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This thesis is concerned with the vocationalisation of the school curriculum in Britain from the late nineteenth century to the present. It consists of three sections. The first section constitutes the major theoretical component of the work, and develops a view of society as a dialectically interrelating totality whose parts are invested with differential causal force. The social whole is seen as consisting of micro, meso and macrolevels, which correspond respectively to Inter-individual, interorganizational, and the social relationships which constitute the mode of production. This theory is then used to criticise certain existing approaches towards the sociology of education and develop an alternative which is utilised in the rest of my study. The second section examines the social and economic forces existing on micro, mesa and macro societal levels which were central to the formation and development of school-based vocational schemes. Here, I examine the relationships which have existed between individual career routes, the education system, state, economy, and class struggle. This facilitates an examination of the shifting determinations which constituted vocational education, as they have been located both diachronically and synchronically. The points of interconnection between the forces which impinged upon the progress of vocational education changed between the 'entrepreneurial' (late C19th to WW1), 'collective' (inter-War), and 'corporate' (post WW2) periods of education-industry relations. During these stages, a combination of factors reduced gradually the autonomy of the school system, served to increase the influence of the state over the curriculum, and enabled the introduction of a number of vocational schemes In the 'corporate' period. The final section moves between societal levels in a case-study analysis of the operation of two vocational schemes in a local education authority. This examines how the relationship between micro, meso and macro-levels can introduce disjunctions between the official aims and the actual consequences of vocational schemes. The case-study Is also used to refine elements of the earlier theory and identify the areas of autonomy which remain within micro and meso societal levels. The introduction of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative, and the Schools Vocational Programme is traced, and their operation is examined. Here, I focus on the subject options process, a school-based vocational course, and the attitudes and approaches of Industrialists, teachers and students to work-experience.

This thesis can be described as an in-depth study of the politics of the secondary school curriculum - and, in particular, of the comprehensive school curricu.1unl - 1r: the twelve-year period from 1976 to 1988. It is, in effect, a contribution to contemporary history - an analysis of the Great Debate in education which began in 1976 and ended officially in 1977 while, in reality, continuing unabated in the succeeding years. The eight chapters of the thesis consider: the evolution of the comprehensive school curriculum from 1944 to 1976; the increasingly harsh criticisms of the comprehensive system and its teachers in the early 19705; the origins and authorship of the so-called Yellow Book and of James Callaghan's Ruskin College Speech; the moves towards a 'common' or 'core' curriculum for the secondary age range; the increasingly energetic thrust towards central control of the curriculum; the issues of differentiation, vocationalization and privatization; and the origins of the curriculum proposals in the 1988 Education Reform Act. It is argued that although there was clear evidence of disillusionment with the education system in general - and with the comprehensive reform in particular - in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the economic crisis of 1973-75 which finally caused the role and purpose of education to be subjected to close scrutiny by all political groupings in this country. The Callaghan initiative of 1976 was essentially the response of right-wing Labour to that IJ.; crisis, with an attempt to build a new consensus around more central control of the curriculum, greater teacher accountability and the more direct subordination of the secondary curriculum to the perceived needs of the economy. The 1988 Education Act can be seen as an expression of the often contradictory aims and objectives of right-wing groupings within the Conservative Party, with the debate about the desirability or otherwise of a centrally imposed national curriculum being a dear example of conflict within New Right ideology about the role of the state in a free market Society.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

In my thesis I explore way in which adolescent male students negotiate and interrogate discursive ideologies relating to hegemonic masculinities and to the normality of "whiteness", specifically within one English classroom in an Australian private single sex boys’ school in Perth, Western Australia. A feminist poststructuralist theoretical framework is employed to explore how gendered and racialized positions available to adolescent males contribute to the shaping of their subjectivities, and how the social constructions of masculinities and femininities contribute to the ways in which adolescent males represent themselves. A quantitative approach, which included individual classroom observations, questionnaires and interviews, provided me with tools essential for examining the complexities of the effects of social constructs such as gender, sexuality and ethnicity on masculinist positionings at school. The study reveals the complexities surrounding discourses of hegemonic heterosexual masculinities and privileges of whiteness on the situationally specific formation and negotiation of subjectivities in adolescent males’ lives in one school. Central findings of the study show that adolescent males in this single sex boys’ school easily maintained socially constructed ideas surrounding the feminisation of females and masculinization of males, with notions of homophobia embedded in discourses of hegemonic masculinities. A resistance to alternative masculine discourses shows the impact and maintenance of hegemonic heterosexual masculinities for adolescent males. However, through the use of particular texts, female teachers in the all boys’ classroom were able to open up spaces for male students to interrogate hegemonic forms of masculinities, to interrogate power relationships, and to access alternative masculinities. Ina similar vein, my findings show how easy it is for students to ignore social injustices in relation to racism and stereotyping of Indigenous Australians, and to retain notions that reinforce these injustices. A major conclusion of the study is that social injustices are easily maintained through educational institutions as active agents of reinforcing ideas and ideologies, particularly when changes mean disruption of privileges, such as privileges associated with hegemonic masculinity or with whiteness. Although this study was conducted within a middle class milieu, and thus the students were from an advantaged position in life, this does not justify their ignorance of issues of social justice. Indeed, the findings highlight the importance of this kind of critical approach with middle class boys in single sex schools. Important implications of this study are that findings contribute to the discovery of ways of changing deeply ingrained ideologies such as perceived gender dichotomies, the masculinization of males and the feminisation of females. My findings also contribute to ways in which privileges, such as whiteness, can be deconstructed and interrogated by those in privileged positions. My findings have potential significant implications for pedagogical practices. Education provides a means by which tools can be utilized to deconstruct and interrogate notices which maintain privileges, and in the study particularly white male privileges. Within the educational systems, an understanding relating to how subjectivities are shaped within a classroom setting will also lead to greater educational insights into how specific texts and classroom interactions affect students’ self representation and understanding. Thus a gender equity and social justice curriculum committed to interrogating the ways in which male students subscribe, invest and negotiate hegemonic masculinities in advocated and has particular relevance to those males already in privileged class positions in terms of working towards a more socially just society.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study investigated the relationship between an instructional pedagogy formulated around Polya's heuristic four-step method and computer based problem solving performance in an introduction to computer programming course. A four step heuristic managerial guide, employing structured walkthroughs and group activities, was developed to direct students into a period of constructive reflection, planning, and refinement supporting structured programming. The subjects consisted of fifty-four secondary school seniors, completing a first course in BASIC programming, evenly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received instruction related to the heuristic managerial guide. The control group received instruction similar to what was normally provided them without the guide. Four problems were introduced and analyzed, within a lecture format, followed by a question-answer session. Each subject attempted to complete a problem-set consisting of a problem and three related extensions. After a week, results were evaluated and scores from zero to four were assigned based on the number of correct solutions attained. No qualitative evaluation was performed. The null hypothesis stated that the two sets of scores came from populations having identical distributions. Since a normal distribution was questionable, the statistic used was the Mann-Whitney U test, a nonparametric version of the t-test for independent samples. The ranked scores for the two groups appeared to support the research hypothesis, since the sum of ranked scores for the experimental group exceeded those of the control group 840 to 645. However, the results of the Mann-Whitney test did not support a rejection of the null hypothesis at the 5% level of significance. The value, z = 1.791, was sufficient to support the rejection of the null hypothesis at the 7% level. Therefore, the heuristic managerial guide showed a tendency to positively contribute to student performance on the problem set used in the study. The conclusion drawn was that the heuristic managerial guide yielded encouraging, but not significant, results when applied to a computer based problem set. Further research into this approach should consider the effects of the method if implemented at the inception of the students' first course. / 2031-01-01

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Maths, Science and Technology Education at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / There has recently been a renewed interest emanating from the Department of Basic Education in the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the mainstream science curriculum. The aims and principles of the new curriculum statement seek to realign themselves with those of the Constitution of the Republic, which highlight inclusivity, valuing indigenous knowledge and the environment, and social justice for all. In an attempt to address some of the glaring fundamental oversights in the curriculum statement. To this end, the Department of Basic Education has identified indigenous knowledge that can be integrated into the science curriculum and be taught at school. The challenge that baffles many interested and affected parties in education is the absence of clear guidelines as to what aspect of IK can be integrated into the science classroom, as there was never any curriculum training for teachers in this regard. This study was conducted within the community of Emacekane in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to explore the feasibility of integrating indigenous knowledge within the science curriculum. The following objectives were established to answer the research questions. The first was to determine whether or not IK can be integrated within the science subjects as taught in Empangeni schools. The second was to explore whether or not effective partnerships exist between schools and the surrounding indigenous communities in the development and authentication of IK for the purposes of integration within the school curriculum. The third was to examine the contribution of socio-cultural practices towards the preservation of indigenous knowledge. The results of this study reveal that the Department of Basic Education should invest more resources and underscore the importance of extending thinking about IK-science integration beyond aspects that suit science content, to considering more fruitful and comprehensive methods of teaching and learning science, as well as their relevance to community needs.

This study attempts to provide an effective administrative plan and contribute to other teachers in the field of junior high school education. In this study, the administrative plan is divided into two mail parts: first, the administrative plan and the teacher; and second, the administrative plan and pupil. All conclusions are summarised in the final chapter.