This study explored my own societal gatekeeper role as an Ofsted inspector, using a systems thinking model of creativity, within the domain of vocational business studies curricula, in further education (FE) colleges in England. My research questions sought to explore how business teachers and inspectors define, recognise, measure, reward and promote creativity skills in vocational business education. To provide a definition of creativity, I propose a framework based on its seven key aspects: process, person, place, pressures, product, persuasion and permanence. In addition to evidence-based success, I argue that we recognise the need for trust and freedom, through quality of relationships, to stimulate creativity. Through critical self-reflection on my role as an inspector and thematic analysis of data from multiple sources including interviews, Ofsted reports and Further Education college websites, I conclude that there is a low level of interest in promotion of creativity skills in the business curriculum in FE and that Ofsted is associated with normalisation, standardisation and efficiency rather than creativity. Creativity is an important business skill, so Ofsted inspectors, as societal gatekeepers, need to be self-reflective in acknowledging pressures that may distort perceptions, resulting in biased judgments that fail to reward and promote creativity appropriately.

This study involved exploring the leadership of sponsored academy schools, in particular sponsorship and the realisation of the ethos and vision. The research focused on: the motivations of sponsors; the roles of sponsors and academy principals and how the ethos and vision have been realised in their academies. This is a nested case study of five nests of differing sponsored academy types. It is a qualitative study which adopted a nested case study methodology and the semi-structured interview as a method. Nineteen key actors were interviewed from ten academies including sponsor representatives and principals. The findings show that there were a range of motivational factors for the motivations of sponsors. These varied from the holding of deep philosophical beliefs on the nature of education, to a philanthropic ‘giving back to the community’ and, for international sponsors, the status from joining the state education in England. The roles of academy sponsors and relationships with principals varied across the sample. Some sponsors have greater day to day involvement than others; they were more prescriptive in their relationship with the academy principal. There appears to be a relationship continuum for the principal and academy sponsor which varies from autocratic to laissez faire. The final research question explored how the leadership of academies has sought to realise their ethos and vision. The emergent themes of leadership, branding, buildings (BSF), educational values, sponsor vision and high aspirations were evident in all nests.

In this thesis I explore high achieving students’ experiences of learning and being examined in mathematics during their two-year post 16 modular course. I am a practitioner researcher and used a mixed method case study approach with interview data collected from eight students during the learning of each pure mathematics module and subsequent examination. Data was also gathered from their mathematics teachers regarding their perceptions of the students’ experiences. This interview data was triangulated by questionnaire responses from the cohort of mathematics students at the end of each year. In a second strand of analysis, I developed a model from Sierpinska (1994) to analyse the nature of the demand the examination papers taken by these students. The level of challenge was found to be surprisingly consistent. Synthesis of the data showed that these high achieving students do find A-level mathematics difficult, with the difficulties remaining similar throughout their two year course. There was a significant overlap between learning and being examined and the difficulties described by the students reveal external factors such as workload, pace, memory and decision making. There very few references to mathematics as a source of difficulty, instead the majority of descriptions featured novelty.

<p> This narrative inquiry explored the ways in which four mid-career English teachers construct themselves as W/writers and how those writerly identities are performed in their pedagogy. I curated data collected from extended interviews, journals, personal and professional writings to build narratives of these teachers-as-writers. Through these narratives and metaphorical thinking (Lakoff &amp; Johnson, 1980), I analyzed the wholeness of each participant&rsquo;s experience with writing.</p><p> Then, in stage two of the study, I used data collected from teaching observations to build a continuum of process &mdash;> product, employing Goffman&rsquo;s (1974) frame analysis to place the teachers within that continuum. This continuum represented the stable thread that continued through the teachers&rsquo; personal and professional identities and led to three insights: (1) Those teachers who identified as Writers were more comfortable teaching writing processes (2) The desire to be seen as a &ldquo;kind of W/writer or teacher&rdquo; brings risk writing instruction and (3) Agency provides Writers a way to mitigate the risk of teaching writing.</p><p>

<p> The topic of this study is teacher support and professional development offered at urban Title 1 schools. This study compares the teacher support and professional development provided at an urban Title 1 traditional public school to the support and professional development provided at an urban Title 1 charter school. The purpose is to compare the schools and find out from a teachers&rsquo; perspective which school supports its teachers better. Teachers were interviewed in order to receive the data necessary to determine which school is more effective at supporting its teachers. The other significant purpose of this study was to suggest improvements that ether or both schools can implement. The results indicate that the traditional school teachers felt better supported and satisfied with their professional development, than the charter school teachers. The findings also present knowledge that can help improve both schools and other schools similar to them.</p><p>

<p> English second language (ESL) learners have been present in the United States public schools for decades. While the identification and procedures for entering students into an ESL program have improved throughout the years, there still seems to be a lack of understanding of academic backgrounds and program support for these students with unique educational backgrounds and languages. Instructional techniques for ESL students have varied widely, but there has not been a common consensus on which technique to utilize with secondary ESL students. Placement of ESL students has proved to be a difficult task in districts with limited options and often times the best placement for the ESL student is not an option. This mixed-methods study was designed to evaluate the English Second Language classroom placement at the secondary level in a Midwest public school. The evaluation was done using ACCESS English fluency testing scores and teacher, counselor, and administrator perspectives gathered through interviews, surveys, and a focus group.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative case study was designed to utilize theoretical frameworks based in the field of human performance technology as a means for understanding high school four-year graduation rate improvement. The literature recognizes theories based in the field of human performance technology as effective in improving performance in organizations across different industries. The literature also recognizes that some methods of human performance technology have been used in school improvement processes, but these methods are not yet widely adopted in kindergarten through Grade 12 education. The main research question that this study was designed to answer was, How does a high school principal specifically hired to improve the rate of which students graduate in four years, also called a <i>turnaround principal</i>, influence and manage such improvement? Three subquestions for this study included (a) how does an effective turnaround principal influence the sustainment of improved results? (b) how does an effective turnaround principal manage change during the improvement process? and (c) how do support staff, including vice-principals, school district officials, school counselors, and teachers, view the role of a turnaround principal in improving four-year graduation rates? This study also indirectly functions as a means for documenting a case study in which human performance technology methods were utilized to better understand school improvement. A two-step qualitative methodology was utilized in this case study. First, a qualitative survey was sent out to a school staff with the goal of identifying cases of success within the school. Using an impact model as a screening tool, survey participants were then selected to participate in one-on-one in-person interviews. The survey and interview data were transcribed and analyzed utilizing ATLAS.ti software. The case study sample for the surveys and interviews were inclusive of teachers, support staff, building principals, vice-principals, and district-level leaders in a school located in a rural community in the United States. The results of the study showed that a strong use of data and feedback, relationship building, and interrogation of systems of support within the school were effective processes utilized in the case study. The study results also indicated that the principal is a critical component to managing change throughout school improvement processes and that the staff perceived the principal as a critical part of the school improvement process. The study further indicated that sustaining improved results and future improvement are also careful considerations for principals leading school improvement. </p><p>

<p> The focus of the research is to explore how organizational and self-regulatory skills support student academic achievement in math class. The project is a mixed-methods study by taking a close look at the use of graphic organizers as a dimension of organizational and self-regulatory skills. The data sources include an online questionnaire, observation notes, individual interviews, and student semester grades. Participants completed a questionnaire about their organizational and self-regulatory skills, including how they have been using graphic organizers and taking notes. The author reported three focal interviews to grasp further how their organizational and self-regulatory skills surface in different settings, including home, school, work, and other routine areas. This document includes the details of data analyses for any associations between students&rsquo; skills and academic achievements. This research concludes (a) participating students carry sufficient social-emotional competencies. However, there is a disconnection between transferring their &ldquo;cultural&rdquo; knowledge into &ldquo;domain&rdquo; knowledge about self-awareness skills, social awareness skills, and responsible decision-making skills. (b) Both Advanced Algebra and Geometry students demonstrate very similar organizational skills, but (c) lower-classmen seem to have relatively higher self-regulatory skills. (d) The greater self-awareness and social awareness skills and better decision-making skills, higher academic achievement in math classes. The author concluded this paper had potential limitations of the findings and implications for future teaching practices. The results of this study may provide instruction insights about how social-emotional competencies affect student academic achievement in secondary math education.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation focuses on the literacy practices of three focal students who composed multimodal comic memoirs about the emotional struggles and obstacles they faced related to being labeled academically gifted and talented. As a qualitative action research study (Hewitt &amp; Little, 2005; Munn-Giddings, 2012), in which the teacher of the focal classroom was the primary researcher, a sociocultural framework (Dunsmore &amp; Fischer, 2010; Wertsch, 1991) was employed to investigate the three focal students&rsquo; uses of multimodal composition to address the research questions: RQ1, In what ways do gifted secondary students use the comics medium to produce multimodal memoirs? RQ2, What experiences do gifted secondary students represent when they design comic memoirs? and RQ3, What do gifted secondary students reveal about competing representations of race, gender, class, and giftedness as they depict themselves in comic memoirs? To address the research questions, the researcher used a qualitative case study design (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2009), collecting data over five years (2013&ndash;2017) while teaching a literature-based comics class at a summer enrichment program for gifted secondary students. Based on a conceptual framework comprising the intersections of literacy practices related to multiliteracies (Sanders and Albers, 2010) and multimodalities (New London Group, 1996) in connection with visual literacy skills (Frey &amp; Fisher, 2008), data analysis included a variant of grounded theory (Glaser &amp; Strauss, 1967), Situational Analysis (Clarke, 2005), which takes a cartographic approach to the collection and analysis of data within the study&rsquo;s situation, including its environment, social spheres, and setting. Findings point to the focal students&rsquo; deep-seated emotional turmoil related to gender, racial, and gifted identities; reports of emotionally debilitating social and academic expectations connected to giftedness; and personal narratives of being silenced and socially alienated. Implications are discussed concerning how the unique visual literacy strategies available while making comic memoirs helped the focal students gain perspective on and insight into their struggles with identity and related social and cultural practices.</p><p>

<p> Contemporary educational theory and practice emphasizes interpersonal teacher&ndash;student relationships as a means of enhancing academic performance, promoting social development, and improving class management. Unfortunately, related policy, training, and professional standards have lagged. Into this void steps the principal, who as school leader falls the responsibility of guiding staff. </p><p> Twelve (12) principals from public secondary schools (grades 6&ndash;12) in central and coastal Virginia were interviewed, to gather their descriptions of how they perceived appropriate ethical teacher&ndash;student relationships, and their practice in promoting and maintaining them in their schools. A qualitative methodology grounded in social constructivism was employed, which included inductive coding of the transcripts, and content analysis to categorize results. Principals&rsquo; practice was then compared with theoretical approaches from literature, which included care theory (Noddings, 1984), professional development and practice theory (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016), and standards based professionalism (Barrett et al., 2012; Barrett et al., 2006). </p><p> The results indicated that principals envisioned positive teacher&ndash;student relationships as a critical enabler for class management and improved instructional outcomes. Foundations for the relationship were the teacher&rsquo;s caring and professional behavior, and placing a genuine priority on acting in the best interest of students. The boundaries for the relationship were behaviors that detracted from, or undermined that foundation, and potentially traumatized or harmed students. Principals described the development of friendship and personally intimate relationships between teachers and students as the gateway to potential ethical relationship boundary issues, and sought to reduce opportunities for this to occur. The key factors in principal practice for promoting and maintaining ethical teacher&ndash;student relationships were described in terms of modeling expected behaviors, training staff, promoting a positive school culture and climate, and monitoring behaviors. Leadership and the ability of the principal to cope with peripheral influences on the school were also recognized as important factors. Three models from literature attempted to enhance understanding of how principals promote and maintain ethical and productive teacher&ndash;student relationships. Principals described using elements from all of these approaches, attempting to promote and develop positive attributes and skills in their staff, while at the same time monitoring and supervising their behaviors in relation to standards. </p><p> Research findings implied that ethical teacher-student relationships and associated boundaries are clearly defined conceptually, vaguely defined in policy, and ambiguously defined in practice. The absence and vagueness of policy and standards places an onus on the principal to develop teacher attributes and skills, and for teachers to be able to act semi-independently as professionals. All as principals, teachers, and schools are under intensified public scrutiny, in the age of social media and electronic communications. Principals confronted the issue by drawing on their character, experience, skills, and leadership, which they tempered to meet the context and challenges of their respective schools. Student safety and trauma (physical and psychological) surfaced as growing concerns for school leadership, and something that needed to be factored more prominently into decision making.</p><p>