The aims of the research are to: (a) find out how the views of pupils could be used to improve schools in Ghana in a more democratic direction; and (b) to explore the views of student teachers on what role their teacher training should play in promoting greater democracy in schools. Pupils are often considered to be the key stakeholders in education. However, rarely are their voices taken into account seriously in policies devised to improve teaching, learning and achievement. There are numerous international and comparative studies on democratic education that contain empirical evidence that listening to pupils, encouraging their participation and giving them more power and responsibility (that is greater democratisation) can enhance school effectiveness and facilitate school improvement. However, there is a dearth of studies on democratic education which focus on sub-Saharan African countries. This study contributes to the knowledge in this geographical context. Based on a flexible qualitative study, using a multi-method approach in six basic schools and two colleges of education, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, the study found out that there is no clear policy, and neither are there structures to promote democratic practice in basic schools. Schools and Colleges of Education are highly regimented and authoritarian. Pupils want teachers to listen to their views and allow them to actively participate in decision-making in their schools.

In the early 1990s the Common Assessment Framework came into being. Its purpose was to assist agencies to work together to provide early support for children and their families with an increasing range of needs. After examining how this framework evolved, this thesis explores how it is utilized in education. Through interviews with Lead Professionals in schools, policy makers and those in Local Authority roles, it finds that schools are responsible for complex decisions relating to what, and if, support is provided. This is because other agencies are placing the onus on them, some even charging the school if they attend meetings or support children in their care. For schools, the ability to provide early help is now increasingly about cost and the resources available in a community in which cuts are having significant impacts. The insights gained challenges the model stating that all agencies are obliged to support children through the CAF. It highlights strengths and weaknesses of the CAF process, together with sources of support available to schools. Through this, it provides a new model from an educational perspective, illustrating challenges that school leaders face, and explores ways in which the CAF process may be improved.

The increase in Asylum Seeker and Refugee (ASR) applications in recent decades (Hart, 2009) has led to an increase in the numbers of ASR children attending schools in the UK. This study utilizes Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a relatively new qualitative research approach within psychology (Smith et al., 2010), to gain the perceptions of a cohort of teachers who work on the ‘front line’ with these pupils to understand the impact their presence has on those teachers, their classrooms and the wider school and community. Using IPA has allowed the researcher to add a distinct psychological perspective to the limited extant research literature in the field, and has provided rich and contextualized accounts regarding the teachers’ perceptions of those children. The findings suggest that these teachers are generally optimistic about ASR children and recognize the important protective role schools can play in supporting them. However set within a context of rising work pressures some of the teachers’ frustrations with the wider systems are surfaced and the impact on ASR children is discussed. The study discusses how psychological theory can be adopted to support teachers in their work alongside ASR children and the role educational psychologists should play in supporting this agenda.

The aim of the present study is to explore the lived experiences and opinions of parents with LD in order to inform policy and practice in Newtown Local Authority. The goal is to improve the lives of parents with LD and to instill confidence within this group. Working within a critical realist paradigm, I adopted a case study design and conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of four parents. Qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews were analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The main findings were that parents’ experiences and views on the support they had received were heavily influenced by their relationships with support service practitioners, time spent with families by support workers, parents’ ability to access information and parents’ feeling valued and their opinions acknowledged. The findings suggest a need for improved family-centred planning by support service practitioners and for professionals to be provided with the resources needed to develop positive working relationships with parents with LD. I conclude by reflecting on the implications of these findings on the practice of support service practitioners and on the role of Educational Psychologists.

There is evidence to indicate that early adversity has long-lasting impact on child development and later educational outcomes. Many studies show significant correlations between early neglect and later social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, which negatively affect school inclusion and achievement. Six children known to have experienced neglect in the first two years of life comprised the research sample, with whom a range of assessments was undertaken, including heart-rate variability, assessment of attachment style, cognitive skills, neuropsychological skills and achievement. Their teachers and carers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and questionnaires relating to adaptive behaviour and communication skills. Assessment data were harnessed within an action research framework, to inform intervention plans to support progress in school for two of the children, and outcomes reviewed with school staff and carers. Results highlighted both the homogeneity of the research sample and shared characteristics, and the value of a dynamic biopsychosocial model of development in accounting for the individual children’s developmental trajectories. Relational-Developmental Systems metatheory, an extension of dynamic systems theory formed the integrating conceptual framework within which results are interpreted, with emphasis on the complex, recursive, multi-level, co-actional influences between children’s attributes, capabilities and historical identity, and the social contexts which children inhabit.

This research seeks to compare reports of theory and intervention use that are prevalent in mainstream and special schools within a local authority (LA) and in out of county special schools used by the LA when supporting children with ASD. The objective is to make recommendations for further research and suggest how inclusion of children with ASD may be supported in mainstream schools. This is done in order to find ways for the LA to reduce expensive out of county and specialist school resources by improving the inclusion of children with ASD in LA mainstream schools. The study by Greenway (2000), who reviews strategies to promote pro-social behaviours for children with ASD, is used as a basis from which to review theoretical backgrounds and intervention.

Baron-Cohen (2002) developed an intervention for children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) which utilises a DVD called the Transporters. The Transporters is a make- believe world of imaginary characters where vehicles have feelings and contains a combination of systematic elements such as trains and trams with human faces. The development of the Transporters is based on the ‘empathizing-systemizing’ theory. That is, in contrast to difficulties with emotion recognition, individuals with ASC have been shown to have an enhanced ability in ‘systemizing’ compared to typically developing children (Baron- Cohen, 2002). An experimental design with multiple baselines was used to assess the impact of the Transporters DVD intervention on the emotion recognition of children with Highly Functioning Autism (HFA). A repeated measures method was used whereby participants completed three measures at Time 1, 2 and 3. The intervention took place between Time 2 and Time 3. Performance was compared across all three times using an analysis of variance statistical test. There was no significant difference between Time 2 and 3 for any of the measures. The results from this research would suggest that more evidence is needed about the use of the Transporters within a school context before Educational Psychologists and other professionals recommend the Transporters as a tool to enhance emotion recognition when used in schools.

This thesis explores the concept of learning styles as they relate to the education of deafblind children. A literature review concludes that assessment of learning may be more effective than assessment of skills. The practice of assessment in the UK is researched through the use of a survey of teachers of deafblind learners. This survey indicates that teachers favour informal observational assessments, and that they do not currently assess learning style, and may not know what it is. A second literature review and other arguments show that the concept of learning style is relevant to deafblind learners. A series of case studies of deafblind children is then described. Methods for studying learning styles are developed through these case studies. These methods initially explore the concept of style through prompt modality preference, and then through wider aspects of style. The assessments demonstrate that each child has her own individual learning styles, notwithstanding the shared impairment of deafblindness. The application of learning style preferences to teaching shows some evidence of improved learning. In addition, the outcomes of the studies challenge some accepted pedagogical principles for the education of deafblind children, such as the priority of communication skills above self-help skills.

This study explores the experiences of being a SENCO in mainstream schools in England. It examines how the role is operationalized and compares this to the guidance offered by national policy documents, such as the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (DfES, 2001b). These issues were investigated through a questionnaire and in depth semi structured interviews with SENCOs working in primary and secondary school settings. The development of the SENCO role as a leader or manager is explored, including the potential benefits and limitations of such an approach. The relational aspect of SEN with pupils, staff and parents is also explored along with pressures and expectations placed on SENCOs by the current education system. Findings suggest that a SENCO will find a particular way of interpreting and responding to the needs of the role, which cannot easily be defined as either a leader or manager. This is influenced by not only by national guidelines and school based pressures, but also by the values that SENCOs have. Many SENCOs valued the interactional nature of the SENCO role, whether that is with pupils, staff and colleagues. Most wanted to maintain this aspect of the role, but increase the opportunities they had to influence strategic responses to learning and teaching across the school, as well as increasing the involvement of colleagues in SEN related issues.

This is a collection of texts that speak of experiences of the education of one woman, me. I have learned more of who I am. This autoethnography seeks to ground personal experiences in social and cultural contexts. I seek to tell truthfully and deeply of personal experiences. I draw upon others‟ voices to legitimate mine. The words of others facilitate my own. I come to realise that I do belong in this work; the work takes form and from this I take form. I find a home in this work. This work is an educational experience. Stories of emotions founder education. Reflective and reflexive journal writing have been stimuli. Educative experiences are communicated in both content and forms of my stories. I believe meanings are always in process. Process affects the stories told, story-tellers and those listening. Meanings are not inherent but produced and reproduced challenged by the communities in which they are practised and their languages. The meanings I attribute to the person I am, my personal experiences, are those I construct from the groups to which I do and do not belong. My emotions drive the meanings I experience, particularly in relation to experiences of education.