Simulation in the shape of the “phantom head” is an essential part of every dental training programme. It is used to provide the student with practice before he/she is allowed to carry out restorative dental procedures on patients. In theory, this practice promotes patient safety. However, the learning process lacks clarity, and we do not understand fully how well learned skills transfer to clinical activity. This study asks whether in fact the pre-clinical course is a reliable guarantor of patient safety. It does so by examining four facets of the simulation process: purpose, learning, fidelity and transition, using a mixture of research methods, including comparison of pre-clinical and clinical assessment grades, focus groups with students, one-to-one interviews with their teachers and a questionnaire. The results of these investigations indicate a complex inter-relationship between purpose, learning, fidelity and transition. They also suggest that success in simulated restorative dentistry is a poor predictor of clinical ability, a limitation that needs careful consideration in the light of patient safety. The study recommends changes to increase the complexity and authenticity of the pre-clinical course, and suggests that the student transition needs detailed management, perhaps through a blend of pre-clinical and clinical activity.

The aims of this study were to examine whether pupils attending a programme at a residential outdoor education centre experienced an increase in psychological wellbeing and to explore the underlying mechanisms behind any increase. This was achieved through the use of a mixed methods framework, based on a Realistic Evaluation approach (Pawson and Tilley, 1997). Realist Synthesis was carried out to derive tentative programme theories from the extant literature. These tentative programme theories were then tested based on data collected from focus groups with pupils and residential centre staff, interviews with school staff, pre- and post- intervention measures of pupil psychological wellbeing, and observations, recorded as field notes during the residential. The results suggested that pupils experienced a small, but non-significant increase in psychological wellbeing. Four final programme theories were developed, concerning Risk and Challenge, The Natural Environment, The Supportive Community and Independence. Limitations of the research are discussed, along with directions for future research. Implications for the role of the educational psychologist are highlighted.

In recent years within the field of Mathematics Education, the role of technology has been an area of intense interest. Surprisingly the impact of technology use on assessment has been less considered. This thesis explores the differences between two high-stakes examinations, one where the use of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) is required, and one where CAS is prohibited. Key questions in this comparison explore the extent to which CAS would trivialize current assessments, whether CAS-required assessments necessitate more high-level thinking, and whether CAS has a more pronounced impact upon certain topic areas. To address these questions, a content analysis methodology was adopted. Texts for comparison were questions from two examination bodies; the Australian VCAA board, which has a CAS-required examination, and the English MEI group, which has a CASprohibited examination. Test items [n=370] from VCAA and MEI examination papers covering 2009-2011 were categorised according to two criteria. Firstly according to the level of impact of CAS-use using the categories: CAS-Proof, CAS-Optional, CAS-Trivial and CAS-Essential. Secondly according to the level of conceptual difficulty using three levels Mechanical, Interpretive and Constructive based on a variant of Bloom’s Taxonomy. When comparing these CAS and non-CAS examinations, a similar distribution of questions across the levels of impact and cognitive difficulty scales was found, with the exception of calculus questions where a significantly larger proportion of questions in non- CAS examination were of a mechanical nature and considered CAS-Trivial. CAS offers the potential to enable a radical rewrite of school mathematics and of assessment practice. However in this study the impact of assumed CAS-use on the test items studied appeared to be quite restricted. Given the critical place of assessment in school mathematics, understanding the differences CAS-required and CAS-prohibited assessments in similar syllabi makes a useful original contribution to researching use of this technology.

The increasing emphasis on the relationship between participation in education and social inclusion through employment views non-participating young people negatively by what they are not, exemplified in the label Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). The UK’s strategy to reduce the numbers of NEET young people includes the provision of government training courses resulting in their increased attendance at further education colleges. This study was motivated by a need to understand these young people in order to work with them and to inform my professional practice. By engaging in purposeful conversation with a group of 14 young people, aspects of their lives, their experiences and perceptions of education, and their aspirations for the future are unfolded through the stories they chose to share. A consideration of the impact of forces of globalisation on opportunities for employment along with a recent history of youth training schemes sets the scene here for the analysis and discussion of these stories. Providing a fair account of stories in a way that allows the teller’s voice to be heard follows an uncharted course employing methods drawn from ethnographic, phenomenographic and narrative inquiry and resulting in a dissertation that blends theory, research and policy with the stories heard. Hearing such stories and considering their implications for working with these young people had a significant personal impact whilst confirming my conviction that in order to work successfully with such young people it is necessary to go beyond the label of NEET to understand something of their lives. Reflective and reflexive discussion around the methods adopted in this study consequently forms a major part of this dissertation as does explicit attention to the research journey travelled. The analysis of the stories of the young people centres here on notions of wellbeing and flourishing using a capabilities approach as a framework. By mapping themes identified in the conversations recorded in this study onto Martha Nussbaum’s list of central capabilities a re-framed version of her capabilities list, contextualised to NEET young lives is presented. It emerges that the perceptions of education and training and aspirations for future employment and wellbeing amongst this particular group do not justify the frequently negative connotations of the NEET label. Individual’s expressed anxieties around contemporary youth culture, their attitudes towards schooling and education and their hopes for their lives lead, in the final chapter of this study, to suggestions for ways forward for schools and colleges working with such young people. Here I emphasise the need for teachers to make space to understand the people behind the labels, to see them as individuals who may flourish more successfully if we are able to construct more compassionate institutions that allow young people to do and to be, to develop the capacities to lead the meaningful lives they desire and will have reason to value.

There is a body of research that emphasises the role that peers can have in either fuelling or preventing bullying behaviour. Bystanders typically reinforce bullying by joining in or passively watching (O'Connell, Pepler and Craig 1999). Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner 1979) states that within a social group individuals are motivated to maintain a positive social identity and do so by adhering to group norms. Therefore, if bullying is normative within a group pupils are more likely to join in or passively watch (Duffy and Nesdale 2008; Gini 2006). This study evaluates the effectiveness of 'Defeat Bullying' (NSPCC 2007), a five week whole class anti-bullying curriculum. The overall aim of the curriculum was to create an anti-bullying group norm within the class. A pre-test, post-test non-equivalent groups quasi experimental design was employed, with an eight week follow up. Pupils aged 9-10 (year 5) from three schools in a predominately rural Local Authority (LA) in Yorkshire participated in the study (n = 69). School 1 received the intervention, School 2 received the intervention plus parental involvement and School 3 was the control group. Pupils' reported levels of bullying, attitudes towards bullying and knowledge of how to intervene in bullying situations were measured. Questionnaires regarding the pupils' difficult and prosocial behaviour were completed by the teachers. The impact of parental involvement on the effectiveness of the intervention was also explored. 'Defeat Bullying' (NSPCC 2007) did not have a statistically significant effect on any of the factors measured, which suggests there was no overall effect on the group norms regarding bullying. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between School 1 and School 2 who received the intervention plus parental involvement. Possible reasons for the non significant results and the implications of this are discussed. The likelihood of changing group norms through the delivery of an anti-bullying curriculum is considered. The study raises questions in terms of whether or not parental involvement is important in anti-bullying interventions and if so what type of parental involvement is the most effective.

The aim of this thesis is to develop realistic expectations about the psychological and psychometric implications of using computerized adaptive tests (CAT). A review is carried out of literature on computerized-based testing (CBT) and CAT. A field study as well as four laboratory experiments were conducted to achieve that goal The current research strongly suggested the equivalence between the paper-and-pencil (P&P) and CAT formats for the Abstract Reasoning (AR) and Mechanical Reasoning (MR) tests of the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), but failed to do so for the Numerical Ability (NA) test. Also, the CAT version of OAT can predict a performance variable as accurately as can the P&P format. Overall testees' attitudes toward several aspects of computerized testing were positive. The results confirmed the negative relationship between computer experience and computer anxiety. Moreover, knowledge of CAT behaviour negatively affected subjects' performance, but did not increase the level of their state anxiety. This suggested that a form of feedback acts during the adaptive test which has a negative effect on testees' performance and response time. This assumption was confirmed. Subjects spend a shorter time on the subsequent item after negative feedback (wrong) on the previous item than after positive feedback (right). It has been found that although the response time for answering an individual item was higher for CAT format than for P&P format, the CAT version of DAT resulted in a 20% reduction in completion time of the test. Also, the difficulty level of the initial items has a significant effect on testees' overall scores. The findings of this thesis suggest that CAT has numerous advantages and potential for improving the efficiency and accuracy of testing, and has potential areas of future contribution within personnel selection and assessment. This potential can be realized if proper consideration is made in designing, developing, and implementing these testing systems, and if professional standards are maintained by developers and users.

The primary purpose of this work was to identify the process by which the control of variables' strategy develops. Investigations are described which indicate that the strategies used on 'control of variables' tasks are task specific. The quasi/empirical nature of science tasks is shown to affect the use of the control strategy. Further investigations are described that indicate the existence of a concrete operational control strategy which has as its basis negation by elimination and cancellation, and not Piaget's formal level operation of negation by neutralisation. Two major studies, one at the Secondary School and one at the Junior School level, are described in which four parallel substages in the development of the control strategy were noted. At the concrete operational level these substages represented an increasing ability to produce a consistency between judgments and experimental results through the formation of increasingly sophisticated strategies, i.e. through attendance to first order relations. At the formal operational level the substages represented an increasing ability to compare criteria for the use of strategies, i.e. attendance to second order relations. Neo-Piagetian procedures are applied and the calculation of the M demand for the substages tends to confirm a static model for the size of M space.

This thesis identifies personal sexuality as a significant and crucial site for transformative adult learning. Personal sexuality is shown to be an important adult problematic vital for individual and social transformation. Adult education of the radical/transformative tradition professes to respond to adult learning needs through a process of liberative critical reflection. However, the thesis shows that personal sexuality is an adult learning domain which, in fact, is largely overlooked both in theory and in practice by adult education. The study is cross-disciplinary. Its theoretical framework is drawn from theories of transformative learning in adult education together with psychological, sociological and feminist theories of personal development and social relations. Based on original, qualitative case study fieldwork, the findings from the personal and stories of seventy six participants reveal a hitherto secret and complex swathe of interconnecting learning strands. These strands are shown to operate throughout different life transitions and extend to encompass the next generation and the wider community. The issue of communicative competence in relation to personal sexuality emerges as central to participants’ relational concerns, learning, agendas, intergenerational educational roles, work roles and to their capacities for transformative action. Major themes in childhood and adolescent learning reveal patterns of sexual repression and oppression as de facto key constituents in the psycho-cultural construction of personal sexual identity. These themes show that the culture of sexual silence, initiated in childhood learning, is maintained in adult relationships of intimacy and contributes to further embedding oppressive gender relations in the socio-cultural fabric to the detriment of both sexes and of society. Major themes of adult sexual experience are identified as relating to a) self-image and sexual self-esteem; b) the challenges of intimate partnerships and changes in relationships; c) parenting and the inter-generational tendency to reproduce personal sexual learning.

The main purpose of this study was to probe empirically the effects of three different approaches: strategy training, metacognitive instruction and pure exposure, on listening performance, attitudes, self-efficacy and on strategy knowledge, use and perceived value among student teachers of English in Egypt. Moreover, the interaction between these three treatments and students’ proficiency levels (high/low) was an item of interest. The results of the study consistently demonstrated that strategy training is better in promoting all the variables addressed in this study and compares favourably with metacognitive instruction and pure exposure. More importantly, these results showed that the strategy training approach holds great potential for developing students’ independence and that it moved them that much close towards autonomy. These positive results stand in a stark contrast to the inconclusive results of the earlier studies. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the metacognitive instruction group performed significantly better than the control group only in listening and attitudes. Finally, contrary to the widely held belief that prolonged exposure to aural input enhances listening, the results of the quantitative analysis indicated that students in the control group did not make improvement in any of the dependent variables. Perhaps more importantly, the qualitative analysis indicated that pure exposure to the aural input alone without instruction had a demoralising effect when students found that their understanding did not increase with practice. The findings suggest some potential benefits in the informed teaching of listening strategies as a means of helping learners improve their listening comprehension skills and promoting a sense of learner autonomy. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the time devoted to strategy training is well invested and consequently refute the argument that the risk of devoting time to strategy training is not worth taking. Implications of these findings for pedagogy, research and research methodology conclude the study.

In recent decades, the ecological impact of recreation in woodlands and forests has been a subject of considerable world-wide interest. However, there are few studies examining the effects of recreation on woodland vegetation, soils and fauna in Britain. This thesis identifies recreational trampling as a major contributor in facilitating ecological change in urban fringe semi-natural ancient temperate woodlands of Warwickshire, England. Relationships with trampling intensity are generally curvi- linear, suggesting that the rates of damage are most rapid at initial stages of trampling. Biotic communities are shaped so that their structure and diversity is related to the type, intensity and frequency of impact. The impact of trampling on vegetation is the most precise indicator of recreational use. Multi-variate analyses indicates that trampling is the primary organisational gradient operating on ground vegetation, with trail centres dominated by secondary plant associations at equilibrium with the trampling pressure. Trail margins are dominated by vegetation that is tolerant of low levels of trampling and high rates of competition. Experimental trampling experiments show that the ecological carrying capacity of woodlands for recreation are lower than previously thought; from below 150 people per year in Rubusfruticosus agg. and Pteridium aquilinum dominated stands to below 75 people per year in coniferous stands with Hyacinthoides non-scripta ground flora. The ability of vegetation to tolerate trampling is related to plant anatomy, morphological adaptations, plant strategies, growth rate, position of the perennating bud, environmental conditions such as canopy density and is more a function of the ability to recover from trampling rather than to resist. By virtue of their delicate morphology, stands dominated by shade tolerant species are the most vulnerable to trampling. Increases in soil compaction and decreases in pore space and oxygen content are recognised as important in shaping woodland vegetation and fauna, and the reduction in soil inhabiting invertebrate and micro-organism populations have consequences for woodland processes. A bioindicator index to assess soil damage is provided using Acari body length. Models summarising the ecological changes associated with trampling and the ecological carrying capacity of woodlands are provided, along with a woodland management checklist and an index of vulnerability for resource managers to assess the potential of woodland stands to withstand recreational use.