progress to higher information literacy levels requires a pedagogy that is situated in subject teaching, rather than generic sessions, with clarity of how skills are deployed in different subject contexts to support learning transfer and work that is differentiated to meet different learning needs. Conceptually it was found that information literacy is contingent upon the context in which it is being used. A new instrument has been designed depicting progress in information literacy to stimulate thinking about possible pedagogy and assessment.

This mixed design research doctorate seeks to explore the rationale for a selected sample of English schools that are introducing Mandarin Chinese as a new language, specifically, investigating the teaching goals and teaching methods that were applied. It also focuses on pupils’ views based on their personal learning experiences. This research starts with an overview of the research into the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language, globally, which was then narrowed down to the context of introducing Mandarin Chinese into the educational curriculum in England within the context of the relevant teaching approaches. The methodological approach of the research combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Interviews were conducted with two Head Teachers and five Heads of foreign language departments in order to investigate the rationale for a sample of schools deciding to introduce Mandarin Chinese and the current situation of teaching. Interviews with five Teachers of Mandarin Chinese were carried out to gather data in order to investigate teachers’ experiences in teaching Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language abroad. Additionally, data was collected through classroom observations, in total 59 lessons were observed to gather in-depth data to investigate teaching methods and teachers’ interaction with pupils during day-to-day practice. Data was also collected through a questionnaire survey sent to 84 pupils who participated in Mandarin Chinese language classes from a sample of five schools, which represented pupils’ views about the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses revealed a range of factors that may contribute to the promotion of Mandarin Chinese in schools in England, for example, the impact on the global context; the schools’ needs and pupils’ professional development requirements. There are two teaching goals identified in this research: GCSE Chinese examinations and Asset Languages test. Teachers employed different teaching methods to meet various requirements for different teaching aims. The findings revealed several problems and challenges existing in current teaching and learning, such as school funding; teachers’ professional training; a shortage of suitable instructional materials; administrative infrastructures; and progression and continuity amongst others. Pupils’ feedback regarding their learning experiences showed that pupils had a positive attitude towards learning Mandarin Chinese; however, their motivation was affected by their teachers’ teaching methods and attitudes towards teaching Mandarin Chinese. This is not a not a comparative study, however, through different data gathered from GCSE and non-GCSE classes, the author commented on the differences in teachers and pupils’ experiences and opinions about teaching and learning Mandarin Chinese, as well as exploring their perceptions and reactions by investigating their experience of participating in and reflecting on this research.