This thesis contains ten chapters: three of them are background literature and five have resulted from practical work during the whole period of the research. Chapter 9 is an attempt to extend the idea of the demand of a task, while the last chapter contains conclusions and suggestions for further research. In Chapter 1, the theories of Piaget, Gagne and Ausubel are described and compared with each other. Piaget's stages of intellectual development and how learning processes take place are described and explained. The contribution of the theory in the domains of curriculum, teaching Piagetian tasks as subject matter and matching instruction to development stages is stressed. However, the serious challenges to the theory are (i) horizontal decalage phenomenon, (ii) relating stages with age, (iii) assessing competence and readiness. Gagne's model of an hierarchy of learning comes from theories of transfer. It is built from the top down. The conditions of learning are internal and external and ranged from signal learning to problem solving. The learning process is based on associational chains. The difficulty of the model comes from the nature of a learning hierarchy and its validation. Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning is based on what the learner already knows. It is built up from seven elements which range from meaningful learning to the advance organizer. Meaningful learning occurs as a result of interaction between new and existing knowledge and its variation is due to the growth of differentiation and integration of relevant items in cognitive structure. Failure in learning may occur in situations such as those of conflicting ideas and forgetting. In Chapter 2, Information Processing Theories of Learning are described and the justification of these theories as a fourth paradigm to guide thinking about research is stressed. A model of human memory is given and the components of memory and their features are listed. Stress is placed upon the memory processes and their levels, organization of knowledge, working memory and chunking as a remedy for overload. Two examples of these theories are given namely Neo-Piagetian Theory and the Predictive Model of Holding-Thinking Space. The main goal of the former is to make Piaget's theory functional not just structural. The latter relates performance to the amount of information to be processed in learning and problem solving. This model is applied in both University and Algerian samples. This can be found in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the field dependent-independent cognitive style is considered as an important factor affecting performance. The differences between field dependent-independent people may be related to the perceptual field, selected information and the level of guidance. The reason for these differences may be due to the way in which information is both analysed and represented in memory. The practical work has been done with both University and Algerian samples. In Chapter 5, some other factors are described. Most of them are concerned directly with the subject matter. The activities involved in learning mathematics are classified and attention is given to Polya's version of heuristic strategies. The concept of understanding is considered as a basic goal of education and its meaning is given in three different aspects. Most attention is given to the third one, which is known as alternative framework or misconception. The levels of understanding of Skemp are defined and their goals are stressed. The causes of learning difficulties in mathematics are listed, while the different forms of mathematical language are described and their effect on learning is noted. In Chapter 6, the analysis of Paper I (multiple-choice questions) has been done for preliminary Examination of four Scottish schools (a fifth school used only traditional questions). The experimental work is concerned with language, formulation and type of question.

This thesis examines the under-researched area of teacher-in-role. It seeks to determine whether or not teachers working in role are acting and suggests that contrary to the orthodox position, a strict distinction between teacher-in-role and acting can no longer be sustained. This thesis will argue that, within the discourse of drama in education, the concept of acting is narrow due to both a restricted view of theatre and an assumption that there is an inherent contradiction between acting and a pedagogic function. By examining theories of acting, I will suggests that definitions within the dramatic art form should be temporary to accommodate diverse and developing practices. The theoretical research focuses on four relevant aspects of acting and role -context and the relationship with audience, functions and aims, skills, and approaches - which are then applied to samples of practice in the case studies. I then present two case studies of drama education practitioners and one of an actor, drawing comparisons between them in terms of practice and discourse. The practice of each case study subject is also examined through a semiotic framework of analysis; and the assumptions emerging from the interviews, and their implications, are interrogated in the light of the earlier theoretical research presented in an earlier section.

English is taught as a compulsory subject in general education and some higher education institutions in Sudan. Students are totally dependent on the five to six hours per week of language input provided through formal classroom instruction. Besides limited exposure to the language, there are other factors confounding the teaching and learning of English such as large classes, lack of books, untrained teachers, examination _oriented teaching and learning, and teaching grammarians' grammar. Such factors have contributed to the decline of standards in English to the extent that the pass mark in English has been reduced to 30 percent in the secondary school certificate examination. The students' interlanguage exhibits features indicating heavy reliance on literal translation from Arabic. At least 50% of their errors could be attributed to this interlinguistic transfer, a strategy which is frequently employed due to the lack of the requisite knowledge of the target language. Of all the detrimental factors, the teaching of grammar seems to be the one that is most directly related to the deterioration of the standard in English. It usually takes the form of giving rules, facts and explanations couched in metalinguistic terms, which is at variance with the learners' hypotheses formation process. Reciting rules and facts about the language is the only one thing that untrained teachers can do. Trained teachers also resort to giving rules and facts due to the fact that the situation in the schools and universities is not conducive to developing the language as a skill. Based on the fact that the effectiveness of foreign language teaching in general and the teaching of grammar in particular is greatly reduced when the focus is on giving rules and complicated grammatical analysis, it is the purpose of this study to explore the possibility that the teaching of grammar could profitably be based on the findings of recent studies on interlanguage and learning strategies. The study focusses on the interlinguistic transfer strategy through translation errors in an attempt to arrive at a learnercentred technique of teaching grammar. Based on the analysis of errors, providing students with simple contrastive comparisons between the native and the target language was articipated to be more effective than giving them abstract rules and metalinguistic explanations. The study provides empirical data verifying the effectiveness of simple interlinguistic comparisons in minimizing translation errors. An experiment was conducted in eight secondary schools and the University of Gezira in Wad Medani, Sudan. A total of 714 male and female Arabicspeaking students were pretested, matched and divided into two equal groups in each school. Based on the results of error analysis, two lessons, one normal and one experimental, were developed to teach the relative clauses in English. The normal lesson followed the traditional format of examples, rules and explanations couched in metalinguistic terms. The experimental lesson included terminology-free comparisons of relative clauses in English and Arabic. The two groups were taught by the same teacher in each school and the university. The same pretest was administered as a post-test. The matched group t test was used to compare the means of the active object relative clauses correctly produced by the two groups in each school. A significant difference was observed between the two groups. The experimental group performed better than the normal group. The t values were 6.387 (df=83), 3.240 (df=54), 1.969 (df=29), 1.758 (df=28), 3.043 (df=41), 4.586 (df=35), 2.651 (df=23), 3.030 (df=14), and 3.747 (df=41). The probability that the difference was due to chance was less than 5% in all cases. The findings supported the hypothesis that the error-based interlinguistic comparisons techniques would be more efficient than the currently used traditional technique in minimizing negative transfer errors. The implications of the findings on the teaching of grammar, error correction, materials development and teacher training are discussed together with the limitations of the study and the need for further research to confirm the findings before they can be generalized.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) on students’ mathematical performance. This includes mathematics achievement and students’ attitudes towards mathematics for third and eighth grade students in Saudi Arabia. Mathematics achievement includes, knowing, applying, and reasoning domains, while students’ attitudes towards mathematics covers, ‘Like learning mathematics’, ‘value mathematics’, and ‘a confidence to learn mathematics’. This study goes deeper to examine the interaction of a PBL teaching strategy, with trained face-to-face and self-directed learning teachers, on students’ performance (mathematics achievement and attitudes towards mathematics). It also examines the interaction between different ability levels of students (high and low levels) with a PBL teaching strategy (with trained face-to-face or self-directed learning teachers) on students’ performance. It draws upon findings and techniques of the TIMSS international benchmarking studies. Mixed methods are used to analyse the quasi-experimental study data. One -way ANOVA, Mixed ANOVA, and paired t-tests models are used to analyse quantitative data, while a semi-structured interview with teachers, and author’s observations are used to enrich understanding of PBL and mathematical performance. The findings show that the PBL teaching strategy significantly improves students’ knowledge application, and is better than the traditional teaching methods among third grade students. This improvement, however, occurred only with the trained face-to-face teacher’s group. Furthermore, there is robust evidence that using a PBL teaching strategy could raise significantly students’ liking of learning mathematics, and confidence to learn mathematics, more than traditional teaching methods among third grade students. Howe ver, there was no evidence that PBL could improve students’ performance (mathematics achievement and attitudes towards mathematics), more than traditional teaching methods, among eighth grade students. In 8th grade, the findings for low achieving students show significant improvement compared to high achieving students, whether PBL is applied or not. However, for 3th grade students, no significant difference in mathematical achievement between high and low achieving students was found. The results were not expected for high achieving students and this is also discussed. The implications of these findings for mathematics education in Saudi Arabia are considered.

The majority of research into choice, transition and decision-making took place in the 1990s-2000s. Since this time the context in which post-16 transition takes place has been changing due to increased competition between institutions and the extended length of time students are required to remain in education or training through raising the participation age. Additionally, in 2012 the government made schools responsible for Information, Advice and Guidance. This thesis explores choice and decision-making during the transition to post-16 education and training. It provides new research evidence to contribute to the existing literature in light of the changes in context since the body of literature was formed. In particular, it explores the impact of the changes to Information, Advice and Guidance provision and the role of schools in influencing students' transition. The study uses evidence from three schools with sixth forms, drawn from two contrasting counties of England during the first year of research. The second year of research draws evidence from a range of post-16 institutions which the students progressed onto. Overall, the data from staff, students and documentary evidence explores student transition from the final year of secondary schooling to post-16 education or training. The study finds that competition between post-16 institutions has implications for the way that post-16 Information, Advice and Guidance is provided by schools. The practical strategies schools use to influence transition include practical prevention of access to alternative IAG, control of the application process and active student selection. The most powerful strategies involve the social construction of unique selling points and the management of culture and trust. The implications of these strategies for students' transition is assessed taking into account how students make their post-16 transition decisions in a loosely coupled manner and the common belief that their position is of their own making. Overall, a continuum of schools' influence on transition is presented. The study concludes that the competitive post-16 environment coupled with school control of guidance may lead to imperfect transition for students and reproduction of the structural status quo rather than social change. For school leaders implications exist in being able to mitigate competition through collaboration and specialisation. However, the complexity of achieving this in the competitive post-16 marketplace produces implications for guidance providers in equipping students with decision-making skills and empowering them with an understanding of their position which is more likely to lead to students being able to challenge influencing structures and make effective post-16 transitions.

This study explored the development of subject knowledge by pre-service teachers of Design and Technology (D&T) in secondary schools in England. In doing so it aimed to throw light on their lived experience of developing subject knowledge whilst on placement in schools. It was anticipated that this would help to identify the factors that shape what is learned and the ways in which pre-service teachers may be better prepared and supported for placement in the future. The study made use of phenomenology as a methodological approach in order to capture the lived experience of developing knowledge through the eyes of pre-service teachers. This was framed against an exploration of subject knowledge in Design and Technology and the extensive experience of the researcher in the field. Empirical data was gathered through a process of interviewing 11 participants three times during the course of one academic year. Processes of data reduction and explication were undertaken to explore individual experiences and aspects that they had in common. Findings from the study highlight the inadequacy of the term subject knowledge in describing the processes that take place. They demonstrate that pre-service teachers drawn on cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains in developing their understanding of materials and processes in preparation for teaching. The findings also highlight the complex, and interrelated nature of factors that affect the development of subject knowledge and the significant influence that the placement school arena, and teachers, have on shaping the nature of what can be learned. They also indicate that learning new knowledge is a central part of the experience and that developing ‘skills of knowing’ is essential. Key recommendations from the study include the preparation of pre-service teachers for their placement experiences by enabling them to understand how they learn completely new things. It is also recommended that the responsibility for the development of subject knowledge should be more in the hands of placement schools. Further work is also needed in exploring alternative ways of representing the processes that take place when knowledge is acquired by individuals as they become the teachers of the future.

This thesis develops a cognitively grounded framework which operationalises the concept of intertextuality, facilitating linguistic analysis of the role it can play in readers’ responses to, interpretations of, and discussions about, texts. The thesis demonstrates the application of this ‘narrative interrelation framework’ in two contexts: the adult reading group and the secondary school English classroom. In doing so, the thesis reflects on the forms, functions and utility of intertextual booktalk, and explores why intertextuality may manifest differently in different environments. The research symbiotically unites the fields of education research and cognitive linguistics, advancing our understanding of reading and studying fiction in secondary schools in England. The thesis aims in particular to contribute to our understanding of the use of the ‘class reader’ - reading a set text as a group - which remains the most prevalent model of reading fiction with students, both in England and internationally. Class reader units are explored along two key dimensions: conceptualising students and teachers as readers, and considering the classroom as a type of reading space. The first part of this research focuses on understanding and mapping cognition processes which underlie intertextuality, both in terms of how readers make intertextual links between stories as well how they process, understand and engage with the intertextual references they encounter. The second part of this research considers the classroom environment in contrast to another site where readers gather to discuss a text: the reading group. A contrastive analysis of these two environments looks to understand the nature of the reading experience in the classroom and, in particular, how it affects the links students make between stories. A final part of the thesis will reflect on the aspects of reading and booktalk which are facilitated or inhibited in different discourse environments. Ultimately, the thesis characterises the nature of the ‘class reader’ experience and considers the implications this has for pedagogy, for engagement and for our understanding of what class readers are intended to, and what they do, achieve as a core staple of the English curriculum. The research examines two datasets representing two distinct types of reading experience of the same two novels: Holes by Louis Sachar (1999) and Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945). The first is a 320,000 word corpus of English lesson transcripts comprising two complete ‘class reader’ schemes of work: a Year 7 mixed ability group studying Holes and a Year 9 top set group studying Animal Farm. The second 40,000 word corpus captures two sessions of an adult reading group, made up predominantly of English graduates, meeting to discuss the same two texts.

This study aims to design, implement and evaluate a professional development programme for biology teachers in Tanzania. The proposed activity-based approach to teaching supported by the 5Es instructional sequence (adapted from Bybee et al., 2006) is new in the Tanzanian secondary schools context. Consequently, this study addresses the following research questions. 1) What are the characteristics of an effective professional development programme that adequately supports learning and teaching of biology in Tanzania? 2) How can a professional development programme be practically designed and implemented to enhance Tanzanian biology teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills? 3) What impact does this professional development programme have on teachers’ pedagogy and students’ learning of biology? The study included 675 students, 35 teachers, 7 student teachers, and 3 experts in the field of science education. A design-based research methodology involved both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analysis. Teachers’ reactions to the professional development workshop were positive. They were satisfied with the content and follow-up coaching activities. The new knowledge and skills helped teachers to support students through interaction with materials and discussion in small groups to acquire meaningful learning. Findings of classroom observations, teacher interviews, student evaluation questionnaires, and focus group discussions showed that the adoption of the newly developed excitement stage in the 5Es instructional sequence was useful and relevant to teachers’ instructional approaches. It supported them to move away from overly didactic practices to activity-based and student-centred teaching and learning approaches. Student focus group discussions indicated positive opinions about their teachers’ adoption of the new approaches. Students reported differences from their regular classes, which served to enhance better understanding of the taught concepts. These positive changes included, more student involvement in the lesson activities and teachers being more supportive and open to questions. This study has confirmed findings from previous research about the important role of curriculum materials as a component of teachers' professional development experience. In addition, findings of the study demonstrated that the 5Es instructional sequence provided teachers and students with opportunities to practice effective science teaching and learning approaches. It is hoped that this approach is adopted more widely in Tanzanian secondary schools, so that future students may experience success and be inspired to continue their studies of science.

This research considers job satisfaction among female head teachers in Saudi Arabian secondary schools in the city of Abha using a qualitative methodology. The subjects of the study were female head teachers in five secondary schools in the city; all the deputy heads and some of the teachers were also included. The research identifies the main factors that influence female head teacher satisfaction. It is based on interviews as the main method, and documents and observation as supporting methods. This study groups job satisfaction and dissatisfaction factors into six major themes: educational administration, school conditions, supervision, nature of the work, personal variables, and social relationships with students, parents, deputies and teachers. The study found that female secondary school head teachers‟ overall attitudes to their job in the five schools were negative. Unfortunately, factors of dissatisfaction outnumbered factors of job satisfaction. Achievement, helping students, and salary were the chief sources of satisfaction, while factors of dissatisfaction were linked to educational administration by the education authorities outside the school, including lack of cooperation and inconsistent decisions (e.g. in the application of regulations), lack of delegated authority, constrained budgets, limited training and development opportunities, poor supervision, and high workload and, to some extent, poor school infrastructure, including a lack of maintenance, poor facilities, and challenges because of school location. The study is important from the point of view of the head teachers, because their performance depends on satisfaction in the role, which in turn affects the whole school and the community. The study concludes with a number of recommendations for local and national education authorities in Saudi Arabia.

This study investigated the development and implementation of cooperative learning in two Saudi classrooms seeking the perspectives of teachers and pupils. A review of the literature suggests that efforts to introduce cooperative learning have tended to be initiated in Oceanic, North American or European contexts (Jolliffe and Hutchinson, 2007). Research is less forthcoming in other regions in the world. Research on group work / cooperative learning methods in Arab-speaking nations is in its infancy. The specific purpose of this thesis is to examine the development and implementation of cooperative learning in two Islamic culture classes in one secondary school in Saudi Arabia. In both, the perceptions of teachers and pupils were sought, to gather the opinions of teachers regarding changes to their classroom practice. Two male secondary teachers with 19 and 12 years teaching experience participated in a 10-hour training programme on cooperative learning in the classroom, and then they and their pupils (39 pupils) were tracked over a four-week period to investigate their experiences of this new approach. Individual interviews with teachers took place at four points across the research period: before and after the training programme, in the middle of the implementation stage and at the end of the project. Focus group interviews with pupils also took place before, in the middle and after the implementation stage. In addition, field note observations of approximately 40 lessons were made and short segments of some lessons were videoed. Teachers kept an audio reflective log to record their experiences. Results indicated that both teachers initially had very limited knowledge of cooperative learning. The findings indicated that teachers were very supportive of the training they received. Pupils and teachers described a number of benefits of cooperative learning and the opportunity to experience a broader range of educational outcomes. Teachers described and demonstrated a number of aspects of their practice that illustrated a shift to a more pupil-centred classroom, with their role becoming more of a facilitator of learning. Pupils highlighted their enjoyment and new-found freedom and opportunity to take greater ownership of and responsibility for their and others' learning. The research provides further contributions to the literature on cooperative learning in general and specifically about its use in Saudi Arabia. The study reveals the need for wider consideration and development of cooperative learning in both pre-service and in-service programmes in Saudi Arabia and the implications for a number of stakeholders to realise the aims presented.