This research is based on a study of the relationships and interactional processes which construct and maintain ‘popularity’ in secondary school. The study adopts an ethnographic approach, including group discussions, observations, and visual methods, in a secondary school in central England. The core argument is that ‘popularity’ is socially constructed within relationships, and this thesis develops a notion of ‘relational popularity’. In doing so, this study addresses three questions. Firstly, given the postmodern abandonment of the fixed self and critiques of the individualist focus of research, how can ‘popularity’ be understood from the framework of ‘relational beings’, and what impact does this have on the idea of ‘popularity’? Secondly, what micro-level ‘popularity’ work do students engage in to both construct and position themselves and others as ‘popular’? Finally, how does this conception of ‘popularity’ alter understandings of what the day-to-day experiences of ‘popularity’ in secondary school may be like? These questions are addressed through the analysis of rich interactional data produced through group discussions with year 9 students (aged 13-14). After discussing an analysis of popular and unpopular social groups, meanings and usages of ‘popularity’, the dominance of ‘the popular girls’, and in-group control and dominance processes, the notion of ‘relational popularity’ is seen to open avenues for more nuanced understandings of ‘popularity’. As such, the thesis argues for the need for more micro analyses of interaction in relation to ‘popularity’ in schools, to support key research which writes about the role of societal discourses in ‘popularity’. The thesis concludes that ‘popularity’ is not the achievement of popular individuals, but a collective achievement through ‘relational being’. Since ‘popularity’ is not something that anyone can achieve alone, this thesis argues that ‘popularity’ is not something that you are, or something that you do, ‘popularity’ is something that relationships do. The thesis demonstrates that within the schooling context multiple understandings of ‘popularity’ exist, and claims to ‘popularity’ are continually challenged and contested, which can alter understandings of ‘popular’ students and allow a consideration of areas of difficulty and vulnerability for students considered ‘popular’ (and ‘unpopular’). The conclusion draws together the theoretical, methodological and practical significance of this more nuanced understanding of popularity for further research and practice.

Much has been written on the importance of increasing leadership capacity in schools and managing systems for leadership development. However, little focus has been given to creating the necessary conditions to facilitate the emergence of leadership in order to support school improvement. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a philosophy and method for promoting transformational change within organisations, shifting from a traditional problem-based orientation to a more strength-based approach to change, which focuses on affirmation, appreciation and positive dialogue. This research study examines an innovative appreciative approach to facilitating positive and rapid school improvement. This is achieved through qualitative analysis whereby I explore the emergence of middle leadership during an Appreciative Inquiry initiative in a large, urban Academy and identify those features of Appreciative Inquiry that were conducive to such emergence. In addition, I show that the initiative provided participants with many of the elements considered vital to leading a vibrant and democratic learning community. These are opportunities for professional reflection and sense-making, a safe and affirming learning community, time to dialogue with others within the organisation regarding their core values and commitments, a collaborative work culture, space for networking, and the freedom to take action.

Construction work and buildings have a major impact on the environment through site modification and the majority contribution to energy use worldwide. Therefore if changes are made to construction processes and the design of buildings, the potential for slowing down environmental degradation could be significant. There is a significant body of academics that believes the education of undergraduate construction students who will be the construction professionals of the future, is the key to making the changes required to industry practices to improve environmental performance. This thesis identifies why initiatives aimed at improving undergraduate environmental knowledge and then attitudes have not been supported more fully by the HE sector, specifically within the construction management discipline. It also explores the use of educational frameworks developed by the relevant professional body in supporting the development of environmental knowledge in graduates. The pedagogical research undertaken involved an extensive literature review and the gathering of data from UK universities and the UK construction industry. Additionally data was gathered from Australian universities in an attempt to identify aspects of good practice in curriculum design to promote literacy in sustainability. The analysis of data led to the development of a model for curriculum design that can be used in conjunction with the professional body framework to promote literacy in sustainability. The validity of the model was evaluated using a simulation of the model in a small scale project and testing changes in student knowledge, attitudes and behaviour before and after undertaking the project. A mixed model methodology was utilised in each phase that allowed for the use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis at each stage of the work.

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of children with Specific Language Impairment who had integrated from a Language Unit to mainstream school. The aim of the study was to explore the development of the children in the areas of language, academic ability, and psychosocial performance both during and after that period. Data was collected from 40 children in Phase 1 of the study by means of a structured interview schedule (Stone 1991). In Phase 2, the prospective second phase, 7 children were asked to complete the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA) (Harter and Pike 1984). In both phases, parents of the children took part in unstructured interviews using a chronological or life history approach advocated by May (1993). Teachers in Phase 1 completed the Teacher Rating Scale (Urwin 1988) and in Phase 2, both language unit and mainstream schoolteachers completed the appropriate section of the PSPCSA. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was used to access the range of experiences of the children and the views of their parents and teachers. Analysis of the data revealed a lack of planning and preparation on the part of mainstream schools for the children during the short integration process. There was minimal collaboration between language units and mainstream teaching staff. The children's statement of Special Educational Need terminated for the majority after 3 months in mainstream school. No further monitoring of the children's verbal abilities took place after that, although a third of the children had continuing speech and language problems. Despite the general failure of the mainstream system to support these children, those who needed help in academic areas did receive it on an ad hoc basis. Two thirds of the children had help with academic subjects, although teachers rated these children as average. In the second phase, teachers showed more concern over the academic and social abilities of the children. The children saw themselves as no different from their mainstream peers. This finding reflects the sometimes overly optimistic views of children in the younger age groups, although there is some evidence from the study that children can be aware of their verbal limitations much earlier than what is generally held to be the age of self awareness at approximately 8 years. Children with SLI in a mainstream setting continue to have difficulties for several years after integration. Parents in this study frequently expressed the view that they would have liked the children to remain in the language units because of the better quality of education they provided. The value of the study lies in its in depth exploration of parent and child views and experiences of SLI within the education system using a combination of research approaches. Increasing the involvement of parents and children in the educational decision-making process is widely advocated. Understanding child and parent perspectives in this area is therefore of considerable importance.

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Orientador: Ernesto Pilotto Gomes de Medeiros / Resumo: Não disponível / Abstract: Not avaiilabe / Doutor

This thesis considers the relevance of Recognition Theory to school education and contributes to the development of a body of empirical research in this field. Recognition has been defined as an essential component of a just society and a central concern of this study is the promotion of a humane form of schooling which embodies the principles and practices of a just and democratic society. The empirical data were gathered in a focus group and interviews with three new teachers working in a school in special measures. Their experiences and their stories of recognition and misrecognition are analysed using Honneth's Recognition Theory as a framework. The methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis allows the reader to gain an understanding of what the experience of being a new teacher is like for the three teachers. The combination of Recognition Theory and interpretative phenomenological analysis offers the opportunity for a critical reflection on those experiences. My findings suggest that Honneth's Recognition Theory, informed by a Deweyan understanding of education and its relationship to democracy, and broadened to incorporate an ethic of care, as well as an understanding of Klafki's criticalconstructive pedagogy, has the potential to inform a normative understanding of school as a community in which the values of a just, caring and democratic society can be put into practice. This includes recognising teachers and students as valued members of a community in which their voices are heard and respected. In addition, this thesis draws attention to the need for new teachers to gain a critical understanding of the means and ends of education.

The thesis seeks to examine the apparent tensions between fundamental ideas found in the literature of fifteenth century English legal theory and practice. The theorists studied are Fortescue and Pecock (whose ideas are set against those of their English and continental predecessors and contemporaries) and the practical materials examined are the Year Books and the Statutes. The work attempts to advance the view that legal thought in fifteenth-century England, both theoretical and practical, is characterised by two essentially opposing concepts of law. According to one outlook, described as the heteronomist thesis, in legal theory human law relies for its authority upon <i>natural law</i> and <i>justice</i>: it is not the human will which is used to shape law, it is these entities, divine in origin, which operate as external influences in the shaping of law. In the Year Books and in legislation the heteronomist thesis expresses itself as a mode or practice of disposing of cases and problems. Persistently during the period, legislators, judges and counsel rely upon <i>conscience</i> and <i>divine law</i>, and to a lesser extent <i>natural law</i> (distinctly moral ideas), and <i>reason</i> and <i>mischief</i> (more mundane ideas of good sense and wrong), to shape and legitimise their respective decisions. According to the other outlook, the autonomist thesis, it is simply the human will that shapes law, rather than abstractions like morality. In legal practice, and to a lesser extent in legal theory, popular <i>consent</i> and <i>usage</i> are conceived to supply the authority which immediately underlies law: it is from these that law and legal decisions originate. This prepares the way for the beginnings of a positivist view of law, by stressing the autonomy of law, its independence from the influences of abstract right and wrong. Legal theory supposes that humanly-created rules are still laws even when they depart from the requirements of abstract right and wrong. In the practical sphere, legislative enactments which are against <i>conscience</i> or which produce <i>mischief</i> are treated as entities which have to be expressly repealed, they are not automatically void. Similarly, judges commonly reject arguments based explicitly upon the claims of <i>reason</i> or <i>conscience</i>: the courts are shy of departing from the demands of law, from the <i>rigor iuris</i>; to depart from established practice would result in <i>inconvenience</i>, inconsistency, and this the courts would exclude even if it meant that a particular individual suffered a <i>mischief</i>.

The extent to which universities should prepare graduates for the workplace has been a particular focus of policy impacting across higher education over the last 20 years as a result of a number of factors: changes to ways in which higher education is funded in the UK and the subsequent cultural shift towards students being perceived as consumers of degree courses; ease of access to the results of metrics by which universities can be compared; the pace of technological change in the workplace and the impact that this has had on the requirements of employers when recruiting graduates. Various reports have focused on attempting to distil the key qualities and skills that employers are looking for when recruiting graduates. How such skills related to employability can or should be enhanced as part of a degree experience are the source of debate at a policy level and amongst academic staff. In the midst of this perceived cultural shift in higher education it is important to explore the perspectives of key stakeholder groups: individuals working at policy level, academic staff, students and employers. This study explores these issues in a particular setting, BSc Music Technology-oriented courses. Such highly vocational degrees offer an opportunity to investigate perceptions in the context of courses that typically highlight the development of skills and attributes carefully aligned to the requirements of employers. Following a qualitative methodology, this research investigates the perspectives of stakeholders through semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a survey. One of the key findings of this study is that there is a disconnect between espoused policy which emphasises ever greater integration between industry and higher education and the reality as experienced by academics, students and employers. The findings highlight the need for improved channels of communication and in particular, the value of informal interactions.