This thesis aims to explore Academic Staff Governor (ASG) roles at three Outstanding Further Education colleges in England. Uniquely, the research focuses on types of ASG activities; ASGs’ professional and power status and the understanding of the role. The study draws upon relevant literature to identify concepts related to governors’ roles and activities. An interpretivist stance is used to collect predominantly qualitative data through a combined methods approach, and to engage with ASGs and external governors. During fieldwork, qualitative and quantitative evidence from six semi-structured interviews; 35 questionnaire responses, observations of 8 governance meetings and governance documents, was analysed. Findings suggest that ASGs’ insiderness; their affiliation with other groups and decision-making circumstances may influence their governing activities. Activities rooted in operational settings such as professional-information giving were highly-valued by other governors, while there were uncertainties about the benefit of having managerial staff as ASGs. The research also identified ASGs’ relatively low power status which in turn may affect their professional status. There was evidence indicating uncertainty amongst the college staff regarding the role of an ASG in the colleges’ boards. As a result of the study, to aid understanding and to conceptualise an ASG’s role in FE colleges, ‘The 3 RaPs Framework’ and ‘The Restricted Professional Model’ of an ASG have been developed. For relevant practitioners, organisations and policymakers, the research recommends clear and specific role descriptions for ASG posts; action to develop ASGs’ professionality as teachers and to allow more opportunities for ASGs to act as governors. Finally, further research opportunities are identified in order to research ASGs’ professional profiles in the FE sector; ASGs’ personality characteristics; clarity of ASG role in educational governance; the role in high performing and underperforming colleges; and the role in the wider global educational governance.

This case study explored the nature of emotional experiences of a female newly appointed head teacher, the Novice, in a public Cypriot lower secondary school in Cyprus. Coping strategies and the development of interpersonal relationships with teachers, in association with trustworthy leadership, were followed in terms of a step by step process. The study draws upon qualitative research methods, rooted within the naturalistic paradigm in order to illuminate the emotions associated with the professional and organizational socialization of the Novice in the context of Cyprus. Data were collected through head teacher observation and semi- structured interviews, as well as semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with teachers. Emotional experiences were associated with challenges faced throughout transition and were classified according to four adaptation phases, accompanied by intense Emotional Labour. During the first phase, the Novice realizing the ultimate responsibility that was associated with the role, felt shocked, isolated and lonely. During the second phase, feelings of anger, anxiety, frustration and bitterness prevailed. Mental and physical exhaustion were tied in with being sad, depressed, desperate and feeling sorry for herself. Finally, during the last phase when the Novice accepted the situation, feelings of assertiveness and contentment finalized the successful adaptation to the new environment as she had successfully built trust, becoming a trustworthy leader.

The research project explores teacher knowledge and the role of theory in the practice of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers. It addresses issues which are relevant more widely to the field and profession of English Language Teaching (ELT). It includes a literature-based survey of the types and sources of knowledge relevant to the work of ESOL-ELT teachers, which are collated into a conceptual framework (CF). The CF includes aspects of teacher knowledge and learning such as the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ (Lortie 1975/2002) and ‘personal practical knowledge’ (Clandinin 1985; Clandinin & Connelly 1987). Relevant contextual factors are analysed, with four levels of policy identified as impacting to varying degrees on ESOL teachers’ practice. These (policy) contextual factors include notions of ‘best practice’, ‘appropriate methodology’, and the ELT-ESOL curriculum. A further contextual area of influence on the role of theories in ESOL teachers’ practice is the recent history of teaching methodology, including ‘ELT methods’, which is analysed in a ‘genealogy of ELT’. Several of these ELT methods have traditionally embodied elements of theories from Applied Linguistics. One such ELT ‘method’ (or ‘approach’) - Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) - is identified as influential on the thinking of ESOL teachers. The question of theory and the relationship between theory and practice are discussed with reference to the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and his use of Aristotelian concepts, such as praxis. Views from ELT and mainstream education regarding the role of theory and practice are also discussed. In addition to the theoretical and conceptual analysis of the research question, an ‘empirical’ data-collection element of the research design involves conducting ‘semi-structured’ qualitative research interviews with eight ESOL teachers who work in the same UK Further Education College as the researcher. A qualitative, interpretivist research approach is adopted, which draws on several research methodologies and ‘paradigms’ such as phenomenology and critical realism. Data analysis methods draw on ideas from ‘Grounded Theory’, and use NVivo computer software to process the research interview data. Findings from the interview data are briefly presented (in Chapter 5) and illustrative quotations are included in Chapter 6. Conclusions and recommendations are presented, relating to issues of ESOL teacher education, teacher development, policy, and areas for future research (in Chapter 7). They highlight the potential value for ESOL practitioners of a greater examination of the role of theory in their practice.

The past 30 years have seen rapid expansion in nursing roles, and the provision of education that supports them. However, the nature of the knowledge that characterises advanced practice, and the pedagogical strategies that are utilised in catalysing its development have yet to be extensively evaluated. Whilst a number of frameworks which purport to conceptualise this knowledge do exist, such structures remain somewhat provisional. Likewise, the pedagogical approaches employed in the development of knowledge for advanced practice are derived as much from teacher preference, organisational expedience, and external policy drivers as educational efficacy. The study presented within this thesis addresses these challenges by examining the knowledge conceptualisation process in relation to two student cohorts undertaking ‘Advanced Practice’ study at Masters level within the author’s employing university. A programme utilising a conventional pedagogical approach has been contrasted with one employing a more collaborative modality; this facilitates an evaluation of the impact of the respective learning and teaching approaches upon the dynamic creation and modification of the practitioners’ knowledge base. A Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology was selected in order to explore these processes. A purposive sample of 24 participants was recruited from across both programmes; a series of interviews was undertaken, and data analysis resulted in both the induction of a substantive theory of Developing A Personal Knowing, and the identification of a range of pedagogical strategies that catalyse its growth. The findings are of particular utility for those involved in the development of advanced practice curricula, and have been used illustratively to underpin a nascent curriculum framework presented in the latter part of the thesis. A number of significant findings emerge; a need to maintain the primacy of clinical practice, the importance of a collaborative approach to learning and teaching in which individual learner agency is maintained, and the key role of group reflection in assimilating the plurality of knowledge forms that ultimately constitute an individual’s personal theory of practice.

This thesis is a journey which started investigating CLT innovation and implementation in Syrian schools and, due to the armed conflict in the country, ended with another layer of focus on the impact of Syria War on (education and) ELT, teachers and students. Employing a qualitative approach, the data incorporated audio-recordings and interviews as the two main research tools in the study. The lesson transcripts from two teachers in Syria (Grade 7) and a teacher in a camp school in Turkey (Grade 8) were explored in light of retrospective interviews to uncover how far teachers responded in their actual classroom practices to CLT curriculum innovation tenets and how implementation challenges, including teachers’ cognitions and contextual realities, influenced their practices. Celebrating diversity rather than uniformity, I also endeavoured to appreciate teachers’ own complex reasoning on their practices and how they made sense of their teaching in their immediate contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 other Syrian teachers to further elicit perspectives on contextual forces and teacher beliefs, suggestions for a locally feasible ELT pedagogy and the impact of the current war circumstances on their lives and careers. The analysis of the data reveals the value of seeing teachers as agents of their own practice both in ‘normally’ difficult circumstances and in extreme crisis situations. Teachers’ pedagogical decisions and practices seem to be grounded on their beliefs as to what is viable rather than on the MoE plans. The study points to the significance of not only appreciating teacher beliefs and agency in establishing context-sensitive ELT pedagogies, but also capitalising upon local teachers’ experiences and perspectives and involving teachers in both educational planning and implementation. The final layer of the thesis shows that it is valuable to explore teacher agency in crisis situations and to consider ways to extend the literature to recognise conflict-affected ELT as a research area in which locally produced pedagogies are encouraged, supported and developed within the constraints of displacement and refugee camp schools.

Underpinned by a socio-cultural epistemology and utilising an interpretivist qualitative paradigm, this study aims to explore Iranian EFL teachers' perspectives on the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into their teaching. Data collection was carried out during October-December 2013 held with 9 Iranian EFL teachers - five males, four females- from across 6 schools in Tehran. The focus was on the individual and contextual factors that had influenced and shaped the perceptions and practices of these teachers. Data was collected based on a total of 36 face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews that were guided by 27 observations of classroom practices. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that ICT uptake by participants was seriously hampered by several interacting and interrelated areas that influenced participants' perspectives and practices. These include inadequate technological infrastructures (in and out of schools' settings), poor or lack of technical support, teachers' insufficient expertise and self-efficacy related to technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) as a result of inadequate continual professional development (CPD), nature of the national curriculum, assessment system, shortage of time, rules and regulations, and other human and contextual factors that will be discussed holistically as an activity system in this paper.

This study examines the challenges and opportunities for the professional development of teacher educators in a leading teacher education university in Pakistan. It underpins the participatory and sociocultural perspectives of learning to gain insight into teacher educators’ learning. This research deployed a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach, using questionnaires followed by semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with teacher educators, heads of the departments, campus principals and higher management personnel. The study highlights the fact that the teacher educators do not have any formal permanent system of professional development. The findings further reveal the diverse professional characteristics of teacher educators in terms of experience in teaching, research and professional qualifications, which lead to varied learning experiences and professional challenges to teacher educators in their respective roles. Beginner teacher educators with no professional qualification and inadequate teaching and research experience face more challenges in meeting the demands of the higher education settings. Teaching appears to be the major professional role of teacher educators in comparisons to curriculum design, mentoring or engagement in research. This study raises a number of issues regarding professional adequacy and entry requirements of teacher educators, as well as the status of the field of teacher education in Pakistan. A key finding of this study is the contested context of the University as a workplace, which inhibited the professional relationship of teacher educators. This resulted in a balkanized culture, which challenged the learning of teacher educators. In addition, inequitable and insufficient access to resources, lack of professional support from management and excessive workloads limited the opportunities for learning. The study also highlights the fact that teacher educators are relying more on peer and self-learning. However, peer-learning was not evenly observed across all campuses. This research improves our understanding of Community of Practice showing that the concept needs to consider power, culture and disentangle the relationship between working conditions and learning. It also gives insight to the conceptualization of workplace affordances by seeing that such affordances are both personal and institutional. In terms of looking at Eraut’s ideas of informal learning, this research adds to our understanding that it is not just learning and contextual factors (institutional factors) which affect the learning of the individuals but also their professional context. In this research, professional context includes professional experiences (teacher educators’ repertoires in teaching and research), qualifications, their differentiated roles and positions. By doing so the research has added to the discourse of informal learning and provides an empirical study in the field of teacher education. In addition, this research provides deeper insight of teacher educators’ learning, and can assist in designing and strengthening the professional development opportunities for teacher educators in Pakistan.

The literature on new principals tends to focus on the challenges of incumbents. However, there is little detailed evidence of the nature of their attempts at reshaping or enhancing school culture, which may be their greatest single professional challenge. A significant number of primary schools in Trinidad and Tobago are currently headed by new principals and concerns have been publicly raised at the national level about these new principals’ fit to schools. This study was designed to investigate the nature of the interactions between new principals’ leadership and their inherited school cultures in primary schools of different effectiveness states - high, average and low achievement - which face challenging circumstances. It also investigates the impact of these interactions on school processes, new principals’ emotions and professional development and student academic outcomes. The thesis adopts an explanatory, multiple-case study approach that conceptualizes principal leadership as relational, recognizing that whilst a new principal may wish to re-culture and restructure a school, the existing school’s culture and the new principal’s own professional judgment may combine to influence his/her ability to do so. The main research method used for engaging with this work was a critical incident technique. Findings reveal the complex nature of the leadership-school culture interplay and the factors which influence: a) the various manifestations of the leadership-school culture interactions and, b) the degree of change observed at the schools. Associated implications and areas for future research are also discussed.

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.