The number of studies being carried out into the lives of Arab women in general and Arab women in education have increased in recent years. There has been little examination, however, of the phenomenon of modern Gulf Arab women and women of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) entering third-level education to study a subject that is considered non-traditional in their culture. This study aims to redress the balance by focusing on women of the UAE, where women have full access to third-level education and government policy stresses the importance of educated women participating in the workforce. The methodologies used are grounded theory, phenomenology and ethnography. Data was collected through the use of informal interviews and a detailed diary, which was kept throughout the study. Participants were selected using the theoretical sampling procedure, and collection of data was discontinued when the themes became saturated. Data was analysed using the constant comparative method. All of the women who participated in the study had made two specific choices with regard to their third-level education: to study Visual Communications and to study it through English. This distinction is important to the study because it places these women at the forefront of social change. Their choice to study through English and their choice of course reflects a definite career outlook. These students were aware that these choices meant a very real possibility of pursuing a career in this area, especially as this kind of work could be undertaken from the home. In all aspects of their lives these students have participated in meaningful discussions that will impact on how they live their lives both now and in the future. This is a very important change and heralds the other changes now taking place in UAE society, on all levels. This thesis concludes that the stereotype of Arab women as largely ignored, downtrodden, bullied and forced against their will to cover themselves is highly inaccurate. The Western notion of the Arab family as a controlling unit is far too simplistic. The Emirati family structure is complex: no single description can encompass its varieties and specificities.

This thesis reports on an investigation into the sport experiences and views of a sample of young women in two High Schools in Lusaka, Zambia. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the sports played by young women, their reasons for playing the sports, the benefits they gained, and how they navigated and negotiated the barriers they faced. The study was framed by looking at the intersections and interactions of four key ideas – sport, education, gender, and development. Significantly the study was set in the context of the United Nations' declarations of sport as a human right and the global policy position of using sport as a tool for development, gender equality and empowerment of young women. Thirty-six young females from Grades 10 and 11, identified through snowball sampling, participated in the interpretive phenomenological research. Data was collected mainly through six focus groups, thirty-six semi-structured interviews and field observations. The findings show that young women played team sports in schools' extracurricular programmes historically and culturally dominated by men and characterized by gender issues around participation. Interestingly the same young women also took part in after school activities organized by Non-Governmental Organizations that disseminated HIV/AIDS information and addressed gender equality issue through sports. Using young women's voices, the thesis details their personal and social reasons for playing traditionally male sports. It also details the personal, social, health-related and economic benefits they experienced, and, as active agents, how they navigated and negotiated gendered barriers associated with the notion of sport, access to playing space and resources, and regulation of their behaviour in doing sport. There was, however, no evidence from the young women to suggest that playing male sports or sport for development interventions contributed to gender equality and women's empowerment. The thesis underlines the importance of listening to young women about what sports they want to play, the social support they need from peers, friends and family and especially males, and that sport for development interventions may have potential in facilitating young women's participation or in reducing the gender-based barriers women face. The thesis highlights limitations of the study and suggests important directions for future research.

The focus of this work is an exploration of issues related to poor access and retention of girls across the Nine Year Basic Education (9YBE) level in Rwanda. This was accomplished through analysis of stakeholders' views and perspectives, informed by a constructivist ontological perspective and interpretative methodological stance. Specifically, through interviews and conversations, the research, sought to explore different experiences, ideas, attitudes and views held by stakeholders in the educational up-take by girls. These stakeholders groups included the educationist group (Headteachers, Teachers, and Education Officers), NGO group (FAWE and Community Women Organizations - CWO), Parent group (Parents in general and Parents on schools' PTAs), Learner group (pupils in school) and Girl dropout group (girls who had dropped out of school). This study sought to explore the stakeholders' perspectives on the main barriers to girls' access and retention across the 9YBE, where accountability lay for keeping girls in school, and proposed strategies for ensuring gender equity in education. The thesis is introduced from a geographical and an historical perspective as the context of the education provision in Rwanda. A literature review considers the challenges and solutions to girls' education provision and through this a conceptual framework is developed around equity and equality issues from which the research questions are formulated with respect to Rwanda. Following this the research design, methodology, data collection techniques and analysis are discussed. My constructivist methodology and interpretive-epistemological stance highlights the use of qualitative data mainly based on interviews. In findings I show that issues regarding poor access and retention of girls in school revolve around economic challenges and associated household poverty, school based challenges, traditional and cultural gendered beliefs and the positioning of girls in the Rwandan society and argue that these challenges have been accentuated by effects of the 1994 genocide that are still manifest today. I also argue that there is a serious lack of accountability for keeping girls in school, and that the decentralised education provision has sustained gender discrimination which is heightened among the poor. This signals the emergence of a class divide between those who are lucky enough to go to school, study and complete and those who do not. My analysis also indicates that issues of girls' poor access and retention in education revolve also around the lasting effects of war and genocide that Rwanda experienced 18 years ago. This has been accentuated by deep rooted family poverty that informs gendered choices on who goes to school under difficult circumstances. I show the implications of the conflict for current educational up-take and argue that in the Rwandan context there is a need for more informed and innovative work to solve the problems in addition to solutions suggested by interviewees that are mainly centred on the urgent need for government to eradicate poverty seen as a major setback to girls' education uptake. This study contributes to the contemporary debates in Rwanda, about whether or not the government is doing enough to ensure girls' access and full participation in 9YBE. It also illuminates stakeholder perspectives on this contested debate on how best girls' education may be provided to solve the current low uptake and the ways forward. As this research was conducted in Rwanda, a post-conflict country, it also contributes to an understanding of issues that face girls' schooling in post genocide conditions. Further, this study makes an addition to the limited stock of educational research in Sub-Saharan African nations.

In this thesis I explore the extent to which women and girls are disadvantaged within the Nepalese education system. I attempt to investigate the barriers to, and opportunities for, participation by women and girls in the formal education system, including those who are doubly discriminated against because of gender and caste. I attempt to explore the issues in three ways: through an examination of my own experience growing up in Nepal as a member of a Brahmin family, and employed within the Ministry of Education in Nepal; through an exploration of the relevant literature within and outside Nepal; and through an ethnographic case-study of a village community. I spent about four months as a participant observer in the village engaging in unstructured in-depth interviews, as well as recording conversations and reflections in a research diary. Although the village is situated only 15 kilometers from Kathmandu, it exhibited a pattern of life that has changed very slowly in the fifty-two years since the end of the 50s. I report the extent of changes in the experiences of women and girls in the village, through their own reflections on their social position and the value of education to them, and their involvement and attendance at public, including religious, occasions. I report, too, on both the changing attitudes of men and their resistance to them. I pay particular attention to the present position of girls, through a detailed account of a public secondary school, situated at the centre of the village. I report on my observations in the classroom, conducted interviews with the girls, inside and outside school, and read their diaries in which they wrote down reflections about their experiences in school and at home. I selected, as key informants, a group of Dalit and Non-Dalit girls and boys, who were studying in Bhagawati School, as well as a group of girls who had stopped attending school. The activities of these key informants were observed in their schools, and outside as well. Interviews were also conducted with their parents, teachers and members of the different communities in the village. These opinions were supplemented with views about the education of girls, in general, and Dalit girls, in particular, and from discussions with Dalit activists and NGO workers. I consider how the value of education for girls is revealed, and affected, by competition from private schools, where boys predominate. I build a picture of the differences in educational participation of Dalits and non-Dalits, males and females and Dalit and non-Dalit girls. I also examine the role of NGOs in the village, and the extent to which they influence participation of women in education. I incorporate concepts of inclusion and exclusion into Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction, as grounds for understanding how discrimination towards girls and Dalits is perpetuated in education. I also borrow the concept of cultural production theory, in order to examine how the schooled children resist traditional beliefs and prejudiced attitudes, about gender and caste, where the school offers a forum for the creation of a new counter-culture. I also draw on a Freirean approach to analyse how to increase the self-awareness of the excluded about their own exclusion. I provide an analysis of the case-study material, and a consideration of what these add to the literature and my own autobiographical reflections. I follow this with a critical analysis of how girls, and disadvantaged children, have experienced change in their educational participation, as a result of the efforts made by the government to implement its educational policies. I conclude that discrimination against girls in education persists, despite some changes, and is exacerbated by the interaction between gender, caste and poverty. The patriarchal value system and prejudices towards girls’ education, are still creating major barriers to girls’ opportunities for education, with low caste disproportionately increasing discrimination towards girls, compared to boys. The growth of private education is an added force for discrimination, with boys far more likely than girls to be supported by their families at private schools. I suggest that ways of combating discrimination need to be reviewed, within the relatively new context of a Nepalese democratic republic. This will require a redirection of policy-making and administration, from personal careers and patronage, towards a determined effort to put into practice the ideals of the Education for All programme in Nepal, without regard to gender, caste or ethnic background.

In recent years there have been a number of pieces of research published which suggest that the phenomenon of self-harm in adolescence is increasing (Hall & Place, 2010, Beauchaine et al.,2014, Garcıa-Nieto et al., 2015). Heath et al., (2006) found that a majority of school teachers shared this view. In their study, 74% of teachers reported a first-hand encounter with self-injury. The subject of self-harm is also receiving more media coverage in mainstream newspapers and magazines (Dutta, 2015 & Money-Coutts, 2015), suggesting a rise in public consciousness about mental health issues such as self-harm. The extent of mental health problems amongst adolescents has also been publicly acknowledged by the Department of Health, who state that “Over half of mental health problems in adult life (excluding dementia) start by the age of 14 and seventy-five per cent by age 18” (2015:9). Research into adolescent self-harm has suggested that the most likely age for adolescents to commence self-harm is within the 10-15 years age bracket (Garcıa-Nieto et al., 2015 & Hanania et al., 2015) demonstrating that many adolescents are self-harming at an age where they are expected to be in school for the majority of their time. However, in studies of teachers, a ‘patchy' awareness of self-harm has been demonstrated (Best, 2005a; 2005b), and a lack of ability to know how best to deal with the situation, should it present itself, has been acknowledged by teachers in a number of research articles (Hall & Place 2010; Heath et al. 2006 and Kidger et al., 2010). This issue was discussed further in my Critical Analytical Study (Margrett, 2014). This study is guided by two main questions; firstly, “what are the experiences of independent school staff of pupil disclosures of self-harm?” and secondly, “how well equipped do independent school staff feel to deal with pupil disclosures of self-harm?” Interviews with four subject teachers, two housemistresses, and a school matron were conducted as a participant researcher within one girls' independent boarding school. The interviews were analysed through the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2013) and findings were synthesised with some of the key concepts found in the work of Foucault (1982; 1977/1991) concerning discourses of power, knowledge and truth. Five main superordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the data: knowledge and awareness of self-harm; reasons why pupils have self-harmed; the hidden nature of self-harm; personal responses to self-harm disclosure by staff; lack of training and support; and reasons for participating. The study finds that within the small sample interviewed, the participants demonstrated a lack of confidence in their own understanding of the term ‘self-harm', but a wide experience of pupil self-harm disclosures. It suggests the need for the training of all staff, not just key pastoral staff, in dealing with pupil disclosures of self-harm; and the requirement for schools to develop a self-harm policy (Robinson et al., 2008) and clear guidelines for referral and follow-up of disclosures of self-harm. It also supports the concept of supervision style meetings for school staff to have the ability to discuss their own anxieties and concerns about pupil behaviour (Best, 2005a & 2005b). Finally, the study examines how staff and parental avoidance of self-harm can lead to the development of concentric circles of complicit secrecy surrounding the pupil who is self-harming. It considers how ‘over-parenting' and ‘spoon-feeding' of educational concepts may be damaging pupils' ability to manage their fear of failure and suggests that this may lead to a lack of resilience and a lack of an ability to deal with problems effectively (Lahey, 2015) particularly when pupils feel that they do not conform to the accepted norms of society (Foucault, 1977/ 1991).

This thesis explores the university experiences of the daughters of single mothers who are first-generation students in the United Kingdom. Data was collected during spring and summer of 2013. Participants were recruited through flyers, email, and social networking sites. Participants were sought who met the following criteria: they considered themselves to have been primarily raised by their mother (or their mother raised them alone for about five years or more during their childhood); they were current or recent undergraduate university students at any university in the UK, any mode of study (full or part time), and any age (traditional age or mature students); and they were first-generation students (the first in their family to attend university, which includes students whose siblings might have gone to university). A preliminary 30-question, online questionnaire was completed by 110 respondents. Among the survey respondents, 26 participated in qualitative, semi- structured interviews. After the interview, participants were encouraged to engage in reflective writing. Data was explored through a thematic, theoretical, and autoethnographical analysis. This research examines intersectionalities of gender, socio-economic class, race, and family status as they shape the students' identities and their university experiences. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks upon which this study is built include feminist theory, intersectionality theory, and the concept of social exclusion. The findings from this study contribute to the existing literature within the area of widening participation and social identities and illuminate the ways that single mother families are constructed by the media, by politicians, and in society. Additionally, this study bridges the gap between the existing literature on the experience of single mother families and the existing literature on the experiences of students in higher education, providing a deeper understanding of access, participation, and inclusion of this specific population of students as yet unexplored within existing research.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how education in one girls' government school teaches understandings of citizenship and to identify potential links to the reproduction of identity-based violence in Pakistan. This in-depth qualitative case study was conducted in a girls' government model school. This study focuses on curriculum and school practices of the secondary school section. Data was collected through interviews with staff, a participatory workshop with teachers, focus groups with students, classroom observation, and informal discussions. I also analyzed the Pakistan Studies textbook used in the secondary section of the school. Using theories of critical education, intersectionality, and Galtung's violence triangle, I argue that despite recent political and curricular reform attempts, education in Pakistan reproduces a homogeneous concept of a legitimate citizen (male Sunni Muslim). While this evolved to unite an ethnically diverse Pakistan, it has contributed to identity-based violence (direct, structural, and cultural) against those that do not fit within this conception. In this school, the Pakistan Studies textbooks create an official discourse that promotes this gendered and exclusionary citizenship. I show how the Pakistan studies textbook uses history and constitutional lessons to promote citizenship that is based in a masculine Islam meant to oppose the Hindu ‘other' as well as to promote the exclusion of women and minorities from full citizenship. I also found that teachers own understandings of citizenship, which closely reflect the text, are deeply rooted in their understanding of their notions of the ideal Muslim woman. I find that the school rewards gendered behavior in both students and teachers. I then explore the extent to which the school reproduces other social divisions including religious, ethnicity, and class. I find that the school simultaneously reproduces, mitigates, and exacerbates these tensions. I then argue that the teachers' and students' understandings of the role of women to counter violence is rooted in the notions of middle class women's roles as mothers and supporters of men that are reproduced through school practice. This study furthers the knowledge on the links between education and violence by showing that promoting a homogeneous ideal of a citizen through education, while intended as a nation building project, can contribute to structural, cultural and direct violence against women and minorities, limiting their agency to engage in social transformation.