Bullying in schools is a widespread problem, attracting a great deal of interest and publicity in recent years. The negative impacts of bullying can have consequences for not just the victims, but also for the school, perpetrators and wider community members. Such consequences can be experienced instantaneously and/or at a subsequent time, often in later life. In recent years bullying has unquestionably moved into the spotlight as researchers and governments have investigated the phenomenon in greater depth. However, according to the NSPCC, it remains the top problem for children aged 11 and under contacting them and was the single biggest reason for boys calling CHILDLINE in 2015/16 (NSPCC, 2016). Bullying in primary school is, thus, of critical concern to educational policy makers and school leaders alike. Research would suggest that some schools experience more bullying incidents than others and that schools vary widely in both their approaches to and successes in dealing with the issue. Initiatives and approaches to bullying enter schools that serve particular communities, with particular experiences, individuals and histories, making them site specific. They are mediated by the practices of school leaders and are executed by staff with diverse levels of confidence, commitment and capacity. There is, thus, always variation in the ways in which practices are taken up. Even where schools profess to enact the same approaches they often meet with widely ranging outcomes for anti-bullying, as was evidenced through this investigation. This research, therefore, set out to understand what it is that more successful schools do in initiating and managing anti-bullying practices. It investigates the less frequently examined area of the effects of head teacher practices on the success of anti-bullying cultures. Set in the contexts of five diverse primary school settings, this thesis scrutinizes the approaches of head teachers as they facilitate and cultivate practices that enable or constrain anti-bullying cultures. It utilizes a mixed methods approach, where questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews and focus groups enable the voices and experiences of school community members to be heard. To facilitate this the methodological approach began as one that combined the lenses of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model (1979) and Lave and Wenger’s Communities of Practice (1991). However, it evolved to look beyond the latter and to incorporate the work of Kemmis and Grootenboer’s Practice Architectures which champions a dual purpose of education: to help people live well in a world worth living in (Kemmis and Gootenboer, 2008), suggesting a social justice approach to this research. This is an aspect that, until recently, was generally omitted in the discourses surrounding the nature, efficiency and sustainability of developing anti-bullying cultures’ in primary schools. I show that, in successful anti-bullying schools, although policy and targeted intervention are vital for providing focus and understanding, there is a culture of respect, care and collaboration that pervades the sayings, doings and relatings at every level. I argue that head teachers, in shaping the cultures of their schools, are fundamental to these aspects as they maneuver the intersubjective spaces of practice architectures (Kemmis and Gootenboer, 2008). This research reinforces the need for head teachers to build upon existing practices, taking account of the histories and social and political actualities of their schools. It suggests that, taking account of these, the perceptions of players within the field may be as important as the actuality of situated practices as they unfold.

This mixed-methods study investigates the teaching of Iinformation Technology (IT) subjects at polytechnics and community colleges in Malaysia as the policy for the medium of instruction for Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects at primary and seconday education sector changed from Bahasa Malaysia to English in 2003 and back to Bahasa Malaysia again in 2009. However, as polytechnics and community colleges are under the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), they are guided by the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) (2015). The higher learning institutions in Malaysia do not clearly define English or Bahasa Malaysia as the only medium of instruction due to factors such as internationalization and the needs to be able to produce globally competitive graduates. Due to these factors, the use of English or bilingualism at higher education sector becomes necessary. This research provides an insight into the transition period when the polytechnics and community colleges started receiving the first batch of students who had gone through ETeMS in 2008, and therefore, the lecturers were required to teach Technical subjects through English. The objectives of the study are to investigate the attitudes and motivation levels of the lecturers at polytechnics and community colleges in Malaysia with regards to the policy of teaching IT subjects through English, to examine the strategies the lecturers used to upgrade their English and to explore the strategies the lecturers used to teach their subjects through English. The quantitative data were collected via a survey during the first phase of the study. 211 out of 265 IT lecturers from polytechnics and community colleges across Malaysia had responded to the survey. The data from the survey provided information regarding the demography of the population, their attitudes and motivation towards the teaching of content subjects through English, as well as the strategies that they used in order to improve their own English so that they could teach their students better. The survey also gathered information regarding the lecturers’ experiences and the strategies they used when they had to teach their students through English. The findings from the survey were used to categorize the lecturers according to their motivation levels and teaching practice. In order to obtain lessons from best practices, a group of lecturers representing positive disposition were selected and finally, seven lecturers managed to participate in the observation sessions. The qualitative phase consisted of observation sessions and in-depth exploration of the lecturers’ background and experiences as well as the views concerning the teaching of IT through English. The teaching practice and strategies were then grouped, interpreted and rationalized through research lenses, which include CLIL, Multimodal approach and good teaching practices. The findings revealed that the majority of the lecturers had positive attitudes and moderate to high levels of motivation with regards to the policy of teaching IT subjects through English. The majority of the lecturers received little training to upgrade their English level, especially while in-service, and they were not self-driven to pursue the upgrading of English through their own initiatives. Learning to upgrade English was mainly obtained through incidental learning. For the teaching strategies, about half of the lecturers used only English for certain functions of teaching IT such as when giving instruction, advice, explanation and introduction or conclusion. Some other lecturers used code-mixing and translation when giving instruction, advice, explanation and introduction or conclusion. The majority of the lecturers also used simple English and English Technical terms, and they also had the freedom to adapt their teaching strategies. The majority of them did not teach English to make the students understand the lesson on IT. Teachers’ personality including years of experience play a role in effective teaching. Teachers with more years of experience were observed to be more able to conduct student-centred and dialogic interactive teaching compared to new teachers. Nevertheless, new teachers could also steer away from being teacher-centred while teaching if they had the initiatives to upgrade their knowledge and skills. Finally, recommendations were made in order to improve current teaching practices so that both lecturers and students were able to gain benefits. This requires not only the lecturers to be able to embrace change but also the commitment from MoHE, the polytechnic and community college policy makers and administrators as well as the positive attitudes of the students and the public. With the improvements in the teaching practices, it is hoped that polytechnics and community colleges will be able to produce quality graduates that meet the demands of the industries in Malaysia and worldwide.

This study arises from two contextualised problems faced by the students at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS) of a small university in Sri Lanka. These problems are: students’ lecture comprehension difficulties and limited oral language proficiency in their second language (i.e. English). The ideas developed in this study are based on the argument that dialogic lecturer-student interaction, which enables students to take a more active role in discussions compared to the use of recitation scripts (questions-answers-evaluations) developed in non-dialogic interactions, is likely to be beneficial for students’ content and language development. Although there have been studies at primary level, there has so far been little research into dialogic interaction in tertiary-level L1 Science classes, and none yet carried out in the L2 context. Therefore, this study investigates the extent of dialogic interaction practised at FAS, in conjunction with a thorough consideration of the factors that influence interaction between lecturers and students. This study, involving 30 students and 4 lecturers, was undertaken as a pioneer study in this context in Asia by analysing L2 lectures given at FAS. Data were collected from lecturer and student questionnaires, lecturer interviews, student group interviews, observations of 24 lectures and audio recordings. Of the observed lectures, a total of 12 from Biotechnology, Animal Physiology, Physics and Statistics were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an analytical framework, which was especially designed to analyse the FAS lecture discourse. This framework was also used to locate these lectures on a scale from monologic to dialogic. The study revealed the complexity of the perception-practice dynamic, and the multi-faceted sub-set of factors which influenced students' and lecturers’ behaviour in class, and their perception of that behaviour. Students’ lecture comprehension problems and classroom interaction were influenced by their language proficiency, though the students considered the lecturers’ lecture delivery style to be more important than their own language proficiency. In this study it was revealed that a culturally embedded behaviour perpetuated by senior students, known as ragging (a kind of bullying), restricted the classroom interaction of the students. In terms of lecture delivery style, of all the observed lectures only two contained some interactional episodes in addition to monologic segments, while the others were found to be highly or mostly monologic. Students were also found not to be cooperating with lecturers in classroom interaction, despite stating a preference for learning through interaction. The students asked only very few questions in all the observed lectures, and answered in a limited number of lectures. The lecturers asked more knowledge testing questions than any other kind, while there were only a few concept development questions – the type which can help develop dialogic interaction. Overall, this investigation, which demonstrates the importance of combining studies of perception with detailed analysis of the discourse itself, indicates limited lecturer-student interaction as well as a clear lack of dialogic interaction in English-medium Science lectures at this particular university. In addition, it is argued that the innovative analytical framework designed to analyse the lectures delivered in the English Medium Instruction (EMI) context of the present study can be useful for other lectures which are commonly delivered as monologic in both L1 and L2 contexts. Finally, it also stresses the importance of investigating the influence of cultural and behavioural factors, such as ragging, on classroom learning.

This thesis is an ethnographic study of white and West Indian-origin girls and boys attending a comprehensive school in the south of England during their final year of compulsory schooling. The study concentrates on gender, race and class effects on school experiences; attitudes towards school; career choices and early employment or training destinations. Ethnographic data comprise both classroom observations and discussions with 20 informants. These are supplemented by questionnaire data from the entire 5th form year. Chapter 1 outlines the nature of existing research in this field and argues for the need to look at gender, race and class simultaneously to understand the impact of such factors on the lives of pupils. It also addresses methodological considerations and the problem of gaining access. Chapter 2 describes the process of starting research whilst Chapter 3 describes the school, its local context and its internal organisation. Chapter 4 provides an introduction to the 5th year and their teachers drawing largely on classroom observations. Gender, race and class receive individual attention in Chapters 5, 6 and 7 respectively. Chapter 5 indicates that gender was a powerful discriminator in classroom and breaktime interactions whilst Chapter 6 shows that racist humour and beliefs were a regular feature of school life despite a lack of racial discord at the school. Chapter 7 demonstrates that class consciousness existed amongst pupils and informed their attitudes towards school and work. Chapter 8 concentrates on career choices and the quality of careers advice concluding that career choices were both gender and class-specific. Chapter 9 focuses on pupils' early destinations after the 5th form finding that both black and white girls were more likely than boys to utilise 6th form to gain entry into middle-class occupations. For those seeking employment, black girls fared least well being more reliant on YTS and suffering greater unemployment. Overall, gender and class had greatest impact on school experiences and career choices whilst race in conjunction with gender, affected actual destinations.

This thesis investigates the experience of adults undertaking Open Studies courses organised through Warwick University's Continuing Education Department. It focuses on a cohort of 13 students undertaking two-year certificated courses in Labour Studies, Women's Studies and Counselling. This longtitudinal period was chosen because it was felt it would allow enough time for the courses to make an impact on the students. To set this against a broader context, other Open Studies students not taking certificated courses were also interviewed. This included a group of five adults who started their own self-help Psychology group after being inspired by an Open Studies course. The aim was to measure the impact of the courses on the students' sense of identity, since it was felt that there was potential for the learning on the courses to change students perceptions of themselves; in Mezirow's terms, they would experience 'perspective transformation'. This was felt to be an important effect, since it implies the continuing potential for cognitive development, and thus learning, in adults - a contentious issue - and also the ongoing concern with identity, as adults continue to 're-make' themselves in the face of their experience in an ever-changing world. In order to reflect actual student experience, a qualitative approach is taken, relying heavily on in-depth interviews with the students. Although the research draws on the established adult education literature, it breaks new ground in its use ofRossan's model of identity to investigate adult experience in Open Studies (an under-researched area) and the implications of this for perception of adult potential generally, which until recent years has been largely negative. While the results are not as clear-cut as a 'hard' scientific project might generate, there is evidence that the courses did have an impact on adult identity, and that this project has introduced a fruitful area for future research.

This thesis is set in the context of learning early secondary algebra using ICT. It argues that the support offered by a collaborative interaction of elements (pupils, teachers, language and computers) in lessons, that is, the affective dimension of pupils' mathematical constructions, has not been emphasised enough in studies about the impact of ICT. Through a classroom-based intervention study, pupils’ conceptual understanding in algebra was monitored. The study examined the effect of introducing a technological tool on pupils’ interest in algebra, their involvement and engagement in mathematical learning, and the role of the teacher in ICT-enhanced settings. Research was conducted during secondary mathematics lessons in England and in Kenya. This intervention used ‘dialogic teaching’ and Grid Algebra as catalysts, with traditional resources alongside new technologies. The study sought to demonstrate that a ‘blended’ approach to learning can mediate the pupils’ access to algebraic concepts. The study employed a mixed-method strategy including: written work, observations, interviews and pupil questionnaires. Analysis of collected data underlines the value of formative feedback, clear expectations and developing mathematical language. The study concludes that appropriate use of computer software can have a significant impact on a whole year group. Additionally, emphasising affective aspects which reinforce ICT use in mathematics instruction can create an enabling environment for active learning. This thesis makes an original contribution to effective teacher development and delivery on the premise of a social model of learning mathematics with ICT.

This thesis addresses issues in philosophy, politics and education. Its starting point is a review of some of the theoretical and practical approaches to the moral education of children that have achieved popularity in the last three or four decades of the twentieth century. Despite areas of evident divergence amongst these approaches, it is argued that they nonetheless share similar philosophical underpinnings. Building upon some initial criticisms of these positions, the thesis subsequently explores some of the more recent philosophical challenges they have faced. From this basis, a broadly Aristotelian model of moral thought and practice is discussed and advocated across two chapters. This account pays particular attention to the role of the affective domain and the 'education of the emotions'. In the second half of the thesis, the focus moves towards the political suitability of this preferred conception of the nature of morality and moral education. It is argued that the essential interdependence of moral development and the moral character of political society - such a central part of Aristotle's account - is ill-appreciated by much popular and academic comment of recent times. By means of a discussion of the distinction between skills and virtues, techne and arete, the possible consequences of a full appreciation of this interdependence are debated. The remaining two chapters address two ways of answering the question which arises: "Can we have a true education of the virtues in the political context of contemporary pluralist societies?" In the first of these chapters, the thought of Alasdair MacIntyre is considered as an exemplar of the negative response to this question. In the second, some contemporary examples of liberal political thought are interrogated in the hope of discovering a positive response. It is concluded that the so-called 'liberal perfectionism' of Joseph Raz provides us with some reason to think that such a response may be both legitimate and attractive.

The purpose of this study is to find out Turkish prospective teachers' subject matter knowledge of variables and pedagogical content knowledge of variables and also the nature of the interactions between these two types of knowledge. One hundred and eighty four students participated in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to 2nd, 3rd, 4th year mathematics education faculty students of three different universities. The questionnaire included 16 fixed and open-ended questions about (a) the principal uses of variables, (b) the awareness about different roles of variables, (c) the flexibility, versatility and connectedness among the different roles and uses, and (d) ways of presenting the subject matter, (e) curriculum knowledge. As a follow-up study, ten students of different year groups who completed this questionnaire were interviewed. The outcome of this study is that prospective teachers have different perceptions of the notion of the variable which are reflected in their pedagogical content knowledge in a complex way. Results indicate that the majority of prospective teachers are successful in manipulating variables; however they have problems in moving flexibly between different meanings and representations. Concrete objects and numbers are identified as two main forms of analogies that they would use to explain ideas relating to manipulation of symbols. The results indicate that there is a complex interaction between subject matter knowledge of variables and pedagogical content knowledge which may involve the prospective teachers' own learning experiences, general pedagogical knowledge and the robustness of one type of knowledge.

This study examined the assertion that, in spite of the twenty-first century rhetoric of equality in English education, class and values based prejudice in schools remains strong. It particularly explored how practitioners perceived different groups of students, students’ self-reported attitudes to school, and whether or not the between-group differences perceived by practitioners reflected the self-reported views of students. Furthermore it examined whether practitioners’ perceptions of students were linked to gender, SEN, ethnicity, academic ability, or economic, familial, and cultural capitals, and whether students with socio-economic status and cultural capital closest to that of practitioners were viewed more positively than other students. Finally, it questioned whether school practice widened the achievement and attitudinal gaps between different groups of students. The study followed 156 students for their first four terms in secondary school. Student questionnaires were used to create group profiles for initial and post-first-year attitudes, academic self-concept; cultural capital, and socio-economic capital. Practitioner perceptions of students used teacher-awarded motivation grades, detention and behaviour logs, ability-group placements, and questionnaires with pastoral managers. Analytical procedures included factor analyses, comparisons of means, and a regression analysis. The findings showed that practitioner-perceived group differences were much larger than the differences perceived by students. Practitioners perceived larger differences between English ability groups compared to Maths groups. Also, practitioners perceived girls and high cultural capital students as more motivated and in-tune with school values than others. Poorer male students, SEN students, and students with a single parent were perceived less positively than others. An elite group of students had more economic and cultural capital than others, and were viewed very positively by practitioners. There was a suggestion that non-white students were not viewed as positively as they should have been. The study suggested a need to further explore the situation of mixed-heritage children. The study suggested that teachers as individuals, and schools as institutions, need to question whether they discriminate against poorer students and those with cultural capital different from their own. They also need to question whether they are gender stereotyping and ask if they are offering boys from disadvantaged backgrounds an appropriate curriculum delivered in an effective pedagogical style. The findings of this study had important policy implications for pedagogy, curriculum content, school organization, and equal opportunities. They suggested that some practices exacerbated pre-existing achievement and attitudinal gaps.

This study describes the design and evaluation of an in-service professional development program (CPD) to enable teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA) to develop their use of information communication technology (ICT) in their teaching. The study covered two interventions, one in an English language teaching department in a higher education (HE) institute in SA, the other a secondary school in which English is taught as a compulsory subject in SA. The overarching aim of this study is to evaluate how ICT CPD could have an impact on university and school EFL teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour towards the use of ICT in their teaching. The thesis reports on the two rounds of ICT CPD design, implementation, and evaluation. The design phase includes needs analysis questionnaires (n=28) and pre-course interviews (n=14), leading to an online intervention in which a four-level reflective model was adapted to introduce a triggering event that leads to a reflection on practise, which leads to construction of meaning through an integration process and finally the ability of making resolutions of the knowledge constructed. Evaluation of both cases was carried out through during and post course interviews (n=26), online observations (n=5), and post course group discussions (n=12). The thesis describes a bottom-up design of ICT CPD, in which the idea of teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was influential. The ICT CPD was largely well perceived, but its impact was mixed in both contexts. As regards to take up of ICT, three user patterns emerged. Optimistic users tended to value the use of ICT in their teaching and experimented with almost all of the tools/applications presented in the training and were able to adapt some of the tools/applications in their teaching. Cautiously optimistic users saw the value of using technology in their teaching but were tentatively cautious and adopted a relatively smaller number of tools/applications. Sceptical users tended to be reluctant about using technology in their teaching and experimented with only a few of the tools/applications presented. In terms of the overall evaluation of the initiative, it was found that almost all of the participants had reported positively on the general design, online delivery, and content presented. Working hours and commitment were seen as barriers to face-to-face CPD in both contexts. Contextual barriers to ICT use covered class size, students’ language levels, and access in the university context; whereas class time, facilities, and support were seen as barriers in the school context. Also, casual, intervening and contextual conditions shaped teachers’ use of ICT. This research contributes to the field of ICT CPD studies in that it addresses the issue of whether ICT CPD interventions can have an impact on teaching practice. It sheds light on the under researched area of ICT use in SA. It covers a context where access to facilities and teachers’ competence are taken for granted and teachers are expected to use technology in their teaching. It further contributes to an understanding of the design of ICT CPD.