This thesis examines sex education in the UK. The project presents an account of current policies and materials in practice, in addition to the primary focus of providing an up-to-date participant account of sex education with specific focus on sexual orientation in English classrooms. This study utilised a multi-method approach comprised of several interlinking parts; a literature analysis of policy and sex education materials, a questionnaire-based survey with sixth form students and interviews/focus groups with LGBT identified young people. These provide a snapshot of current issues surrounding sex education and sexual orientation through experiences in the classroom. It is shown that a public health discourse, at best, guides the topics that are commonly discussed in sex education, both in policy and practice. At worst, it omits various important and contentious issues such as sexual orientation, which are necessary in ensuring a holistic programme. Guidance at the national level is superficial and open to interpretation - this then filters down to the local level which leads to inconsistencies across policies, though it was found that some policies at the local level were both comprehensive and inclusive. While there were classroom materials found to be inclusive of social sex education, these were reportedly not frequently incorporated into the classroom. In the empirical data, young people commonly acknowledged that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy dominated classroom discussions to the detriment and exclusion of other topics identified as important by the participants. This lack of holism contributed to the prevailing notion that sex education was heteronormative, and was perceived to be the result of social inequalities and past political views.

This study addresses two questions: 'What factors affect the adoption of research within educational policy making?' and 'How might a better understanding of these factors improve research adoption and aid the development of policy?' In investigating the concept of research adoption, which I regard as vital to the successful creation of ‘evidence-informed' policies/policy instruments, it is hoped that the study's conclusions will assist researchers seeking to influence policy development, whilst also aiding policy-makers who wish to inform their policies with evidence. I begin the study by critically engaging with the concept of evidence-informed policy making. I then shift my focus to the theoretical field of knowledge transfer/exchange. The assumptions that subsequently emerge from this engagement and which form the conceptual basis of the thesis are that: evidence-informed policy is dependent on the prior adoption of research by policy-makers, and; that adoption itself depends both upon effective communication by research ‘suppliers' and effective reception on the part of research audiences. Building on these assumptions, I then establish the individual factors that are considered to be vital in facilitating the research adoption process. These adoption factors are afforded further explanatory power through their combination with the theoretical framework I have employed for the thesis; Social Activity Method (SAM). In brief, SAM argues that the social world comprises people undertaking actions that lead to them building, maintaining or destroying relationships with one another. For this study, I regard research adoption as the establishment of a successful relationship between policy-makers and researchers. Consequently, the processes involved in the communication of research are seen to represent the actions employed by researchers in order to establish such a relationship; these can be juxtaposed against the research reception (or audience) actions displayed by policymakers. Combining these research adoption factors together with SAM enables me to construct a new model of research adoption which, I propose, provides a more nuanced and effective way of explaining how and why research might be adopted than existing work in this area. In summary, the model promotes the idea that adoption will depend on sociological uestions: is the researcher privileged by the policy-maker in question? is the area of study situated within a wider corpus of knowledge? The answers to these questions affect the specific adoption ‘scenario' faced by researchers and policymakers and, consequently, the nature and type of any factors affecting research adoption which researchers and policy-makers will need to develop strategies to overcome. The primary methodology I employ is that of the in-depth, semi-structured interview. To inform these interviews, key issues from the literature review were identified and rhetorical analysis also utilised. As a result of undertaking 24 interviews with researchers, policy-makers and other knowledge providers within the education sector in England, I identify four key research adoption strategies that could be used by academic researchers to improve the knowledge adoption process. These are: the creation of ‘policy ready' outputs (designed to increase demand for a given study by improving understanding of how its findings might be applied or utilised); traditional outputs (which serve to enhance perceptions of the study's quality and rigour); promotional strategies (which relate to the way research is disseminated, both in terms of its communication and in terms of the techniques or modes employed), and; ‘contextual' strategies (which attempt to improve the reputation of the researcher or the social robustness of the idea to which their research pertains). At the same time I critically examine the assumptions which underlie why these strategies are regarded as key and outline how inequalities in power relations between policy-makers and researchers might be redressed.

A major vehicle for the decentralized implementation of education policies in Ghana is the district education office, the head of which is the district director of education. This study offers an understanding of the position of district directors of education (DDEs) and demonstrates the complex dynamics inherent in their work. It critically analyses the directors' rank and role as policy actors and their power to act. It also provides an informed view of how DDEs negotiate the challenges associated with the contexts within which they work. This study further examines the mechanisms for the DDE's identity construction and capacity to provide appropriate leadership and management. Adopting a social constructivist philosophical stance this research is framed in terms of narrative and case study. The data set comprises interviews with six DDEs studied as a single holistic case and a participant observation of a conference of directors. Additionally my personal experience as a district director provided deep insight complemented by a reflective research journal which documented my own biases, feelings and thoughts. The findings of the study suggest that policy formulation and implementation in Ghana does not seem to promote devolution of power from national policy actors to local-level actors in a manner that enables influence from DDEs. It illustrates that specific socio-cultural and organizational contexts have enormous influence on the professional identity formation of DDEs. The study concludes that an understanding of the complex contexts of the district director is critical for developing appropriate leadership and management practices. This study is pertinent to my own professional identity as an education administrator and a researcher. Fundamentally, this research has changed my perspectives on what it takes to be a district director and has enhanced my understanding of the research process. Its contribution to scholarship is the systematic re-examination of the district director position enabling a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. It is particularly relevant not only to my colleague directors, but also to senior education administrators in the GES and policy makers in the Ministry of Education.

This study investigates effects of a conditional cash transfer programme (CCT) in Brazil – Bolsa Família (BF) – on school outcomes, particularly children's achievements on standardised tests, pass-grade rates, and dropout rates. The educational conditionality of the programme, requiring enrolment in school and minimum school attendance, figures as a major justification for public investment in BF. It is expected that BF will reduce short-term poverty and boost children's human capital, thus inducing long-term socioeconomic improvement. In order to achieve its long-term objective, BF should be able to improve not only enrolment and attendance rates, but also learning outcomes and grade promotion amongst beneficiary children. However, these effects, particularly learning outcomes, have not yet been reported in the literature. The hypothesis investigated in this thesis is that length of time of participation in the programme and per capita cash amounts received by families are key variables in assessing BF's effects on children's educational outcomes. As the programme improves household income, requires a high rate of school attendance, and monitors children's health and nutritional conditions, a positive effect on children's performance should be expected over time. Similarly, the amount of cash paid to families should have an impact on changes induced in the home environment that are beneficial for children's educational outcomes. Empirically, the dissertation combines three national datasets from governmental agencies for the years 2005 and 2007. These data contain information on test scores in Portuguese Language and Mathematics for fourth grade pupils, school context, and BF parameters (intake, time of participation, and cash value), which are used in cross-sectional and panel analyses to test the above hypotheses. The results show that although beneficiaries tend to attend less well-resourced schools, the influence of individual and household characteristics on test scores overshadow that of school resources, suggesting that demand-side interventions might result in gains in children's performances. The cross-sectional analysis at the school level suggests that BF's contribution to school outcomes depends on the length of time of participation and the per capita cash value paid to families. In addition, these two BF parameters have substitute effects, that is, as the per capita cash increases, school performance increases; however, the contribution of time of participation to gains in school performance diminishes and vice-versa. As a sensitive analysis to test the direct effects of length of time of participation and per capita cash on school outcomes, a subsample was used, which includes only schools in which more than 80% of pupils are beneficiaries. Results from this subsample confirm the positive effects of time and cash on school outcomes, although only cash is statistically significant. Furthermore, a school-and-time fixed effects model is estimated using panel data for 2005 and 2007 for the same school outcomes. The results also suggest that improvements in school outcomes are expected over time as a result of exposure to the programme, although this varies across regions. The findings support the idea that improvements in educational opportunities and outcomes for children of low-income families in Brazil require a non-educational policy measure – the reduction of the immediate income poverty – as intended by BF. Nevertheless, there is also an urgent need to address inequalities in standards of education supply and special attention should be given to children whose families are recipients of BF in promoting access to pre-school programmes. Even though educational policies are necessary, they are insufficient to promote human capital amongst the poorest families in Brazil. In this sense, CCTs do not represent an opportunity cost for educational policies. Instead, they are important allies in promoting education access and equity.

The focus of this study is to understand how policies to decentralize governance have affected the primary education sector in Bangladesh with specific reference to non-state schools. Decentralizing education has emerged as an important strategic tool to reform and enhance education quality globally. The study analyzes the relationship between the state and non-state primary education providers in the context of education reforms delivered via decentralization. The investigation used a qualitative case study approach with respondents residing and working in Gopalpur, a small township 125 km away from the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Three categories of school-level actors were interviewed - School Management Committee (SMC) members, head teachers and teachers within two types of schools: Registered Non-Government Primary Schools (RNGPS) and Quomi madrassas. A primary focus of the study is to explore what the basic comprehension of the respondents regarding concepts and the implications of decentralization. The findings indicate that most of the school-level actors interviewed in the Gopalpur area were in fact familiar with the concepts of decentralization and related to it as an act of transfer of power and participatory education processes. The study further revealed that most of the RNGPS respondents supported policy guidelines and directives from the state, which is based on deconcentration, while the Quomi madrassas preferred delegated space. The research also explored the operational relationship between state and non-state providers in terms of two specific aspects. The first aspect was the relationship between state and non-state providers in three specific areas: the SMCs, monitoring activities and the training of education personnel with a focus on teachers. The other aspect involves the extent of trust and respect displayed from the center towards the school-level actors. The SMCs apparently do not feel motivated to be proactive in schools‘ affairs due to limited scope as dictated by the state and lack of authority to hold the school administrations accountable for their actions. However, Quomi Madrassa Management Committees (MMC) is very involved and act as effective mediators on behalf of the community as well as madrassas. In regards to monitoring and training inputs, the state‘s centralized system does not produce far-reaching enough results according to the RNGPS respondents. This study also investigated the mindset of officials belonging to the DPE (Directorate of Primary Education) and MOPME (Ministry of Primary & Mass Education) towards the school-level actors, which are characterized by lack of mutual trust and respect. This study reveals that given the diverse nature of non-state providers, each category of non-state providers has its own historical origins and its own understanding and approaches towards the state. The study also shows that SMCs, monitoring and training sub-systems within the governance play an important role in defining operational relationship between the state and non-state providers. The findings and analyses included herein contribute to the current policy discourse on decentralizing education in Bangladesh within the context of non-state providers and their relationship in operational terms with the state. It adds to more informed and participatory policy formulation and planning processes. Along this process, it serves to inform policy makers, school-level actors and researchers about the value of collective ownership of the policy discourse through meaningful dialogue.

This thesis explores the development of a multi-stakeholder partnership model using a multiple case study research design. Specifically this study examines the rationale for the launch of the Rajasthan Education initiative, its development and its impact on educational development and reaches conclusions about the scalability and sustainability of multistakeholder partnerships (MSPs) in the context of Rajasthan. The literature review shows that there is insufficient independent research evidence to support the widespread claims that public private partnerships (PPPs), of which MSP is a new ‘avatar', are able to deliver results in terms of developmental gains and added value. This paucity of evidence and profusion of claims is partly explained by the fact, that the research that has been commissioned is not independent and its conclusions have been shaped by vested interests of those promoting the organisations they claim to evaluate. In particular organisations associated with the World Economic Forum (WEF) have been projecting PPPs and programmes of corporate responsibility as a way to engage for-profit organisations and enhance the effectiveness of external support for the delivery of services to basic education. Alongside this not-for-profit PPPs are seldom scrutinised in terms of public accountability, value for money, scalability, or sustainability partly due to the voluntary nature of such inputs to the public system. I believe my research makes a new and unique contribution to the independent evaluation of state enabled, not-for-profit MSPs in action. The research selected eight formal partnerships for case study which were selected using a matrix of organisational characteristics, scale and scope of interventions. The case studies are organised into four thematic groups i.e, School adoption, ICT based interventions, teachers' training and universalisation of elementary education in underserved urban localities. Each case study is examined using a framework which highlights three dimensions. These are i) the design of the partnership, ii) stakeholder involvement and intra agent dynamics and iii) the Governance of the partnership. A cross case analysis of the eight partnerships is used to arrive at conclusions about MSPs in Rajasthan. This uses the concept of double contingency of power (Sayer 2004), and specifically the concept of causal power and causal susceptibilities and Stake's (2006) multiple case analysis, to discuss the commonalities and differences across partnerships and emerging themes while cross analysing the partnerships. I have engaged in interpretivist inquiry and sought to understand the workings of an MSP which involves businesses and CSR groups alongside NGOs and government agencies with an aim to place Rajasthan on a fast development track. Rather than looking for an ideal type MSP, I problematise the MSPs in Rajasthan as I explain the workings of an MSP model in action. Given this methodological perspective, I have used semi structured interviews, observations of the partnership programmes in action, and document analysis as methods to collect and corroborate data for this study. The study concludes that the exiting MSP arrangements in REI are not scalable, unsustainable and have very limited impact. Moreover, the MSPs are unstable and reflect fluid inter-organisational evolution, as well as ambiguous public accountability. There was no purposeful financial management at the REI management level. In addition the exit routes for partners supporting interventions were not planned, resulting in the fading away of even those interventions that showed promise in accruing learning gains for children, and by schools and teachers. Non-scalability and lack of sustainability can be inferred from the fact that the partners do not have a long term view of interventions, lack sustained commitment for resource input and the interventions are implemented with temporary work force. The instability of the partnerships can be explained through the absence of involvement of government teachers and communities. Also economic and political power dominated the fate of the programmes. In this MSP it was clear that corporate social responsibility (CSR) was a driving force for establishing the MSP but was not backed by continued and meaningful engagement. The ‘win-win' situation of greater resources, efficiency and effectiveness, which formed the basic premise for launching the REI was not evident in reality. MSPs are gaining currency globally. This research points to the fact that much more intentional action needs to be taken to ensure that partnerships such as these have a sustained impact on development. The problems and issues of education are historically, politically and socially embedded. Any action that does not take this into account and which is blind to the interests of different stakeholders in MSPs, will surely fall short of achieving what it set out to do. Further independent research examining the ambitions and realities of other MSPs is needed to inform policy development and implementation. This is essential for achieving the goals of education for all before investing further in what appears to be a flawed modality to improve access, equity and outcomes in education.