This thesis examines the experience of one English high school in the birthing pangs of citizenship education, a mandatory entitlement introduced into English schools in September 2002. The project traces a series of developments over a period of four years and documents my search, as a practitioner-researcher, for a meaningful way to deliver citizenship education within my own school. Staff, parents, governors and students (aged 13 years to 17 years) all contribute towards this project in providing both qualitative and quantitative data. While this research uses a case study approach it also draws upon a sample that extends beyond the immediate school community - this is done in the quest to provide an understanding in the stimuli for active citizenship and probes the perceptions of Members of the Westminster Parliament in office between 2003 and 2004. While many of the findings are generated from a mixture of interviews and questionnaires, a period of quasi-experimentation within the classroom also provides data for discussion. This research provides insight into some of the problems associated with launching a centrally-imposed initiative at school level. It adds to the literature on citizenship education by providing a variety of evidence from the perceptions of an educational community, as well as offering information on the possible effectiveness of differing approaches to citizenship education. In particular, it indicates that efforts to generate a culture of active citizenship might have greater appeal when schools can create not just confident, secure and value-conscious young people, but ones who move in circles outside of their comfort zones. This project also demonstrates the potential value of a mixed-methods approach to practitioner-research. As a separate feature it adds to the knowledge-base on political socialisation.

Over the past two decades there has emerged a generalized critique of the quality of the labour supply in industrialized countries in relation to concerns about corporate profitability and national competitiveness. Frequently, the critique has focused, in whole or in part, on the so-called 'literacy' or 'basic skills' competencies of workers. This thesis examines the problematizing of workers' literacy competencies at a time when general educational attainments in Western countries have reached unprecedentedly high levels. Both broad-based and historically informed, the study focuses on the United States, Canada and England over the period of the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. The motives of the agencies and interests which have proclaimed a worker 'basic skills crisis', as well as the processes through which their claims have been disseminated, are analyzed. The ideological and material contexts in which these claims have resonated are described. The thesis concludes that the workforce basic skills 'crisis' is a socially constructed one which has little or no basis in fact. It is an issue which has had utility for a number of interests (including business, labour, educationalists and the state sector), however, and this, it is argued, accounts for the role they have taken in its social construction. The evidence presented here establishes that the workforce literacy issue has had real consequences for workers. It has operated to scapegoat sections of the working class and to further marginalize less formally qualified workers in their workplaces and in the labour market. This-the industrial relations context in which the putative workforce 'basic skills crisis' has operated-forms the principal focus of the thesis. The impacts on workers of actions stemming from the acceptance of the idea of a basic skills crisis-including increasing scrutiny of literacy and language competencies of workers and the promotion and establishment of 'basic skills' programmes of questionable value in workplaces-ought to give cause for many who have endorsed claims of a 'crisis' and embraced workplace literacy to re-evaluate their position.

Malawi is party to a number of international human-rights standards and frameworks that embrace the goals and values of inclusion and education for all. The country has therefore made promising start with inclusive education (IE) in basic education. The challenge now is to extend IE to secondary education and other levels of education. Located within the interpretative paradigm, this study aims to contribute toward knowledge development and transfer through the exploration of the extent to which IE policy initiatives in Malawi's secondary schools have appropriately responded to the context of practice and the experience of pupils with disabilities and their teachers. No study has been conducted at secondary school level to explore meanings given to and interpretations of the policy-to-practice contexts for Malawi. This study employed Ball's (1994; 2009) policy-trajectory model as an analytical framework and tool for interrogating the policy-to-practice context of Malawian inclusive secondary schooling. The research design, methodology and research questions were structured according to this model. A mixed-methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was adopted to fulfil the aims of the study. Evidence was collected from the contexts of influence through elite semi-structured interviews, text production through documentary analysis, and practice through teachers' questionnaires, classroom observations and semistructured interviews with pupils with disabilities. The findings confirm the mismatch between the policy and practice, although there is much goodwill for inclusion to succeed in Malawi. Two critical issues that challenge inclusion in countries of the South such as Malawi still need to be addressed: how to make IE more effective for both pupils with disability and those without disabilities; and how to redistribute resources to ensure appropriate preservice, in-service and specialist training for secondary teachers and adequate teaching and learning materials. With regard to both issues, responsiveness has to provide space for bottom-up initiatives in all the three broad contexts of influence, text production, and practice. Considering the historical imbalance in the resourcing of primary and secondary education in Malawi and the non-contestation of inclusion in the contexts of influence and practice, the conclusion is that IE policy that adequately responds to contexts of practice and achieves leverage on adequate resources can build on the existing goodwill of elites, teachers, and pupils to have effective IE in Malawi's secondary schools.

There is a growing trend toward collaboration, both between companies, and between academia and industry. Studies have linked the use of external sources of information and expertise to the enhanced generation of innovation. Innovative companies, in turn, have been shown to out-perform non-innovating companies in terms of both growth and profit. Therefore, against a background of increasing international competition and rapid technological change, governments are actively encouraging collaboration as a means of improving innovation efficiency and thereby enhancing wealth creation. Collaboration provides companies with the means by which to advance technologically, at lower cost and with less inherent risk. Collaboration also provides access to a greater breadth and depth of knowledge and technologies than would normally be possible through internal development. For universities the benefits include additional public and private funding, and increasingly, licensing and patenting income, as a result of technology transfer activities. However, these considerable potential benefits are often not realised in practice. The major reason is that collaborations between, often diverse, organisations, need considerable management effort in order to be successful. To this end, considerable research (reported in the literature) has been devoted to identifying management "success" factors, factors which where present, enhance the probability that a collaboration will be successful. This information was used by the author to develop a best practice model for collaboration management that is more comprehensive than has previously been reported in the literature. To date however, the literature provides no guidance as to how the full range of these success factors could be applied in the every day context of managing a collaboration. The Framework presented here provides a mechanism for achieving more effective collaboration management in the form of a simple-to-apply management tool. The Framework was developed on the basis of case study research and disparate sources of relevant published research. Essentially, it provides a means of applying the current body of knowledge in a way that does not assume prior experience of collaboration management on the part of the user. Through the provision of reference material and diagnostic features, the Framework encourages an awareness of the key issues affecting the success of collaborations and prompts the manager to take appropriate and timely action to prevent the occurrence of problems later on. The main feature of the Framework's feedback mechanism, the Collaboration Chart, enables the user to identify quickly, specific areas where problems could arise. The concept of the Framework is new to the collaboration field and as such it constitutes the main innovation to result from this research. Furthermore, while ihe Framework was originally conceived as a specific aid to collaboration between WMG and its industrial partners, this research indicates that it is potentially much more widely applicable. The Framework is certainly shown to be applicable to other university-industry collaborations, and with some modification, could also be applied to industry-industry collaborations. In addition, the Framework would lend itself to development into an evaluation tool that funding bodies could use to assess research proposals. The potential value of the Framework therefore extends beyond industry and academia, to ensuring the efficient use of public funds.

This thesis examines changes in core values held by postgraduate students and visiting scholars from China who professed belief in Christianity while studying in UK universities. It is the first study to ascertain whether changes remain after return to China. Employing a theoretical framework constructed from work by James Fowler, Charles Taylor, Yuting Wang and Fenggang Yang, it identifies both factors contributing to initial change in the UK and factors contributing to sustained change after return to China. It shows that lasting values change occurred. As a consequence, tensions were experienced at work, socially and in church. However, these were outweighed by benefits, including inner security, particularly after a distressed childhood. Benefits were also experienced in personal relationships and in belonging in a new community, the Church. This was a qualitative, interpretive study employing ethnographic interviews with nineteen people, from eleven British universities, in seven Chinese cities. It was based on the hypotheses that Christian conversion leads to change in values and that evidence for values can be found in responses to major decisions and dilemmas, in saddest and happiest memories and in relationships. Conducted against a backdrop of transnational movement of people and ideas, including a recent increase in mainland Chinese studying abroad which has led to more Chinese in British churches, it contributes new insights into both the contents of sustained Christian conversion amongst Chinese abroad who have since returned to China and factors contributing to it. Bringing the afore-mentioned theories together for the first time it provides an illuminating, original lens for further study of conversion amongst returned Chinese. It also adds to knowledge of the effects of Chinese students’ UK education experience on their values.

This study set out to investigate the understanding of psychological interventions and their place in practice (psychological mindedness) at an Australian mental health service and whether or not it was possible to train clinicians to introduce cognitive behavioural therapy to practice. The study investigated if, after training, clinicians' self-efficacy and readiness to use learnt skills is increased as they begin to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to patients. To do this a methodological approach was adopted, developed and delivered in the spirit of action research and conducted utilising a practice development model, that employed skills based education and experiential learning methods. A staff scoping survey was conducted to ascertain the psychological mindedness of clinical staff and to gain a picture of the availability of talking therapies across the health service. Following this survey an eight-day CBT training course was developed and delivered. A pre- and post- course questionnaire was applied to gain data on participant’s readiness to use skills and an increase in their self-efficacy pertinent to CBT that they learnt during the course. The results of the scoping survey showed that there was use of talking therapies by clinicians and that these clinicians desired training in CBT. The results of the CBT course questionnaire showed that it is possible to increase clinician’s self-efficacy and readiness to introduce skills to practice post attendance on an eight-day CBT training course. The delivery of focused talking therapy training across a mental health service can over time and with adequate levels of support and supervision, enable the delivery of CBT to service users. Principles of action research, practice development and the use of skills based education and experiential learning methods if implemented and supported actively can increase patient’s access to psychological therapies and train staff in the application of the same.

The purpose of the current research was to explore teachers’ experiences of working with selectively mute children in primary and nursery school settings. In particular, participants’ experiences were organised into the concepts, thoughts, feelings and behaviours and whether there were mediating factors which influenced the kind of experiences teachers had. The research also explored if these experiences changed and developed over time. The design was a semi-structured interview technique. The sample consisted of 20 primary and nursery teachers in England and Wales who had previous (N= 9) and current experiences (N= 11) of working with a selectively mute child. The data were coded using Nvivo software and analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The data indicated that thoughts consisted of teachers’ causal attributions for the development of Selective Mutism, their expectations, their perceptions of the selectively mute child, their parents and siblings, and their perceptions of their professional role and that of the educational psychologist (EP). Frustration and anxiety were the most frequently cited feelings and therefore it may be argued that working with a selectively mute child is a stressful experience when teachers are uncertain of the best course of action and when they feel unsupported. Teachers’ behaviours consisted of the strategies they used to communicate with the child and to enable the child to access the curriculum. Thoughts, feelings and behaviours changed and developed over time. Several factors were identified which served to mediate teachers’ experiences including levels of teacher-child attachment, levels of pupil and parental engagement, the context and involvement from outside agencies.

The aim of this collaborative doctoral research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), is to explore the interrelationships of internationalism and multiculturalism and how they impact upon the aesthetic and ethical practices of the youth theatre groups (The Young REP) fostered by The Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Examining spatial dynamics, this research explores the hypothesis that there are ‘inbetween zones’ generated by internationalism and multiculturalism which may provide ethical as well as aesthetic space for promoting community based theatre projects with young people of varied ethnicities. I focus on three of nine youth theatre groups organised by the theatre and explore their relationship with the theatre and each other. The groups had differing access to the theatre building - occasional audience members (case study one), occasional performers (case study two), and regularly rehearsing/performing at the theatre (case study three). The study discovered that the more insider access a young person has to a theatre the deeper the levels of meaning they ascribe to it. Case study one is based in a community with a majority Muslim Pakistani population. Highlighting the specific realities of being young and Muslim in 2011, the research explores the role that ethnicity has on engagement with the theatre and the youth theatre. Case study two is based in a working class community. Interrogating the young people’s own assessment of their area as ‘chavy’, the research highlights the impact of class on accessing The REP and its youth theatre. The final study explores the relationship to the theatre of a youth theatre group which rehearsed inside the building and the consequences of the theatre closing for refurbishment for two years. It also examines why this centrally based youth theatre group was unrepresentative of city demographics. I conclude by reflecting on the effectiveness of the strategies implemented by the theatre. This study should be relevant to other theatres, youth theatres and organisations seeking to increase their accessibility and cultural representation.

This review considers prevalence rates, risk factors, neuropsychological profiles and behavioural and socioemotional problems associated with specific learning disabilities in arithmetic and reading. Both arithmetic and reading difficulties can arise from environmental, genetic, neurological and congenital factors. Consequently, a thorough assessment using neuropsychological and behavioural measures and scanning techniques can be necessary to identify the likely cause for appropriate remediation and intervention. There is increasing evidence for three main subcategories of learning disabilities which approximate closely to the ICD-10 (1992) classification of specific reading, arithmetical and mixed scholastic disorders. The different prevalence rates and disparities in research finding on associated behavioural and socioemotional difficulties children in these subcategories experience probably reflect the arbitrary nature of the definition criteria and the various tests and measures used, some with unstandardised or outdataed norms. Future research is needed using strict definition criteria and reliable and standardised tests and measures to help clarify these issues to improve remediation for these children.

This study was concerned with establishing why parents caring for a disabled child at home chose special schools. The method used was to survey parents of disabled children attending one of the three special schools run by the Acorn Society. The survey identified two themes. These being, that there was a gender differential suggesting that mothers were most closely involved with the care of disabled children and, that the decision to send a disabled child to a special school was measured and balanced. This was contrary to the pre-dominant view put forward in relevant literature, so, the research set out to identify the reality behind the choice of a special school. A qualitative approach was adopted using semi-structured interviews, focusing on the issues arising from the initial survey. The interview data demonstrated that mothers were the primary providers of care, support, and assistance, for disabled children living at home. Special schools, it was concluded, provided a level of emotional support and practical assistance, which went some way towards substituting for the absence of support from other sources. However, the situation has to be considered within the context of the twin movements of inclusive education and disability rights. The conclusion was made that there was little evidence to suggest that parents' needs would be met by their disabled child being included in mainstream education. However, it was also concluded that the present system of special education failed to meet the developmental needs of disabled children and young people. The two positions were seen as being diametrically opposed. A way forward was suggested which would, (a) offer the opportunity for disabled children and young people to acquire a positive identity, premised on the concept of disability as a unique culture, and would, (b) offer parents an appropriate level of support.