This thesis is a study of the ways in which hegemonic masculinity is constructed in two primary schools. Its principal perspective is feminist, though it draws heavily on the substantial body of work on masculinities within sociology. Connell's (1987) understanding of hegemonic masculinity which informs much of the work in this area, underpins the theoretical framework for conceptualising how a school constructs specific forms of masculinities which are powerfully shaped by ideologies and structures in wider society. The notion of 'critical incidents' is employed to ascertain how social processes come together in specific combinations in order to explore hegemonic and other modes of masculinities. This study is a feminist analysis of masculinities in school settings. As such, methodological/theoretical issues occupy a central role. The research on which the study is based was conducted with teachers and children in two primary schools located in different socio-economic areas of the same city. In one school the focus was on a class of 6-7 year olds, and in the other, on 9-10 year olds. The study adopts a qualitative methodology in the form of ethnography in order to explore teacher-pupil classroom behaviours and the peer relationships and social interaction of children, with a particular focus on boys. The study both confirms findings of other research on masculinities and primary schools which show the importance of locale on constructions of hegemonic masculinity and draws attention to previously unacknowledged issues. Locating the research in a middle- and a working-class school enabled a comparison of the ways in which the characteristics of a social area influence the processes of masculine constructions in a school. Also, the study considers the impact of the Education Reform Act (1988) on constructions of dominant masculinities in schools. Importantly, these two ethnographic case studies have been undertaken from a feminist position and the researcher's relationships with, and explorations of the relationships between, male teachers and boys contribute new insights into how hegemonic masculinity is constructed, at the level of the school, through various discourses.

This thesis discusses the pastoral care worker role as defined by Schools Outreach. Schools Outreach is a charitable Christian organisation who recruit, train and manage the provision of pastoral support in selected schools. The research aims to explore perceptions of the role in two junior schools and the extent to which the interventions of the pastoral care workers are successful. The research methods chosen include interviews, questionnaires, dairy entries and observations. The roles of the two pastoral care workers are researched as are the effectiveness of some of the programmes and activities they are involved with. Findings from the research are considered in the light of proposed national developments in multi-agency work. The author believes that issues encountered during this research are fundamental to the involvement of support services in schools.

This thesis examines the role of employers in vocational education and training (VET) with particular reference to initiatives targetted at the 16-19 age group. Its premise is that the so-called 'employer-led' initiatives of the 1980s and 1990s have, in fact, been government-led and that employers have played a particularly passive role in their design and delivery. Furthermore, the thesis asserts that employers lack the understanding, knowledge and commitment required to play the proactive role which the rhetoric of VET demands of them. Historical sources are used to demonstrate that the struggle to persuade employers to play a leading role in VET has been taking place for decades and that even the classic employer-led model, apprenticeship, cannot be said to have been an unqualified success. The introduction of the Youth Training Scheme is examined in terms of its effects on employers' company-wide training practices, effects which have been largely overlooked by previous analyses. The thesis then attempts to reveal the realities behind the employer-VET interface through two closely observed case studies of, firstly, a Training and Enterprise Council (TEC), and, secondly, a Training Credits pilot programme. A qualitative methodology was used to bring into focus the perceptions, values and struggles of people working both inside and on the outside of initiatives which are hailed as vehicles for reversing the national failure to match the rest of the developed world in terms of a skilled labour force. In order to create a sense of the highly complex world of VET as experienced by young people, employers, TEC staff, teachers, lecturers and careers officers, the thesis draws on research data collected over four years. The thesis concludes by recommending that employers, researchers, VET practitioners and policymakers need to construct a new paradigm to encompass a meaningful role for employers in VET.

This research investigated the past relationship between the formal education and nonformal educational systems in Palestine as a basis for considering what form the relationship may take in the future. The study was based on the initial understanding that within the field of study and practice of continuing education, non-formal education has been conceptualised as having a particular role to play in producing a more equitable society. The study was undertaken at a significant political moment. Non-formal educational institutions and programmes had flourished when, under Israeli occupation, much formal education provision was restricted. Palestinian non-formal education played a significant role in resistance to Israeli occupation and in the Intifada (1987-1994). In 1993, with the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principle on Interim Self Government, the geo-political context for the Palestinian people and Palestinian institutions changed and a transitional national authority was established. The research was shaped to consider this transitional context. The research was planned to include interviews with people who were likely to be players in the process of national policy formulation. The researcher standpoint was that of a known NFE practitioner. The intention of the field approach was (a) to assess whether a perspective on social exclusion or, for reasons described in the dissertation, educational exclusion was likely to inform the education policy of the new regime and (b) to stimulate through the interview conversation, consideration of the past and future role of non-formal education in Palestine. Analysis of the views of 31 members of the educational elite was informed and contextualised by a review of the literature (mostly in English and much of it written in relation to developing societies) on non-formal education, statistical data, research reports and case studies of education in Palestine. The research argues for the necessity of reforming and reshaping Palestinian non-formal education, and for strategies to be adopted that integrate formal education and non-formal education. Consideration of policy options for the future of Palestinian non-formal education was set within a model of relationships between non-formal education and forms of governance.

This study assesses the extent to which the educational needs of a group of very able Year 10 students reflect the perceived educational needs of gifted children as drawn from a study of the literature. In consultation with their teachers, fifteen students from five schools in two counties were selected to take part in the research. Using the case-study method, these students, their parents and teachers were interviewed. The information collected from their parents and teachers was used mainly for the process of triangulation. Letters were sent to all who were involved in the research in any capacity, explaining what the research was about and inviting them to participate in the project or seeking permission to approach others where this was necessary. There was eventually a full complement of interested and co-operative participants. Those interviewed gave responses which were very useful to the research and raised some unexpected and very interesting issues. Interview schedules were used and, to facilitate comparisons in the responses, the schedules for the students, parents and teachers were very similar. The responses of all three groups have been compiled into a series of tables and these and bar graphs illustrate the extent to which students' parents' and teachers' responses were in accord. The conclusions drawn from the study are that, in general, there was a good correspondence in the needs of this particular group of students with those needs in the list drawn from the literature and their needs were largely being met by their schools. However, some of the perceived needs were not confirmed as such for this group and there was a variation in emphasis in some of their identified needs. A number of issues also emerged suggesting needs which were not included in the original list. An especially interesting example of these was the part played by in-family role models, especially older sibling rival I role models, who appeared to have been very important in the motivation and achievement of some students. All the issues which emerged which were not included in the original list of perceived needs would make interesting topics for further research.

This thesis explores the effectiveness of discrete courses designed to prepare young adults with severe learning disabilities for the next stage in their lives, broadly assumed to be independent living and employment. It focuses particularly on the ways a small group of students in one college are prepared for supported employment. It captures the views of some of these students and of the significant adults who work with them. The thesis does not reject work as an option for young adults with severe learning disabilities; rather it promotes the view that work is one of the significant places where the adult community congregates. Inclusion in mainstream work, as is inclusion in mainstream school, is an important way to achieve first, public visibility and then, social acceptance for those with severe learning disabilities. In its final analysis, the thesis adopts a Foucauldian perspective and invites the further education sector to reconsider entrenched thinking which promotes normalised notions of work linked to the ability to perform a set of functional skills. Whilst inclusion in the workplace for people with severe learning disabilities is dependent on a normalised set of skills and behaviours and moreover, that these can be learned through behaviourist principles, this inclusion will not be achieved. The thesis suggest that a more positive way forward, may be to explore ways to harness the innate vocational aptitudes and aspirations of young adults with severe learning difficulties, and to support them in contributing to adult society, not judged by normalised measures of competence, but as valued participants whose particular talents are celebrated.

The research study for this thesis was carried out in three stages. In the first stage, factors that might affect the learning of introductory statistics for student teachers were investigated. The factors were attitudes related to learning statistics, and the effects of the limitation of the student teachers’ psychological characteristics (namely, perceptual fields or the degree of field dependency and working memory space). In addition to these factors, student teachers’ performances in a test to identify misconceptions in basic descriptive statistics concepts and probability and also in their final statistics examination were scrutinised. The results from the first stage indicated that student teaches generally had positive attitudes toward learning statistics but not toward the introductory statistics course which was described as dull or uninspiring and too mathematical. The student teachers appeared not to cope with the task of taking down the lecture notes and simultaneously trying to understand the statistical concepts to be learned. Student teachers’ performance in the statistics examination revealed a significant correlation with their working memory although not with their degree of field dependency. From the test, misconceptions about certain concepts in basic descriptive statistics and probability were identified. These correlations may reflect the nature of the test materials as much as the nature of statistics. Based on the findings from the first stage, interactive statistics learning materials employing the cooperative learning method were developed in the second stage and given to an experimental group of student teachers from five teacher training colleges. Another group of student teachers (called the comparison group) from the same colleges were taught the same materials but through the traditional lecture method. A post-questionnaire and a test based on the materials learned were given to both groups after the completion of the second stage study. The degree of field dependency for the student teacher in both groups was also measured. Results from the post-questionnaire revealed that the experimental group overwhelmingly favoured the learning units that were based on the interactive and cooperative learning while the comparison group regarded the lecture method as being dull and uninspiring. It also appeared that learning statistics based on the cooperative learning method was more favoured by the male student teachers, the Non-Mathematics Education group and the field dependent student teachers. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the experimental group performed better than the comparison group in the test based on the learning materials. In the third stage, opinions were sought from the student teachers in their final semester of study, concerning their readiness to teach statistics in school. They also sat a multiple-choice test about basic concepts in descriptive statistics and probability. In addition, the working memory capacity and the degree of field dependency of the student teachers were also measured. The findings revealed that a majority of the student teacher did not have confidence in teaching statistics. This probably stemmed from the difficulty in understanding certain statistical concepts and perhaps the statistic courses that they had attended did not provide them with a good training. The findings from the test also revealed that misconceptions in some statistical concepts still persisted and that the student teachers appeared to have forgotten some, if not all, statistical subject matter that they had previously learned in the statistics lectures. Generally, these findings indicated the weaknesses of the traditional format of teaching introductory statistics course through the lecture method.

Educational provision for children with autism is increasingly being made within mainstream settings and a range of intervention strategies to cater for the diverse needs of this heterogeneous population are needed (Ali & Frederickson, 2006). This research presents an evaluation of ‘Comic Strip Conversations’ (CSCs) (Gray, 1994b) for addressing the target social behaviours of five primary-aged pupils with autism in mainstream schools. CSCs are a story-based intervention which use visual systems designed to support understanding of situations and encourage more appropriate social behaviours in individuals with autism. A systematic review of existing research into the effectiveness of CSCs highlights the limited evidence base that currently exists. A series of multiple-baseline across behaviours single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) were implemented for four participants, in which two specific behaviours were targeted through a CSC intervention. An A-B SCED was implemented for a fifth participant, targeting a single behaviour. Repeated measures were taken through structured observations to assess the frequency of target behaviours. These measures were triangulated with pre- and post- measures of staff perceptions of the target behaviours and intervention effectiveness. This research additionally explored the relative impacts on behaviours of creating single versus multiple CSCs. The repeated measures data was analysed using a combination of visual analysis and effect size analysis (Tau-U). The outcomes of this indicated mixed results, with the intervention appearing to be moderately to highly effective in addressing at least one target behaviour for three of the five participants. Outcomes in terms of changes in staff perceptions of target behaviours and ratings of intervention effectiveness were similarly mixed and did not consistently triangulate with the repeated measures data. The behaviour targeted through multiple CSCs demonstrated greater improvement than the behaviour targeted through a single CSC in three out of four participants, however the difference was negligible in one case. Therefore, no clear association between intervention frequency and outcome could be concluded. The results are considered in view of the limitations of the research, taking into account the research design, characteristics of the data obtained, and threats to internal validity. Implications for practice are outlined and suggestions are made for future research. The research concludes with some support for CSCs as a promising intervention which may aid the development of socially appropriate behaviours for some pupils with autism.

Nowadays and more generally, discrepancies in economic growth between otherwise similar countries are vast and in a large extent unexplained by economic theory. Economists in their endeavour of disentangling this puzzle bring education in the frontline as empirical evidence indicates that in some cases reforms in education are significant in explaining shifts in economic performance. This thesis consists of three papers which address different questions in related fields regarding the economics of education. The second chapter of this thesis concerns the effect of releasing information to students about their relative performance within their school and nationwide. Knowing how one's characteristics compare to those of other individuals is important in every setting of economic decision making. This chapter examines the effects of providing relative performance information on students' short and long term outcomes. I exploit a large scale natural experiment that took place in Greece. Using unique primary data on students' performance throughout senior high school, we find an asymmetric response to feedback: high-achieving students improve their final-year performance by 0.15 of a standard deviation, whereas the final-year performance of low-achieving students drops by 0.3 of a standard deviation. The results are consistently more pronounced for females indicating greater sensitivity to feedback. I also document the long-term effects of feedback: high-achieving students reduce their repetition rate for the national exams; they enrol into university departments that are more selective by 0.15 of a standard deviation and their expected annual earnings increase by 0.17 of a standard deviation. By contrast, the results for low-achieving students are negative. I provide suggestive evidence that feedback encourages students from low-income neighbourhoods to enrol in university and to study in higher-quality programs, which may, in the long run, reduce income inequality. The third chapter of this thesis examines the extent to which college decisions among adolescents depend on the decisions of their peers. In the recent years, the importance of one's group of peers-be that friends, colleagues, neighbors- has been widely emphasized in the literature. In this paper, I ask whether individuals derive utility from conformity in college enrolment. I propose a new methodology in mitigating re ection and endogeneity issues in identifying social interactions. The instrument that I propose is the percentage of females in one's school, neighbourhood and preferacture the year before. Evidence from the psychology literature support our assumption that the prevalence of females creates a less violent and disruptive environment. I exploit a special institutional setting, in which schools are very close to each other, allowing for students from different schools to interact. I investigate utility spillovers from the educational choices of students in consecutive cohorts. Spatial variation allows us to identify social interactions in groups of various sizes, using a new dataset that spans the universe of high school graduates. I find positive and significant externalities in the decision to enrol in college among peers who belong to the same social group. Results indicate that students who attend high school with 10% more classmates who enrol in college are 4.5 % percentage points more likely to themselves attend college. In the forth chapter, I investigate the causal effect of school attendance on students' performance. I exploit a natural experiment that changed the school absences allowance for the high achieving students in order to identify the effect of school attendance on educational outcomes. I use a novel dataset that contains class attendance information about students in eleventh and twelfth grade. The natural experiment took place in Greece in 2007 and provided higher performing students with 50 more hours of excused absences from school. I start off by using a Regression Discontinuity approach in order to measure the change in total absences and exam score due to the reform around the cut-off. The regression discontinuity cannot find an effect around the cut-off. The reason behind that is that the effect might not be caused by students around the threshold but by students in the right tail of the performance distribution. Next, I employ a combination of differences-in-differences and instrumental variables techniques in order to identify returns to absences. Our estimates show significant negative returns to absences.

This research enquiry was conducted to investigate contemporary teaching and learning methodologies in the mathematics classroom for pupils with Asperger Syndrome and to explore ways in which the pupils are supported in the mathematics learning environment. Asperger Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that can affect the motor system, memory, organisation and intrinsic motivation. Accordingly, the condition has the potential to adversely affect the learning of mathematics both theoretical and practical. Therefore, in addition to an exploration of external factors which could influence the mathematics learning experience for pupils with Asperger Syndrome, also considered was the potential part played by intrinsic and self-regulated processes. The investigation was divided into distinct phases. The first of these was an examination of how compatible intrinsic characteristics are perceived to be with contemporary mathematics teaching and learning. The second was a review of mathematics teaching pedagogical frameworks and settings. A case study approach involving ten students with Asperger Syndrome between the ages of 11 and 19 in a variety of educational establishments and interviews with internal and external professionals provided the data for analysis. The pupils were observed working on various mathematics tasks delivered via differing teaching and learning methodologies using a range of resources. There were several outcomes of the study. It was ascertained that the greatest factor governing a pupil’s perseverance with a task is a mathematics specialist Teaching Assistant who utilises a ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) scaffolding style of support as proposed by Vygotsky (1978). Secondly, activities presented via a genuine real-world cross-curricular perspective had the greatest influence on interest in mathematics learning irrespective of subject matter. Thirdly, it was found that there was no significant difference between one-size-fits-all computer-based tasks and traditional methodologies in the support of mathematics learning. Finally, despite ongoing debates about the importance of educational setting, it appeared that school type alone (specialist or mainstream) had no discernible effect on the mathematics classroom experience for pupils with Asperger Syndrome.