This qualitative study employed a participatory approach to consult with sixteen autistic students on their experiences of success. Participants were students at five different UK higher education institutions. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the research explored how they defined their successes and made sense of them in relation to their autism diagnoses. A flexible, multi-staged interview process was used. Evaluations indicated that the methodology enabled participation on both practical and theoretical levels. Participants became co-analysts of their data and demonstrated commitment to the project. The students described a wide range of successes, from the academic to the deeply personal, providing powerful counter-narratives to the dominant deficit-based interpretation of autism. The encouragement of one key individual (professional, family member or friend) had often been greatly influential to their achievements. Findings indicated the need for participants to both resist essentialist discourses regarding autism and to make themselves ‘extra-visible’ as an autistic person in order to assert their rights, with the autism diagnosis perceived as both an aid to self-understanding and a cause of additional barriers. In raising awareness of their own needs, participants contributed to broader understandings of autism, becoming educators and role models. The research demonstrates the importance of insights from autistic individuals, in particular showing how making sense of the autism label relates to perceptions of success. Implications for post-diagnostic support are discussed.

This study investigated the provision that students with dyslexia receive in Greek state secondary schools in EFL and if it corresponds with the Education Ministry’s policy on dyslexia. A study of the literature on dyslexia in Greece has shown that there is lack of teachers’ training on dyslexia and of teaching resources, collaboration between professionals and seminars for parents (Constantopoulou 2002; Arapogianni 2003; Lappas 1997). Taking a Vygotskian approach to learning, I apply activity theory (Engeström 2001) to understand and analyse the contradictions that inhibit the implementation of provision for students with dyslexia. This is an ethnographic case study involving audio recorded observations and interviews with two head teachers, three teachers, four students with dyslexia and their parents in two Greek state secondary schools. It also involves the collection of students’ work. The analysis shows that contradictions are created when the participants try to achieve their goals for dyslexia support by the lack of teachers’ knowledge and funding, the school timetable, the lack of inter-collegial collaboration and collaboration with parents and the inadequate diagnosis and school and Ministry’s policy. The analysis also shows how the participants try to resolve the contradictions by creating new objects and new tools through individual reflection.

The primary aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of burnout among teachers of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and how this phenomenon relates to a) teacher's career motivations; b) teacher's career motivations in relation to teaching pupils with SEN; c) their perceptions of positive and/or negative aspects of teaching pupils with SEN, and d) teachers' use of coping strategies. The data were collected from SEN teachers working in ChiangMai province (Thailand) using the burnout inventory, questionnaires, and semistructured interviews. Two groups of teachers were identified as having the lowest and highest levels of burnout. Sixteen from each group were interviewed and the data analyzed using five categories adapted from Maslow's hierarchy of needs- physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualisation. The main findings show that the two groups share similar perceptions in terms of the positive aspects of teaching pupils with SEN. However they differ in their motivations to teach regular pupils and pupils with SEN. The research also delves into the negative aspects of teaching pupils with SEN, and the coping strategies they used when experiencing stressful situations. Based on the five categories, esteem and self-actualization are seen to play a bigger role in differentiating the two groups. As a result, promoting teachers' esteem and self-actualization will be crucial in maintaining or increasing their efficiency. The findings suggest that this can be achieved by enhancing these teachers' skills which will subsequently raise their confidence. Other suggestions include recognizing their performance and providing opportunities for them to be more effective in performing their duties.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the level of loneliness and social dissatisfaction among third, fourth and fifth grade elementary school students considering three variables: maternal work status, after school care arrangement type, and after school activities. The sample of the study consisted of 732 (third, fourth and fifth grade) elementary school students in three public elementary schools in Ankara. In the present study Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale (Asher &amp / Wheeler, 1985) and the information form was used. The information form included questions about gender, age, sibling status, after school care arrangement, maternal work status, people/ place they spend their after school time, and activity types done after school. The results of analysis of variance showed that there is no significant difference in loneliness and social dissatisfaction level of students depending on their after school care arrangement types as relative care, non relative care, sibling/self care, and center care. Moreover, no significant difference was found among loneliness and social dissatisfaction level of students who have working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Additionally, analysis of the activity types students are involved after school, namely, active, passive and adult supervised/preprogrammed activities, revealed no significant difference in terms of loneliness and social dissatisfaction level. Independent from the analysis done, gender or age differences of students were examined considering their loneliness and social dissatisfaction level. However, no differences were found among the groups.

This thesis aimed to assess attitudes of primary school students toward environment by four dimensions / awareness of environmental problems, awareness of individual responsibility general awareness of solutions and awareness of national environmental problems according to gender, grade level, student parents&rsquo / education level and student parents&rsquo / occupation. Data was obtained by the application of Environmental Attitude Questionnaire (EAQ) during 2009-2010 semesters. The sample of the study is comprised of 817 students from seven public schools in Bodrum. Data were analyzed by using frequency distributions, one-way ANOVA, independent sample t-test, Pearson product-moment correlation (zero order). Findings revealed that, there is a statistically significant effect of grade level, gender, mothers&rsquo / and fathers&rsquo / education level on students&rsquo / attitudes. Moreover, frequency distributions of the student responses indicated that students were aware of general and national environmental problems and individual responsibilities but they were mostly undecided about the effects of industrialization on the environment. Besides, they were not aware of the role of science and technology for finding solutions for environmental problems. Another important finding regarding to local circumstances was that, students living in Bodrum are not aware of the local environmental problems, such as the reasons for sea pollution. It is concluded as a result that, environmental education attempts shall be proceeded in accordance with the local conditions as well as national and global issues and the curriculum should lead students to make relations between life styles and environmental problems.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of gender, relationship status, romantic relationship satisfaction, and career commitment in three components of subjective well-being, namely life satisfaction, negative affect, and positive affect among senior university students. The sample of the study was composed of 400 (172 females, 228 males) fourth grade students from five faculties of Middle East Technical University. The participants were administered four instruments, namely Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), and Commitment to Career Choices Scale (CCCS). Three separate simultaneous multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive power of the independent variables that are relationship status, romantic relationship satisfaction, the dimensions of career commitment that are vocational exploration and commitment and tendency to foreclose on the independent variables that are positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that gender, relationship satisfaction, and vocational exploration and commitment significantly predicted life satisfaction of the students. In addition, results yielded that romantic relationship satisfaction, vocational exploration and commitment, and tendency to foreclose significantly predicted negative affect of the students. Finally, vocational exploration and commitment and relationship status were significant predictors of positive affect of students.

This study re-conceptualises the community play as an aspect of contemporary British theatre. In the context of the idea of an arts entitlement which has two components, participation and enjoyment, it examines three antecedents to current practice. These are: theatre and empowerment, which looks at the work of Brecht and Boal on conceptions of the audience; outreach work, which examines the de-mystification of art by looking at the relationship between theatre and education and community arts, which focuses on harnessing the creative potential of ordinary people. The lines of development which link these three areas to the community play are investigated. The history and origins of the form are outlined and Ann Jellicoe's work with the Colway Theatre Trust is examined. The study offers a new conceptual vocabulary for the analysis of community playmaking which has three principal terms: aesthetic materialism - a development of Marxist principles as they relate to a consideration of the aesthetic circumstances of the people; aesthetic justice - an application of Beardsley's concept to contemporary society and current theatre practice; and communal theatre - a new term developed as a result of this study which clarifies the differences between participation and collaboration in the making of community theatre. These three concepts are united by their relationship to the rejection of bourgeois control of cultural capital which underpins the investigative stance of the study. Contemporary society is characterised by the study as aesthetically unjust and the main questions it asks relate the search for aesthetic justice to the developing form of the community play. The theoretical investigations of the study are contextualized by fieldwork which consisted of a participant observation case study of the community department of the Belgrade theatre, Coventry. This spanned two years and focused on the 1992 Coventry community play Diamonds in the Dust. The study concludes with a comparison of the main forms of participatory theatre in the 1990s which offers a means of identifying the heuristic value of the various models of community playmaking with respect to their potential for empowerment and contribution to aesthetic justice. The implications of the study are that the participatory element of the arts entitlement needs to be strengthened into true collaboration between the professionals and the non-professionals involved in order to ensure equality of access to, and popular control of, the cultural capital which is symbolised by the community play. Communal theatre projects of this sort are assessed as being able to promote the kind of shared experience which is necessary for the development of a more aesthetically just society.

Worldwide, accumulating evidence indicates an international movement within countries towards the development of integrated early childhood education and care services (OECD, 2001). Not only do demographic trends underscore such a demand, but also extensive research documents the cognitive, social and emotional developmental benefits of high quality integrated provision in early childhood while at the same time contributing to countries’ ability to compete in a global economy (Eming-Young, 2002). This thesis is concerned with an analysis of the feasibility of transferring the English Early Excellence Centres (EEC) Programme to early childhood settings in Greece. The EEC Programme was introduced by the English Government in 1997 to develop and promote models of high quality integrated education and care services for young children and families as an important part of Government’s broad based strategy for increasing opportunities, supporting families, reducing social exclusion, increasing the health of the nation and addressing child poverty. Case studies were constructed at three Early Excellence Centres (EECs) in England - and two key policy makers involved in the programme were also interviewed. The analysis of the interviews, questionnaires and documents collected during the research in England provided useful insights into the development of integrated services at practice and policy level, along with the successes and challenges encountered during the process of change. Further exploratory case study research took place in Greece to examine whether there is the potential and desire to move towards integration. The theory of a ‘tipping point’ (Gladwell, 2000) provided some profoundly suggestive arguments and insights to analyse the processes by which the English EEC Programme developed at policy level, and how it ‘crossed a threshold’, tipped and spread nationally and internationally. In addition, this theory offered a practical thinking tool for constructing a strategy towards integration in Greece. Analysis revealed that a change process towards integration is not easy to manage; is most productively seen as a social process that gradually unfolds over time; and which acknowledges the socio-economic, political and cultural context of each country. This research indicates that keeping our focus on the development of integration at ground level could be an effective starting point in Greece, -but the development and delivery of integrated services also needs local and central support. A strategy towards establishing integrated service provision in Greece needs to explore what already exists and start building on that; to support personal and professional development; to value the participation of parents; to promote research; and to influence policy. This thesis wishes to stimulate debate, to contribute to the limited Greek literature in the area of integrated early childhood services and to be of interest to policy makers and advocates who have the capacity to shape the direction of the early childhood system in Greece.

This thesis aims to examine the extent to which migrant children’s education policy is implemented and identifies the factors that affect the implementation of this policy in the Chinese context. In the last two decades, urban China has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of children of rural-urban migrants. It has become a public concern that migrant children do not have access to education and cannot receive as good an education as do urban children in the cities, even though there are policies formulated by the central government to tackle this issue. The thesis adopts mixed research methods to examine the implementation of migrant children’s education policy. Main sources of the evidence include semi-structured interviews, statistical data, government documents and internal reports by local schools. The thesis divides migrant children’s education policy into three parts: funding and school access policy, equal opportunity policy and school support and social integration policy. It is found that policies for migrant children are selectively or partially implemented. Some policy goals have been achieved, while others have not. Certain groups of migrant children have access to urban public schools and receive high quality education while others do not. A policy analysis shows that migrant children’s education policy is ambiguous in goals and weak in incentives, which grants local governments and schools scope to act with discretion. Non-implementation of sufficient funding and school access policy result from self-interested and habitual decisions of local governments. Implementation of equal opportunity policy is affected by the workings of the exam-oriented education system in China. Social integration policy appears to be well-implemented due to effective school support available to migrant children and good intergroup relationship between migrant and urban children. The findings imply that further policy reform is needed to improve the educational opportunities of migrant children. In particular, special attention should be focused on those policy areas not effectively implemented and more support should be directed to those migrant children who are more disadvantaged.

To date, adult educational research has had a limited focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) adults and the learning processes in which they engage across the life course. Adopting a biographical and life history methodology, this study aimed to critically explore the potentially distinctive nature and impact of how, when and where LGBT adults learn to construct their identities over their lives. In-depth, semi-structured interviews, dialogue and discussion with LGBT individuals and groups provided rich narratives that reflect shifting, diverse and multiple ways of identifying and living as LGBT. Participants engage in learning in unique ways that play a significant role in the construction and expression of such identities, that in turn influence how, when and where learning happens. Framed largely by complex heteronormative forces, learning can have a negative, distortive impact that deeply troubles any balanced, positive sense of being LGBT, leading to self- censoring, alienation and in some cases, hopelessness. However, learning is also more positively experiential, critically reflective, inventive and queer in nature. This can transform how participants understand their sexual identities and the lifewide spaces in which they learn, engendering agency and resilience. Intersectional perspectives reveal learning that participants struggle with, but can reconcile the disjuncture between evolving LGBT and other myriad identities as parents, Christians, teachers, nurses, academics, activists and retirees. The study’s main contributions lie in three areas. A focus on LGBT experience can contribute to the creation of new opportunities to develop intergenerational learning processes. The study also extends the possibilities for greater criticality in older adult education theory, research and practice, based on the continued, rich learning in which participants engage post-work and in later life. Combined with this, there is scope to further explore the nature of ‘life-deep learning’ for other societal groups, brought by combined religious, moral, ideological and social learning that guides action, beliefs, values, and expression of identity. The LGBT adults in this study demonstrate engagement in distinct forms of life-deep learning to navigate social and moral opprobrium. From this they gain hope, self-respect, empathy with others, and deeper self-knowledge.