This thesis investigated the educational curriculum experienced by students with visual impairments in Turkey. The study made a distinction between the traditional academic curriculum and the concept of an 'Expanded Core Curriculum' (ECC) which includes a range of disability-specific areas (e.g. Mobility, Braille), and aimed to determine the balance of the curriculum experienced by individuals with visual impairments in Turkey. The study specifically examined the barriers to, and enablers for, an appropriate curriculum balance which would develop individuals' independence. The study made use of an exploratory inductive research approach implementing a cross-sectional research design. Mixed method measures were drawn upon to capture the views of twelve young adults with visual impairments and thirteen educators of children and young adults with visual impairments who had a wide range of schooling and teaching experiences across Turkey. The analysis revealed an emphasis on teaching the academic curriculum with relatively little attention given to ECC. As a consequence, it was found that individuals with visual impairments were not fully prepared to be independent and encountered a number of barriers including: remaining dependent on others; isolation; and psychological challenges in their everyday life. A number of barriers to the teaching of ECC were revealed, including: educational policy priorities in Turkey which give little or no remit to teaching a broader curriculum (teachers were fixed upon teaching the inflexible academic curriculum); little resource is given to specialist teaching support in mainstream schools; and specialist teacher training appears not to align to the educational context in which they work. Finally, the research identified other barriers to developing an individual's independence which are beyond the teaching of ECC, including inaccessible environments and equipment, and inadequate accommodations and adjustments.

The thesis focuses upon the use of e-learning by learners who are blind. Specifically, the research examined whether they could access and engage in e-learning and, if so, was this on the same basis and of the same quality as sighted learners? The thesis describes the development of a conceptual framework which distinguished between the activities of ‘accessing’, ‘using’ and ‘doing’ when engaging in e-learning. The framework was combined with cognitive load theory as the underpinning theoretical framework and used as a method of describing and understanding the quality of the learning experience. In the main study it was found that the two groups of learners did have a similar learning experience although it took the learners who were blind approximately twice as long to complete the task as the sighted learners. It is argued that while learners who are blind can 'access' e-learning material, even if it is designed carefully there may be a danger of excluding them from the learning experience. The thesis concludes by linking the findings to legislation in terms of specialist skills for supporting learners who are blind, accessibility and usability of e-learning materials, and funding and availability of specialist education and technology.

This thesis offers an overarching case study of academic staff development as it relates to the ten-year period following the publication of the UK Government White Paper: The future of higher education (DfES, 2003). The publication of the White Paper (ibid.) was a prelude to considerable sector-wide investment being made to support the enhancement of learning and teaching practice in higher education. Using a case-study research method, I reflect on my own critical case of professional development and link the impact of the White Paper (ibid.) to the opportunities I have had to use video as an enabling technology for teaching, for research and for stakeholder engagement in curriculum design. Accounts of these three facets of practice are embedded, as dedicated ‘context-cases’, within an overarching case study of professional development. The case study approach I have taken is theory generating, with the act of thesis construction having led to the creation of new theories as models. These models, as research outputs in their own right, are offered in parallel with the conventional research findings presented through the three embedded ‘context-cases’.

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.