Play is widely recognized as a natural ability and fundamental right of children. In educational settings, the idea of integrating play into early childhood education to promote children’s learning and development has been continually advocated by researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. However, as play is a culturally situated concept, it may be understood differently by teachers within different social and cultural contexts in terms of its function and value to children’s development and its relation with learning. Moreover, Chinese educational reform underlines play-based pedagogy in early childhood education. This raise questions about how play is interpreted by Chinese early childhood teachers as a vehicle for early learning and motivate the current study to locate play in a Chinese context to explore kindergarten teachers’ understanding and execution of play in practice. A qualitative design with in-depth, open-ended interviews, persistent classroom observation, and documentary review was employed. Twenty-four early childhood education practitioners, including three administrators, three interest class teachers and eighteen teachers, two from each of nine classes in three different Chinese kindergartens were interviewed and the interactions between the teachers and individual children were video-recorded during playtime. A number of relevant official policy documents, regulations and kindergarten curriculum plans were collected to offer context for the research. Data was analyzed by adopting content analysis and constant comparison. The findings show that the teachers construct a notion of ‘eduplay’ in the kindergarten educational settings, which emphasizes more on the instrumental value than the intrinsic value of play. A combination of a cultural transmission/direct approach and an emergent/responsive approach is revealed in their practice. The teachers adopt diverse roles in play. Although didactic features are evident in teachers’ role in play, the teachers show strong desire to play a ‘whole teacher’ role and establish a parallel relationship with children. They share a similar view that teachers’ active involvement can contribute to children’s learning in play and they are more likely to exert their influence on children’s play through direct intervention than play provision. Moreover, the findings reveal that the teacher-child interactions in play in this study are less likely to scaffold children’s learning. There seems to be a tension between teachers’ concerns of safety and children’s intense involvement in play. Three main influences, including the influences from the cultural context, the influences from the institutional context, and the influences from the teachers’ personal context were identified affecting the implementation of play in kindergarten practice.

Background: Emotional and behavioural problem in children and adolescence is an important public health issues. However, there is currently limited epidemiological evidence in terms of its prevalence or stability over time in Malaysia, and limited evidence about the role of parenting programmes in supporting parents and children experiencing such problems. Methods: This research comprises a longitudinal community-based study that measured the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems among school children aged seven to eight years and thirteen to fourteen years in Malaysia, and assessed their stability at six months. The study also consisted of an evaluation of a parenting programme known as the Khalifah method in which the parents of a group of children aged seven to eight years who had been screened in the prevalence study as having emotional and behavioural problems, were invited to take part in the programme. Parents, teachers and children aged 13 to 14 were assessed at baseline and 6 months time using the SDQ, which was also validated in the Malay Language, as part of the current study. Results: The prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in Malaysian school children was 9.3% for teacher-report, 8.5% for parent-report, and 3.9% for child-report. There was no significance difference in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems over a six-month period, except for Teacher-report emotional (p=0.006) and conduct problems scores (p=0.000) as well as child-report Total Difficulties scores (p=0.000) and emotional problems scores (p=0.002). Four variables were significant predictors of EBD at time 2 – being male, younger, from a low-income family and having externalizing behaviour problems at time 1. Finally the results of the pilot evaluation of the effectiveness of a Parenting Programme suggests that it was effective in reducing behaviour problems among children whose parent’s received the intervention after 6 months (p=0.001), as well increasing parent’s mental well-being (p=0.000). Conclusion: This study shows that the prevalence of EBD among Malaysian children is similar to western countries, and is stable over a 6-month period. It also provides preliminary evidence to suggest that a parenting programme is effective in reducing conduct problems among affected children.

This dissertation has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Glasgow EdD. As someone with a professional background in education, government and parliament, and an academic background in politics and citizenship, I was keen to identify an area of study that might draw upon these areas of interest. The emergence of A Curriculum for Excellence as a major new policy initiative in the mid-2000s appeared to represent an ideal case study scenario for just such a study. I wished to examine the ways in which this policy had been initiated, formulated, developed and implemented. In particular I was very aware of the optimistic and aspirational claims around new and improved modes of policymaking that had contributed to the discourse around devolution in the late 1990s. I wanted to test these claims in the light of the development of A Curriculum for Excellence. In order to address these claims I developed a conceptual framework that placed a strong emphasis on themes of genealogy and governance. Through this framework, and a methodology based on literature review and in depth interviews with some key participants in the policy process, I hoped to scrutinise some aspects of the Scottish policy process that are rarely examined. These include the influential role of individuals and organisations, the ways in which policy is mediated in an apparent pursuit of consensus and the consequences of this approach to policy. My core research questions were: 1. To what extent was the genealogy of A Curriculum for Excellence influenced and shaped by the post-devolutionary context? 2. Does an analysis of the governance of A Curriculum for Excellence provide evidence of a change in post-devolution policymaking in education? 3. What does the educational policymaking architecture look like in post-devolution Scotland? In answering these questions I identified a number of key findings, including that the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) development can be situated in a policy context that has been informed by the advent of devolution. It provides partial evidence of a change in the post devolution conduct of education policy, although some procedures for policy consultation should be reviewed and enhanced further, with a greater focus on deliberative forms of engagement at all stages in the policy process. Policy goals should be stated more clearly and in ways that can facilitate review and evaluation. Procedures should also be put in place to promote greater continuity of staff and institutions involved in the core development and delivery of major policy initiatives in Scottish education. The policy architecture that has emerged in the post-devolution period is a hybrid model that has not resolved the longstanding tension between consensual, pluralistic and mediating instincts on the one hand; and centralised control and governance on the other. The informal and organic system of checks and balances in the Scottish policy landscape that had evolved in the pre-devolutionary era has to a large extent been retained. This has implications for the scope, speed and ambition of any policy development and implementation, as exemplified by CfE in this case study. In order to improve the prospects for effective policy change in future, I recommend that the roles of the different organisations with responsibility for educational policymaking in Scotland should be reviewed and clarified. Furthermore the procedures for policymaking should be clarified, formalised and made more transparent in the same way as legislative procedures were reviewed as part of the devolution settlement.

This study examines the concept of ‘difficulty and challenge’ in curriculum, teaching and learning of young learners. It draws its data from the inschool and out-of-school experiences and perspectives of high-attaining, ‘gifted and talented’ pupils, mainly of late primary-school and early secondary-school age, and from their educators. The study is based on a largely interpretative paradigm and draws from ideas of grounded theory. It treats with caution the notion that such a study will produce a ‘theory’, as advocated in much of the grounded-theory literature, setting out instead to produce a ‘persuasive perspective’ on its theme. Data are largely qualitative in nature, analysed through coding and grouping of principal concepts and sub-themes. Some quantitative data are used to substantiate the analysis. The investigation’s sources of data were decided upon as the study progressed in response to the growing conceptualisation of its theme. Its beginnings were with pupils in out-of-school ‘Advanced Learning Centres’ (ALCs) for gifted and talented pupils, progressing to gifted and talented pupils and their teachers in primary schools, then to summer schools organised for older pupils by the National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth. Finally, specialist teachers and initial teacher-training tutors provided more in-depth consideration of the topic. Data came from a survey of ALC pupils across England, from observations of classroom practice using a specially designed observation framework, and from group and individual interviews. Using the data, a visual configuration of difficulty and challenge is constructed in the study, and a glossary of key terms and their definitions is built up in stages. The implications of these outcomes for educational practice are considered. The study contributes to pedagogical understanding and development of this important aspect of the teaching and learning of gifted and talented pupils and informs pedagogical thinking relating to all learners.

In recent years research on writing in academic contexts began to focus on the types and nature of writing tasks students encounter in the content subjects. Research has also examined particular rhetorical features like the use of interactional metadiscourse features that writers use to present their voice in writing and which might distinguish specific genres. These developments in academic writing have also considered the socio-cultural context in which specific genres are produced. The pedagogical motivation for researchers has been to better understand students' writing needs in their content subjects in order to prepare them for academic writing in their disciplines. Much of this research has focused on other fields of study like science and engineering and business students and in L1 contexts and I have found nothing that relates specifically to academic writing for Media Studies and Primary Education in the context of Botswana. Using mixed-methods approach to genre analysis, this thesis compares students' use of interactional metadiscourse features to present voice in three writing contexts, the EAP preparatory course and two undergraduate courses (Media Studies and Primary Education) at the University of Botswana. A sub-corpus of L1 (BAWE) undergraduate writers working on similar essays was also used to compare how the L2 writers and L1 writers in this study vary in the use of these features in essay writing. A total of 123 essays from these various contexts were analyzed. Interviews with students and tutors in the EAP department and Media Studies and Primary Education departments were also done to understand the socio-cultural context in which the essays were produced. The results indicate that writing tasks in the departments of Media Studies and Primary Education included both the general essay and discipline specific genres. The comparison of interactional metadiscourse features in the different sub-corpora indicated variations in the use of these features by the different groups of learners. Contextual information shows that such variations reflect the different values and beliefs about academic writing of the concrete discourse communities that students belong to. These values and beliefs can be problematic for EAP tutors who have to prepare students for writing in the various disciplines. The research has provided valuable insights into writing in Botswana context and may prove to have relevance for similar contexts. They have raised pedagogical implications for the design of the EAP writing course at the University of Botswana where a focus on a more contextual approach to teaching the academic writing would prove useful. The findings of this study are also potentially beneficial to the wider EAP community and the field of Applied Linguistics as an example of a mixed-method, contextual approach to genre analysis.

This thesis makes three original claims: two substantive and one methodological. It locates the thesis in the subject of philosophy of education and uses Richard Rorty’s metaphilosophical work to justify a claim to knowledge. This claim takes the form of a redescription of an established concept, judgement, to increase its usefulness in education. Usefulness is evaluated with regard to new developments in pragmatism that emphasise transitionalism and meliorism. To the best of the writer's knowledge Rorty has not been used in this way. The major substantive claim to knowledge is a redescription of judgement in the educational context of philosophy for children. This thesis argues that understanding judgement as a form of transition is educationally and philosophically useful. In order to make the argument it advances a minor substantive claim by offering a critique of Aristotle, Kant and Dewey that draws attention to a common factor in their philosophy, that of judgement being a property solely attributed to individuals. In outline the thesis consists of five chapters. First, it outlines why judgement might be regarded as a problematic concept before justifying my use of Rorty; second, it advances the major premise that judgement in the works of Aristotle, Kant and Dewey is a figurative account. Next it offers the minor premise that figurative accounts of judgement in philosophy of education are not always useful. In the penultimate chapter it concludes by offering an alternative account of judgement as transition and elaborate upon the emphasis on relationality made possible by the redescription. Finally it shows the implications of this redescription in the context of an educational movement: Philosophy for Children. It argues that Philosophy for Children as a pedagogical movement can exemplify education practices that draw upon my re-conceptualised understanding of judgement. In addition it offers a pathway for future development.

This thesis attempts to provide evidence, based in historical and contemporary research, of the importance of early years education, not only in terms of academic achievement, but of social outcomes as well; to examine the perceptions of teachers in relationship to societal influences and the effects of such on the changing educational needs of the child; and to suggest possible elements for high quality programme development in the early years. Section I attempts to set in context certain apparent key influences on the growth and development of early childhood education. Whilst the main focus of the thesis is a comparison of Britain and Canada, Section I also provides an international context by examining early years programmes in several other countries. Section II addresses the critical nature of familial and community environments with respect to parents' initial involvement as their children's first teachers and their continued involvement in a partnership with schools. This section also discusses the importance of early intervention for children 'at risk' in the context of its broad benefits to society. Section III deals with the methodology and data analysis of a survey of teachers in Britain and Canada. The survey, complemented by interviews with several of the respondents, was designed to gather perceptions and reflections from teachers. Section IV identifies features of successful early childhood programs in terms of what appears to work according to current research and the perceptions of teachers. In addition, it provides illustrations of selected programmes in Canada and Britain that have incorporated many of these features. Since societal changes identified in the thesis are urging educators and policy makers to re-examine their approach to early years provision, the last section suggests elements necessary for high quality early education programmes that will provide opportunities to maximise the individual potential of all children.

The latter part of the twentieth century experienced an increased emphasis in industrialised societies on educational performance, and ongoing efforts are still in progress to enhance levels of performance, particularly to prepare young people for the ever-changing work demands occasioned by the revolution in communications and in the provision of information. Educationalists have been interested in the replicability of successful school systems, and this has resulted in a focus upon decision-making at the various levels of educational governance. At school level the concepts of enabling conditions and development capacity are now well grounded in the theory of school effectiveness and school improvement. Within the IQEA (Improving The Quality of Education for All) Project, schools are encouraged to develop their management and classroom conditions at the same time as they work upon their improvement initiatives. There exist a number of instruments devised within the project to measure the capacity of schools both at management and classroom level to sustain a culture of school improvement. Along with this interest in school-based improvement initiatives, there has been an increasing interest in the part various stake-holders within the school community can play in school improvement. One such group are students, and teachers, particularly within IQEA, have increasingly wished to consult them when undertaking or evaluating policy changes within their schools. To this end teachers have also been interested in comparing their own views with those of their students on the culture of the school and its classrooms. This thesis represents an attempt to provide teachers with just such an instrument of comparison. It first contextualises the notion of Student Conditions within the literature of School Improvement Conditions. In devising, conceptualising and researching a set of Student Conditions which are related to the IQEA Classroom Conditions this work sets out not only to give teachers and senior management a means of triangulating their own views with those of the students in their school, it also provides data for teachers to gauge the capacity of the student body to sustain school improvement. Preliminary results from the piloting of the Student Conditions Survey are presented. The final chapter discusses the implications for teaching and learning, for school improvement initiatives and for the culture of classrooms and schools if these student conditions are to be developed. The Student Conditions are, in the order they appear in the thesis: Self-assessment - The ability of students to reflect upon and to improve the quality of their own work. Independent Learning - The ability of students to access the skills and resources necessary to achieve learning autonomy. Affinity to teachers - The ability of students to maintain a relationship with teachers that enables them to seek and receive help and support when they require it. Learning repertoire - The ability of students to exploit fully the range of teaching and learning strategies encountered in and out of the classroom. Orientation to Learning - The ability of students to be self-motivated, and to enjoy learning. Adjustment to School - The ability of students to learn within a structured environment of rules and behaviour parameters. Along with the two other Conditions Surveys, the Student Conditions Survey is intended to contribute to a battery of research instruments, which will provide useful data and an agenda for a whole-school discussion on how schools can improve. The thesis also presents data from the piloting of the research instrument in over 40 IQEA Schools, and briefly outlines how some of these schools have used the findings in their improvement initiatives.

This case study analyses the implementation of the Food and Nutrition Policy for New Brunswick Schools. This policy was developed by the New Brunswick Department of Education and adopted in the legislature in 1991. Its goal was to enhance the nutritional status of provincial school children. Policies like this one represent a new direction for both education and health promotion and warrant investigation because of their potential benefits to student health and learning. In this case, a top-down approach to policy development and implementation proved largely ineffective, so the purpose of this research was to analyse the policy process in order to identify the factors that influenced implementation and to recommend future actions to enhance the processes involved. The analytical constructs were "capacity" and "will," the ability and desire to implement a policy. The combined macro-and micro-level analyses involved investigating the history and current status of the policy obtained through an examination of government and other documents, 66 interviews with provincial, district, and school-based participants, and observations of six schools in two districts. The results indicate that four factors influenced implementation: (a) the nature of the policy, (b) the organisational milieu, (c) the approach to policy development, and (d) the approach to implementation. The analysis of these factors combined with an examination of implementation at the local level indicate that if the Food and Nutrition Policy is to be more successfully implemented in future, 'capacity' and 'will' need more attention. The Department of Education must recognise that implementation requires a significant investment of time, money, and expertise, and the re-organisation of school food services to promote health; and that the process of change needs to be more collaborative and participative to encourage educators to see nutrition as more integral to their professional roles.

Most of us can empathise with feeling stressed. Each of us has our own unique interpretation of what stress is and our own understanding of what stress feels like. We each feel stress from a variety of sources and for a variety of reasons. We all have different coping strategies, which may or may not be effective. It is likely we learned our coping strategies in childhood; children who cope successfully with stress are likely to become adults who cope with stress successfully. Stress is not necessarily a 'bad thing': it can have many positive benefits. But too much stress, or coping ineffectively with repeated stress over long periods of time can have harmful effects on physical and psychological well being. This research investigates stress in school children, focusing specifically on school stress and everyday stressors inherent in schooling. It lets the pupils taking part in the research define their own stress and set the agenda for the research. How the pupils define their stress, their assessment of what is stressful for them in their life at school and how it makes them feel are all accepted unconditionally, and I have endeavoured to be non-judgemental in processing the information about stress disclosed to me by these pupils. The research was conducted over a two year period (1993-1994), at the eleven to sixteen comprehensive school where the author is employed. The data were collected by means of questionnaire, semi-structured interview and pupils' own personal writing and 'stress diaries'. After piloting, the first questionnaire was issued in January 1993 to one hundred and eighty volunteers in every form and every year group in the school (six questionnaires to each of the thirty tutor groups in the school). Of these questionnaires, 167 were returned (92.8%). The questionnaire asked respondents who would be prepared to be interviewed at a later stage, to identify themselves. Forty-five pupils volunteered. From these volunteers I selected pupils who had indicated that they had experienced feeling stress at school at some time on their questionnaire. I tried to keep a balance between males and females wherever possible, and to choose volunteers from across the age range. There were ten male and eleven female interviewees in the final selection one male and one female from year seven; one male and two females from year eight; two males and two females from year nine; and three males and three females from years ten and eleven respectively. The process was repeated again in 1994. Of the one hundred and eighty questionnaires issued in 1994, one hundred and forty three were returned (79%). Possible explanations for the difference in the number of questionnaires returned are discussed in Chapter 6. The same volunteers were interviewed in 1994 as in 1993, with the addition of two new volunteers, one male and one female, from year seven. The questionnaires and interviews were issued and conducted during the same time periods in both years. This was deliberately done to maintain consistency, to confirm the data collected in 1993 and to highlight any periods during the school year when pupils reported feeling more stress than at other times. This was successful as much of the data collected in 1994 does confirm the findings of 1993, and helps to build up a remarkably consistent picture of how pupils perceive stress at school. Originally, the author had planned to repeat the research method for a third year, but it was felt unnecessary to do this due to the corroborative nature of the data already collected. I have presented the results of each year separately rather than amalgamated the two sets of data, not only to emphasise this correlation but also because I wished to present as detailed a picture as possible of the stressful aspects of school life as perceived by the pupils, and although much of it is similar, none of it is the same. Each pupil has offered their own unique interpretation of the stressful school experiences he/she has encountered, and I felt it was important to include them all as equally important and valid in order to preserve the aims and integrity of the research. It would be impossible to amalgamate the data without trivialising the disparity of the experiences being disclosed to me. The main findings of this research suggest that there is a diverse, but ultimately exhaustive, range of school experiences pupils describe as being stressful for them. Most of these experiences can be categorised into domains relating to stressors which are curriculum generated; stressors which are the result of conflict in relationships with peers, teachers and/or family members; everyday life stressors not necessarily associated directly with school and a range of individually unique ‘one off’ stressors ...